A review of the movie “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3”
May 8th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I’m a loyal fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), so I wasn’t going to miss this 32nd contribution to the long-running and ever-sprawling saga. Also the Guardians of the Galaxy (GOTG) characters have always been the funniest in the MCU and this volume was billed as their final one as the current team.There was three years between the first two movies and then six between the last one and this one, so it’s been almost a decade in which Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket have become like friends with other many characters joining along the way.
Director and writer James Gunn always loads up his superhero movies with multiple characters and storylines with acres of action sequences and tons of loud music (often at the same time), so I frequently struggle to follow all that is going on and to remember all the relationships between the different characters but, this time, the central theme is clear and appealing: Rocket – always my favourite character – is dying and to save him the team has to tackle Rocket’s creator, a character called the The High Evolutionary.
In the process, we are given Rocket’s back story and meet more cute animals than you’ve ever seen in a MCU movie. It’s mayhem, it’s mad, but it’s a blast.
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A review of the book “A Duty Of Care” by Peter Hennessy
May 6th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
I used to know Peter Hennessy in the 1970s when I worked for the Wilson/Callaghan Labour Government and he was the Whitehall Correspondent of the “Times” newspaper. He is now a Professor of Contemporary British History and a crossbench member of the House of Lords. Like many of us, he has thought about the impact of the global pandemic on Britain but, in his case, he has actually written short book on the subject. His central proposition is that, following the production of Sir William Beveridge’s fundamental report of November 1942 and the implementation of most of its far-reaching recommendations by a succession of post-war governments, the impact of the Covid-19 has shown the need for a similarly comprehensive and radical social settlement for post-Covid Britain.The first two-thirds of Hennessy’s narrative is a summary of why and how the Beveridge reforms came about. For Hennessy, the package as whole constituted what he calls “a duty of care” which government has for its citizens and he singles out the National Health Service as “the closest we have ever come as a country and a people to institionalizing altruism”. He sees the decade or so of Margaret Thatcher as a regrettable break with that post-war consensus which augured in the slimmed-down benefits system of the 2010s. He laments Brexit which he insists “carved great chunks out of our national solidarity” and he worries about the possible departure of Scotland from the United Kingdom. In short, he wants to see a more modern and inclusive duty of care.
The final third of the book argues the case for, and indicates some desirable outcomes from, a new Beveridge-like review. He lists 15 government reviews of defence/foreign policy in 71 years and highlights that, by dramatic and neglectful contrast, “we haven’t mounted a single national welfare strategic exercise since Beveridge reported in 1942”. The background to such a review should be a public inquiry into how Britain handled the Covid crisis: “It needs to be one of the greatest, most incisive and authoritative reports of modern times”. Then what we might call Beveridge Part 2 would need to address the long-term funding of our health and care systems and the role of education, training, housing, and transport systems in reducing the present unacceptable inequalities in our society.
It is a highly laudable aim but Hennessy is very thin on specifics. Behind the sound and thunder of party politics, this is what the next general election will really be about.
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Which countries have the freest media and which nations have the most controlled media in the world?
May 3rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
You can find the answers, according to the organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF), here.Out of 180 countries, top is Norway and bottom is North Korea. The UK is 26 (on a par with South Africa) and the USA is 45 (on a par with Tonga).
Media freedom is in dire health in a record number of countries, according to the latest annual snapshot, which warns that disinformation, propaganda and artificial intelligence pose mounting threats to journalism.
This year’s World Press Freedom Index reveals a shocking slide, with an unprecedented 31 countries deemed to be in a “very serious situation”, the lowest ranking in the report, up from 21 just two years ago.
Increased aggressiveness from autocratic governments – and some that are considered democratic – coupled with “massive disinformation or propaganda campaigns” has caused the situation to go from bad to worse, according to the list, released by the advocacy group RSF.
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Holiday in Namibia (10): conclusion
May 2nd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Namibia is a huge country with a tiny population. The country and the people are poor. Those in work are subject to a national minimum wage of a mere 65 Namibian dollars a day which is about 3 British pounds or 3.5 US dollars. In fact, almost half the population is unemployed with youth unemployment being a particular problem.
But everywhere we went, people were very welcoming and the nation is an interesting ethnic and tribal mix. Tourism is important to Namibia and, now that Covid is ‘over’, tourists are very much wanted. The country is a photographer’s dream, with endless opportunities for great shots, and I reckon that I took about 450 photographs.
