A donkey cart in the hills before the Pass.
Donkeys are amazing creatures - I've seen them easily pull a cart up a gradient which I thought impossible.
There are some beautiful farms along the route - many of them cater to guests and campers.
A sign at the start of the Pass warning Truckers of the steep decline and sharp bends ahead.
This area has spectacular scenery, too much for one blog post.
The flat-topped Gamsberg Mountain is the dominant feature.
There seem to be quite a few Astronomical Observatories around here. I gleaned some info from this Source:
"The Gamsberg has been identified as one of the most suitable sites for an observatory in Southern Africa.
It is a table-mountain 120 km south west of Windhoek above the Namib desert at an altitude of 2350 m above sea level.
It experiences a large number of cloudless nights, a dark sky, excellent atmospheric transparency and low humidity. Comparative test measurements have demonstrated that it is of just as good quality as the well-known astronomical sites in Chile."
Who needs a Rollercoaster?
Namibia has just had a record-breaking Rain Season and most of the usually bone-dry riverbeds still had water in them.
A troop of Baboons at a river - I was surprised that they allowed me to photograph them.
Most Baboons I encounter run as soon as I approach or point my camera at them.
They can become pests on farms and are often shot at.
I love this Leopard design at a farm entrance ... or is it a Cheetah? ... :)
And then we were out of the mountains, on flat ground approaching the desert ...
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Amazing photographs, to me it is so beautiful all around there and a second table mountain!!! I think that sign is very definitely leopard. I would like to visit that horse stud..... Diane
ReplyDeleteThanks Diane - are you a horse person? ... there are quite a few horse farms and riding clubs in Nam.
ReplyDeleteThe last pic is the loveliest I think. But I can't help smiling when I see donkeys. As a child I used to think 'oh how cute with their long floppy ears', and then I learned what complex personalities they are and how easily they get cross. And a cross donkey is so comical (as long as you're clear). I've seen one in the saddle room, furious for some reason , knock the saddle off the log, stamp on it and pee copiously, while braying at the top of his lungs. Phew.
ReplyDeleteCaroline
As ever, stunning stuff.
ReplyDeleteGraham, I have lived and worked with horses all my life. It is only in the last 10 years that I have not had much to do with them as we have been in the UK and it is too expensive. I have been offered a ride from one of the bloggers in France when I return so I am looking forward to getting back in the saddle again :-) Diane
ReplyDeleteThanks Caroline - I recall how, as a child, my cousin got too close to the rear-end of a donkey and ened up with a horrible looking black-eye ...
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave - are you and Hazel back home yet? ... or are you still living it up in the sticks?
ReplyDelete... aw gee Diane ... you must really miss horses and riding then ... I think I've mentioned before that, despite my best efforts, horses just don't like me at all ...
ReplyDeleteI am sure it is not that horses don't like you, I think they pick up some vibes from you and they get their own back :-))))) Diane
ReplyDeleteDonkeys are the best, not only are they tough, they are also so very kind hearted. I live next door to a donkey rescue and I just love these animals. Your trip was very interesting and the photos amazing. Does it get cold up there? That guy seems really well dressed in his cap and jacket.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photos! So engrossing! Thank you for posting them. There is a side road in the fourth photo down... makes me wonder where it leads... I don't see a house. A magical land.
ReplyDeleteHehe ... I'm sure you're right Diane ... but why pick on me to get their own back on? ... :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Inger - yes, it's winter here and the nights do get freezing cold, especially in the mountains ... some places have even recorded light snowfalls ...
ReplyDeleteThanks Callie - a magical land indeed!
ReplyDeleteThe road you mention is just an access road to a viewpoint ...
I don't recall seeing any farm houses in the Pass itself but there are quite a few farms in the area.
Astronomical stuff - always interesting to me. You are lucky to have a very dark sky. Not so here with the light pollution of the city.
ReplyDeleteHere's a site I just discovered
http://www.skysurvey.org/
Thanks for the link lisleman - yes, the night-sky is sometimes overwhelming here in the desert ...
ReplyDeleteback again with a message -
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to be a clown to play.
I put your blog into play.
Come over and try the game.
i didn't ask for this
Hello Graham, I was waiting for your new post and thought there were still so many of your post that I had missed. This must be a beautiful trip to be with your daughter, going through such beautiful and remote countryside. It reminded me of being in Wyoming and I did not like it. When you mentioned Gamsberg Pass, I thought of Khyber Pass, not that I had been there but my cousin was in the late 70s. He had quite an adventure travelling to Europe from India on foot, I mean, by bus and hitchhiking.
ReplyDeleteAre you still slouching into blogylon:) Soon you will leave again for North.
Hi Fazlisa - uhmmm yeah, I've been struggling to create another post ... hope fully I'll think of something soon ...
ReplyDeleteI want to go to Namaqualand this weekend to see the wild flowers and then I must return to the North around the end of the month ...
thanks for taking the time out to check out some of my older posts ... :)