The hill, the red, and the sundowner

My favorite part of the preparation for daily activities is getting a decent amount of sleep beforehand. Sounds dull but it provides the base for intense activities during the next day, which are in my case quite packed and made to tire me out. In order to wake up earlier at some godforsaken early hour (such as getting up at 3 to be able to be at a certain point at 5 before the sunrise after an early morning stroll) I shall gladly trot right to the bed. Everytime I end up on my solo trips I tend to do exactly that – mainly because of the fact that there is no one at 5 AM in the place you want to see and you can have it for yourself.

In the case of Namibia it is purely practical as well – the Sun went down every night at cca 8 PM and there is not much to see and explore in a safe manner. I would land in the bed like a piece of stone in the early evening to be more than ready to spend the day on the move. I want to use every single possible moment when I visit a new and exciting place. So, when I wake up before the early morning alarm, I just grab my backpack and leave the room.

One of the days in Hardap was spent on: hiking to a nearby hill, exploring/hiking the Red area and finding nice spots for flying the drone over it, and ending the day with a spectacular finish – the actual sundowner ride done 100%. The breaks between these activities were spent on showering and recharging the devices, to be ready for anything which nature has for me.

The hill

I spotted a hill in the vicinity of the lodge. Looked close enough to just casually walk to it, while enjoying the strangely comfortable warmth. I took my essentials (cameras, drone + water) and just strolled outside.

The sand on the ground is super comfortable to walk on. It was a bit moist due to the rain on several occasions while I was there, but by the time I walk across that same spot again it becomes, expectedly, drier. On the way to it I found ants of many sorts, termites, scarab beetles etc.

The hill has no name and has a beautiful stony texture; in between the cracks and spaces between the rocks lies occasional vegetation.

I saw a trail and hastily ran up along it. It was not made for reaching the top; instead, it serves as a pathway for visitors of a very fancy cabin on the southeast side of the hill. Beyond that, there are no trails and I tried to figure out a pathway on which I would not break any bones again + not stumble upon a venomous snake resting on the rocks or waiting for some rodent to naively peek out of a hole.

I managed, somehow, to spot a small jackal running around the hill. This is always a good sign with the wildlife; having any species, especially predators, running to you it usually means that something is off with the animal (spoilers: rabies, extreme hunger, being wounded – basically, nothing you’d like to be in contact with). Its color is spectacularly mimicking the environment; it was hardly noticeable. I could hardly spot it if it did not for a moment run along a ridge with the blue sky in his background. This is one of the clearer photos of this beauty.

The Red

Behind the lodge lies a large stone structure painted with a deep red color, which changes to light pink tones as the Sun reaches the middle of sky. Between that stone structure and the lodge lies an ephemeral river. This type of water body appears and disappears according to the precipitations above it and the water availability. I came to explore it not long after a rainstorm, which meant that it was quite muddy at some points and I saw countless birds and small rodents drinking water.

The color of the ground is insanely gorgeous. These red/ish tones are such eyecandy. I walked for hours along the edge of that stone and really took time to document it properly.

The drone gave me another angle of this redness.

The sundowner

The evening sundowner dunes tour had to be repeated as the previous one was interrupted by the gusts of wind and rain. When I got an offer to just repeat it, I sat down in the safari vehicle again. The first half was identical to the previous one, and I must say that it’s a shame we stopped, as the second one was a spectacular eye treat.

The previous sundowner tour had to be cancelled due to the rainstorm but the lodge staff offered another round along the same route. I, of course, confirmed my attendance with utmost interest, and this brought me to the second half of the standard tour which was unseen before – trip above and beyond the lodge area. Above the red stones.

I saw the entire area from the cars and by foot, from the drone perspective and in the end – from the stony range above the lodge, perching for tens of kilometers.

The vehicle drove beyond and upwards. The view was incredible. It felt like standing on some balcony overlooking the terrain of Mars.

We were served juice, fruit and meat platters. I did not care at all about this. While others ate and drank, I just walked around, took hundreds of photos, especially because as the evening went further, the colors became darker and deeper, the shadows were longer and the daylight became slowly devoured by the night.