There is so much to see: natural features like Fish River Canyon and the sand dunes of the Namib Desert, the fabulous Etosha National Park where so many types of game come to the waterholes, the German-flavoured town of Swakopmund, the glorious sun rises and sunsets and the spectacular night skies of multitudinous stars.
There is something special about Africa and something particularly special about Namibia.
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Holiday in Namibia (9): Otjiwarongo
April 28th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
It seems that this holiday is going to end as it has largely progressed – with early morning starts.
At the Etosha King Nehale Lodge on Thursday morning, I had to set the alarm for 5 am and put out my luggage at 6 am, so that I could have breakfast and be ready for the group departure at 7 am. In fact, we left a few minutes early because Carlos wanted to be at the Nehale Lya Mpingana Gate for the 7 am opening time since he needed to cross a section of the Etosha National Park as soon as possible for a tight timetable today.
The park entrance is very close to the lodge, so we were there at 7 am. Unfortunately it took 20 minutes for the relevant member of the park’s staff to turn up and to find the key to the gate. Carlos was not amused and, for the rest of the morning, set a cracking pace on what fortunately were good roads.
After an hour crossing this corner of the park, we exited at the Von Linquist Gate and headed south-east to the quaint town of Tsumeb. Here we had some time to visit the local museum which covers the ethnography of local tribes, the period of German colonialisation, German-British conflict in the area during the two World Wars, and the town’s modern experience of copper mining. We stopped briefly at a little town called Otavi to buy some lunch to eat on the coach.
Then we rushed south-west, all the way to the Okonjima Private Gamed Reserve. It was another 10 km from the entrance of the reserve to the AfriCat Foundation Day Care Centre. The Foundation was founded in 1991 with a mission to contribute to the conservation of Namibia’s large carnivores. It started with the conversion of Okonjima from a cattle farm to a conservation project and, since then, three adjacent farms have joined the project to create a nature reserve of some 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares).
We were driven in an open vehicle to a nearby section protected by electrified wire fencing. This was home to five cheetahs who had been found with no parents and relocated to the project. We easily found these magnificent creatures basking in the sun. Then trouble hit: one wheel of our vehicle became stuck in a deep hole created by an aardvark and nothing that our driver/guide could do would release the vehicle.
The five cheetahs surrounded us on all sides, their mouths salivating and their muscles tensed to leap upon us (actually, I made up that bit). Our driver radioed to base to advise them on our dilemma, another vehicle was dispatched to the section, it pulled along side our vehicle, and we all climbed from one vehicle to another, avoiding the need to step on the ground. Another adventure.
After more time at the project being briefed on their work of preservation (the actress Angelina Jolie is a major patron), we moved to our ninth and last accommodation of the holiday where we arrived at 3.40 pm after a journey of nearly nine hours. This was Otjima Game Ranch just south of the town of Otjiwarongo (Otjiwa means ‘the place of the baboons and Otjiwarango means ‘the place of fat cattle’) and which, like all the other lodges where we have stayed, consists of a main building with reception, restaurant and shop and then a collection of chalets spread around nearby.
It was all very civilised and comfortable: coffee/tea and cake in the afternoon and a three-course dinner in the evening with seven young women in near identical dress clapping rhythm and dancing to the beat.
Friday was our last full day in Namibia. On Wednesday, we saw lions; on Thursday, we observed cheetahs; and today we set off at 7 am on a rhino hunt.
It took us 50 minutes, but then we found a group of seven white rhinos. We stopped our open vehicle and walked closer to these powerful creatures for a magical encounter. Among the other animals we saw were the ubiquitous springboks. There is little more charming among African wildlife than to see springboks doing their special jump known as ‘pronking’ which apparently they do for sheer fun.
We were back at the ranch soon after 9 am for a cooked breakfast. Then the remainder of the day was free to catch up on rest and relaxation before our return home. At our final dinner, I ran a little quiz and, on behalf of the ‘golden girls’, Dolly read out a specially-prepared poem.
On Saturday, we had a relatively late departure when we left at 8.30 am. We drove further south, stopping for a break at the town of Okahandja (which means ‘place of a short and wide river’). For the section of the journey from Okahandja to Windhoek, we drove on Namibia’s newest and best road: a modern dual carriageway. If only all of the country’s roads could be so smooth.
