Lilly Pan near Maltahohe - Rain brings life to a salt pan!

Namibia is home to the desert and arid places, the land is barron after the winter as drought sets in. A salt pan near Matahohe named Lilly Pan once more lives up to its name. Normally there is nothing to see, but once in 10 years the rains fall just right and Lilly Pan comes alive!

It might be a odd thing for most travelers from Europe, but to us Namibians, rain is celibrated and prayed for, every drop is measured and to see water in the rivers and pans, a delight that is impossible to put into words. Its what is rare to us and perhaps from the travellers view, the vast difference between a world of green and water in Europe to a dry desert.

Dont miss your chance to see a once in a live time evnt like Lily Pan coming to life!

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Photo by: Dirk Heinrich

Hoba Meteorite - bigger than you imagined

Have you ever went camping and looked up the night sky with all its stars and all of a sudden you see a bright strip shoot across and vanishing? Most meteorites never make it to impact, they travel so fast that they burn up in the atmosphere. Scientists recon that the Hoba Meteorite did infact reach or rather slowed down all the way to terminal velocity on impact and is why there is no crater. It remains a curiouslity that its shape is so vastly different to other meteorites found thus far.

The owner of the farm at the time in 1920, Mr. Jacobus Hermanus Brits, encountered the object while ploughing one of his fields with an ox. During this task, he heard a loud metallic scratching sound and the plough came to an abrupt halt. The obstruction was excavated, identified as a meteorite and described by Mr. Brits, whose report was published in 1920 and can be viewed at the Grootfontein Museum in Namibia.

It roughly weighs 60 tons . he meteorite is composed of about 84% iron and 16% nickel, with traces of cobalt. It is the most massive naturally occurring piece of iron known on Earth's surface. The Name is dirived from the farms name, "Hoba West"

Want to see the outer eartly Hoba Meteorite?
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Photo by: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PIxjQhULvrY/maxresdefault.jpg

Ongongo Hot Springs - An oasis in Kaokoland

A short distance from Sesfontein is this little jewel for the road worn traveller in the midst of their trip on roads less traveled. It is remote enought that most Namibians would not be familiar with it. In years past places like this were just there, undeveloped, unknown. Today Namibia has a strong community driven nature concervancy programm, as a result today there is a campsite and facilities and the place is well kept, travelers enjoy some comforts and in doing so they help uplift the comunities in these remote parts and aid in making the conservation of the enviroment possible. With the country being as large as it is and being the second most sparesly populated country in the world, Namibia has many note worthy landmarks located in far of remote corners that unfortunatly only a few get to see, this is one of them.

Want to take a dive in Ongongo Hot Springs?

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Photo by:https://www.umfulana.de/img/w692-h461-c692x461/806309.jpg

Messum Crator - life in the harshest of conditions

Messum in the photo is the formation toward the bottom left with Bradberg, the highest mountain in Namibia, some 30km away. During about 1850 a British merchant ship under Captain William Messum visited Cape Cross. Captain Messum was in search of commercial opportunities along the Namib coast and spent a few weeks exploring the hinterland, probably up to the Brandberg area. He humbly named the dry river course and the mountains after himself. 

During the years just before their epic escape into the Namib during WWII, the German geologists Dr Henno Martin and Dr Hermann Korn (“The Sheltering Desert” – “Wenn es Krieg gibt, gehn wir in die Wüste”) spent some time investigating the “Messum Igneous complex in SWA” situated to the south of the Messum river, west of the Brandberg massif. They first recognized the crater structure (1936/7) and coined the name ‘Messum Crater’. It was not actually named by Captain Messum. It is also very unlikely that Captain Messum himself was ever inside the crater. However it has since come to light that Messum is in fact not a crator, it is a colapesed volcano that had much to do with the seperation of Africa and South America from the former super continent.

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Photo by: Google Earth

Sesriem Canyon - A geological wonder!

Sesriem canyon on the Tsauchab river. Named by Afrikaaner settlers who needed six lenths of leather riem made of oxen skins tied together to draw water with a bucket. It is a natural canyon carved by water through the ages through layer apon layer of sediment deposits which eventually when deep enough were turned to stone which now form the walls of the canyon. Its a short pleasant walk come afternoon after visiting Sossus Vlei, a truely unique geological formation.

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Photo by: http://s5.media-cdn.de/…/3/20…/03/NAM_2011_1JEH_1243_5d2.jpg

Climbing Big Daddy Dune - Worth while memories often come with a little effort

Namibia is host to the largest dunes in the world, perhaps the most well know one is Big Daddy next to Dead Vlei. Despite not being the tallest dune in the world, which honours goes to Dune 7 outside Walvis Bay at 383m, this little guy goes up 325m. It is difficult for most whom have not climbed dunes to comprehend the feat, but for those familiar in its ways will well know, for every two step you make forward you sink 1 step back as the sand breaks away under foot.

The view from ontop is fantastic, the rest after the climb even more so. Running down the side of this dune into Dead Vlei is really something neat, the sand makes a most curious noise as your feet plunge in and "whoooop whooop" as they come out. It is a most memorable activity. To climb you must not tarry, get there as soon as possible and climb whilst the sand is cool, come to late and it will prove most unpleasant as the sand can get very hot. Take enough water and remember to catch your breath, its not a race so slow and steady works just fine. A hat is a must. Photos dont really do the experience justice, you dont get nearly the idea of the scale. The tree in Dead Vlei are mere specs from above and walking back across the pan really hits home the scale of it all. A total must see!

Want to see the Dead Vlei of the Namib?
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Photo by: http://www.static-18.themodernnomad.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Sossuvlei-008.jpg

Dead Vlei - A place like no other

The Tsougab river use to flow through there but a dune cut it off in a dry spell some 800 years ago by the scientist's measure and hence all the Camel Thorn trees died which at the time of their death were already roughly 300 years old. Visitors to the Dead Vlei can walk amongst these millenium old trees in a vast clay pan and perhaps if they are keen to climb the massive dune "Big Daddy" that forms its one side.

Want to see the Dead Vlei of the Namib?
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Photo by: http://whenonearth.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/deadvlei-namibia-woe1.jpg