African Wings: Part 10: Oranjemund to Parys

AFRICAN WINGS: PART 10: ORANJEMUND TO PARYS

This is the last leg of our journey that takes us home to our hangar in Parys in the Freestate province of South Africa.

“After soaring high above the vast Namibian desert we feel blessed and privileged to be alive. We have seen landscapes that have left us breathless with their beauty, terrified at their expanse and lonely in their isolation.

There is a certain stillness you find deep inside when viewing the wild open places of Africa from above…… herds of buffalo, a lone elephant bull on an endless plain, marching dunes, dancing flamingo, the swirling and meandering Kavango and the icy Atlantic crashing onto inhospitable shores.

 It’s been a journey and an adventure”

We were I suppose in mourning this cold dawn on the Spergebiet. When starting a journey one has space and time stretched out before you; you feel so free.  As it nears an end however, you feel a sense of deep loss for that intangible thing that made you feel so incredibly alive. Thank goodness that the feeling doesn’t last long because you realise that the end of one adventure merely brings the beginning of another.

As we flew home we found ourselves in deep contemplation of what we had just experienced on our journey through the desert kingdom of Namibia. It is with all adventures that the journey happens as much within yourself as it happens outside yourself and that you find yourself irrevocably changed as a person. Albert Schweitzer once said that “as we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible but more mysterious” and in this he is completely right. Having flown through Namibia we find her more mysterious and alluring than ever and realise that we have just scratched the surface in discovering her silent depths.

So it was with a paradoxically heavy heart and lightness of spirit that we took off from Oranjemund and headed east for the Freestate over the magestic Richtersveld and Augrabies falls.

Jan and I like to think of ourselves as adventurers and try to live our lives as freely as possible. Sometimes it is difficult to explain in words how utterly an experience has changed you but a movie that we recently watched really comes close. 180 Degrees South: Conquerors of the Useless  is a story about searching for meaning beyond adventure, and about the importance of fighting to protect natural places.

In the movie they talk about adventure a type of mediation where you get to meet aspects of yourself you normally wouldn’t. In other words its not about conquering the summit its about what you find in yourself while attempting it.

At one point, in reference to the wealthy adventurers that pay Sherpas to drag them up Everest and who pay for helicopters to drop them above the treeline, Chouinard says, “when you compromise the process; you’re an asshole when you start out, and you’re an asshole when you finish.”

Visit http://www.180south.com for more on this fantastic movie

Thank you for flying with us across this vast and magical country and we look forward to taking you with us on future adventures into the heart of Africa

Here are some photos of the scenery across the Richtersveld and Augrabies wilderness areas between Oranjemund and Uppington….

African Wings: Part 9: Luderitz to Oranjemund

AFRICAN WINGS: PART 9: ORANJEMUND

Join us on a 6500km flying adventure through Namibia starting at Rundu on the Angolan border and ending at Oranjemund;  the quirky mining town of the Sperrgebiet

We reached the Luderitz airfield to be treated to a 35km wind that was throwing sand at us in dense sheets. This reduced visibility severely and made us quite uneasy about departing Luderitz.

An pilot experienced in local weather conditions at the airport advised us to take off on a secondary airfield facing into the wind. We were airborne in about 10 meters and banked sharply with the wind. There is nothing like a little adrenaline first thing in the morning to get the blood pumping.

The lonesome shores of the Sperrgebiet

A friend of ours had warned us that the Sperrgebiet flight between Luderitz and Oranjemund is one the loneliest you will ever make and he was so right. The Sperrgebiet is a truly inhospitable coastline that openly exudes hostility. Old abandoned mining villages, factories and ship wrecks dot the coast and only serve to enhance a deep feeling of isolation.

While flying along the Sperrgebiet you can’t help but think how obscene it is that so much land can be owned by one company......

The Sperrgebiet (German, meaning "Prohibited Area") is a diamond mining area which spans the Atlantic Ocean-facing coast from Oranjemund on the border with South Africa, to around 72 km north of Lüderitz - its total area is around 26,000 km² and makes up three percent of Namibia's land mass. Members of the public are banned from entering most of the area.

The diamond industry has been a double-edged sword in the history of the Sperrgebiet mainly due to its exclusion policy; it has left the park both scarred but spared of over-use. Inland, the habitat has remained largely untouched and pristine, but the coastal areas, where the diamonds occur, have suffered considerable damage.

Plum Pudding Island

Situated about 600m off the Sperrgebiet coastline, Plumpudding Island is a tiny island of less than 1 ha. Currently all that inhabits the island are African penguins, Bank Cormorants, Crowned Cormorants, Cape Comorants, Kelp Gulls and Swift Terns. Despite the proximity to Sinclair Island, no seals frequent Plumpudding Island.

