The Namib Desert in Namibia, found in Namib Naukluft Park.

SPRITED PURSUIT

February 17, 2017

NAMIB DUNES

by Lee Litumbe in My Travels

Since returning from my travels through Namibia with my sister (read full recaps here and here), I must confess I've been more than a little anxious. Anxious because I've been unsure whether any words I use to describe my experience would do the staggering beauty that exists within the country any justice. Take Sossusvlei, for instance. Said to be home of the world's tallest dunes, Sossusvlei houses "Big Daddy", a dune which boasts a height of 325 meters and is situated in Namib-Naukluft National Park (the largest game park in Africa). What words could I possibly conjure up to adequately describe this spectacular natural world wonder? I'm still not sure I'm up to the task.

After interviewing Scott, it was easy to conclude that no trip to Sossusvlei is complete without climbing some dunes and visiting Deadvlei. I then spent an endless amount of hours researching where to stay, what to pack, and any general advice I could find on the area. My research paid off, and I was able to get solid tips from various forums advising that we arrive at the park gates by sunrise and bring a small lunch (loads of water included, of course). I felt prepared.

However, as with any great destination, absolutely nothing could have prepared me for the astoundingly beautiful landscape that awaited me.

Our long drive into the park alone was a visual masterpiece as soft pinkish blue skies, delicate bits of fog, and mountainous landscapes surrounded us. What was perhaps the most charming part of the ride in though, was watching herds of oryx cross the gravel road ahead of us as we patiently gave them way. Admiring all the springbok grazing lazily and ostrich running rampant in the horizon were also major highlights I felt privileged to see. Since we decided on a self-drive instead of a traditional guided tour (well, Thomas our insanely resourceful, insightful, and hilarious driver did all the driving), we were able to freely stop and hop out of our car to take pictures and witness everything unfold with ease. I eventually had to curb my urges to make frequent stops for the sake of photos and instead simply take in the serenity of the scenery we were encompassed in. As a photographer (albeit an amateur one), I'm still learning how to identify when best to fully live in and experience a moment versus disrupt it by capturing it.

Every reviewer and local recommends sunrise as the best time to witness the starkly beautiful changes created to the landscape once its hit with slow rising sunlight, so it was a race against the clock to arrive at our first dune upon arrival in the park. All the stops we made driving in almost came back to haunt us, but we were lucky to breeze through to Dune 45 in good time since there was no traffic at the gate. Once there, it became apparent why arriving on time is paramount. I watched in awe as the sand changed from standard browns to rich and vivid reds, with dramatic shadows cast against the side of each dune. It was difficult not to be rendered speechless after witnessing such a rare and spectacular occurrence. Nature has a funny way of reminding you just how small yet significant we all are in the grand scheme of things.

http://www.spiritedpursui...amib-dunes

The trees in Deadvlei under the Milky Way

Milky Way over Deadvlei in Namibia
Image Credit & Copyright: Stefan Liebermann Explanation: What planet is this? It is the only planet currently known to have trees. The trees in Deadvlei, though, have been dead for over 500 years. Located in Namib-Naukluft Park in Namibia (Earth), saplings grew after rainfall caused a local river to overflow, but died after sand dunes shifted to section off the river. High above and far in the distance, the band of our Milky Way Galaxy forms an arch over a large stalk in this well-timed composite image, taken last month. The soil of white clay appears to glow by reflected starlight. Rising on the left, under the Milky Way's arch, is a band of zodiacal light -- sunlight reflected by dust orbiting in the inner Solar System. On the right, just above one of Earth's larger sand dunes, an astute eye can find the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our galaxy. Finding the Small Magellanic Cloud in the featured image, though, is perhaps too hard.

[Edited 5/20/19 7:12am]

Lüderitz, Namibia

In Lüderitz, the German influence still breathes through the Namibian town's Art Nouveau Bavarian buildings. Once a lucrative diamond mining town and well-positioned port, it retains an air of the surreal due to its desert connections and architecture. It's not unusual to run into a feathery or seaborne resident while in Lüderitz: flamingos, seals, penguins and ostriches are among its diverse wildlife.

the Skeleton Coast to see shipwrecks. Photo by Dana

Canyon Roadhouse Namibia

Namibia Luxury Safari Deadvlei, Sossusvlei.

Australian photographer Leah Kennedy captured Namibia's colorful, dry topography on a recent aerial safari. Much of the artist's work is aerial, which satisfies her creative affinity for combining abstraction and duality in her photography. Kennedy traveled in a Cessna light aircraft, as well as in a helicopter sans doors, using a medium format camera. She shares with Colossal, "The resulting images are, at least temporarily, removed from their reality they take on different forms and in some cases appear to be of microscopic origins or reminiscent of something else entirely. This ambiguity and departure from reality is what intrigues and inspires my work."

In addition to her fine art portfolio, Kennedy teaches workshops and offers tutorials on photography and Photoshop. You can see more of her site-specific series and purchase prints of select photographs on Kennedy's website, and follow her work and travels on Instagram.

Namibia capital Windhoek

Skeleton Coast, Namibia

This no man's land located along the Atlantic coast of Namibia has been given many names – all describing its inhospitable and deadly nature. While the native Namibians called it "The Land God Made in Anger" and Portuguese sailors, "The Gates of Hell", the extreme piece of land is now mostly referred to as the Skeleton Coast. Whale skeletons are scattered all over the area alongside numerous rusty shipwrecks.

Namibia's president wants to expropriate land from whites

Hage Geingob said his government would take steps like South Africa to redistribute land to dispossessed Namibians. But politicians and NGOs have criticized his approach, saying that the wrong people are involved.

https://www.dw.com/en/nam...a-45719781

Namibian President Hage Geingob on Monday said he will push forward with expropriating land and redistributing it to the majority black population in the country.

"Many Namibians were driven off their productive land," said Geingob during his opening speech at a national land policy conference in the capital Windhoek. During his speech, he pointed to similar proposals made by South Africa's government.

"We also share a burning land issue and a racialized distribution of land resources with South Africa," Geingob said. "This comes from a common history of colonial dispossession. What we also agree to is that the status quo will not be allowed to continue."

Read more: Namibia facing financial ruin

'Just compensation'

The Namibian government is hoping to transfer nearly half of its arable agricultural land, about 15 million hectares (58,000 square miles), to disadvantaged blacks in the country.

Geingob said the government would look at constitutional provisions "which allow for the expropriation of land with just compensation, as opposed to fair compensation, and look at foreign ownership of land, especially absentee land owners."

Read more: South Africa debates land expropriation

Two former presidents at the conference, Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba, said the government should only pay "for things like equipment on the farm and not the land," said AFP news agency correspondent Shinovene Consagrado.

Shinovene Consagrado Immanuel @ShinOvene

Just to clarify. Sam Nujoma and Pohamba said the government should expropriate the farms from absentee landlords by paying "just compensation" for things like equipment on the farm and not for the land.

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