Advertisement
Published: December 18th 2006
Etosha National Park · Namibia
The colors are so bright you get blinded without sunglassesHi there,
Hope this blog entry finds everyone doing great. Well, here we are, a week away from Xmas and I am still in Africa. The adventure continues and Africa has definitely gotten me hooked and wanting more. Just flew in last night from Namibia, I am back in Johannesburg at my favorite hotel for a couple days of rest and prep before flying to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) tomorrow afternoon. My brother Laurent will be back in LA by Wednesday and I know he too will miss the amazing sights and sense of freedom he discovered in Namibia. I miss him already, we laughed and goofed a lot as you can see on the pictiures! (make sure you scroll down to see all the pics - there are about 40+ of them - you will also need to click on "next page" to see the last 20 pics).
Our two-week, 4,000 kms road trip up and down Namibia was an awesome adventure. We drove a lot, endured quite hot temperatures (110 F / 45 C), discovered some incredible landscapes and colors, and enjoyed absolute pure silence like you can only find in
Etosha National Park · Namibia
1st game drive: 6 lions under a tree. that does not happen every day! the desert.
Namibia is the 9th country I have visited on this trip so far and it is very unique and you can't really compare it with the others. First it's a huge desert, one of the oldest in the world, the country is 3 times the size of Great Britain and counts only 1.8 million people, so you can imagine why you can drive for 2 hours and not see a car or a house. The roads are very long and very very straight and it's always exciting to reach the next town or gas station! There is a very strong German influence in Namibia, not only in the language but also in the architecture (not my favorite I admit) and in the food (Nicole, don't go there for the seafood!). Compared to the other African countries I have see so far (except for South Africa), Namibia is quite rich (thanks to the diamond mines) and I read that the average income is twice the average income in Africa; you can definitely tell, for example more people drive their own cars in Namibia, grocery stores are well stocked, cell phones are everywhere, public buses are not overloaded and
Etosha National Park · Namibia
We saw huge herds of zebras, this little guy was stretching right in front of our car fewer people sell goods on the side of the roads.
We saw and did so much those last two weeks, it's hard to decide what to start writing...I will try to describe what the pictures are showing, so bear with me. The pictures are in chronological order. The first day I picked up Laurent at the airport in Windhoek and we drove straight to the North to Etosha Park, a huge game reserve that stretches across 22,000 square kms, with 114 species of mamals and more than 340 species of birds. Etosha is a massive pan that is fed by rains and that explains why so many animals can be found there: they all come for the water. So, quite a place and much to see. On our first day we saw 6 lions sitting under a tree and desesperately trying to stay cool; elephants, giraffes, ostriches, herds of zebras kicking big clouds of dust behind them, many kudus, impalas, wildebeests and I am probably forgetting a few. We started our game drive at 6 in the morning, until 9 the temperatures were bearable, and then at midday you notice that all the animals are all standing still like
statues under trees looking for shade. That is you signal that you need to do the same...well, not really, but something like going back to the lodge, dip in the pool and chill until late afternoon!
On our second evening in Etosha we stepped out of our lodge right before dinner, our lodge was on a small hill that was high enough so that we overlooked a wide plain of yellow grass stretching as far as the eye can see. And right above that beautiful plain, from left to right a huge rainbow started to appear, and soon a double rainbow. It was a perfect curve from left to right, not one of those weak sunset you think you caught a glimpse of, no, a huge perfect double rainbow with a dark almost black sky and a golden yellow plain as a backdrop. What a show! I don't think the pictures do it justice, so you will have to trust me, it was breathtaking.
From Etosha we drove a full hot dusty day to Swakopmund on the Atlantic coast. Swakopmund is the place where people go to cool off in the summer, eat calamari and shrimp and try
the occasional adrenaline sports. And we did all of these things. We spent 3 really fun days, we stayed at a hotel that consisted of 10 large wood bungalows on stilts and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Very cool and quiet. You will see on the pictures, Laurent skydived, he loved it and first thing he said when he landed was "I want to do it again!". We rented some quadbikes and went playing in the sand dunes with a guide for a couple hours. Gorgeous setting, nothing but sand and blue sky, huge sand dunes, and lot of fun going up and down and trying steep turns - on a very steep dune I found myself stuck on the crest because it was so sharp and I guess I did not go fast enough...argh!! I was completely stuck and could not move, I was perfectly balanced though...the front and back wheels hanging in the air and the bottom of the bike resting on the crest of the dune. That bike was pretty heavy and right above my front wheels was a super steep dune waiting for me to roll down...The guide came up the dune at full speed, thank god
he had enough power to climb up. Not sure how he did it but a few seconds later I was on my way down. That was fun!
