♪
THE OLDEST DESERT ON EARTH
LIES IN THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF AFRICA...
A PLACE FORGED IN FIRE AND SHAPED OVER TIME.
IN THIS LAND OF EXTREMES, NATURE ADAPTS...
AND MYSTERIES ABOUND.
BONE-DRY TREES STAND FROZEN IN TIME...
AS STRANGE ZEBRA-STRIPED MOUNTAINS REACH FOR THE SKIES.
IN THIS ANCIENT WORLD OF CONTRASTS,
SHIFTING SEAS OF LIFELESS, BARREN EARTH
STRETCH FOR MILES...
WHILE COASTAL WATERS BURST WITH LIFE.
AS JAGGED ROCKS CARVE THE SKY...
ANCIENT CANYONS SLICE THE EARTH.
IT’S A PLACE ONCE CAPTURED BY FOREIGN POWERS--
NOW RETURNED TO NATIVE RULE.
AS ROSE-COLORED JEWELS SHIMMER OVER THE OCEAN,
DIAMOND-RUSH BOOMTOWNS TURN TO DUST.
SOME STILL LIVE IN ISOLATED WORLDS,
WHERE MYSTERIES ARE UNEXPLAINED.
GLIDE OVER THIS RUGGED LAND,
WHERE EVERY LIVING THING MUST ADAPT OR DIE...
AND DISCOVER A COUNTRY LIKE NO OTHER ON EARTH,
IN THE SWIRLING-HOT SANDS OF NAMIBIA.
♪
THE NAMIB DESERT, IN SOUTHWEST AFRICA,
IS THE OLDEST DESERT ON EARTH.
IT’S BEEN THIS WAY FOR 55 MILLION YEARS.
IT’S CONSIDERED HYPER-ARID.
RAINFALL IS LESS THAN 2 INCHES A YEAR.
MOST OF IT IS UNINHABITABLE FOR HUMANS.
♪
EVEN NATURE STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE
IN THIS ENORMOUS UNDULATING SEA OF SAND.
THE SAND CONSISTS OF QUARTZ GRAINS
WITH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF IRON.
♪
OVER TIME, THE AIR OXIDIZES THE IRON IN THE SAND GRAINS,
CAUSING IT TO RUST,
TURNING IT FROM YELLOW TO AN INCREASINGLY DEEP RED.
THE REDDER THE SAND, THE OLDER THE DUNES.
THIS SAND IS OVER 5 MILLION YEARS OLD.
♪
OVER 70 MILLION YEARS AGO
WATER CARRIED SAND FROM AFRICA’S INTERIOR
ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
THEN THE COLD OCEAN CURRENT SWEPT IT NORTHWARDS.
ONSHORE WINDS DROVE IT INLAND, FORMING A SEA OF SAND.
IT RANGES IN WIDTH FROM 50 TO 130 MILES ACROSS,
COVERING MOST OF THE WESTERN QUARTER
OF WHAT IS NOW NAMIBIA.
♪
AT THE DESERT’S HEART LIES SOSSUSVLEI,
AN ENORMOUS DRY LAKEBED-- KNOWN AS A PAN--
SURROUNDED BY SLEEPY RED SAND GIANTS.
SOSSUSVLEI MEANS "THE GATHERING PLACE OF WATER,"
BUT TODAY IT’S QUITE THE OPPOSITE.
THE TSAUCHAB RIVER,
WHICH ONLY FORMED HERE IN RARE TIMES OF RAIN,
ONCE CONNECTED TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
34 MILES TO THE WEST.
60,000 YEARS AGO,
ITS PATH WAS FINALLY BLOCKED BY ENCROACHING DUNES.
THE REMAINING WATER POOLED IN THE VALLEYS BETWEEN THE DUNES
AND EVAPORATED, FORMING THE DRY CLAY PAN.
HOWLING WINDS SHAPE THIS LANDSCAPE,
FORMING SOME OF THE TALLEST DUNES ON EARTH.
THEY STAND AS TALL AS A 70-STORY SKYSCRAPER.
AND THEY ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE.
IN SOSSUSVLEI, HOT WINDS SWIRL OFF THE DESERT FLOOR,
BLOWING IN ALL DIRECTIONS,
CARVING THE SAND INTO MAGNIFICENT DUNES
WITH MULTIPLE ARMS, CALLED STAR DUNES.
THIS IS DUNE NUMBER 45.
IT’S A FIVE-HOUR DRIVE
FROM NAMIBIA’S CAPITAL CITY, WINDHOEK,
THEN AN HOUR CLIMB TO ITS 600 FOOT-HIGH CREST.
HIKERS ALSO TREK ALONG THE BACK OF THIS DUNE CALLED, BIG MAMA.
ITS STEEP SLOPES ARE TALLER THAN A 100-STORY BUILDING...
BUT WORTH THE LONG CLIMB.
BIG MAMA LOOMS OVER AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT:
"DEAD VLEI," THE DEAD STREAM.
900-YEAR-OLD CAMEL THORN TREES
STAND FROZEN IN SUN-DRENCHED WHITE CLAY
THAT WAS ONCE THE ENDPOINT OF THE TSAUCHAB RIVER.
THE TREES WERE STARVED OF WATER
WHEN BIG MAMA’S INVADING SANDS SEVERED THEIR LIFELINE--
LEAVING BEHIND 55-FOOT-TALL SKELETONS.
IT’S SO DRY, THEY DON’T DECOMPOSE.
BUT IN DEATH THE TREES FOUND FAME.
