1
00:00:01,535 --> 00:00:04,138
♪

2
00:00:04,304 --> 00:00:06,206
THE OLDEST DESERT ON EARTH

3
00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,745
LIES IN THE SOUTHWEST CORNER
OF AFRICA...

4
00:00:10,844 --> 00:00:15,649
A PLACE FORGED IN FIRE
AND SHAPED OVER TIME.

5
00:00:18,352 --> 00:00:22,523
IN THIS LAND OF EXTREMES,
NATURE ADAPTS...

6
00:00:25,259 --> 00:00:28,763
AND MYSTERIES ABOUND.

7
00:00:28,896 --> 00:00:32,500
BONE-DRY TREES
STAND FROZEN IN TIME...

8
00:00:32,533 --> 00:00:38,239
AS STRANGE ZEBRA-STRIPED
MOUNTAINS REACH FOR THE SKIES.

9
00:00:38,272 --> 00:00:42,109
IN THIS ANCIENT WORLD
OF CONTRASTS,

10
00:00:42,142 --> 00:00:44,911
SHIFTING SEAS
OF LIFELESS, BARREN EARTH

11
00:00:44,945 --> 00:00:48,248
STRETCH FOR MILES...

12
00:00:48,282 --> 00:00:51,418
WHILE COASTAL WATERS
BURST WITH LIFE.

13
00:00:53,420 --> 00:00:56,890
AS JAGGED ROCKS CARVE THE SKY...

14
00:00:59,693 --> 00:01:02,696
ANCIENT CANYONS SLICE THE EARTH.

15
00:01:05,098 --> 00:01:09,135
IT’S A PLACE ONCE CAPTURED
BY FOREIGN POWERS--

16
00:01:09,169 --> 00:01:12,739
NOW RETURNED TO NATIVE RULE.

17
00:01:12,773 --> 00:01:16,477
AS ROSE-COLORED JEWELS
SHIMMER OVER THE OCEAN,

18
00:01:16,577 --> 00:01:21,015
DIAMOND-RUSH BOOMTOWNS
TURN TO DUST.

19
00:01:21,048 --> 00:01:24,351
SOME STILL LIVE
IN ISOLATED WORLDS,

20
00:01:24,384 --> 00:01:27,454
WHERE MYSTERIES ARE UNEXPLAINED.

21
00:01:29,256 --> 00:01:33,427
GLIDE OVER THIS RUGGED LAND,

22
00:01:33,527 --> 00:01:37,931
WHERE EVERY LIVING THING
MUST ADAPT OR DIE...

23
00:01:39,900 --> 00:01:43,370
AND DISCOVER A COUNTRY
LIKE NO OTHER ON EARTH,

24
00:01:43,403 --> 00:01:46,840
IN THE SWIRLING-HOT SANDS
OF NAMIBIA.

25
00:01:46,873 --> 00:01:57,984
♪

26
00:01:58,018 --> 00:02:01,722
THE NAMIB DESERT,
IN SOUTHWEST AFRICA,

27
00:02:01,888 --> 00:02:05,058
IS THE OLDEST DESERT ON EARTH.

28
00:02:05,092 --> 00:02:10,531
IT’S BEEN THIS WAY
FOR 55 MILLION YEARS.

29
00:02:10,631 --> 00:02:13,167
IT’S CONSIDERED HYPER-ARID.

30
00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:17,004
RAINFALL IS LESS
THAN 2 INCHES A YEAR.

31
00:02:18,438 --> 00:02:21,341
MOST OF IT IS UNINHABITABLE
FOR HUMANS.

32
00:02:21,375 --> 00:02:35,389
♪

33
00:02:35,422 --> 00:02:37,824
EVEN NATURE STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE

34
00:02:37,858 --> 00:02:43,931
IN THIS ENORMOUS
UNDULATING SEA OF SAND.

35
00:02:43,964 --> 00:02:46,533
THE SAND CONSISTS
OF QUARTZ GRAINS

36
00:02:46,566 --> 00:02:49,269
WITH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS
OF IRON.

37
00:02:49,336 --> 00:02:59,313
♪

38
00:02:59,346 --> 00:03:04,751
OVER TIME, THE AIR OXIDIZES
THE IRON IN THE SAND GRAINS,

39
00:03:04,785 --> 00:03:07,121
CAUSING IT TO RUST,

40
00:03:07,154 --> 00:03:11,725
TURNING IT FROM YELLOW
TO AN INCREASINGLY DEEP RED.

