Finding Shelter in the Desert

A day spent in Africa's wilderness

Sitting on top of the mountain looking at the sun setting, I feel the wind blowing over the mountain ranges. Birds are singing. What a peaceful way to end a day in the desert.

This morning we packed our car with camping equipment and food for three days. We’re ready for an adventure. A quick escape into the wild. Into Africa’s wilderness. To disconnect from civilization and connect with nature.

It would be our first trip with the new car. A good time to test its abilities and find out which parts need to get fixed. With lots of gear and even more water, we are prepared for the rough desert.

Our playground: The riverbed

Living for several years in the Namib desert we made this dried-out riverbed into our playground. Birthday parties, climbing trips, and slow cruises up the valley have been what we loved doing in it.

Most people seem to be busy with the Christmas preparations and so we just take one of our friends with us on the trip. The three of us are finally entering the riverbed in an area we haven’t been to before.

High mountains to both of our sides and thick sand underneath the tires are the beginning of the adventure.

Wildlife

While slowly cruising upriver we keep our eyes open for any movements in the thin bushes of the valley. These high cliffs are a sign of it being leopard territory. But this is not the time to spot them. Animals will be hiding in the shade somewhere.

Despite it being midday and the heat reaching its highest level we get to see one. An ostrich. An ostrich is appearing out of a side valley running now down the riverbed.

The only animals I ever see and always see at this time of the day in the desert are ostriches. I don’t know why they don’t just hide from the midday heat like all the other wildlife. But I’m happy about it. I still get excited about seeing them despite having spotted them countless times before.

As the sun is over the peak and the shadows start getting longer I spot an antelope far in the distance. Where the bushes get thicker and shade isn’t far, a young male Kudu stands still.

Not for long though. As I am trying to point it out to the other two, it jumps off and disappears in the bush. Yet I was lucky enough to get to see the antelope and even get a shot from it. A blurry one. But it’s clear to be recognized as what it is.

Cruising through the bush

As the mountains come closer to each other and the valley gets more narrow by the minute it becomes more challenging. The driving. This is where the water shoots through when the river comes down once in a few years.

Trying to avoid getting too many scratches on the car we decide this is enough and look for a place to turn around. But before making our way back down the river we stop and get out.

Walking through the bush feeling the strength of the sun burning on our skin. The desert sun is brutal. Not to be underestimated and as far as possible avoided during the hottest times of the day. Simply too dangerous for our white skin. Or any skin in general.

This is the time where not only animals hide in the shade but locals too.

After finding random palm trees planted by humans in the middle of nowhere and passing a few bore-holes we decide to walk back to the car.

Birds are circling above our heads. Happily chirping and singing in the bushes all around us. This is heaven for them. So much food and nesting ground in a harsh area of the planet.

I didn’t see him. The weaver. But I spotted his nest. Sticking far out of the tree hanging off one of the longest branches all around. What a beautiful construction this nest is.

The dolerite

A characteristic feature of these mountains is the line of dolerite sticking out in between the softer and lighter granite rock. Since this rock weathers slower than its surrounding rock it ends up sticking out of the landscape.

These ridges of dolerite snaking across the mountains are to be found throughout the length of this riverbed.

The hidden oasis

On our search for a place for the night, we drove up this side valley when I spotted some wet ground further up. Stopping the car and starting to walk to explore what’s up there I see the high reeds in the distance.

A weird sighting for this place. Reeds are a sign of lots of water. Usually to be found in dips of the landscape. But not high up in a side valley. Where water would usually get collected, run through but never end up staying.

Countless footprints created by wildlife when the ground was wet are what is left of what once must have been an oasis in the desert. Walking through the dried-up mud I start to imagine all that plentiful life that has been happening here.

As I inspect the area I get to see much salt. Salt that stayed behind after the remaining water had been evaporated. Which is a sign this water must have been very salty. But apparently not too salty for animals to drink from.

I’m not a specialist or a scientist. But I’m enjoying walking on nature’s history trying to figure out what happened here days, weeks, or months ago.

Bones left behind on the edges of the mud and locked in between the salty ground are a sign that this was not only a place to relax and refresh yourself. Predators must have been aware of this spring as well and were watching the animals walking in here.

I’m sure those bones are leftover from a leopard attack. No other predators living in this area would be able to take down such a big animal. It might have been a Kudu. But I’m not sure.

Continuing to walk around in this mysterious place I find some puddles. Marked by a white line of remaining salt on the sides of it. The plants don’t seem to mind the salty ground. Judging by the thickness of their growth.

Just like plants adapt to incredibly harsh living conditions animals do too. While I do know that antelopes need salt too and often lick on salty rocks they might be able to drink this water and be just fine.

All I know is that we humans would dehydrate when drinking this.

I climb a bit higher to inspect the long reeds but turn around soon after. There’s no going through those reeds and it might be dangerous too. It can be very muddy in between them and nobody knows what hides in there.

Since the sun is starting to feel unpleasant I follow the water line back down. What an amazing discovery this has been. I’ve never seen anything like this up here. I’ve seen the river flowing before and I’ve seen nature starting to explode after the rain. But I’ve never seen such dried out mud puddles covered in salty crests.

The wildlife highway

Throughout the riverbed and the surrounding hills, lots of animal tracks are to be seen. My partner being often able to recognize them, he sometimes finds fresh trails of predators or an antelope that just passed here a few hours ago.

On the sides of the mountains and in the side valleys we found several well walked paths in and out of the riverbed. Animals seem to like well-walked paths just as much as humans.

And that is how wildlife highways get created. By animals walking, again and again, the same trail.

Finding shelter

On our search for a place for the night, one of the criteria we were looking for is a place protected from the wind. The wind has been pumping all afternoon and can get quite unpleasant during the night.

Funneling through the mountains it picks up in narrow areas of the valley. We explore other valleys and both sides of the riverbed. Getting out of the car and walking around to feel the wind.

Eventually, we find our spot. It’s an open side valley with a few lone trees in it. But somehow not as affected by the wind as the other spots we tried out before.

Parking next to one of those lone trees we pack out the chairs and our table and let the day sink in. What an interesting experience it has been exploring an area we thought we know so well yet still being surprised by it.

Sunset over the hills

While the boys are chatting by the fire I take my camera and go for a walk. On the search for a great spot to watch the sunset, I embrace being alone in this peaceful landscape.

The sun is creating a lovely scene over the hills. The wind died down remarkably and we might have been fine anywhere we wanted to set up camp. But we’re happy with our spot.

I sit down on top of the mountain ridge. With the face towards the sun, I feel the warmth on my skin while a light breeze is blowing. Birds are filling the air with songs and different melodies.

Silence.

Peace.

That’s what I feel. Despite nature’s sound I still feel the silence. No sign of civilization to be heard. No city noise. No cars or airplanes. I don’t even hear anyone talking. That’s how peaceful it is.

The peace of the desert.

The night

As the night falls in it gets all of a sudden dark. Not too dark. The moon is to be seen just above the horizon giving just enough light off not to need a torch. But it gets chilly. The cold of the desert nights.

Only when the moon sets, you get to see the real magic. The magic of the African sky at the night. A sky filled with stars.

This is my favorite part of spending a night out in the desert. Watching stars in the sky and counting shooting stars. Taking pictures of the beauty at night and spending some time by myself.

Walking off with my camera and a blanket to escape the light of the fire I find the right settings on my camera capturing photographs at night.

“When you’re in the desert, you look into infinity. It makes you feel terribly small, and also in a strange way, quite big.” — David Lean

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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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