DEAD VLEI HAS BECOME A PHOTOGRAPHER’S PARADISE
AND A POPULAR DESTINATION FOR TOURISTS.
RAIN DOES FALL IN THE NAMIB, BUT RARELY.
SHOWERS CAN BE TEN YEARS APART.
WHEN IT DOES RAIN, GRASS GROWS ON THE DUNES,
KICK-STARTING A COMPLEX FOOD CHAIN
HIDING UNDER THE SAND.
TINY BEETLES LIVE OFF DEAD PLANTS.
THEY ARE HUNTED BY SNAKES AND SAND LIZARDS,
WHO BURROW DOWN INTO THE COOLER PART OF THE DUNE
TO DIGEST THEIR MEALS.
THIS ORYX RELIES ON DESERT MELONS FOR FOOD
AND HAS A TRICK FOR CONSERVING MOISTURE:
IT URINATES CRYSTALS.
ITS LIGHT GRAY HAIR REFLECTS THE DESERT HEAT.
♪
FEMALES AND YOUNG MALES GATHER IN HERDS
OF UP TO 40 INDIVIDUALS.
THEIR NUMBERS HELP THEM KEEP A LOOKOUT FOR DANGER.
CHEETAHS, HYENAS AND LIONS ARE A THREAT IN THESE PARTS.
♪
WHILE THE NAMIB DESERT MAY BE
ONE OF THE MOST BARREN REGIONS ON EARTH,
NAMIBIA’S NORTHWESTERN BORDER WITH ANGOLA IS DEFINED
BY THE REFRESHING WATERS OF THE MIGHTY KUNENE RIVER.
ON ITS 652-MILE-LONG JOURNEY WEST TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN,
THE KUNENE IS A RIVER OF WHITEWATER RAPIDS,
TRANQUIL STREAMS AND THE SPECTACULAR EPUPA FALLS.
IT STRETCHES THROUGH A PRIMEVAL VALLEY
CARVED OUT OF ROCK BY GLACIERS 280 MILLION YEARS AGO
THAT EXPLODES WITH SHADES OF GREEN.
THE RIVER’S EMERALD GREEN COLOR
IS CAUSED BY A MINERAL CALLED GLAUCONITE,
ALSO KNOWN AS GREEN SAND,
WHICH ERODES EASILY, GIVING IT ITS COLORFUL TINT.
♪
THIS WATER IS A LIFELINE TO THE DESERT CREATURES
AND THE THIN FOREST OF PALM TREES
THAT LINE THE KUNENE’S BANKS.
THEY ARE CALLED REAL FAN PALMS.
THE TREES ONLY GROW IN SALTY SOIL.
THEY THRIVE ALONG THESE BANKS
BECAUSE THE RIVER’S FRESH WATER BECOMES BRACKISH
AS IT SEEPS INTO THE MINERAL-RICH SANDS.
THEY CAN BE OVER 100 YEARS OLD
AND STAND AN IMPRESSIVE 60 FEET TALL.
THE PALM TREES DO MORE THAN PROVIDE SHADE ALONG THE RIVER.
THEY ARE A DESERT OASIS ALL ON THEIR OWN.
THE OVAMBO TRIBES WHO LIVE ALONG THE RIVER BANKS
POKE HOLES IN THE STEMS TO TAP PALM SAP.
IT TASTES A LITTLE LIKE A ROBUST GINGER ALE.
BUT ONCE FERMENTED, THE SAP TURNS INTO A SOUR-TASTING WINE,
WITH A KICK.
LOCALS CLAIM IT CAN CAUSE SCARY DREAMS
AND WILD HALLUCINATIONS.
WHILE THE PREHISTORIC-LOOKING FORMS ALONG THIS RIVER
MAY SEEM SURREAL...
THE CROCODILES LIVING IN IT ARE VERY REAL.
♪
THE CROCS USE THE MURKY GREEN WATER FOR CAMOUFLAGE.
IT BLENDS PERFECTLY WITH THEIR DARK BROWN SKIN.
THESE AMBUSH PREDATORS LIE STILL AS A LOG,
BUT STRIKE WITH SUPERCHARGED BURSTS OF SPEED.
THEY HAVE RULED THIS RIVER FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.
BUT THE HISTORY OF THIS PLACE RUNS MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT.
NOT FAR FROM THE RIVER BANKS,
MOUNTAINS WITH MYSTERIOUS STRIPES
RISE OUT OF THIS ALIEN LANDSCAPE.
THESE ARE THE ZEBRA MOUNTAINS.
THEY WERE DISCOVERED IN THE EARLY 1900s
BY A HIKER NAMED MAUDSLEY BAYNES.
HE DESCRIBED THEM AS HAVING STRIPES MADE OF BOULDERS,
GIVING A ZEBRA-LIKE APPEARANCE.
THEIR ORIGINS WERE CLOAKED IN MYSTERY UNTIL 1989,
WHEN GEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THAT THESE MOUNTAINS WERE MADE UP
OF TWO TYPES OF VOLCANIC ROCK--
PALE ANORTHOSITE AND DARK LEUCOTROCTOLITE--
THAT FORMED WHEN MAGMA COOLED BELOW THE EARTH’S SURFACE
BEFORE ERUPTING 3 BILLION YEARS AGO--
FORMING THE ZEBRA STRIPES.
♪
WHERE THERE ARE MOUNTAINS, THERE MUST BE VALLEYS--
AND THIS ONE HAS BAFFLED SCIENTISTS FOR DECADES.