41
00:03:14,594 --> 00:03:18,731
THE REDDER THE SAND,
THE OLDER THE DUNES.

42
00:03:22,335 --> 00:03:25,905
THIS SAND IS OVER
5 MILLION YEARS OLD.

43
00:03:25,939 --> 00:03:30,043
♪

44
00:03:30,077 --> 00:03:32,780
OVER 70 MILLION YEARS AGO

45
00:03:32,813 --> 00:03:36,216
WATER CARRIED SAND
FROM AFRICA’S INTERIOR

46
00:03:36,249 --> 00:03:41,621
ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN
TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.

47
00:03:41,655 --> 00:03:45,526
THEN THE COLD OCEAN CURRENT
SWEPT IT NORTHWARDS.

48
00:03:49,129 --> 00:03:54,401
ONSHORE WINDS DROVE IT INLAND,
FORMING A SEA OF SAND.

49
00:03:58,305 --> 00:04:03,377
IT RANGES IN WIDTH
FROM 50 TO 130 MILES ACROSS,

50
00:04:03,410 --> 00:04:05,412
COVERING MOST
OF THE WESTERN QUARTER

51
00:04:05,445 --> 00:04:08,448
OF WHAT IS NOW NAMIBIA.

52
00:04:08,482 --> 00:04:15,956
♪

53
00:04:15,989 --> 00:04:19,326
AT THE DESERT’S HEART
LIES SOSSUSVLEI,

54
00:04:19,359 --> 00:04:23,897
AN ENORMOUS DRY LAKEBED--
KNOWN AS A PAN--

55
00:04:23,930 --> 00:04:28,735
SURROUNDED BY
SLEEPY RED SAND GIANTS.

56
00:04:28,769 --> 00:04:32,373
SOSSUSVLEI MEANS
"THE GATHERING PLACE OF WATER,"

57
00:04:32,405 --> 00:04:36,509
BUT TODAY IT’S
QUITE THE OPPOSITE.

58
00:04:36,543 --> 00:04:38,045
THE TSAUCHAB RIVER,

59
00:04:38,078 --> 00:04:41,515
WHICH ONLY FORMED HERE
IN RARE TIMES OF RAIN,

60
00:04:41,548 --> 00:04:44,084
ONCE CONNECTED
TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

61
00:04:44,117 --> 00:04:49,022
34 MILES TO THE WEST.

62
00:04:49,055 --> 00:04:50,957
60,000 YEARS AGO,

63
00:04:51,091 --> 00:04:56,463
ITS PATH WAS FINALLY BLOCKED
BY ENCROACHING DUNES.

64
00:04:56,496 --> 00:04:59,966
THE REMAINING WATER POOLED
IN THE VALLEYS BETWEEN THE DUNES

65
00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,004
AND EVAPORATED,
FORMING THE DRY CLAY PAN.

66
00:05:07,073 --> 00:05:10,577
HOWLING WINDS SHAPE
THIS LANDSCAPE,

67
00:05:10,744 --> 00:05:14,982
FORMING SOME OF THE TALLEST
DUNES ON EARTH.

68
00:05:15,015 --> 00:05:19,486
THEY STAND AS TALL
AS A 70-STORY SKYSCRAPER.

69
00:05:22,022 --> 00:05:25,959
AND THEY ARE CONSTANTLY
ON THE MOVE.

70
00:05:28,562 --> 00:05:33,567
IN SOSSUSVLEI, HOT WINDS
SWIRL OFF THE DESERT FLOOR,

71
00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,269
BLOWING IN ALL DIRECTIONS,

72
00:05:36,303 --> 00:05:39,139
CARVING THE SAND
INTO MAGNIFICENT DUNES

73
00:05:39,239 --> 00:05:43,977
WITH MULTIPLE ARMS,
CALLED STAR DUNES.

74
00:05:48,782 --> 00:05:52,286
THIS IS DUNE NUMBER 45.

75
00:05:52,319 --> 00:05:53,821
IT’S A FIVE-HOUR DRIVE

76
00:05:53,854 --> 00:05:56,824
FROM NAMIBIA’S CAPITAL CITY,
WINDHOEK,

77
00:05:56,857 --> 00:06:02,763
THEN AN HOUR CLIMB
TO ITS 600 FOOT-HIGH CREST.