Sinclaire Island

Sinclair Island is the southernmost important seabird island in Namibia. Sealing was an important activity on Sinclair Island until the early 1980s. A total of 235 000 seal pups were harvested from the island since the beginning of the 20th century, an average of 3 500 pups per year.

Lukas, whom we had shared oysters with the night before had given us the coordinates of a ship he had lost at sea that had washed up on the forbidden shores of the Sperrgebiet. Nothing that touches these shores is allowed to be recovered and has to be left there – we found Lukas’s ship broken in two on an empty beach

Lukas's ship broken in two on the savage shores of the Sperrgebiet

The air temperature was around 10 degrees and the turbulence was decidedly unpleasant. Needless to say we were very glad to get back onto terra firma at Oranjemund.

Where the mighty Orange River meets the Atlantic

We had to apply for a security clearance for Oranjemund a week or so before our arrival which Tom’s guesthouse arranged for us. As there was no hangar available we tied EZP down on a piece of gravel next to the apron and headed off to the guesthouse. We can completely recommend Tom’s guesthouse; their hospitality is enormous and they really went out of their way to accommodate us.

As we drove into Oranjemund we were greeted by a huge sign stating that “diamond theft benefits nobody” and were then treated to some stories about the numerous and inventive ways people have tried to steal diamonds out of the restricted area including cross bow and carrier pigeon. Our favourite story was of a mine worker that was searched each and every day as he left the forbidden area, the officials were so focused on finding diamonds that they didn’t realise he walked out with a wheelbarrow every day for years.

Oranjemund is a town owned and run entirely by De Beers and has a bit of a big brother feel to it.  All 3000 people living in the town are employed by De Beers, there is no crime, there is no poverty, Oryx walk in the streets and everyone seems very proud to be living there. We had an average lunch alone in the enormous dining hall called the Pink Flamingo which I am sure in its heyday must have been very grand but decided to rather eat dinner back at the guesthouse with some food we bought at Woolworths (yes – incredibly there is a Woolworths in Oranjemund) It was a quirky place to spend an evening, but we enjoyed it thoroughly. For more information on Oranjemund please visit: http://www.oranjemundonline.com/

The next morning the aerie was covered in a thin layer of ice. Unbeknownst to us Jabiru batteries don’t do well in the cold and tend to need a jump start to get going again. The airport officials and Jessie from Tom's guesthouse were exceptionally helpful and seemed to enjoy the unusual sight of a Toyota jump starting an aerie!

Getting a jump-start on the Oranjemund airfield

African Wings: Part 8 - Namibrand to Luderitz

AFRICAN WINGS: PART 8: LUDERITZ

Join us on a 6500km flying adventure through Namibia starting at Rundu on the Angolan border and ending at Oranjemund;  the quirky mining town of the Sperrgebiet

Namibrand has a short sand runway which made us a little nervous so we got to the airfield at dawn, packed our gear and took off in the cool morning air before the desert heat started to build.

Landscapes south of Namibrand

Captivating dunefields south of Namibrand in the Naukluft National Park

Our next destination was Luderitz a small mining town on the edge of the desert. Luderitz is famous for the old abandoned mine buildings of Kolmanskop, the herds of wild desert horses between Luderitz and Aus and of course for its oysters.

If truth be told this was the flight we were dreading. We had heard from many other pilots that what with the strong winds, desert storms, extreme temperatures and coastal fog, one really needs to think twice before landing in Luderitz.

However as luck would have it EZP glided across the desert over endless dune fields and through a perfect break in the coastal fog to land in light and variable wind conditions on the Luderitz airfield. The only thing we weren’t banking on was a serious bout of carb ice as we landed; the aircraft felt like it was going to be shaken apart. This happens when you continuously descend from a high altitude to sea level, and ice forms as a result of sea moisture and a drop in temperature (descending requires low power settings which cools down the engine). The experience reminded us of saying from the Neurotic’s Notebook by Mignon McLaughlin “Whenever we safely land in a plane, we promise God a little something”.

The life giving fog that brings moisture to the many creatures of the desert



The bay of Luderitz

 

The Bay of Luderitz

To give you a little more background on Luderitz; the bay of Luderitz was first discovered in 1488 by the Portuguese seafarer Bartholomeu Diaz who named it Angra Pequeña. Centuries later, in 1883, Adolf Luderitz, a merchant, bought the bay from a Nama chieftain at the time of the Diamond rush.

Adolf Luderitz - the only man that has had a bronze done with his glasses on

The bay of Luderitz

Colourful fishing boats and oyster buoys

Luderitz is a quaint harbour town built on a sparkling harbour filled with brightly coloured fishing boats and oyster buoys. The architecture is predominantly German and oozes a quiet charm that contrasts peculiarly with its arid surrounds. Coffee shops, oyster bars, delicatessens, museums and restaurants make the town a fascinating and gastronomically pleasing visit.

