Sunday, September 26, 2010

Namibia's Stunning Orange River Road

The 2,200 km Gariep, (or Orange River as it is commonly known), has it's source in Lesotho's Drakensberg Mountains and for the last 550 km of it's westward journey to the Atlantic Ocean, forms the international border between Namibia and South Africa.

This post highlights the 160 km stretch between the town of Rosh Pinah in the West and the Noordoewer border post in the East, a road I travel often.



On leaving Rosh Pinah, the road descends a few hundred meters down to the river. This is one of my favorite scenes - I've named the mountain in the distance 'Flower Mountain' because looks like a rosebud about to bloom.

Behind Flower Mountain is the Sendelingsdrift border post with pontoon access to South Africa's Richtersveld National Park
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The scenery on this stretch of road is spectacular and, until recently, has been one of Namibia's best-kept secrets.

The Orange river is responsible for Namibia's diamond wealth, having carried the crystals from South Africa's Kimberly area millions of years ago.




The river normally flows peacefully, with no diseases, crocodiles or hippos. The last hippo was shot by a poacher in the early 20th century but there is talk of reintroducing the species in certain areas.

The 50 km near Noordoewer is a popular stretch for canoeists because the area offers unique fauna and flora, rock formations and perfect all year temperatures.




The Boom River, one of the seasonal streams flowing into the Orange, is a spot where I often see Baboons and Vervet Monkeys. The river also abounds with bird life, especially large water birds.

The dirt road twists and winds around cliffs and mountains and in some places there is space for only one vehicle to pass.



This pic was taken a few years ago when the area had really good rainfall and the whole desert burst into flower.


'Alien Gap' - so named because late one night I had a very strange experience here. I've said before in an earlier post that I've felt some unexplained 'powers' or 'forces' in the desert - I'll just leave it at that for fear of being called a 'nutter'.


The mountains overlooking Aussenkehr - the pastel colors around here have to be seen to be appreciated, images don't really capture the beauty.


I wish I could show all my pics of the area in this post - you guys will just have to come check it out for yourselves ... :)
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34 comments:

  1. Oh how I wish I could check this out for myself, still waiting for that lottery win!! Those are really WOW photos and just the sort of place I would love to be. I love my own company and the wide open spaces. Much as I love France these scenes make me very jealous:-) The flowers in bloom are quit spectacular. Diane

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  2. oh man...very interesting and spooky at the same time. I couldn't be there just by myself. Do you travel those roads alone? eeek! But really, really beautiful and peaceful looking...

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  3. It most certainly does make me want to see it for myself - bloody hell! I thought Namibia was dry as a bone throughout - at my local camera club we get lots of visiting speakers who show pictures of Namibia, and it's all sand dunes with dead trees in the middle, and an abandoned mining village clogged with sand. (I even wonder if there are signs saying 'place your tripod here, 125th of a second at F8'). I loved it the first time, but I've so wished we could see something different. And here it is - and at early morning or evening, with the lovely shadows. Thank you, that really is a treat. Now I've got to hunt back in your posts for the spook stories...
    Caroline

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  4. Beautiful!. I have never seen anything like this before. Your photos are wonderful, thank you for sharing so much with me.

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  5. They should give you an award cause you are a one man Tourism dynamo for Namibia. From knowing next to nothing about Namibia and thinking it was all just sand, I now have Namibia on my travel wish list. The Orange River looks like a great place for a vacation and to perhaps pick up a souvenir diamond!

    I would also be interested to hear more about your desert forces experience.

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  6. Thanks Diane - I absolutely love this area and sometimes feel like building a hut for myself at one of the more isolated spots - I fear that the desert in bloom was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I drove this road last week and there was not a flower to be seen ... still beautiful though.

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  7. Yes, it is very peaceful there BLOGitse, at times the silence can be quite overwhelming - yeah, I often travel this road alone and my thoughts wander to the original inhabitants of this area ... how did they perceive it thousands of years ago?

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  8. Thanks Caroline, yes, this area is off the normal tourist track and not as well known (thankfully) as the sand dunes further to the north. Namibia is not all sand dunes though, in the far north it is quite green with a sub-tropical climate.

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  9. Thanks Melanie - as an artist, I'm sure you'd find much of interest to paint in Namibia ...

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  10. Thanks lgsquirrel ... strangely, I don't get many Namibian visitors to my blog.

    I did find a very small diamond once but threw it away immediately, it's just not worth the hassle.

    I may do a post on my 'strange' experiences here sometime but it will be difficult to relate without sounding crazy or delusional ... maybe ...

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  11. Beautiful! I'd love to see it for myself too. All those wide open vistas are inviting. I'd also like to hear more of your experiences of the "power" you felt but understand your concerns.

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  12. I was here two years ago.
    I met only one car:inside another italian couple...
    Strange,isn't it?

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  13. Stunning photos..again!I am re reading Wilbur Smiths novels of Africa, the stories may be fiction but your photos make them more real as he mentions a lot of places you photograph such as the Drakensberg, and without seeing them it is impossible to imagine the scale and athmosphere.