♪
IN THE LATE 1960s,
A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA
NAMED BEN VAN ZYL
WAS SENT TO CARVE A ROUTE
THROUGH THE RUGGED OTJIHIPA MOUNTAINS.
IT TOOK FOUR MONTHS TO FORGE THE 7-MILE PATH
WITH A TEAM OF 20 MEN IN THE DRY DESERT HEAT,
USING ONLY PICKS AND SHOVELS.
THE CRUDE ROAD WAS INTENDED TO BE A SHORTCUT
THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS LEADING TO THE RIVER
AND THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE.
TODAY VAN ZYL’S PASS IS FAMOUSLY KNOWN BY OFF-ROAD ENTHUSIASTS
AS ONE OF THE TEN MOST CHALLENGING ROADS IN THE WORLD.
IT’S BEEN NICKNAMED THE ROAD TO HELL.
THE JAGGED-ROCK ROAD SNAKES THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS,
THEN MAKES A 1,000-FOOT WHITE KNUCKLE DESCENT
INTO THE CURIOUS MARIENFLUSS VALLEY.
♪
IT LIES IN NORTHWEST NAMIBIA
BETWEEN THE HARTMANN AND THE OTJIHIPA MOUNTAINS,
STRETCHING FOR 40 MILES.
THE VALLEY’S ISOLATION HAS MADE IT
ONE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA’S LAST WILDERNESS AREAS.
A BREEZE DRIFTS IN FROM THE ATLANTIC EVERY MORNING,
OVER 70 MILES AWAY.
AS THE COOL OCEAN AIR MEETS THE HOT DESERT,
IT CONDENSES, FORMING MOISTURE, WHICH WATERS THE VALLEY--
SUPPORTING LIFE!
♪
THE DEW IS HARVESTED BY PLANTS, ANIMALS AND INSECTS
BEFORE THE SUN BURNS IT OFF.
THE DEW DOESN’T PROVIDE ENOUGH WATER FOR MOST HUMANS.
BUT ONE TRIBE HAS ADAPTED TO THE ARID LANDSCAPE.
THE INDIGENOUS HIMBA PEOPLE ARE HUNTER-GATHERERS
WHO HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE OFF WILD FRUIT
AND DIG FOR ROOTS DURING THE LONG SPELLS OF DROUGHT.
ABOUT 50,000 HIMBA LIVE HERE TODAY--
THE LAST SEMI-NOMADIC TRIBE IN NAMIBIA.
THEY RAISE GOATS AND SHEEP AND COUNT THEIR WEALTH
BY THE NUMBER OF CATTLE THEY OWN.
THE HIMBA FIRST DESCENDED ON THIS VALLEY
IN SEARCH OF GRAZING FOR THEIR LIVESTOCK.
THEY WERE TROUBLED BY WHAT THEY SAW.
♪
THESE MYSTERIOUS "FAIRY CIRCLES" STRETCH OUT FOR MILES.
THE HIMBA BELIEVE A GIANT DRAGON LIVES
UNDER THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.
ITS FIERY BREATH BURNS THE VEGETATION
AS IT BUBBLES TO THE SURFACE.
THE BIZARRE BARREN PATCHES OF LAND
ARE FRINGED BY PERENNIAL GRASSES
AND RANGE IN SIZE FROM 6 TO 50 FEET ACROSS.
SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN STUDYING THE CIRCLES SINCE 1971
BUT ARE STILL SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS.
ONE THEORY SUGGESTS POISONOUS BUSHES CALLED EUPHORBIA
ONCE GREW HERE,
AND STOPPED GRASS FROM GROWING.
OTHERS THINK TERMITES BLOWN INTO THE NAMIB DURING WET CYCLES
DECIMATED THE PATCHES OF GRASS.
SAND TERMITES DO LIVE IN MOST OF THE CIRCLES.
BUT NEW EVIDENCE SHOWS A CORRELATION
BETWEEN THE SIZE OF FAIRY CIRCLES
AND THE AVAILABILITY OF WATER.
THE DRYER THE AREA, THE LARGER THE GRASSY CIRCLES.
SO THEY COULD BE PATTERNS THAT OCCUR
WHEN THE DESERT GRASSES COMPETE FOR WATER.
BUT NO ONE CAN SAY FOR SURE.
FAIRY CIRCLES ARE NOT THE ONLY FEATURE IN THIS VALLEY
THAT GET PEOPLE TALKING.
HERE, OVERLAND EXPLORERS FOLLOW A SERIES OF OLD FUEL DRUMS,
LIKE THIS ONE, FOR NAVIGATION.
THE BRIGHTLY COLORED DRUMS ARE MARKED ON MAPS
WITH PRECISE GPS COORDINATES.
A JOKER INSTALLED AN OLD TELEPHONE ON THIS DRUM
IN 1997
COMPLETE WITH A RESTAURANT MENU TO ORDER TAKEOUT.
NO ONE ACTUALLY DELIVERS FOOD IN THE DESERT.
BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T CATCH YOUR OWN.
JUST 70 MILES TO THE WEST, NAMIBIA’S ATLANTIC COAST
IS A FAVORITE FISHING DESTINATION FOR SURF ANGLERS.
THEY COME FROM ALL OVER IN HOPES OF HOOKING A BIG COB.
IT’S A FIRM WHITE-FLESHED FISH THAT CAN GROW TO 160 POUNDS.
THE COB FEED ON SMALLER BAITFISH ALONG THE COASTLINE,
WHERE THERE ARE HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF PLANKTON...
