Asterix goes to Namibia

[asterixsg]

Lovely shot! perfect if looking your way. Keep it coming!

Yeah, but certain models are not in our control and have a mind of their own

Loving the series so far, a few questions:
What was the woman trying to sell as a souvenir anyway? Looks like a quartz crystal ... or rock sugar?
Tracked the elephants on foot? If so, stayed a distance away? (and watch out there on the ground? must be huge! )
They do/can get aggressive don't they? I laughed at the description of the guides, reminded me of spaghetti Western native american trackers and guides
Was language ever a problem?
Found myself going hey kitty kitty at 54. What ominous, it's sooo cute! :bsmilie:

OK, she wasn't selling rock sugar - though being the dumbass that I am, I couldn't probably have distinguished between quartz crystal and rock sugar :bsmilie:

She had a plate of different coloured and sized stones. All over Damaraland and Kaokoland, you will find these people on the roadside selling such stuff in makeshift stalls and waving at you to stop as you drive past.

I was warned by Marius (the guy who runs Camp Aussicht yada yada yada...) not to stop at such makeshift stalls. He told me that some of the Himbas (and Hereros too - but what can I tell the difference between the two) would get upset if you didnt buy any of these souvenirs and throw stones (not the precious ones, of course) at your car...

No, we tracked the elephants in my 4WD. As the guide was driving in a low gear and going through thick bushes etc, I was praying hard. I guess God must've heard my prayers because thankfully, nothing happened to the car nor did I pick up another puncture...
And oh yeah, we stayed quite a distance from the desert elephants, probably a good 200-300m away...

Language in Namibia was never a problem. I was quite surprised at the extent to which English was spoken everywhere. Except the Himbas, everyone spoke quite decent English.

You should go for that Cheetah tour. I didn't feel 'hey kitty kitty' even with the "tame" ones

 

[asterixsg]

58. Enigma

A Himba girl gives me that half amused, half enigmatic look...

59. Bloodbath...

Reminds me of one of those hilarious jokes that Herman (our driver and guide during the Sandwich Harbour tour) let out during our tour. Herman is a class act and we were so fortunate to have him as our driver. It was non-stop laughter all the way...

Sorry for that aside. This is actually a salt evaporation pond...

 

[edutilos-]

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6193/6155143909_840942b019_b.jpg

Almost like a little kitty cat. Though we know it's not. :bsmilie:

 

[asterixsg]

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6193/6155143909_840942b019_b.jpg

Almost like a little kitty cat. Though we know it's not. :bsmilie:

I know all you hello kitty lovers would be raring to pamper the cheetahs

 

[asterixsg]

I guess no one is interested in knowing what causes the salt evaporation pond to get that colour. Or you already know...

60. Roadblock

Its a common sight in Etosha to see animals crossing the gravel roads. To keep them safe, you got to practice safe driving speeds as well. In Etosha, the animals have right of way. And rightly so

 

[tinydot]

fantastic pictures there...but i think its not wise to travel alone in such an environment, buddy system is your life ticket.

btw not sure if you have shared your lens setup?

 

[Zichar]

Saw quite a few (more pink than blood red like that though, that's quite a brilliant colour) from my trips in Australia
I would assume they're similar - algae that thrives in high salinity and produces carotenoids which accounts for the pigmentation in the lake

 

[asterixsg]

fantastic pictures there...but i think its not wise to travel alone in such an environment, buddy system is your life ticket.

btw not sure if you have shared your lens setup?

Thanks. I think its a personal choice as to travel alone or with a buddy. Of course, it helps to share costs etc. when you go with someone. But I don't think it reduces the risk in any way.
I was very fortunate that I had a very good travel agent. She told me that since I was travelling alone, I should inform her every evening after I would reach my campsite for that night. So sweet of her. It felt comforting to know that someone cared. Not many travel agencies will probably do such a thing. But then this is Namibia where people are really really nice. Three countries that I have visited in this life where I found the people genuinely caring are Myanmar, Iceland and Namibia. And I believe I know the reason why the people are so loving and so pure.

Yeah, even I can't remember if I've shared my lens setup.

Since I was driving and didn't go for any long hikes, and being the kiasu guy that I am, I carried almost all my lenses.
I use a Canon system. I took Canon lenses 17-40mm, 50mm, 24-105mm, 100-400mm. I also took the Samyang 8mm fisheye and 14mm lenses.

Saw quite a few (more pink than blood red like that though, that's quite a brilliant colour) from my trips in Australia
I would assume they're similar - algae that thrives in high salinity and produces carotenoids which accounts for the pigmentation in the lake

Bro, you are genius !!!
I didn't know that this is what gives the flamingoes too the pink colour. See, I told you I am a dumbass...

 

[asterixsg]

I can't have enough of Deadvlei. In fact, I think I can't have enough of Namibia :bsmilie:
Still living on these memories...

61. Deadvlei in all its glory

7 photos shot in portrait orientation, stitched and cropped to 17X6...

62. Life

A tiny plant takes its roots in the dry clay pan. Life thrives even in Deadvlei...