78
00:06:02,863 --> 00:06:08,769
HIKERS ALSO TREK ALONG THE BACK
OF THIS DUNE CALLED, BIG MAMA.

79
00:06:08,802 --> 00:06:13,006
ITS STEEP SLOPES ARE TALLER
THAN A 100-STORY BUILDING...

80
00:06:13,039 --> 00:06:16,109
BUT WORTH THE LONG CLIMB.

81
00:06:16,142 --> 00:06:20,713
BIG MAMA LOOMS
OVER AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT:

82
00:06:20,747 --> 00:06:25,118
"DEAD VLEI," THE DEAD STREAM.

83
00:06:25,151 --> 00:06:27,720
900-YEAR-OLD CAMEL THORN TREES

84
00:06:27,754 --> 00:06:31,091
STAND FROZEN
IN SUN-DRENCHED WHITE CLAY

85
00:06:31,124 --> 00:06:35,895
THAT WAS ONCE THE ENDPOINT
OF THE TSAUCHAB RIVER.

86
00:06:35,929 --> 00:06:37,831
THE TREES WERE STARVED OF WATER

87
00:06:37,864 --> 00:06:41,701
WHEN BIG MAMA’S INVADING SANDS
SEVERED THEIR LIFELINE--

88
00:06:41,735 --> 00:06:46,773
LEAVING BEHIND
55-FOOT-TALL SKELETONS.

89
00:06:46,806 --> 00:06:50,243
IT’S SO DRY,
THEY DON’T DECOMPOSE.

90
00:06:51,912 --> 00:06:56,450
BUT IN DEATH
THE TREES FOUND FAME.

91
00:06:56,483 --> 00:06:59,486
DEAD VLEI HAS BECOME
A PHOTOGRAPHER’S PARADISE

92
00:06:59,653 --> 00:07:03,190
AND A POPULAR DESTINATION
FOR TOURISTS.

93
00:07:06,893 --> 00:07:10,463
RAIN DOES FALL IN THE NAMIB,
BUT RARELY.

94
00:07:10,497 --> 00:07:14,868
SHOWERS CAN BE TEN YEARS APART.

95
00:07:16,403 --> 00:07:19,840
WHEN IT DOES RAIN,
GRASS GROWS ON THE DUNES,

96
00:07:19,873 --> 00:07:22,008
KICK-STARTING
A COMPLEX FOOD CHAIN

97
00:07:22,042 --> 00:07:25,579
HIDING UNDER THE SAND.

98
00:07:25,612 --> 00:07:28,882
TINY BEETLES
LIVE OFF DEAD PLANTS.

99
00:07:28,915 --> 00:07:31,718
THEY ARE HUNTED BY SNAKES
AND SAND LIZARDS,

100
00:07:31,751 --> 00:07:34,387
WHO BURROW DOWN INTO
THE COOLER PART OF THE DUNE

101
00:07:34,421 --> 00:07:37,090
TO DIGEST THEIR MEALS.

102
00:07:41,361 --> 00:07:44,898
THIS ORYX RELIES
ON DESERT MELONS FOR FOOD

103
00:07:44,931 --> 00:07:47,667
AND HAS A TRICK
FOR CONSERVING MOISTURE:

104
00:07:47,767 --> 00:07:50,970
IT URINATES CRYSTALS.

105
00:07:51,004 --> 00:07:54,608
ITS LIGHT GRAY HAIR
REFLECTS THE DESERT HEAT.

106
00:07:54,641 --> 00:08:01,214
♪

107
00:08:01,247 --> 00:08:03,483
FEMALES AND YOUNG MALES
GATHER IN HERDS

108
00:08:03,650 --> 00:08:06,820
OF UP TO 40 INDIVIDUALS.

109
00:08:06,853 --> 00:08:10,390
THEIR NUMBERS HELP THEM KEEP
A LOOKOUT FOR DANGER.

110
00:08:12,826 --> 00:08:17,364
CHEETAHS, HYENAS AND LIONS
ARE A THREAT IN THESE PARTS.

111
00:08:17,397 --> 00:08:29,242
♪

112
00:08:29,409 --> 00:08:30,911
WHILE THE NAMIB DESERT MAY BE

113
00:08:30,944 --> 00:08:33,847
ONE OF THE MOST BARREN
REGIONS ON EARTH,

114
00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:37,317
NAMIBIA’S NORTHWESTERN BORDER
WITH ANGOLA IS DEFINED

115
00:08:37,350 --> 00:08:41,287
BY THE REFRESHING WATERS
OF THE MIGHTY KUNENE RIVER.