The return to Britain was a five hour flight from Windhoek to Addis Ababa and then a near eight hour flight from Addis Ababa to London Heathrow. Back to the coronation in a week’s time.
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Holiday in Namibia (8): more Etosha National Park
April 26th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
On Tuesday, we left Okaukeujoa at 8 am with a local guide on an open vehicle game drive while our driver/guide Carlos drove our coach with our luggage to our next accommodation location.
It was another challenging day because all the roads were gravel, the breeze was strong and constant and, since we were in a national park, we could not leave the vehicle except for one toilet stop and an hour or so for lunch at another camp site called Halali.
We drove north-east along the southern side of the Etosha Pan, visiting one waterhole after another looking for whatever animals we could find along the road or at the waterholes.
One of our group, Kirtida, kept an impressively comprehensive list of all the species that we saw: black rhino, black jackal, springbok, ostrich, lappet vulture, spotted hyena, Angolan spitting cobra, blue wildebeest, Burchell zebra, oryx, giraffe, kori bustard, Egyptian goose, maribu stork, black-face impala, lilac-breasted roller, yellow-billed hornbill, red-billed hornbill, pale chanting goshawk, terrapin, blacksmith plover, greater flamingo, lesser flamingo, elephant, shaft-tailed whydah, warthog, secretary bird, blue crane, egret, greater painted stripe. The most common animals in the park are springbok (about 30,000) and zebra (around 20,00).
I am not a massive animal fan and only had binoculars and an iPhone, but it is impossible not to be captivated by seeing wild animals in their natural surroundings and in such numbers.
We left Etosha at the Nehale Lya Mpingana Gate and drove a little further to our accommodation for the next two nights: the Etosha King Nepalese Lodge where we arrived at 4.30 pm after a journey of eight and a half hours.. This lodge was only opened just before Covid and we were give an upgrade, so we had excellent rooms with all the facilities we could want (including a small individual pool, free drinks in the fridge, and – most importantly – free WiFi in the rooms themselves).
Wednesday was not a travelling day but the morning was the occasion for another game drive in Etosha National Park, so I set my alarm for 5.30 am ready for a 7 am departure in another open vehicle (our driver was called Fillemon but he had no idea why his parents – both now dead – had chosen this name).
We were out for five hours with just a toilet stop. We saw some of the animals that we had observed yesterday, but we were on the look-out for new species, especially the lion. We managed to find a lioness with her cub and a lioness who was pregnant. but we could only hear and not see the lion of the pride. Again we were awed by the lunar-like landscape of the massively expansive salt pan.
Lunch was an individual affair back at the hotel. Top of the menu was “traditional Omagungu salad with a twist” which was “locally sourced mopane worms served with fresh garden greens topped with feta, peppadew and olives”.Tempting – but I went for the “Etosha game pizza” with “a variety of game, red onions, peppers and mozzarella” which was delicious but too large.
In the afternoon, the group went another game drive with Fillemon. I think the attraction was a location which was a private waterhole that allowed the drinking of alcohol. For my part, I had seen enough animals for a while and took the opportunity to read, write and relax.
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Holiday in Namibia (7): Etosha National Park
April 25th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
On Monday, we left Twyfelfontein Country Lodge at 8.30 am. We were on our way north-east to Etosha National Park but we had a number of stops along the way.
Very soon we halted at the Petrified Forest. Of course, it did not look like a forest because all the tree trunks and bits were on the ground and petrified wood looks and feels like rock. A local guide took us for a short walk and we were told that the site was 280 million years old but only discovered in modern times in 1940.
The next stop was to look at something very different: tall termite mounds that are constructed by thousands of termites in around two years. All these were white, but further along there were mounds that were the more usual rust-red.
For once on the road, we did not have to eat on the coach. Instead we halted at a very small town called Oujo (‘o’ in the Bantu language signifies place). Here, at a bakery, I sat and ate spinach, feta & bacon pancake followed by a chocolate sundae. The establishment’s WiFi had as its password “orderfoodfirst”. After the experience of Twyfelfontein, it was a thrill to have access to free and fast broadband for a while.
When we reached the Etosha National Park, we entered on the south-west through Anderson (one ‘s’) Gate, named after the Swedish explorer Charles Andersson (two ‘s’s) who used the area in the 1850s for game hunting. We made a very quick stop at the Ombika Waterhole, just inside the park, before driving round to our accommodation at Okaukeujo where, while waiting for our room allocation, we observed zebras at the Okaukeujo Waterhole. At 4.30 pm, we tumbled into our allocated chalets.