WHICH ALSO ATTRACT LARGE PODS OF WHALES.
IN THE 16th CENTURY
PORTUGUESE EXPLORERS NAMED THIS BAY BAHIA DAS BAHLEAS,
OR BAY OF WHALES.
TODAY IT’S CALLED WALVIS BAY AND IS NAMIBIA’S MAIN HARBOR.
THE BRITISH ANNEXED THE PORT IN 1878,
BUT FIVE YEARS LATER, TRIBAL LAND TO THE SOUTH
WAS ABOUT TO BE TAKEN OVER BY ANOTHER EUROPEAN POWER
WHO WANTED A PIECE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.
ONCE HERE, THEY COMMITTED HEINOUS WAR CRIMES
THAT BECAME SHROUDED IN SECRECY.
♪
IN 1883 A GERMAN TOBACCO MERCHANT NAMED ADOLF LUDERITZ
SET HIS MIND TO OWNING A PIECE OF NAMIBIA’S COAST.
HE ESTABLISHED A TRADING STATION 250 MILES SOUTH OF WALVIS BAY,
WHICH IS NAMED LUDERITZ IN HIS HONOR.
OVER THE NEXT YEAR
NEIGHBORING CHIEFS GRANTED LARGE TRACTS OF LAND TO LUDERITZ
FOR A HANDFUL OF GOLD COINS AND A FEW HUNDRED GUNS.
CONVINCED THAT BRITAIN-- WHICH CONTROLLED WALVIS BAY--
WAS ABOUT TO CLAIM THE AREA AS A PROTECTORATE,
LUDERITZ TRANSFERRED HIS LAND RIGHTS
TO THE GERMAN IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT--
SETTING THE SCENE FOR ONE OF THE WORST ATROCITIES
IN HUMAN HISTORY.
THE GERMANS PROCEEDED TO COLONIZE
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY
AND LAUNCHED A WAR ON THE NATIVE HERERO PEOPLE.
IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST BRUTAL COLONIAL CONFLICTS IN HISTORY.
THE HEREROS THAT SURVIVED WERE HELD IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS
ON SHARK ISLAND,
A ROCKY, WINDSWEPT OUTCROP OFF THE COAST OF LUDERITZ.
♪
MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WERE FORCED TO WORK
WITH LITTLE OR NO FOOD.
IT WAS THE FIRST GENOCIDE OF THE 20th CENTURY.
80,000 HERERO WERE REDUCED TO 15,000 STARVING REFUGEES
WITHIN JUST THREE YEARS.
THE CAMP WAS FINALLY ABOLISHED IN 1908,
BUT FORMED A TEMPLATE
FOR THE FUTURE NAZI FORCED-LABOR CAMPS
LIKE AUSCHWITZ AND BUCHENWALD.
TODAY 20th CENTURY ART NOUVEAU BUILDINGS
STAND IN LUDERITZ AS A CONSTANT REMINDER
OF THE GERMAN OCCUPATION.
♪
THE GERMANS WEREN’T JUST IN IT FOR LAND.
THIS DESERT SAND ONCE GLITTERED...
WITH DIAMONDS.
THEY WERE DISCOVERED HERE IN NEARBY KOLMANSKOP,
JUST SIX MILES INLAND FROM LUDERITZ.
TODAY, IT’S A GHOST TOWN.
BUT IN ITS HEYDAY, KOLMANSKOP WAS AN OPULENT FRONTIER TOWN,
COMPLETE WITH BALLROOMS, CASINOS, THEATERS,
ICE FACTORIES, AND HOSPITALS.
FRESH WATER WAS IMPORTED FROM CAPE TOWN
AND CHEESES FROM FRANCE.
ORCHESTRAS PLAYED AT TEA DANCES UNTIL WELL AFTER DARK.
SPECIAL TEAMS OF WORKERS KEPT THE STREETS CLEAR
OF THE EVER-ENCROACHING SAND.
BUT WHEN THE DIAMONDS DRIED UP IN 1956,
THE RICH DESERTED THE TOWN.
THE ABANDONED BUILDINGS STILL STAND AS A HAUNTING REMINDER
OF A PLACE THAT ONCE SPARKLED WITH LIFE.
♪
NAMIBIA STILL HAS DIAMONDS, BUT THEY ARE LODGED UNDERGROUND,
16 MILES SOUTH OF KOLMANSKOP, HERE AT ELIZABETH BAY MINE.
THE MINING OPERATION SPANS SIX SQUARE MILES
ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST.
THEY MAY NOT LOOK GLAMOROUS,
BUT THESE STRUCTURES TRANSPORT AND FILTER
HUGE QUANTITIES OF EXCAVATED SAND AND MARINE SOIL
THAT EXTRACT PRECIOUS STONES WORTH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
OVER 270,000 CARATS OF GEM-QUALITY DIAMONDS
WERE MINED HERE IN 2013.
BUT NAMIBIA’S DIAMONDS ARE NEARLY MINED OUT.
THE COUNTRY NOW RELIES ON ITS GROWING TOURISM ECONOMY.
IT’S RANKED THIRD IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
AS A TOURIST DESTINATION.
AND ITS WILDLIFE RESERVES
ARE SOME OF THE MOST PRISTINE PLACES ON EARTH.
RISING OUT OF THE ROCKY TERRAIN,
THESE STRANGE LOOKING ALOES ARE CALLED QUIVER TREES.
