Namibia 2014

Saturday11October

We continue our ascent north. We are now in the heart of Kaokoland.

Cattle roam the paths alongside the track. These are Nguni or Sanga cows (Bos taurus).

This campsite is difficult to access, and one must take pseudo-stony paths leading all the way up the hilly terrain.

The site belongs to a Namibian of German origin who operates a small copper mine.

The different pitches overlook the entire landscape. And we were spoiled for choice because we were all alone!

Small aperitif with a Namibian culinary essential: biltong, slightly vinegared dried meat pieces. You can choose between beef, kudu, ostrich, etc.

Here, no electricity or hot water... You have to heat the water and place the buckets at the top of the showers... As the ambient temperature is high, a simple exposure of the buckets to the sun will do... But that's without counting the red-shouldered glossy-starlings (Lamprotornis nitens) who quench their thirst in this artificial source that providence offers them...

The artisanal shower with a stone wall simply held by a wire mesh.

We could also have used the water heater with a small fire...

We go back down because the managers offered us a small excursion to the mines. Monteiro's hornbills (Tockus monteiri) also enjoy the owners' hospitality.

While waiting for the excursion, a plate of rice is made available to the hornbills... The birds with large red beaks are apparently used to the small evening ritual...

And this hornbill goes to get rice for his friend who is waiting at the very end of the railing!

Not easy with that big beak, but not a grain of rice will escape its gullet...

Another glossy-starling. Its piercing orange eye doesn't miss a thing.

And off we go to the mines!

It is with his Tyrolean hat that Marius Steiner himself, owner of the premises, takes us down to the small copper mines.

The extraction concerns copper (matte green) and dioptase (bright and transparent green).

Marius then puts torches in our hands and tells us "go on, go inside"!...   We comply and rush into the dark gallery... And quickly, we realize that we are not alone, here there are no minerals to see but lots of bats!  

There are dozens of them and they immediately start flying away! Our paths cross, and fortunately no impact to report!  

To end the day, we go back up to the camp and climb all the way to the top where a platform overlooks the valley and allows us to enjoy the superb sunset...

Full zoom on the sun, we can even distinguish a sunspot. This small black dot is an area of the Sun where the temperature is much lower and the magnetic activity much stronger...

Another clear sky. Impossible to resist the urge to photograph our Milky Way and its more than 200 billion stars...

Sunday12October

We pack up and take the bumpy road again to leave Aussicht campsite.

Small photo stop in front of termite mounds...

Here we are in the "big" city of northern Namibia. It's in this part of the country that we encounter small ethnic groups like the Himbas and Hereros.

The Himbas, who live in small isolated villages, occasionally come to the town's shops to stock up.

Some other Himbas have abandoned traditional huts in favor of much more modern constructions...

A Himba village on the road that takes us to our next destination, Epupa Falls.

There. Our ascent north ends here because we are simply at the border with Angola. Indeed, the bank facing us is Angolan... And it is here, on the Namibian bank, that the Omarunga campsite of Epupa Falls has set up. The place is known for its waterfalls which are located just about fifty meters to our left...

On the menu tonight: grilled meat and its potato!