Travel and Backpacking

Exploring a Different World

The fascinating features of the desert

After a night under the stars, we woke up to the peace and quiet of the desert. Birds are chirping and a light breeze is blowing through the valley. The sun is still behind the mountains protecting us for a bit longer from its unfiltered power.

Grabbing my camera I go for a walk looking for some great objects to capture. A few lone trees, some lush green bushes, and even a flower in full bloom are what I stumble upon.

Putting it in perspective

It seems like these vast plains are empty. No life. No green for the eye. The gravel mixed with sand doesn’t want to provide nutrients to any kind of seeds stuck in the ground.

But if you drop your eyes to the ground and keep focusing you will get to see now and then a tiny plant appearing out of nowhere. It’s a fresh one. Just grown after the other days few raindrops.

When I see some green beauty like this I like to drop my camera on the ground and capture this simple plant in front of what is the rough desert. A plant like this wouldn’t be special in a juicy meadow somewhere else in the world.

But here. Here in the desert, it’s a tiny oasis. I’m wondering when the first herbivore will come past here and devour the delicious food. It won’t take long. I’m convinced.

Lots of animal tracks are leading up the valley.

Flowers of the desert

I’ve written an entire article about this flower and the insects surrounding it. The blossoms so fine like they would have been drawn with a paintbrush. Nature’s paintbrush.

I’ve always been fascinated by the flowers of the desert. They are patient. They can wait for years. As seeds in the sand of the desert. Until one day a few raindrops will fall.

Then they explode. The seeds. They will shoot out of the ground. With lots of lush green leaves and countless blossoms coming up. Within a few days of the rain, they start to bloom. Sucking out all the moisture from the ground. The last bit.

Forming seeds again. And then they die. A slow death. Drying out in the desert sun. Leaving behind a picture of what was once a powerful plant. Now just a history book of it.

The lone trees

Trees in the desert are the best shelter from the midday sun. Shelter for lots of animals trying to escape the brutal heat of the desert.

They might seem like they are not giving a lot of shadow. The lone trees. But they do. They even cool down the air underneath the tree. Remarkably I’ve realized.

These trees don’t grow very tall. But they do get old. Also being able to survive with very little water supply. Some of the trees are exposed. Animals walking by feeding off their bark or breaking off the bark to get to bugs and insects hiding in the tree.

The quiver tree

Leaving the riverbed we decide to drive further east towards a mountain called “Bloedkoppie”. Bloedkoppie (Afrikaans) or Blutkuppe (German) refers to the blood-red color the boulder shines in during sunset.

Just behind Bloedkoppie, a rough terrain begins. Big boulders, small bushes, and a few quiver trees are the features of the landscape. As we pass the turnoff to the campsite and continue driving away from the main road the gravel road gets tougher.

Soon we engage 4x4 and slowly creep over rocks and through soft riverbeds.

Quiver trees are indigenous in southern Africa. The succulent plant grows in full sun needing very little water but requiring well-drained coarse mineral sand to grow in.

Branches of this tree always split up into two new ones. This is how the complex treetop gets created. A very young tree will only have one straight trunk.

Dried up leaves that curl up and fall off the tree eventually are a sign of the tree being underwatered. It’s not fatal for the plant since dropping the leaves is a survival technique but it is a sign of the surrounding being too dry.

Ostriches in the midday sun

As we’re cruising further towards an off-the-beaten campsite (with no facilities) the time is passing and the heat rising. Passing an old dried out riverbed we get surprised by three ostriches.

As always they seem to be the only animals running around at this time of the day. Not being bothered by the heat they cross endless landscapes of nothing and climb rocky mountain ridges that heat up even more from the sun.

The drive

Crossing endless plains and riverbeds, climbing up rocky mountain ridges is where the road is leading us. It’s not a busy road or a well-known one either. It’s far off the main tourist routes and that’s the reason why we chose it.

We’re enjoying the drive through the rough terrain with challenging turns and twists. Getting closer to the big boulders we reach the end of this road. These campsites are our destination.

The rock arch

I think there’s a place called rock arch in every corner of the world. I know already three places only in Namibia having famous rock arches. But this is one I haven’t been to before.

We’re driving around the boulders looking for the best place to set up our camp. Eventually deciding to set up the gazebo on the side towards the setting sun and make our bed in the hidden cave of the rock arch.

With a view onto the open plains, we settle down and embrace the wind blowing through the open space. Despite other people occupying some of the campsites, nobody is to be seen. The campsites are far apart and out of sight from each other.

The sunset

Towards the evening the temperatures drop and the horizon turns into a flaming wall of fire. Photographs can’t capture the beauty of a sky changing colors during the twilight of the day.

It’s the sounds you hear. The gentle wind blowing through your hair. The smell of the dusty desert. And the eye that takes in all the beauty of this moment. It’s a lot more than just watching the sun disappear behind the mountains.

It’s meditating. Sometimes even like therapy. Sitting on top of a rock watching this scene. Living the moment. Letting the thoughts go wild. Dreaming about catching this experience and saving it for eternity.

The night under the stars

I’ve definitely taken better shots of the sky before. But they are never the same. I had to wait until past midnight to see the milky way. The moon was just too bright. Only once the moon had set the brightness of the stars came up.

Lying under the arch looking up at the sky I started to count satellites and shooting stars and dreamt of places far away.

The next morning

The morning following this peaceful night in the middle of nowhere started chillily. The wind never died entirely during the night but it calmed down a lot.

As I open my sleepy eyes this colorful festival opens up in front of me. The sunrise. Forcing myself to sit up in bed (that’s what I call the place I sleep wherever I place my mattress in the wild) and grab the camera.

Not a bad way to start the day.

This has been a full day out in the wild. Surrounded by the sounds of the desert and the heat of the African sun. A life a lot more basic. A life filled with happiness and smiles.

“The desert tells a different story every time one ventures on it.” — Robert Edison Fulton

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Anne Bonfert is a traveler. Photographer. Writer. Teacher. Skydiving instructor. Adventure enthusiast. Nature lover. And fell in love with the African continent.

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