Etosha is one of the oldest and best national parks in all of Africa. It was proclaimed in 1907. It is vast: some 8,600 sq miles (over 22,000 sq kms) or about the size of Wales or half the size of Switzerland. The defining feature of the park is the huge Etosha Pan – the name means ‘great white place’ – which appears to be the remnant of a large inland lake. This is roughly 68 miles (110 kms) from east to west and 37 miles (60 kms) from north to south.
Etosha is so special because of the concentration of over 30 waterholes that occur around the southern edges of the saline pan. Some are natural but many are artificial. All these waterholes attract large quantities of game which are enticed by the water and the salt that they need. So, whereas in other African safari parks, one drives around looking for animals, here one waits at the waterholes for the animals to come to you.
That evening at Okaukeujo, our driver/guide Carlos revealed a third skill in his portfolio when he cooked us all a traditional ‘braai’ dinner. This was done on an outdoor furnace and consisted of southern lamb, springbok sausage, and chilly-marinated kudo together with potato salad and specially prepared and baked bread. It was just delicious.
Afterwards we returned to the observation area of the waterhole which is illuminated at night and famously attracts the black rhino. At first, half a dozen giraffes were there to drink. Then slowly one rhino after another – we spotted four – took over the waterhole,
This was all very exciting but, once I left the observation area, I became totally lost searching for my chalet. This resort is much larger than any of the others where we have stayed, the lighting is absolutely minimal and, if there are any signs at all pointing to chalet numbers, I never saw them.
I wandered round and round with light from my iPhone but got nowhere. After about a quarter of an hour of increasing desperation, I saw a lit building, found a staff member, and he eventually located my chalet. Whew – I would not have wanted to spent the night under the stars.
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Holiday in Namibia (6): Damaraland
April 23rd, 2023 by Roger Darlington
The next stage of our busy holiday involved yet another early start and yet another long road journey. So I was up at 5.30 am, put out my luggage at 6.30 am, and had breakfast before we set off at 7.15 am.
First, we drove due north along the Skeleton Coast and stopped to view a fairly recent shipwreck. Then we turned north-east and headed for a region called Damaraland. Two of our stops were to meet by the roadside Herero women resplendent in their colourful dresses and hats and to meet in a Living Museum men and women of the Damara community who did a dance for us and provided demonstrations of their customs. The latter location was the first UN World Heritage site in Namibia.
Further on geographically and much further back in time were the rock carvings to be found in Twyfelfontein (the name means doubtful fountain). There is so little rain here that there is a huge collection of carvings with clear representations of local animals. We were taken on a walk in two parts: a short section which was quite easy (all of us managed this) and a further section which was quite hard (the two couples and I did this).
It was 4 pm – after a journey of almost nine hours – when we arrived at our next accommodation: the Twyfelfontein Country Lodge which – like the Gondwana Canyon Village – was built around the huge boulders in the area. In this case, one of the boulders at the entrance to the establishment features another example of ancient rock art.
Next morning (Sunday), we were not travelling, but it was still an early start because, at 8 am, we set out on a game drive in a 4×4 vehicle driven by a local guide called Stanley. He warned us that he could not promise anything and that we were dependent on nature but, after an hour of seeing absolutely nothing, there was a palpable sense of disappointment in the group. Then, at 9.15 am, we spotted out first elephants.
Stanley explained that the conservancy is home to a total of 35 elephants who move in three distinct groups. The group we had just found consists of five animals. Like all the groups, it is led by a female – in this case, Monica. Our guide informed us that the female elephants have a pregnancy of two years but, owing to recent droughts, there had only been one birth in the park in the last five years. This was Monica’s son Hope.
Then we came across another, larger group: 14 animals led by Rosie. We were able to drive really close to the elephants as they made their way to an artificial watering hole. Soon elephants were coming at us from various directions and one elephant used the side of our vehicle as a scratching post.
All these animals were different from the usual African elephant. The specif local environment has produced a distinct species called the desert adapted elephant. This differs from the traditional Africa elephant in five respects: it has a special aptitude for finding water, it only breaks branches and not the whole tree, it has slightly longer front legs, its feet are a little wider, and overall it is smaller.