Then the next day was surfing the dunes, and that was even more fun that the quadbiking but a hell of a lot more tiring! Imagine yourself in the middle of the desert, climbing a huge dune for 15 minutes each time with heavy snowboard boots, board under your arm, this is where you learn the meaning of one step forward, two steps back - that is what you do walking up a sand dune, the sand is so fine that your entire boot sinks in and you have to really stay in the footsteps of the person in front of you to minimize your effort. And add to that extreme heat, blinding sand and lots of sand in your eyes, ears, hair, pants and everywhere else! I had never snowboarded before - you know me, bikinis are more my cup of tea - but I managed really well and went down pretty fast without falling too much, Laurent did really well too. We were with a group of 7 other people,
Etosha National Park · Namibia
This was actually a double rainbow at sunset. The angle is too wide to see both. Incredible! Yes, we each made a wish! mostly Americans working for NGOs and on vacation in Namibia. The woman running the sandboarding company was also American, her name is Beth and she is from San Anselmo (CA) and came to Namibia 13 yrs ago on a backpacking trip around the world, and never left. She was very cool and had a cute hairy (and sandy!) dog who followed us all the way to the top of the dune. After the standing up portion we tried laying down on a piece of wood big enough for your body, but knees and elbows bent. We turned to the steeper side of the dune and that was quite scary! The first dune was ok, good practice. But the second one was much longer, much steeper and the record speed to beat was 82 km/hr!! None of the girls in the group went down that second dune, but Laurent insisted so much that I had to gather my courage and go for it (we had helmets on by the way) - So I laid down on my very basic board, grabbed the front and bent it so that I would not eat too much sand, bended my knees so that my
Quadbiking in Swakopmund · Namibia
2 hours in the sand dunes with a 350 cc quad bike. Steep dunes, sharp turns, sand flying everywhere. Loved it!!! boots would not drag too much in the sand (and cause some unwanted zigzaging!) and went for it. Funny thing is that I closed my eyes the first few seconds and quickly realized that I was going to need to open my eyes if I was to finish in one piece. It all went down very very fast and I thought I was not going to be able to stop, but I did eventually, in a big cloud of sand, and checked my speed: 73 km/hr! Yeahh! Faster than Laurent! Must have been the technique (not the eyes closed but the bending of the wood board and elbows up). Now that was really fun. I would totally do it again. If only they can build lifts up those dunes...
From Swakopmund we left the cool breeze of the ocean and headed back into the oven...or hair dryer, really the same feeling! The paved road turned into a gravel road for 200kms, that part was tiring because you have to drive slower and really pay attention and try to stay in the tracks. We arrived in Sesriem in the evening for our first nights of camping. It was pretty funny
Quadbiking in Swakopmund · Namibia
These turns are sharp and you don't want that bike rolling down the dune - trust me! trying to get organized, cook and figure out all of our equipment. That evening the sky was all shimmering and lit with millions of stars. I went to bed with a sore neck from staring up at the stars for almost an hour. I am telling you we are not very skilled at camping and we made a big faux pas and left our trash and some eggs on our table one night. Right around midnight a Jackal (cross between a wolf and a fox) raided our camp, stole a knife (I saw it grab it!), ate all the 6 eggs (left the shells), ripped open and emptied the trash, shuffled through the pots and pans...and Laurent slept through it all. Lucky boy! I wish I had that talent!
In Sesriem we explored the red sand dunes of Sossulvei, they are the highest dunes in the world and their stark striking beauty is amazing. I think this is one of the most beautiful wild landscape I have seen so far. The contrast of the red dunes with the yellow savannah and the dark blue sky is fantastic, especially with the early morning light. Each dune is different from the
The Stiltz Hotel in Swakopmund · Namibia
Very cool hotel, bungalows on stilts, with Atlantic Ocean right at our doorstep. other, it looks like someone took a sharp pencil and drew a perfect edge along each dune. We climbed a few of them but the midday heat quickly caught up with us. The one area called The Dead Pan is at the end of a sandy road only accessible by 4x4 and it's a fantastic sight: a large white pan that is dry when there is no rain with grey/black dead trees and huge red dunes in the backdrop. A photographer's dream!