 

[Zichar]

Oh I didn't know that's how flamingos get their colour... guess I'm joining the club
I like the last, nicely spotted.
Speaking of safety, did you carry a weapon with you? Apart from that katana hidden in the center column of your tripod...
But you did sleep out in the open, set up warning traps and such? Me <---- watched a lot of Man vs Wild

 

[asterixsg]

Oh I didn't know that's how flamingos get their colour... guess I'm joining the club
I like the last, nicely spotted.
Speaking of safety, did you carry a weapon with you? Apart from that katana hidden in the center column of your tripod...
But you did sleep out in the open, set up warning traps and such? Me <---- watched a lot of Man vs Wild

Carry a weapon ? No lah. You make it sound so dramatic, what with the katana and all that...

Other than my experience with the imaginary elephants on my first night of camping at Kalahari Anib campsite (which I wrote about earlier...), there was nothing to fear at all...

Other than small animals like jackals and porcupines, no wild animals venture into the campsites (at least I don't think so...), especially the ones maintained by NWR...

I am petrified of snakes, so sleeping in a roof tent was a comforting feeling.

 

[asterixsg]

63. Age

A close up of a "dead" camelthorn tree reveals the 'knots' and 'wrinkles' ...

 

[BrownBoots]

#61 is so beautiful I would expect hordes of tourists swarming there, no?

btw, if snake can climb trees, what is stopping them from climbing up the vehicle to your tent? shivers...

 

[Zichar]

I had imagined you'd have a machete (useful for ... firewood?) or perhaps a general purpose Bowie
I suppose you also had the necessary precautions about food and the camp, much alike sleeping in bear country?
One of these days must treat you lim kopi, can ask you many more questions ... and I won't look like a fool for asking them on an open forum lol
Okay will stop here, don't clutter the thread
I must say that it's great you look at the big <61> and the small <62, 63>
And yes, shivers, they can climb trees

 

[asterixsg]

#61 is so beautiful I would expect hordes of tourists swarming there, no?

btw, if snake can climb trees, what is stopping them from climbing up the vehicle to your tent? shivers...

For all its beauty, I didn't see hordes of tourists in Deadvlei at the times when I was there...

I guess it could be due to several reasons. First of all, the tour groups stay in lodges which are away from the Sesriem campsite. So, they take time to come into the park. Only the die-hard kiasu types like me will take the effort to wake up at 4am and drive to Deadvlei in time for sunrise.

Others would stop at Dune 45 and climb it for sunrise. By the time they get down and drive to Deadvlei, it would probably be around 8 or 9 AM and light would already be quite harsh.

Some others who are short of time wouldn't stop at Deadvlei and instead proceed further to Sossusvlei and climb the dune there...

To get to Deadvlei and Sossusvlei parking areas, you need to have your own 4WD OR take the shuttle service from the 2WD carpark to these places. Some people might not want to pay for that service and are thus happy to stop at Dune 45, which can be reached by a normal 2WD.

To cut a long story short, if you want to shoot Deadvlei minus the people, be there before sunrise and you are guaranteed at least couple of hours of solitude in good light.
But then gotta remember that Mother Nature has a mind of her own

Talking of snakes climbing up the vehicle, I know there are no guarantees in life, but I just felt safer to be on top of a vehicle than on the ground...

I had imagined you'd have a machete (useful for ... firewood?) or perhaps a general purpose Bowie
I suppose you also had the necessary precautions about food and the camp, much alike sleeping in bear country?
One of these days must treat you lim kopi, can ask you many more questions ... and I won't look like a fool for asking them on an open forum lol
Okay will stop here, don't clutter the thread
I must say that it's great you look at the big <61> and the small <62, 63>
And yes, shivers, they can climb trees

The vehicle came with a full camping set which included a gas stove and a full set of cooking utensils, knives, chopping board - the works.

I didn't have to go and look for firewood and strike two rocks to start a fire :sweat:

So, I could do without a machete. It wasn't that "wild" lah :bsmilie:

However, I had to be super organized. A fixed location to keep the matches/lighter, a fixed location to keep the washing liquid/scrub, fixed location for headlamp (very important), after dinner wash up everything, wipe the utensils dry, pack them up and put them and the stove inside the trunk (or boot or hold, whatever you might want to call...) I would never leave any food outside.

The first morning in Kalahari Anib, I was like "damn, where did I keep the matches, where's the coffee (especially when the brain takes time to warm up on a cold morning...) etc. etc.

The good thing is that I had the entire vehicle to myself, so I could spread things around everywhere and after using something, remembered to put them back in place.

Going on a solo camping trip like this takes a lot of discipline (which is very tough for a highly indisciplined guy like me...)

I am always up for a Copi C Kosong :thumbsup:

 

[asterixsg]

64. Swakopmund jetty

Just a record shot of a famous landmark in Swakopmund. There is a restaurant at the end of that jetty, supposedly quite a nice experience to be there at night, but I didn't venture there - not safe to go there alone at night (even though I was assured it was very safe and not to be misled by reports I had heard or read earlier) and not safe for my pocket too :bsmilie:

 

[asterixsg]

65. Long road ahead...

One of the rare occasions when I had a straight, long stretch of bitumen road - on the way from Mariental to Maltahohe...

 

[asterixsg]

66. Deadvlei shrouded in fog...

A rare occasion when you get to see Deadvlei in a different look...

 

[asterixsg]

67. What fun !!!

Baby elephants splash around for some clean fun

68. Free fall

One of the 4WD from our group prepares for a descent down a steep dune...

 

[motionstills]

Absolutely stunning :thumbsup: if you published these photos into a book, please let me know, I want to buy.