NATIVE SAN HUNTER-GATHERERS LIVING HERE
HOLLOW OUT THE SPONGY CENTER OF THE TUBULAR BRANCHES
AND THEN COVER ONE END WITH A LEATHER POUCH.
IT MAKES A SIMPLE QUIVER
FOR CARRYING ARROWS WHILE OUT HUNTING.
FOR 30,000 YEARS THE SAN SURVIVED
IN THE WESTERN REGIONS OF NAMIBIA,
BUT HAVE NOW RETREATED INTO ISOLATED PARTS OF THE DESERT...
AFTER YEARS OF BRUTAL ATTACKS
BY COLONIAL SETTLERS AND BANTU TRIBES.
TODAY ONLY 27,000 REMAIN IN NAMIBIA.
SOME USED TO LIVE IN THE CLIFFS AND OVERHANGS
OF THIS SPECTACULAR MOUNTAIN.
IT’S A HUGE GRANITE PLUG THAT WAS PUSHED OUT OF A VOLCANO PIPE
OVER 120 MILLION YEARS AGO.
IT’S THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN IN NAMIBIA,
STANDING 8,442 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
IT’S THE FIRST LANDMASS TO CATCH THE LIGHT OF THE RISING SUN
AND THE LAST TO HOLD ITS GLOW AT DUSK,
GIVING IT ITS NAME-- BURNING MOUNTAIN.
THE SAN WHERE NATURALLY DRAWN TO THIS AWE-INSPIRING PHENOMENON,
WHICH IS NOW A SACRED SITE.
A RECORD OF THEIR CULTURE
IS STORED IN THE CRAGS AND CREVICES OF THE MOUNTAIN.
THE TSISAB RAVINE AT THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN ALONE
CONTAINS MORE THAN 1,000 ROCK SHELTERS
AND OVER 45,000 ROCK PAINTINGS.
MANY DEPICT THE WILDLIFE LIVING IN THE REGION,
INCLUDING THE ELUSIVE GIANT DESERT ELEPHANT.
♪
PALMWAG LODGE IS NESTLED NEXT TO A PALM-LINED SPRING,
ALONG THE UNIAB RIVER.
THE AREA IS RECOGNIZED FOR ITS SPECTACULAR SCENERY
AND A HEALTHY POPULATION OF WILDLIFE
THAT HAVE ADAPTED TO THE DRY ENVIRONMENT.
ANTELOPE LIKE THESE ORYX THRIVE HERE.
A VITAL ADAPTATION HELPS THEM SURVIVE THE NAMIB HEAT,
WHICH COMMONLY REACHES 115 DEGREES AND ABOVE.
BLOOD EN ROUTE TO THE ANIMAL’S BRAIN
PASSES THROUGH ITS NASAL PASSAGE,
WHERE A MAZE OF VESSELS
ACTS MUCH LIKE AN AUTOMOBILE RADIATOR SYSTEM,
REDUCING ITS TEMPERATURE.
THE COOL BLOOD PREVENTS BRAIN DAMAGE.
♪
MOST ELEPHANTS DRINK DAILY,
BUT THIS DESERT SPECIES CAN GO WITHOUT WATER FOR THREE DAYS.
THEY SURVIVE ON MOISTURE
EXTRACTED FROM SUCCULENT DESERT PLANTS.
THEIR SENSITIVE TRUNKS CAN SNIFF OUT UNDERGROUND WATER.
THE MINERAL-RICH WATER THEY FIND NOURISHES THEIR BONES,
GROWING THEM INTO GIANTS.
THEY ARE THE TALLEST ELEPHANTS ON EARTH.
SOME GROW TO OVER 13 FEET.
IT’S TAKEN MILLIONS OF YEARS
FOR NATURE TO ADAPT TO THE HARSH NAMIB DESERT.
BUT IT TOOK LESS THAN A CENTURY
FOR MAN TO USE NATURE’S BOUNTY TO TURN A PROFIT.
♪
THESE MAN-MADE LAGOONS AT WALVIS BAY
WERE BUILT TO HARVEST SALT.
WATER IS PUMPED IN FROM THE OCEAN.
AS IT EVAPORATES OVER A PERIOD OF 15 MONTHS,
ALGAE AND TINY BRINE SHRIMP
MULTIPLY IN THE INCREASINGLY SALTY WATER,
PRODUCING BEAUTIFUL SHADES OF PINK AND RED.
THESE SALT FIELDS COVER 14 SQUARE MILES
AND ARE AMONG THE LARGEST OF THEIR KIND IN THE WORLD.
THEY PRODUCE 400,000 TONS OF HIGH QUALITY SALT EVERY YEAR.
FLAMINGOS FEED ON THE ALGAE AND BRINE SHRIMP.
BOTH CONTAIN BETA-CAROTENE,
WHICH GIVES THE FLAMINGOS THEIR ROSY PINK PLUME OF FEATHERS.
THEY FLY IN FORMATIONS
TO AND FROM THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS,
AT THE ETOSHA PAN IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA--
A 400-MILE JOURNEY.
GIANT FLOCKS OF CORMORANTS ALSO FEED ALONG THIS SHORE.
THEY ARE MASTERS AT SPOTTING SHOALS OF FISH.
THEY ARE FOLLOWED BY OTHER MIGRATING FLOCKS.
CORMORANTS FLY IN FROM NORTHERN AFRICA
AND FROM AS FAR AWAY AS EUROPE AND ASIA.
♪
PLOVERS, TERNS, WADERS AND FLAMINGOS
REPLENISH THEIR ENERGY RESERVES
HERE AT SANDWICH HARBOR NEAR WALVIS BAY.
