Namibia (1)

After an hour spent at the border, here we are in Namibia, with a first stop at the Fish River Canyon, the largest one in Africa. It features a gigantic ravine, in total about 160 km long, up to 27 km wide and in places almost 550 meters deep.

 

This is the campground for tonight, where I almost lost my camera, after stumbling into acacias.

First flat tyre of the trip:

After hours of dirt road, we eventually enter the Namib desert and its famous dunes:

For sure, the best way to discover the landscape is to climb the dunes at the sunset or sunrise, which also keeps you safe from the temperature which grows amazingly quickly.

 

 

If one day you visit Namibia and look for a good dessert, don't worry, the German tradition is still present, and you will find very decent apfelstrudel, as we did in Solitaire.

Second flat tyre of the trip (I'd rather stay exploded tyre than flat, there is no chance to be able to repair this one...), roads are deadly here, even if you don't drive into elephant droppings, which are known to be full of long thorns.

When we reach the Atlantic Coast, we are greated by hundreds of flamingos, pelicans and spoonbills, in Walvis Bay.

Another way to discover the dunes is by plane, from Swakopmund:

Sea lions having a rest on the beach:

Ship wrecks:

A lot more flamingos:

And the townships "match boxes":

Swakopmund was founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South West Africa, and a small part of its population is still German-speaking today.

 

It looks like they found a better way to protect the shops from the thieves, no need for CCTV here...

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South Africa

Hello!

So happy to come back to Cape Town, 10 years after my first trip to South Africa.
So many good memories here, it is hard to believe that it's been such a long time...

The Waterfront is still there, with the Table Mountain in the background:

10 years ago, the same picture was taken in Cape of Good Hope, but with 20 intruders, this time it was a lot more quiet.

Around the peninsula, ostriches, penguins an dplenty of other birds:

Back in Cape Town, I head to the Aquarium, in order to see the rays and jellyfishes

But enough of Cape Town, let's start the real trip, around Austral Africa.

Let me tell you the story of One-Eyed Wahid, who travelled thousands of miles away from home, and crossed 4 different countries with a wise baboon, a gathering camel, the yin-yang twins and a whole caravan, looking for the hidden desert flowers, for the mythical blaireaunus pillonus africanus and, more than anything else, for the queen of all animals, because she was the key which would allow the White Sherpa to find his way back home.
During their adventures, they will have to override the spell which was thrown upon them, damaging the caravan and making things disappear day after day.

Quests and initiatic questions will have to be answered:
- can the Vermouth, and the power of the vouvou and the vasy-vasy heal the poisonous Michelle?
- how can you carry a mouse heavier than you on the top of a tree?
- when is the next bloody train?
- which is the maximum quantity of sand you can accumulate in your shoes in a one-hour walk?
- which is the most stupid animal on earth?
- can you use a magic broom to defend your tribe against the attack of crazy monkeys?
- how many mongooses does it take to invade a camp site?

Let's start with a night spent in a vineyard, which makes things very easy, as you can crawl to your sleeping bag after tasting all of them ;-)

At the end of August, this is what Namaqualand is supposed to look like:

But this is what we are going to get, desperately looking for a couple of flowers on the side of the road....

And this is the best I can offer to you in this blog:

Going up North, the next night is going is to be spent at Augrabies Falls, with its dozens of hyraxes:

And then, on the border with Botswana, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park