Let me just
say one thing about Namibia, its dry dry and dry. The small exception is when
you are on the coast. For some reason the coast seems to be perpetually cloudy
and foggy. I guess this is why there have been so many shipwrecks and also how
this stretch of coast got its name, the “Skeleton Coast”. But the cloud only
lingers about a mile inland so once you start to head back out into the desert
the sunshine is back with a vengeance and the temperature literally jumps 10
degrees. So after our rather damp night in Swakopmumd it was time to head back
into the desert and get away from the damp cloudy conditions.
We started
driving fairly late as the morning was filled with kayaking amongst the seals
and a rather rubbish attempt at sand boarding, give me a snow board any day, so
we were a bit worried if we would make our next camp site before dark. We were
headed north east to the “White Lady” camp site which is nestled at the bottom
of the Brandberg Mountains. Luckily the road was pretty good so we made good
time and arrived just as it was getting dark. Unfortunately this did mean
setting up camp and cooking in the dark but with the use of some torches and
candles we managed pretty well.
The reason
we travelled to this site was to see the “White Lady” cave drawing. Now let me
just say that whilst it is called the White Lady it’s not actually a picture of
a lady but rather a medicine man. And how do we know it’s a man well you just
have to look at the anatomy. It is estimated between 2000 and 4000 years old
and well worth the hour guided walk. If you look closely at the picture you
will also notice there are many animal drawings as well. Our guide told us that the animal drawings
represented a way for the bushmen to communicate where the water was and what
animals were in the area.
Not far
from here is an area known as Twyfelfontein. Whilst there were no actually
paintings here this site does contain many rock engravings. Apparently they are
older than the paintings and depict many of the same animals and were used in
much the same way as an early communication tool. For example an animal like a
Giraffe which needs water every day might be engraved and whichever way it
faced that was where there would most likely be water.
All in all
visiting these sites was a great cultural and learning experience. Just
standing there and imagining one of our ancestors creating these drawings
thousands of years ago really did make me feel connected to the past and also
made me realize just how far we have come in such a short amount of time.
Arriving at the campsite just during sunset
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