♪
WITH SO MANY BIRDS FEASTING ALONG THESE SHORES,
AN UNUSUAL BUSINESS EXISTS THAT HAS MADE A FORTUNE
ON A SEEMINGLY UNAPPEALING BYPRODUCT.
THESE STRUCTURES WERE ERECTED OVER THE SEA IN 1932
BY ADOLF WINTER,
A HUMBLE CARPENTER WITH A DREAM TO MAKE IT BIG.
HE BUILT THE PLATFORMS
TO ATTRACT FLOCKS OF SEAGULLS, CORMORANTS AND PELICANS
LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO REST.
THE DECKS COLLECT THE BIRD DROPPINGS
DEPOSITED BY MORE THAN 500,000 BIRDS.
BIRD DROPPINGS, OR GUANO, ARE RICH IN MINERALS
AND USED TO FERTILIZE CROPS.
CRITICS CALLED THESE STRUCTURES "WINTER’S FOLLY,"
BUT UPON COMPLETION, THE PROJECT MADE ADOLF A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE.
650 TONS OF GUANO IS PRODUCED BY THE MASSIVE FLOCKS EVERY YEAR.
JUST 20 MILES NORTH OF WALVIS BAY IS SWAKOPMUND--
NAMIBIA’S LARGEST AND MOST POPULAR COASTAL DESTINATION.
SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC SURF
AND THE NAMIB DESERT,
THE TOWN LOOKS LIKE A SURREAL COLONIAL REMNANT
STUCK IN TIME.
SWAKOPMUND WAS FOUNDED AS THE MAIN HARBOR
FOR GERMAN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA IN 1892...
BECAUSE THE PORT TOWN OF WALVIS BAY
HAD ALREADY BEEN ANNEXED BY THE BRITISH 14 YEARS EARLIER.
FRESH WATER FROM THE SWAKOP RIVER
MADE THE SETTLEMENT POSSIBLE.
120 GERMAN TROOPS AND 40 SETTLERS
LANDED WITH SUPPLIES AND BUILDING MATERIALS--
AND CONSTRUCTION ON THE PORT BEGAN.
SOON ENOUGH, PEOPLE AND GOODS
WERE FERRIED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC,
AND SWAKOPMUND BECAME A BUSTLING TOWN.
THE TOWN’S MOST PROMINENT LANDMARK
IS THE SWAKOPMUND LIGHTHOUSE.
BUILT IN 1902, IT STANDS NEARLY 100 FEET TALL.
ITS POWERFUL BEACON STILL OPERATES TODAY,
GUIDING SHIPS 20 MILES OUT TO SEA,
WHILE THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER’S DWELLING AT THE BASE
HAS BECOME A RESTAURANT.
THE TOWN’S JETTY STANDS AS ANOTHER REMINDER
OF ITS BUSY BEGINNINGS.
IT WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1905
SO BOATS COULD QUICKLY OFFLOAD GOODS AND PASSENGERS.
OVER THE YEARS, IT WAS BATTERED BY HIGH SEAS,
AND THE WOODEN PLANKS WERE REPLACED WITH IRON.
A RESTAURANT NOW STANDS AT THE END OF THE REFURBISHED PIER.
ITS GLASS FLOORS AND BIG WINDOWS
GIVE PATRONS THE FEELING THAT THEY ARE OUT AT SEA--
WHILE THE HALF-MILE-LONG JETTY
KEEPS THEM TIED TO THE TOWN’S HISTORY.
♪
SWAKOPMUND’S EXQUISITE GERMAN-COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE
IS A HISTORIC REFLECTION OF THE TOWN’S HERITAGE.
DESPITE ITS CHEERFUL COLOR AND ELEGANT FACADE,
THIS BUILDING IS KNOWN AS "THE OLD PRISON"
AND HAS BEEN HERE FOR OVER 100 YEARS.
PRISONERS ARE DETAINED IN THE CELLS
AT THE BACK OF THE BUILDING NEAR THE VEGETABLE GARDENS,
AND POLICE OCCUPY THE MAIN BUILDING.
SO IT’S EASILY MISTAKEN FOR A FINE HOTEL.
THIS IS THE TOWN’S ORIGINAL RAILWAY STATION, BUILT IN 1901.
THE TRAIN TRACK IS LONG GONE.
TODAY THE STATION HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED
INTO AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE AND CASINO.
IT’S NOT THE ONLY BUILDING IN TOWN WITH A NEW IDENTITY.
THIS ARCHITECTURAL RELIC IS THE HOHENZOLLERN HOUSE,
NAMED AFTER THE GERMAN FAMILY DYNASTY.
IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT AS A HOTEL IN 1909,
BUT SOON AFTER, THE LOCAL JUDGE REVOKED ITS LICENSE TO OPERATE.
IT WAS RUMORED TO HAVE BECOME A GAMBLING DEN
AND A SECRET BROTHEL--
ALTHOUGH NONE OF IT WAS EVER PROVEN TO BE TRUE.
TODAY IT’S AN APARTMENT BUILDING.
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT ITS PAST REMAINS A MYSTERY...
BECAUSE IN 1990 NAMIBIA GAINED INDEPENDENCE,
AND SWAKOPMUND’S HISTORY WAS COMPLETELY REWRITTEN.
EVEN THE STREET NAMES WERE CHANGED
TO HONOR ITS NEW LEADERS.
TODAY TOURISM IS SWAKOPMUND’S NUMBER ONE DRAW.