The Luderitz skyline

The old Lutheran church Felsenkirche

The hospitality of Namibians never ceases to amaze us and in Luderitz we weren’t disappointed. We met a fantastic couple who gave us a guided tour of Luderitz on a whimsy and took us on an oyster tour. The oyster tour was absolutely fascinating and equally distracting as the host was the spitting image of John Travolta. With each step we thought he might break out into a rendition of Grease Lightening, but no such luck. We had an amazing evening drinking champaign and eating oysters at the Shearwater Oyster Company and getting to know each other.

We had booked into the quaint little guest house of Kratzplats that was exactly as advertised - quiet, comfortable and centrally located. We can definitely recommend the restaurant which has a fantastic atmosphere in the evenings and gives one an opportunity to meet the locals. http://www.kratzplatz.com/

The quaint guesthouse of Ktratzplats - love the bike on the roof!

We only spent one night in Luderitz but wished we had stayed longer as it truly is a unique little town filled some really fantastic people……

African Wings: Part 7 - Sesriem to Namibrand

AFRICAN WINGS: PART 7: NAMIBRAND

Join us on a 6500km flying adventure through Namibia starting at Rundu on the Angolan border and ending at Oranjemund;  the quirky mining town of the Sperrgebiet



The call of the Namaqua sandgrouse echoed across the valley and flocks of Communal weavers swept across the front veranda like shoals of fish; it was another surreally beautiful morning in the Namib. Although reticent to leave Desert Camp we were equally excited about our next destination; the Namibrand Family Hideout http://www.hideout.iway.na/

We had been to Namibrand a year previously on a driving holiday and had fallen madly in love with the old farmhouse on the desert plains. We were looking forward to four days in this desert wonderland where the silence is so deep you can hear your own heartbeat.

The scenery between Sesriem and Namibrand is spectacular with the huge and ancient dunes washing away into grassland plains and then into the rust red hummocks of the pro-namib. The Nubib mountain range rears up in the west and adds perspective to a vast landscape that seems at times to consist more of sky than of land.

Hot air ballooning near Sesriem

Flying into Namibrand

The Nubib Mountains

Flying into Namibrand

We had organised for Ricardo, the camp manager to pick us up at the desert airstrip and give us a lift to the old farmhouse. We came in on a wind and a whisper and Ricardo didn’t even hear us land as our wheels touched the soft desert sand.

Jay and Ricardo on the Namibrand airstrip


Stepping into the old farmhouse, feels to me like coming home. My body, mind and soul find themselves at peace and wherever I look I find myself lulled into a dream by a landscape that defies description.

It is a very basic place with a gas stove and fridge, solar geyser and lights. During the day the old stone floors are cool under your feet and at night the wide walls that have been baked by the desert sun for close on a hundred years keep you warm.

An aerial view of the farmhouse at Namibrand



The old farmhouse at Namibrand



A view from the veranda

A view from the veranda

It was full moon that evening and the landscape was painted silver. We carried our bed out into the desert in front of the house and snuggled up under the duvet, staring up at the stars. Then the magical happened; a herd of Oryx on their way to the waterhole silently made their way around our bed, their horns and beautiful painted faces highlighted in the soft light. We held our breath in absolute wonder as the soft hoof falls dwindled into the night.

There is a profusion of life at Namibrand; in the house and out on the dunes. There is a gecko living under the kitchen cupboard, a cheeky bat eared fox that may chance its luck and raid the dustbin, a rock kestrel that hunts the grouse at the waterhole. Herds of Oryx and Springbok come down each day to drink and when one walks the dunes they are covered in spoor of insects, reptiles and mammals.

One wishes you knew more about spoor when on the dunes – Like a blind person trying to learn braille, I found myself touching the tracks hoping to make more sense of what creature could have possibly made them.

A lone Oryx on the golden grasslands of Namibrand

A Springbok Ram pronks near the waterhole just outside the farmhouse

A sand lizard in the dunes



Spoor on the dunes never cease to intrigue

A corn cricket makes its way across the dunes

 Every morning we wake early and walk to the dunes in the dark with our torches and wait for the sun to bath the landscape in colour. We do the same each evening with the moon. There is something profoundly special about having the desert to yourself.

The Nubib mountains across the dunes

Jay walking across the dunes one late afternoon

Jay dune boarding

The days went by all too quickly and we found our four days at Namibrand over before they had begun. We took off early in the morning and headed south with a heavy heart wishing we never had to leave and promising ourselves that we will come back.

The strange landscapes south of Namibrand

Fairy circles

Beneath us the golden grasslands glowed, the grasses parting in strange shapes called fairy circles, an unexplained phenomena of the Namib……