We thought that we had seen it all for the morning, but then we came across a group of six giraffes, three male and three female. It was an excellent conclusion to a most enjoyable drive.
We were back at out lodge towards 12.30 pm after a ride of four and a half hours (there had been a stop for coffee and muffins). By now the temperature had risen to 33C and the rest of the day was at leisure.
In the evening, as usual, the group ate a three-course buffet together. I tried oryx (a bit like beef) and shared a couple of bottles of wine with the four ‘golden girls’. After the meal, we discussed our respective travel experiences and, when I suggested that they produce a joint memoir of their travel together, I was told that they already had the title: “Adventure Before Dementia”.
Apparently there was a thunderstorm that night – I but I did not hear it! And, next day, there was no evidence of it.
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Holiday in Namibia (5): Swakopmund
April 21st, 2023 by Roger Darlington
On our second and last evening at the Desert Camp in Sesriem, there was bad news, followed by good news, followed by more bad news.
The first bad news was that the air conditioning on our bus had broken down, it was not possible for our driver/guide to repair it, and there was no question of continuing without air-con because the temperatures would be far too high. The good news was that the local company, Spirit of Africa, would be sending a replacement bus and it would arrive during the night. The further bad news was that the replacement bus would be would only be a 14-seater compared to our 22-seater – more than enough for a group of nine, but no longer providing a double seat for everyone.
So, on Thursday, we were off in a new coach to a new location: Swakopmund. This was ‘only’ a journey of six hours, but we had to leave early (7 am) because we had to be at Swakopmund early (1 pm) because seven of the group of nine wanted to take a flight over the Namib desert and there was a slot this afternoon but not tomorrow.
On this latest stretch of our road journey, we saw oryx and a porcupine, we stopped at the tiny location of Solitaire to find lunch to eat on the coach, we recrossed the Tropic of Capricorn, and we traversed the Gaub Pass and the Kuisseb Pass. Finally, we skirted Walvis (pronounced Val-vis) Bay or Bay of Whales, which was only returned to Namibia by South Africa in 1994, and drove along the Atlantic coast before rolling into Swakopmund. Here we are staying at a delightful hotel named after the town which was originally the town’s railway station. After five consecutive nights in lodges, it is good to have a couple of nights in a spacious hotel.
The afternoon flight was provided by a company called Eagle Eye Aviation and the aircraft used was an eight-seater Australian-designed Airvan GA8. Since I am the tallest in the group, I was allocated the co-pilot’s seat. This provided a great view, but I could not help wondering what I would do with the control column between my legs if the pilot should become incapacitated.
It was a two and a half hour flight, basically south to Sossusvlei, where we had seen the sand dunes at ground level, and then back north along the so-called ‘skeleton coast’ on the Atlantic. This special view of the Namib desert drove home just how vast and remote it is and how variable is the terrain and the shapes of the dunes. Nature is a remarkable sculptor.
Previously on our trip, dinner has been included but, here in Swakopmund, we have to make our own arrangements. The four London ‘golden girls’ broke with their normal travel arrangements by inviting me to join them for dinner and we had ‘a jolly good time’ at a place called “Jetty Restaurant” located at the very end of the 1905 jetty.
We were left to do our own thing on Friday. I was still asleep when Carlos called me at 8 am to say that I was booked on a catamaran cruise from Walvis Bay. I had completely forgotten that I had pre-booked this many months ago when I booked the holiday itself. I decided to pass, so I missed dolphins and cormorants.
However, I was perfectly happy to look around the town and took yet more photographs.
Founded in 1892 as the main harbour for German South-West Africa, the city’s German origins are visibly evident from the colourful Bavarian-style buildings and a significant part of the town’s population is still German-speaking. Since it has a pleasant summer climate and decent beaches, the city is the most popular holiday destination in Namibia for locals. However, the location is notorious as frequently having four seasons on one day – much like home then. On the day of my walk around, it was cool and misty – a good thing that we did our flight yesterday.
Two experiences in this town will be particularly memorable for me.
First, when I stopped for coffee, I sat at a table with a Dutch mother and daughter and we had a really good chat. Mother is in her mid 80s and lives in Swakopmund; daughter is in her late 40s and lives in The Netherlands. It was interesting to discuss how each chose where to live and how they manage to keep in touch and see each other.