THE TOWN IS THE GATEWAY
TO THE SURROUNDING NAMIB DESERT RECREATION AREA,
WHERE SAND DUNES--AND FUN-- RISE TO ASTONISHING HEIGHT.
IT’S A GIANT PLAYGROUND.
THE MOST POPULAR TOURIST ACTIVITY
IS QUAD BIKING IN THE DUNE BELT.
THE OPEN SPACE MAKES IT PERFECT FOR NOVICE RIDERS.
BUT IT’S IMPORTANT TO RIDE WITH AN EXPERIENCED GUIDE.
DUNES CAN STAND 300 FEET TALL,
AND A SLIP OFF THEIR SHARPLY SLANTED FACE
COULD CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY.
OTHER SAND LOVERS RELY ON THESE STEEP SLOPES FOR SPEED.
SANDBOARDING IS SIMILAR TO SNOW-SLEDDING.
ADRENALINE JUNKIES HURTLE DOWN THE SOFT DUNES
AT INCREDIBLE SPEEDS.
EVEN THE PETS CAN’T RESIST GETTING IN ON THE FUN.
♪
IN NAMIBIA, THE SUN SHINES 300 DAYS A YEAR.
IT’S THE PERFECT LOCATION TO PRODUCE FEATURE FILMS.
NAMIBIA STOOD IN AS POST-APOCALYPTIC AUSTRALIA
FOR THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE "MAD MAX: FURY ROAD."
DIRECTOR GEORGE MILLER
WAS SWAYED FROM USING COMPUTER-GENERATED BACKGROUNDS
AND PREFERRED THE AUTHENTICITY THAT REAL DESERT SCENES CREATED.
FOR MANY ON THE PRODUCTION CREW, IT WAS THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE
FILMING IN THE DESERT ENVIRONMENT.
THEY SOON FOUND THAT IN THE DESERT
THERE IS A THIN LINE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH.
♪
THESE WEIRD-LOOKING PLANTS ARE CALLED WELWITSCHIA.
THEY MAY LOOK LIKE THEY ARE DEAD OR DYING,
BUT THEY’RE ALIVE,
AND MANY HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE IN WESTERN NAMIBIA
SINCE THE TIME OF JESUS CHRIST.
REFERRED TO AS LIVING FOSSILS,
THEY’RE INDIGENOUS TO THE NAMIB DESERT.
THEY’RE ONE OF THE RAREST PLANTS IN THE WORLD,
BUT ARE COMMONLY FOUND IN THE FOG BELT
OF THE DESERT PLAINS EAST OF SWAKOPMUND.
WELWITSCHIA HAVE A COMPLEX WATER-GATHERING SYSTEM.
AS FOG CONDENSES ON ITS LEAVES,
THE PLANT ABSORBS WATER THROUGH MINUTE PORES--
160,000 PER SQUARE INCH.
LEFTOVER WATER SEEPS INTO THE SOIL
AND IS ABSORBED THROUGH LATERAL ROOTS
THAT LIE JUST BELOW THE SURFACE.
AND TAPROOTS NINE FEET LONG
REACH DOWN TO DRAW SUBTERRANEAN WATER.
WELWITSCHIA HAVE EVOLVED TO MAKE THE MOST
OF AN INCREDIBLY SCARCE WATER SUPPLY.
BUT WATER IS NOT THE ONLY PRECIOUS RESOURCE
LYING BURIED BELOW THE DRY NAMIB LANDSCAPE.
THIS JAGGED-EDGE MOUNTAIN RANGE
FORMED AROUND 500 MILLION YEARS AGO,
WHEN LAVA GUSHED THROUGH CRACKS IN THE EARTH’S CRUST.
IT HAS SINCE BEEN ERODED INTO WHAT IS CALLED "THE BADLANDS."
BENEATH THE BADLANDS
IS A PRIME SOURCE OF CONCENTRATED ENERGY.
THE ROSSING URANIUM MINE, 40 MILES FROM SWAKOPMUND,
IS THE WORLD’S LONGEST-RUNNING OPEN PIT URANIUM MINE.
IT’S ALSO THE LARGEST.
THE PIT STRETCHES FOR TWO MILES, IS A MILE WIDE,
AND 1,280 FEET DEEP.
SINCE 1976, IT HAS PRODUCED OVER 120,000 TONS OF URANIUM OXIDE
AND EMPLOYS OVER 1,000 PEOPLE.
MINING IS DONE BY BLASTING, LOADING AND HAULING ORE
FROM THE HUGE MAN-MADE RAVINE.
THE ORE IS THEN PROCESSED INTO A POWDERED URANIUM CONCENTRATE,
WHICH IS THE BASIS FOR NUCLEAR REACTOR FUEL RODS.
BY 2020 THE MINE IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE END OF ITS LIFE.
BUT IN SOUTHERN NAMIBIA, THERE IS A CANYON
FORMED MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO BY MOTHER NATURE
THAT’S SO HUGE, IT COULD EASILY SWALLOW THIS MINE
OVER 1,000 TIMES.
♪
OVER 500 MILLION YEARS AGO, THIS GIGANTIC RAVINE WAS FORMED
WHEN SHIFTING TECTONIC PLATES
CAUSED THE DESERT FLOOR TO COLLAPSE.
♪
IT STRETCHES THROUGH SOUTHERN NAMIBIA
FOR 100 MILES, IS UP TO 17 MILES WIDE
AND 1,800 FEET DEEP.
♪
IT’S CALLED THE FISH RIVER CANYON--
AND IT’S THE SECOND LARGEST IN THE WORLD.