From Sesriem we continued south towards the coast again and ended in Luderitz and Kolmanskop which are not very touristy at all. These towns were built during the diamond rush in Namibia. The diamond industry is still very important in Namibia and entire towns rely on it completely. Luderitz is a port on the Atlantic side, extremely windy, a bit of a fishing industry which is struggling and a large diamond mine that is the main employer. Luderitz was built by the Germans and the colonial architecture there is very typical and the use of bright colors actually charming and cheerful. Near Luderitz the main attraction is Kolmanskop, a ghost town that used to be a booming
and striving town of 3,000 people, all involved in the diamond business. All the buildings are now in bad shape but you can still get a feel for how people used to live in the middle of the desert that is swept by 80 km/hr winds. Most of the buildings are now collecting huge mounds of sands and that offers really cool pictures! Apparently a brown hyena has established her headquarters in a few of these anbandoned buildings, so we were warned to proceed with caution...Laurent stayed in the car and I ventured out on my own and got some really great shots, looked over my shoulder a few times and quickly headed back to the car. Phew! Please enjoy these shots!
There were some incredible stories during the tour of Kolmanskop: diamonds were so abundants during the 1930s that the workers (all black) simply laid in the sand with a pair of tweezers to collect diamonds. Some were the size of a chicken egg!! They had a cloth strapped over their mouth so that they would not swallow (i.e. steal) diamonds and Kolmanskop had the 1st xray machine in southern africa so that they could monitor the worker's
Sand boarding in Swakopmund · Namibia
1 minute to go down the dune...15 minutes to climb back up the dune...butts and thighs were very firm the next day :) diamond consumption! Another trick used was to shave your head, create little cuts with a knife in your skull, insert little diamonds and wait for your hair to grow back to hide the cuts! Ouch!
Kolmanskop was functionning like a thriving little city, people had ice delivered to their doorstep every day, there was a sausage factory, water was brought by donkey every week from Cape Town (poor animals!), there was a huge dance hall that had all these old faded black and white framed pictures of stiff men in tuxedos and women in evening gowns…If you have seen The Shinning (movie where Jack Nicholson goes crazy) this is exactly what this dance hall reminded me of…creepy!
From Luderitz and Kolmanskop it was time to head back to Windhoek, we drove 800 kms in one day and taking turns it was not too bad. It was nice when we stopped though and our last meal was at that great portuguese restaurant. Angola (ex portuguese colony) is just North of Namibia and there were quite a bit of Angolese people eating there.
So, that was Namibia in a nutshell. I really loved it, especially the landscapes and the
Sandboarding in Swakopmund · Namibia
Yes I landed on my butt in case you are wondering :) feeling of endless space and the striking colors and the absolute remoteness and silence. I can;t imagine how LA traffic will feel like for Laurent tomorrow!
Hope you all enjoy the photos. Again, a hard selection to make, we had so many!
I am not sure how much internet access I will have in Ethiopia, I will definitely take many pictures and I hope to come back with great stories and interesting insights.
Thanks for keeping in touch and for staying connected.
Love
Isabelle
Bonjour a tous,
Me voila de retour de Namibie depuis hier soir. Mon frere et moi avons passe deux semaines fantastiques dans un pays d’une beaute etonnante! Ca n’a pas ete de tout repos, 4,000 kms, de longue routes tres droites, chaleur style fournaise, longues journees, nuits chaudes. Mais ca valait tous les efforts car le pays est unique et magnifique. Si vous aimez les grands espaces, les paysages de fin du monde, les petites villes du bout du monde ou on se demande ce que font les gens...ben la Namibie c;est pour vous!
Laurent et moi avons donc roule 4,000 kms du nord au sud du pays. On avait
loue un 4x4, les routes sont en tres bon etat en Namibie et vraiment on peut pas se perdre car il y en a seulement quelques unes et elles sont toutes droites!
Comme vous voyez sur les photos, on a vu de beaux animaux a Etosha Park, une tres grande reserve d'animaux qui se centre autour d'un immense point d'eau. Le premier jour on a vu 6 lions sous un arbre, superbe! on a pu s'approcher de pres et admirer le spectacle. J'ai dit a Laurent qu'il avait drolement de la chance, c'est en effet difficile de voir des lions, et la c;etait son 1er jour en Afrique. Je lui ai dit de faire un voeux! Plusieurs grands troupeaux de zebres et de giraffes nous sont passes devant, tres sympa a observer, beaucoup de poussiere qui vole. La chaleur a Etosha etait vraiment intense, plus de 40 degres, on etait contents de se jeter dans la piscine au lodge dans l'apres midi! Le premier soir on a eu droit a un magnifique double arc en ciel avec grand ciel sombre et au dessous la grande savanne jaune pale qui s'etendait a perte de vue...ca c;est l'Afrique qui fait rever
Sandboarding in Swakopmund · Namibia
Laurent went down at 71 km/hr and i went down at 73 km/hr...nothing to do with weight obviously but all with technique. I give you a hint: elbows up! et les images qu'on a dans la tete avant de partir.
