During three weeks journey, we successfully made a roundtrip in Namibia, covering more than 6,000 kilometers by car. The journey didn't get tiring at all, the landscapes were so diverse that we felt like we had traveled through multiple continents and different climate zones.
In the north of Namibia, we visited Etosha National Park, where we spent four days. The park is enormous, about a third of the size of our home country Lithuania. Here, we saw elephants, rhinos, and lions for the first time, as well as giraffes, zebras, various antelope species, and other animals.
We continued our journey towards the Angolan border and visited waterfalls. Ruacana Falls turned out to be a disappointment as a dam had replaced the once-massive waterfall. However, Epupa Falls was stunning, with cascades amid arid rocky hills, often creating rainbows.
A remarkable experience was our visit to the Himba tribe, also known as the "Red People of Africa" due to the red ochre and butter paste they apply to their skin and hair. We had the opportunity to get a close look at their daily life and customs.
Heading south towards the Twyfelfontein and Spitzkoppe parks, with their incredible rock formations, we encountered the Damara people, known for their distinctive language. Our stay at the Spitzkoppe campsite, despite the lack of electricity and amenities, under the exceptionally starry sky, was one of the most memorable experiences.
We explored the Skeleton Coast and visited Cape Cross, home to one of the world's largest populations of fur seals. We saw them up close from a special viewing platform. Despite the strong smell, we had a wonderful time there.
In the Namib Desert, we spent a couple of days exploring Dead Vlei, an ancient dried-up riverbed with centuries-old dead trees, we climbed Big Daddy, the world's tallest sand dune (325 m). In April, the temperature exceeded 40 degrees, the air was hot and dry, and there was no breeze, sweat poured out because of the slightest movement, sometimes it was difficult to even breathe but we didn't want to leave the desert. There is something extraordinary about the African sky and sand dunes: their colors are constantly changing, especially beautiful during sunrise and sunset - the sky turns blue, red, yellow, and the sand dunes turn orange, pink or even crimson, the clouds moving across the sky during the day form new patterns in the desert, you just can't stop watching, the images are hypnotizing.
Luderitz was challenging to explore due to strong winds, often reaching speeds of 55km/h. We had to change our camping plans to a hotel. However, the calmer mornings provided an excellent opportunity for a boat tour to nearby islands with penguins and a visit to the sand-covered ghost town.
Kolmanskop used to be home to diamond miners but after the discovery of new diamond deposits, it was abandoned and turned into a ghost town. We even spent a few hours walking around the sand-flooded buildings here, it's a real photographer's paradise!
In the south of Namibia, we visited Fish River Canyon, the second-largest canyon in the world, and a quiver tree forest.
We continued our journey back north towards the Waterberg Plateau. On the way, we stopped at two private nature reserves and cheetah sanctuaries. The territory of the Hardap Dam Game Reserve is very beautiful, the campsite is on a hill with a view of the dam, but the animals here are very shy. We really liked the Okonjima Nature Reserve, many roads to ride, many different animals, we were lucky enough to see few rhinos there.
We couldn't see cheetahs in the wild, so we visited the Cheetah Conservation Fund and The AfriCat Foundation. It was fun to see these big cats up close but we felt like we were cheating - we still have to look for them in the wild on our own. Maybe we will get lucky next time in Africa.
Waterberg camp offered informative trails and organized game drives. While we could hike and reach the viewpoint on our own, driving around the plateau was not allowed due to past hunting practices, which made some of the animals here somewhat aggressive, so we had to go with a group. We had the chance to admire the African buffaloes, part of the Africa’s Big Five.
It feels like we traveled for a long time (considering all we've seen, it could have filled several years' worth of memories) but at the same time three weeks passed like a single day! 🤗🇳🇦😍 Although several months have passed since our journey, our admiration for Namibia and the longing for the trip haven't diminished. We fell in love with Africa with all our hearts and hope to return there again soon! ❤️❤️❤️

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Filmed with Sony A7IV.

Edited in Final Cut Pro X.

Music 1. Jakub Pietras - Africa 2. Hans Johnson - One Planet. Get it on [ Ссылка ]

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