Original text by Benedict Allen Explorer, executive summary
by darmansjah
Charly’s Desert
Tours runs day-and longer trips in the Namib Desert and rents vehicles,
with half-day tours starting at US$80.30. For more information, get hold of a
copy of Lonely Planet’s Boswana & Nambia. South
African Airways flies direct from Singapore
to Windhoek, Namibia.
FOR YEARS, I had been fascinated by the Namib Desert. Running
up the southwest coast of Africa, it is distinguished by the Lange Wand, an
Afrikaans term meaning ‘long wall’. The height of three houses, this wall of
sand backs right up against the sea for 70 miles all the way up the coast. No one
had ever been allowed to travel the length of the desert, because it is a prime
spot for diamonds washed down the Orange River from South Africa. Luckily,
someone somewhere decided that I wasn’t there to pilfer gemstones and agreed to
let me make the journey, possibly because I’d decided to travel with camels.
I found three camels on a farm in South Africa, and had to
train them for the journey. I soon realized that you have to do what they want.
Unlike horses, who need to be fed, camels can go without eating for quite a
while, so there is always the risk they will just wander off without you.
For the first part of the journey through the diamond area, I
was escorted all way by guards. But once we reached the sand dunes, the guards
left me alone, after frisking the camels to check I hadn’t hidden any diamonds
in their ears.
After a while, I reached the huge sand wall. I started the
walk along it as the tide was going out and got the camels to trot along ,with
the waves bashing against the base of the vast sand cliffs. We only got about
halfway, but I discovered that every now and then there were little
indentations in the cliffs where you could shelter, so we could spend the night
in the middle without fear of the tide.
Towards the end, the Tsauchab River cuts through the desert
to the sea. It is an incredible avenue of life in the middle of the desert, and
one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Ana trees on the banks produce
pods that elephants finds absolutely delicious, so there were suddenly
elephants everywhere. Being alone, so close to animals of such power, was
really magical.
My final destination was the Cunene River ,which runs along
the border with Angola. It was a wonderful feeling to finally arrive, but when I
got to the camp, I felt like wanted to go straight back into the desert. It made
me realize that I had adapted-I’d got used to the rhythm of walking along and
being by myself.
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