Second, I was fascinated, and somewhat disturbed, by the war memorial at the base of the lighthouse. It was created by the Germans to commemorate those marines who died in what the plaque calls the first Herero war but was in fact the first phase of the German genocide of the Herero and Nama from 1904-1908.
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Holiday in Namibia (4): Sossusvlei
April 19th, 2023 by Roger Darlington
Tuesday was totally another travelling day. From our accommodation near the Fish River Canyon – the furthest south of our trip – we would now be heading north each day for the next week. So it was another case of “seven for eight”: luggage outside our door at 7 am and coach departure at 8 am.
When we were at a latitude similar to the coastal town of Luderitz (which was way, way to the west), Carlos chose this time to tell us – in dramatic terms – all about the build up to and conduct of the German genocide of the Nama and Herero in 1904-1908.
We had stops at the tiny Bethanien for coffee and the equally small Helmeringhausen for lunch. Most of today’s travelling was on gravel roads, but the last two hours were on a spur into the Namib desert that was particularly bone-crunching. It is a strange, end-of-the-world type experience to trundle through what, for long stretches, is a flat landscape with no other vehicles, no road signs, no buildings, no people, no animals, just endless savannah.
It was just after 4.30 pm when we rolled up to the Desert Camp at Sesriem after a challenging journey of eight and a half hours. At 6.45 pm, we were driven to the mother building of the surrounding camps which was 10 minutes away but had an excellent choice of food (for a change, I had fish as my main course).
It was ‘the day of the dunes’ (Wednesday) which meant the earliest of starts. I set my alarm for 5 am because we left our camp at 6 am to drive over to the mother building for an early breakfast and be over at the entrance to the Namib Naukluft National Park when it opened at 7.15 am (basically sunrise).
The Namib is the world’s oldest desert. The name is of Nama origin and means ‘vast space’. Although the desert stretches along the entire length of the Namibian coastline, the name usually refers to the vast sea of sand from Luderitz to Swakopmund. No humans live in the desert but an amazing array of flora and fauna manages to survive here.
Namib-Naukluft National Park is a World Heritage site and the most visited location in Namibia. We went to three main locations in the park.
First, the famous red dunes. The Sossusvlei – which means ‘the gathering place of water’ – may be known primarily for its vast expanse of giant dunes, but the dunes here are among the highest in the world, many rising to some 650 feet (200 metres). The two largest dunes at Sossusvlei are known as Big Mamma and Big Daddy, the latter – which we saw – being 1,250 feet (380 metres) tall.
As well as their height, what makes these dunes so impressive is their colour composition. The presence of iron oxides in the sand, coupled with innumerable particles of garnet, gives the dunes their brilliant hue. The shades vary according to the age of the dunes, and the older the dune the brighter the sand’s colour.
The most popular dune for climbing is Dune 45 – named after the distance from the main gate – because it is accessible by coach (most of the vlei area is only accessible by 4×4 vehicles). To climb up along the sharp, wind-defined, sloping edge of this grand work of nature is an inspiring experience.
Second, the area known as the Dead Pan. We had to switch to a 4×4 vehicle and travel some distance over very bumpy terrain to reach this area. Then there was quite a walk across deep sand before one reached this very special sight. Here there are camel-thorn trees which carbon dating suggests died 500-600 years ago because of a lack of water. They are black from the scorching of the sun and contrast eerily with the surrounding dried white clay to create a ghostly vista.
Third, the Sesriem Canyon. This is so-called because early settlers were dependent on the canyon’s rock pools as a source of water and they tied a bucket to six (ses) thongs (rieme). Carlos explained that the site is a case of continental upliftment and that it is not really a canyon but a gorge. It is about 1 km long and up to 30 metres deep and we walked some way down and through amazing rock formations.
It had been a tough morning. It is surprising how hard it is to climb across or up sand when each step presses deep into the red soil. As the morning went on, the heat became stronger, making our efforts even more energy-sapping. It was necessary to drink water at regular intervals.
Before going on this trip, I had thought that I might be the oldest in the group but hoped that I would be one of the fittest. In fact, there are as many members of the group older than me as younger than me and I am far from being the fittest. But all the effort was worth it for some spectacular sights.
When we left the park, we found somewhere to buy some lunch to take back with us and we returned to our camp at 1 pm, a full seven hours after leaving. The rest of the day was at leisure and we all needed the rest.
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