IT’S TRUMPED ONLY BY THE GRAND CANYON.
PEOPLE COME FROM ALL OVER TO EXPLORE THE RIM OF THE CANYON
AND HIKE ALONG THE FISH RIVER
THAT SUPPORTS HERDS OF MOUNTAIN ZEBRA
AND TROOPS OF CHACMA BABOONS.
WILDLIFE RELIES ON THE RIVER WATER FOR SURVIVAL,
INCLUDING THE WILD HORSES THAT ROAM THE REGION.
TODAY THE RIVER IS LOW,
BUT WHEN IT RAINS UPSTREAM IT BECOMES A RAGING TORRENT.
THE STEEP CANYON WALL BECOMES A PRISON,
WHERE THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM THE FLOODWATERS.
ANIMALS, ROCKS AND SAND GET WASHED ALONG THE VALLEY,
TUMBLING MILES OUT TO SEA.
THE SILT FROM THE RIVER IS THEN PUSHED BACK ON SHORE,
CREATING SAND DUNES THAT ENGULF MARINE DEBRIS.
♪
IT’S A MASSIVE SHIP GRAVEYARD KNOWN AS THE SKELETON COAST.
THIS SHIP, THE EDUARD BOHLEN, STRANDED ON THE BEACH IN 1909.
THEN, AS SAND DEPOSITS EXPANDED,
IT WAS LEFT FURTHER ON SHORE, RUSTING IN THE SEA AIR.
EVENTUALLY, IT WILL MERGE WITH THE DESERT.
AS HIGH WINDS WHIP INTO THE VESSEL, IT ERODES TO DUST.
WIND BLOWS THE DUST HUNDREDS OF MILES INLAND--
SANDBLASTING THE LANDSCAPE INTO WONDROUS FORMS.
LIKE THESE MOUNTAINS CALLED SPITZKOPPE,
WHICH MEANS "SHARP HEADS."
THIS ONE HAS BEEN NICKNAMED "THE MATTERHORN OF AFRICA."
IT WAS CREATED BY THE COLLAPSE OF A GIANT VOLCANO
MORE THAN 100 MILLION YEARS AGO.
ROCK FROM THE CENTER OF THE VOLCANO REMAINS ABOVE GROUND.
AS IT WEATHERS AND ERODES,
BEAUTIFUL TOPAZ AND QUARTZ CRYSTALS
CAN BE FOUND ON THE GRAVEL PLAINS.
IT’S A POPULAR FILMING LOCATION AND WAS FEATURED
IN THE HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER "2000 B.C."
ROCK CLIMBERS COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
TO SCALE THESE FOREBODING CLIFFS.
THIS ONE IS CALLED LITTLE SPITZKOPPE--
AT AN ELEVATION OF 5,196 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
THE HIGHEST PEAK, BIG SPITZKOP, WAS FIRST SCALED IN 1946.
IT STANDS OVER 5,600 FEET TALL.
FOLKLORE SUGGESTS THAT THE FIRST ASCENT
OF THE SPITZKOPPE
ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE IN 1904,
WHEN A GERMAN SOLDIER CONQUERED THE SOARING PEAK
AND MADE A FIRE ON THE SUMMIT.
HE WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN.
BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO CLIMB MOUNTAINS
TO SEE THIS SPECTACULAR LAND FROM THE SKY.
♪
GIANT HOT-AIR BALLOONS CRADLE BASKETS OF PEOPLE...
IN STUNNED SILENCE
AS THE RISING SUN PEEKS OVER THE HORIZON.
IT’S A SIGNAL FOR NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
TO RETURN TO UNDERGROUND BURROWS,
AWAY FROM THE ADVANCING HEAT.
THE MORNING SLOWLY REVEALS
A STRING OF MAGNIFICENT VISTAS AND AWE-INSPIRING VIEWS,
STRETCHING ACROSS THE NAMIB DESERT
AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE.
TOURISTS WITNESS IT FROM ABOVE, LIKE ASTRONAUTS IN ORBIT--
THE EARTH SLOWLY TURNING BELOW.
DESERT WINDS STEER THE BALLOON INTO THE UNKNOWN,
SAILING GENTLY OVER THE SANDY SEA.
♪
THE NAMIB DESERT WILL ALWAYS BE A LAND OF EXTREMES...
FROM PECULIAR ALIEN VALLEYS FROZEN IN TIME
TO REFURBISHED HOTELS BUILT BY THE SLAVES OF WAR.
AS ANCIENT RESOURCES ARE UNEARTHED,
MODERN SHIPS WASTE AWAY ON THE SKELETON COAST.
THIS STORY IS SHARED WITH VISITORS OF ALL KINDS,
AS ITS CULTURE AND HISTORY COLLIDE.
BUT SOME UNEXPLORED PLACES STILL EXIST...
BETWEEN EERIE LUNAR LANDSCAPES
AND OVER FIERY DESERTS OF DUST...
WHERE CURIOUS CAMPERS SLEEP OUT UNDER CLEAR DESERT SKIES...
LIKE TRIBAL FOLK WHO STILL TRUST NATURE
TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR NEEDS.
IN A DESERT THAT APPEARS DEAD TO THE EYE...
NATURE CONTINUES TO REINVENT ALL ITS MAGNIFICENT FORMS...
CRAFTING RUGGED ROCKS INTO BREATHTAKING VISTAS...
IN THE WIDE-OPEN COUNTRYSIDE OF NAMIBIA.
♪