Archive for December, 2011
by Amanda on Dec 22nd, 2011
The Canon Professional Network features a lengthy interview with renowned wildlife and landscape photographer, Thorsten Milse. Milse speaks to Doug Harman about Namibia’s arresting Skeleton Coast, the subject of his recent collection, Skeleton Coast: Africa’s Last Wilderness.
According to Milse, the Skeleton Coast, which constitutes “roughly one third of Namibia’s south-west coastline”, is so named because of the large number of shipwrecks and whale skeletons that adorn its beaches:
Thorsten Milse’s passion for wildlife photography has a firm emphasis on conservation, and his new book ‘Afrikas letzte Wildnis: Namibias Skelettküste’ (‘Africa’s Last Wilderness: Namibia’s Skeleton Coast’) highlights just such a relationship. It’s the relationship between the environment that is Namibia’s notorious Skeleton Coast, one of Africa’s toughest regions for any animal to survive in, and the wildlife that ekes out a living there.
The Skeleton Coast National Park forms roughly one third of Namibia’s south-west coastline. It’s a coastline that achieved its epithet from the large number of famous ship wrecks on its drifting sands, the remains of many whale skeletons left over from the whaling trade of old, and more than a few human remains, which hint at the low probability of the survival for those unfortunate enough to end up shipwrecked there.
Book details
» read article
by Amanda on Dec 15th, 2011
Intrepid adventurer Kingsley Holgate’s latest expedition, the Great African Rift Valley Expedition, started in Djibouti in November. Holgate and a team from Cape Union Mart have now left Djibouti and Lake Assal behind and entered the dangerous Danakil Depression, the hottest place on earth.
Keep up to date with the team’s progress on Cape Union Mart’s website or follow the Great African Rift Valley Expedition on Facebook:
Cape Union Mart Dispatch 21 – Things are getting hotter
The Zen of Travel is with us. We find the salt caravan route to Hamed Ela. Our next objective is to cross the actual Danakil Depression – officially the hottest place on earth, but it’s not that easy. This close to Eritrea security is tight and already half a dozen AK47- toting freeloaders are wanting to make a quick buck by securing our safety. We’ll keep you posted.
Cape Union Mart Dispatch 20 – Lost in the Danakil desert – dispatch sent by satellite phone
Flash floods in the distant highlands have made part of the Danakil track impassable and we are having to navigate by the seat of our pants – very difficult when Ross who is navigating has got dysentery and is being fed antibiotics and Rehidrate. With tyres down to 1 bar we grind through choking powder soft dust and then pump them hard again to bounce over ancient solidified lava flows. It is incredibly tough on man and machine. Get lost out here and that will be the last you hear from us. We’ll keep you posted…
To attempt such an adventurous expedition, the right kit is needed. Before the journey began, Holgate could be seen stocking up on K-Way gear. Land Rovers capable of tackling the tough terrain also needed to be specially shipped to Djibouti:
Book details
Photos courtesy Cape Union Mart on Flickr
» read article
by Amanda on Dec 7th, 2011
In November, intrepid adventurer Kinsley Holgate set off on his latest exploit – The Great African Rift Valley Expedition. What’s more, he is providing Getaway blog readers with a blow-by-blow account of his travels; here is the first in the series:
Last year my team and I were able to embrace their our five African countries. The journey took us to Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, The Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, but then we got back to find that Mama Afrika was about to give birth to the newest country on earth. So we loaded up the Landies and took a rubber duck journey down the Nile from below the Murchison Falls to Juba in time for the independence celebrations in South Sudan.
We are currently travelling through the Afar triangle, a land of jagged mountains and cliffs, treacherous earth faults, active volcanoes and below-sea-level deserts where temperatures rise to a scorching 57°C in the shade. …
The saltiest body on the planet
We’ve made it to Djibouti’s Lake Assal, deepest point on the continent at -155 meters below sea level, for the start of our odyssey to follow the Great African Rift Valley. With an 80 m thick salt crust in about one third of the lake and about 380 grams of salt per litre of water, Lake Assal is the saltiest body of water on the planet. Ethiopia’s Danakil, here we come.
Book details
Photo courtesy Getaway blog
» read article
by Amanda on Dec 1st, 2011
Read excerpts from three books out of Struik Travel’s popular Picturesque series, all courtesy Namibian Buchdepot:
From Picturesque Drakensberg by Sue Derwent:
World heritage wonder: The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. This mountainous sanctuary of towering peaks and deep gorges protects a variety of endemic and threatened plant, bird and animal species and preserves a unique collection of rock art created by the San. The 2428 square kilometre park extends 300 km along the border between Lesotho and South Africa. Previous pages: Devil’s Tooth, uKhahlam-ba-Drakensberg; Cosmos growing around settlements near Royal Natal Park.
From Picturesque South Africa by Sean Fraser
Table Mountain: Visitors whisked to the summit of Table Mountain by cable car can enjoy panoramic views of the city and Robben Island, the former island-prison where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated. The eastern slopes of the mountain are home to the world-famous Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden.
From Picturesque Winelands by Tanya Farber:
Groot Constantia: A national treasure and officially the oldest wine estate in South Africa, Groot Constantia offers a selection of fine restaurants, lush lawns for picnicking, and historical museums. Previous pages: Groot Constantia, Cape Town; Laborie, Paarl.
Historical roots: The Groot Constantia Manor House, now a cultural history museum, provides a rare glimpse into the lives of affluent wine estate owners in the eighteenth century. It has elegant gables on the outside; the inside offers the visitor a superb display of Cape furniture, porcelain and maritime art.
Book details
» read article