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  14. Your photos are incredible, I so enjoy looking at your posts. I have to go to Namibia! I am really curious about what happened at Alien Gap...are you really going to leave us hanging like that?

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  15. It is really beautiful here Penny, something that must be experienced for oneself - hehe ... with all these requests to relate the 'alien' tale I might just relent ... :)

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  16. Hehe Andrea, yes, as you relate, there's not much traffic on this road and that you should meet another Italian couple on it is indeed a coincidence ... you must let me know if you plan on visiting Namibia again ...

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  17. Thanks Peggy, I read some of Wilbur Smith's work many years ago ... there's another author, I'm not sure of his name (I think it was Graham Greene) who told some excellent factual stories of earl pioneers in this wasteland ...

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  18. Thanks for your visit and kind comment Barbara - yes, well I think my arm's just been twisted ... I'll do a post on 'Alien Gap' sometime ...

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  19. Thanks for the great pics.
    Any rafting on the river? Since you said the man-eating creatures are gone from this section that would be a nice ride I think.

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  20. Thanks lisleman ... yes, it's a popular rafting spot ... last week I went to S Africa for the day and getting back into Namibia took almost 2 hours at the border post - I had about 70 school kids and teachers in line ahead of me ... all going rafting on the river for the long weekend ...

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  21. Since I can't be there, your pictures are something that I enjoy so very much. Thanks for taking us on this beautiful trip.--Inger

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  22. I can't see a single service station by the road... no KFC, McD, BK... how do you cope? (Satire folks) Stunning shots boss!

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  23. Thanks Inger - there's so much more to show but I didn't want to overload the post with pics ... glad you enjoyed them ...

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  24. Haha - thanks Dave ... how do I cope? Well, it takes a bit of planning ... if I go to Springbok in S Africa, (as I did last week), I stop in at the Kentucky there and bring back a whole load of dead chikken for all the folks here ... increases my popularity for sure ...

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  25. Do you need an export licence for such dealings?

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  26. What stunning scenery - I love the first pic's landscape & 'Flower Mountain'. I'me amazed at what good condition your roads are in - are they regularly maintained, or is it because they are not used very much in certain places ? What are they like in wet weather ? (You have us in suspense now about 'Alien Gap' ... please do tell, I don't think that you are a nutter at all!)

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  27. Heh! ... no Dave, they don't seem to mind cooked chicken and besides, I'm exaggerating about a whole "load" of chikken - it's just a few boxes ... strangely enough, I must have an honest face because my car has never been checked at the border ... :)

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  28. Yeah Lynda, the gravel roads in Namibia are generally well maintained and in good condition - there are a couple of spots on the Orange River Road that are terribly corrugated and hell if you're driving a small car ...

    ... yes, I'm busy preparing the "Alien Gap" story as we speak ... I'll post it as soon as I'm finished ... but you might change your mind about me being a nutcase ... :)

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  29. Your photos make me want to go back to Namibia! In 2008 we drove from Mahongo in the Caprivi, to Grootfontein, Tsumeb, through Etosha, to Walvis, then Sossusvlei, the canyon and finally out into South Africa at Ariamsvlei. It as an amazing trip and I would LOVE to do something like it again!

    Lovely blog...I'll be back!

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  30. Thanks for your visit and kind comment Tara - yes, Namibia is a stunning country and in general a safe place to visit - if you do visit this area again, please be sure to let me know.

    Looking forward to hearing from you again ...

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  31. Awesome photos, One Stoned Crow. I came here from Lynda's post today. While working on the diamond mines at Oranjemund in the nineties, we spent one month's vacation at De Hoop in 1993. We saw one person (on land) in four weeks: a man and donkey cart from Rosyntjiesvlakte, he told us. And a group of people cannoing down the river with a tour leader. We've since been back to Namibia on our motorbike (mainly National roads) but will return to do dirt roads next. Please tell me HOW do you get your sand/dune and open vista photos so clear? What setting do you use? I'd love to know. I've added myself as a follower. Greetings from Jo, North Africa

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  32. Thanks for your visit and comment Jo - I'm about 80 ks from Oranjemund at the moment - it's a stunning area hey?

    As for my desert photos - well i'm almost ashamed to admit that I'm not a 'technical' or artistic photographer - I just set my cam to automatic and shoot away, I use a 28 - 300mm zoom lens and all I do is frame the image ...

    ... because I usually shoot from a moving car I use a 400 ASA setting and in editing I only crop and sometimes darken the images slightly ... the majority of my pics are lousy but sometimes I get a few gems ...

    ... If you come this way again you must be sure to let me know hey ...

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  33. Wow what an awesome place and so pristine. I wish I could come check out this place with a tour guide of course. Beautiful country. Thanks for taking us along.

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  34. Well, if you ever make it to Namibia you'll have a tour guide Becca ... but I'm ashamed to say that the verges next to the roads are not all that pristine, they're lined with our National Flower, the Beer Bottle ...

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