Geology and Native Rock Art - Our Next Days in Namibia

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Leaving Etosha we traveled over "SSSSS" roads for most of the way down to Brandberg.  "S" is code for a dirt road, and the more S's the rougher the ride.  So far since leaving Tanzania, the roads in Africa have been great...all paved, few potholes, etc.  The best roads by far were in Zimbabwe.  Great infrastructure for a country that is so economically challenged.  It was about a four-hour drive continuing deeper into the desert; less and less trees, more and more rocks and sand.  The Brandberg Mountains rise out of the desert floor abruptly.  They are the highest in the country and quick imposing.  The mountains are actually a single super-volcano, zillions of years old.  From space the picture below shows the real aspect of this wonder.  The "mountins are the bown circle with the red marker below.  The area is about 40 miles in diameter.

Looks like a regular mountain range as we approached from the north.

 

At the edge of the mountain base lay the Brandberg White Lady Lodge and this is where we set up camp for the night.

 Nice cactus gardens and pool.  The campsite was in the trees to the back.

It was hot...but then it was the desert.  The lodge, a kilometer from the campsite offered a nice bar, wifi, and a pool.  We had the afternoon free, meeting up again around 4PM to walk to the rock art...the purpose for our visit.  Andrea, Kathryn and I chose to hang back at camp and not endure the 2 KM walk to the from the site.  It was a good thing, because it ended up being a 5 KM walk in 100+ heat and bright sun.  Here's what Bobbie saw at the site.

A long, hot hike through a dry river bed to the protected rock alcove with the paintings.

The night was pleasant, with a great dinner and a campfire chat.  We woke early and packed up for our drive on to the coast with a stop at another rock art site.  This time we visited another impressive formation call Spitzkoope.  From the distance, the moutain looked like a tall pinnacle.  Once there it was even more impressive.


Arriving in Swakopmund...say that with a mouthfull of marbles...we discovered a modern seacoast town, busy from the surrounding mining, oil drilling, and industrial sites.  The town is over 100 years old, but it looked like it has been all built in the last twenty years with modern commercial and residential buildings.  We checked into a very nice, local hotel for two nights.  Ah...a real bed.

The next day was free was we booked a three-hour quad-bike ride into the dunes.  That was great fun riding wild up and down some pretty high slopes.  We were all experienced enough that our guide took us on some pretty excitin...and a bit scary...routes.  The whole adventure cost us $40 apiece.  We would never have been able to get this daring in the US...and certainly not for that price.

Later that day Andi joined us for a movie.  We saw a sci-fi flix by Brad Pitt.  It was a good escape from the day and a nice theater.  Later that evening we shopped at the supermarket deli and enjoyed a lazy dinner and some TV in our room.

Up really early, we departed the coast and headed south through the dunes and then east and inland into the Namib Desert.