De Etosha on est partis sur la cote Atlantique a Swakopmund, jolie station balneaire ou on mange de bonnes crevettes et calmars et ou on explore les dunes de sable. Vous voyez sur les photos toutes nos activites qui donnent un bon coup d'adrenaline! on a fait les fous et on a bien rigole! Laurent a fait un saut en parachute, il a adore et veut en refaire des que possible. On a fait du surf dans les dunes, creuvant car il fallait 15 minutes a chaque coup pour remonter les dunes. On s'ensile a chaque pas et chaleur plus sable partout (oreilles, yeux) plus planche a porter sous le bras = un sacre parcours de sante! On est aussi descendus a plat sur le ventre sur une planche en bois tres rudimentaire....Je suis descendue a 73 km//hr!! J'ai eu un peu la petoche et j'avoue que les premieres secondes j;ai garde les yeux fermes! J'etais neammoins tres fiere d'avoir battu laurent de 2km/hr et j'ai attribue cette victoire a ma technique des coudes en l'air!
Le clou du voyage pour moi ca a ete les grandes
dunes rouges de Sesriem et Sossulvei. Vous voyez sur les photos les couleurs et la taille de ces dunes. Impressionant et a couper le souffle, vraiment on dirait que notre createur a pris ses plus belles palettes de couleurs et s'en ai donne a coeur joie! Et puis le matin et le soir les ombres et lumieres et couleurs des dunes changent...un paradis pour photographe.
On a campe plusieurs nuits et la encore on a bien rigole, on etait pas si bien organises que ca et il nous a fallu un petit moment pour se familiariser avec notre equipement. Notre rechaud a gas nous a donne du fil a retordre. Le vent rendait la cuisson difficile et un certain plat de pates nous a pris 1 heure a cuire et c’etait pas fameux, heureusement la sauce a bien masque tout ca! Laurent etait pas content, lui qui apprecie la bonne cuisine il etait pas fier de ses pates! Ce soir la un chacal nous a saccage le camp, on a fair la betise de laisser des oeufs dehors et notre poubelle pendue a un arbre. A minuit le chacal a fait apparition et a tout mange, dechire le sac
poubelle, mange le contenu, vole un couteau, gobe les oeufs et renverse les casserolles (quel fracas!)...et rien de tout ca a reveille Laurent…quel bonheur ca doit etre d’avoir un sommeil comme le sien 😊
Un autre coin interessant: Kolmanskop (voir photos), une ancienne ville de mine de diamant abandonnee. Tous les batiments sont a l’abandon et ca se visite…le sable a tout envahit et les monticules de sables s’accumulent dans les coins des pieces. Ca fait de chouettes photos!
Vraiment on a fait un beau voyage et je me rends compte de la chance qu'on a. Ca fait du bien d;etre de retour a Johannesburg, j'ai mes reperes ici, mon hotel, Joseph mon taximan, mon coiffeur, et les gens tres sympas de l'hotel qui eux aussi suivent mon periple!
Je serais demain en Ethiopie. La encore ca va etre unique et je pense fascinant. Il me tarde!
Je suis en pleine forme et continue de m;en mettre plein la vue! J'adore l'Afrique et je me demande si il n'y a pas un futur pour moi ici...
Je vous embrasse tous et vous souhaite de bonnes fetes de fin d'annee.
A bientot
isa
p.s. cliquez
Swakopmund · Namibia
This was after sandboarding - Both pleased with our respective performances sur 'next' apres la derniere photo au bas de la page, il y a une deuxieme page avec le reste des photos 😊
Advertisement
Tot: 0.19s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 18; qc: 90; dbt: 0.1183s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
quesada mad
non-member comment
le dernier blog sur la namibie
plusieurs setois ont du mal à trouver le blog sur la namibie-mon préféré!- il suffit de cliquer sur "next journal" bon surf et pour toi isa bonne route pour l'ethiopie