Saturday, May 22, 2010

Where The %/*# Are We? - Can't Find My Way Home



Many farmers and Guest Lodge owners in Namibia have distinctive signs at the entrance to their properties.




In some parts, the distances between towns exceed 200km. In this often featureless landscape it's very easy to miss a turnoff and some farmers erect elaborate signposts to assist visitors.




No one could miss this Baboon perched upon a rock wall.




I suspect that these artworks also assist inebriated farmers in finding their way home after a night on the town. I've sometimes become disorientated and I've been sober.




Namtib Farm - a lovely spot, I camped here once.




The Seeheim Hotel is in the middle of nowhere, on the road to the Fish River Canyon.




Look at all that space you could get lost in.




Entrance to the Rostock Ritz

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24 comments:

  1. dave hambidgeMay 22, 2010 at 11:56 AM

    Presumably in the heat and dryness, any "normal posh signage" would just shrivel away? Lovely photos again, the wilderness around you is quite something...

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  2. DianeMay 22, 2010 at 11:57 AM

    These are wonderful signs, problem is you still have to find your way to find the sign in all that space!! Diane

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  3. Diary From AfricaMay 22, 2010 at 12:06 PM

    What a beautiful country, and today you have shown us a different part or 'feel' of it with these photos ... I love the remoteness, the endless stretches of 'nothing' ... those wide open spaces, the dry terrain .... the feeling that you could be the only person left in the whole wide world .... beats city living & skyscrapers anyday (and you even have a 'Ritz' !)

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  4. OneStonedCrowMay 22, 2010 at 12:35 PM

    Howzit and thanks Dave - some of the wealthier land owners do have posh sins ... I'll post some sometime ... I'll be your guide if you visit Nam and I'll try not to get us lost ...
    (not funny, I've been lost even with a GPS) ... :)


    Hehehe Diane, yes, you're right but once you've found them you'll be ok - I think :)


    Thanks Lynda, yeah sometimes I do feel like I'm the only person left in the world - after Mongolia, Namibia has the world's lowest population density - I think that's one of the main reasons I love it here ...

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  5. dave hambidgeMay 22, 2010 at 12:53 PM

    posh sins?????

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  6. OneStonedCrowMay 22, 2010 at 1:12 PM

    Heh! ... Dave, you eagle-eye you ... only saw that after I'd posted it and then it was too late ... but I guess "sins" may be appropriate too hey?

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  7. dave hambidgeMay 22, 2010 at 1:15 PM

    I suspect one could sin in that part of the world and nobody would ever know!

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  8. OneStonedCrowMay 22, 2010 at 1:57 PM

    Indeed! ... that's what fascinates me about old derelict farmhouses too - I wonder about the shenanigans folks got up to in the days before mass communication ...

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  9. LauriMay 22, 2010 at 3:25 PM

    Great photos, they give a real sense of the distances. We once put 7000 km on are car during one trip to Namibia.

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  10. OneStonedCrowMay 22, 2010 at 8:04 PM

    Thanks Lauri - yeah, it's easy to clock up the kilos here hey - hope you'll be visiting Nam again sometime soon ...

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  11. PeggyMay 22, 2010 at 10:22 PM

    Great photos as usual, it really is a vast and remote land.What struck me about the signs is nothing else is visible for miles in any direction so just because you find the sign does not mean you are any where near finding the place?!

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  12. OneStonedCrowMay 22, 2010 at 11:30 PM

    Thanks Peggy - yeah Nam is a really vast country, sometimes one can see forever ...

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  13. LisaMay 23, 2010 at 5:58 AM

    Oh this is so interesting. I so want to be lost at Rostock Ritz.

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  14. OneStonedCrowMay 23, 2010 at 7:40 AM

    Haha Fazlisa ... that sounds like the name of a song ...

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  15. JoyfulMay 23, 2010 at 8:39 AM

    Your photos really do a great justice to the vast expanse of land between each property. For sure one would need large and distinctive signage for guests and for oneself :_0

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  16. OneStonedCrowMay 23, 2010 at 11:23 AM

    Thanks Penny - I believe that there are great big wide-open spaces in Canada too?

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  17. UnknownMay 23, 2010 at 4:20 PM

    I love the signs but hope not to get lost!!Such colourful and interesting highways but I guess better keep my eyes on the road!!

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  18. OneStonedCrowMay 23, 2010 at 5:23 PM

    Hehe Keats, yes, it's best to keep your eye on the road but, if you do, you might miss the sign ... :)

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  19. IreneMay 24, 2010 at 11:30 AM

    Man, you're great! I love your blog. And your photos are wonderful. I'm happy to be among your livejournal friends.

    Irene, Kiev, Ukraine

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  20. OneStonedCrowMay 24, 2010 at 12:41 PM

    Wow! ... thanks for your kind comment Irene, I'm really glad that you enjoy my blog ... I don't know what your LJ name is though ... please visit again sometime ...

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  21. IreneMay 24, 2010 at 2:46 PM

    Honestly I've found a lot of interesting things here besides your photos.
    One is the link to the African Paintings. I was searching something of the kind since long ago, but got practically nothing interesting. Here I have a friend, she is an artist, half-Ukrainian and half-Chaddie. She is very much interested in it. I will convey a link to her.
    Yet another is the African music. I love it so much!

    Ah, forgot, my LJ nickname is Borntwice ;)
    Irene

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  22. OneStonedCrowMay 24, 2010 at 3:48 PM

    Thanks Irene - glad you've found some useful links here :)

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  23. Gena DMay 27, 2010 at 11:19 AM

    Hi Graham, enjoyed this post a alot - interesting signs and glimpses of the countryside ..... I especially love the last one ....
    Gena D
    Thinking Aloud

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  24. OneStonedCrowMay 27, 2010 at 11:43 AM

    Thanks Gena - I can't wait for you to visit Nam someday so that I can see my country through your eyes ... :)

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