116
00:08:44,958 --> 00:08:50,363
ON ITS 652-MILE-LONG JOURNEY
WEST TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN,

117
00:08:50,397 --> 00:08:54,067
THE KUNENE IS A RIVER
OF WHITEWATER RAPIDS,

118
00:08:54,100 --> 00:08:58,638
TRANQUIL STREAMS
AND THE SPECTACULAR EPUPA FALLS.

119
00:09:01,007 --> 00:09:03,309
IT STRETCHES
THROUGH A PRIMEVAL VALLEY

120
00:09:03,343 --> 00:09:08,281
CARVED OUT OF ROCK BY GLACIERS
280 MILLION YEARS AGO

121
00:09:08,381 --> 00:09:11,317
THAT EXPLODES
WITH SHADES OF GREEN.

122
00:09:13,787 --> 00:09:15,689
THE RIVER’S EMERALD GREEN COLOR

123
00:09:15,722 --> 00:09:19,226
IS CAUSED BY A MINERAL
CALLED GLAUCONITE,

124
00:09:19,259 --> 00:09:21,928
ALSO KNOWN AS GREEN SAND,

125
00:09:21,961 --> 00:09:26,265
WHICH ERODES EASILY,
GIVING IT ITS COLORFUL TINT.

126
00:09:26,299 --> 00:09:30,470
♪

127
00:09:30,503 --> 00:09:33,506
THIS WATER IS A LIFELINE
TO THE DESERT CREATURES

128
00:09:33,540 --> 00:09:35,842
AND THE THIN FOREST
OF PALM TREES

129
00:09:35,875 --> 00:09:38,978
THAT LINE THE KUNENE’S BANKS.

130
00:09:39,012 --> 00:09:42,649
THEY ARE CALLED REAL FAN PALMS.

131
00:09:42,682 --> 00:09:45,919
THE TREES ONLY GROW
IN SALTY SOIL.

132
00:09:46,019 --> 00:09:47,888
THEY THRIVE ALONG THESE BANKS

133
00:09:47,921 --> 00:09:50,590
BECAUSE THE RIVER’S FRESH WATER
BECOMES BRACKISH

134
00:09:50,623 --> 00:09:55,161
AS IT SEEPS
INTO THE MINERAL-RICH SANDS.

135
00:09:55,195 --> 00:09:57,531
THEY CAN BE OVER 100 YEARS OLD

136
00:09:57,564 --> 00:10:03,403
AND STAND
AN IMPRESSIVE 60 FEET TALL.

137
00:10:03,436 --> 00:10:09,542
THE PALM TREES DO MORE THAN
PROVIDE SHADE ALONG THE RIVER.

138
00:10:09,576 --> 00:10:14,581
THEY ARE A DESERT OASIS
ALL ON THEIR OWN.

139
00:10:14,614 --> 00:10:17,450
THE OVAMBO TRIBES WHO LIVE
ALONG THE RIVER BANKS

140
00:10:17,484 --> 00:10:21,254
POKE HOLES IN THE STEMS
TO TAP PALM SAP.

141
00:10:24,257 --> 00:10:27,694
IT TASTES A LITTLE LIKE
A ROBUST GINGER ALE.

142
00:10:27,727 --> 00:10:32,165
BUT ONCE FERMENTED, THE SAP
TURNS INTO A SOUR-TASTING WINE,

143
00:10:32,198 --> 00:10:34,534
WITH A KICK.

144
00:10:34,567 --> 00:10:37,170
LOCALS CLAIM
IT CAN CAUSE SCARY DREAMS

145
00:10:37,203 --> 00:10:40,973
AND WILD HALLUCINATIONS.

146
00:10:41,007 --> 00:10:43,576
WHILE THE PREHISTORIC-LOOKING
FORMS ALONG THIS RIVER

147
00:10:43,610 --> 00:10:46,546
MAY SEEM SURREAL...

148
00:10:46,579 --> 00:10:50,316
THE CROCODILES LIVING IN IT
ARE VERY REAL.

149
00:10:50,350 --> 00:10:55,055
♪

150
00:10:55,155 --> 00:10:59,059
THE CROCS USE THE MURKY GREEN
WATER FOR CAMOUFLAGE.

151
00:10:59,092 --> 00:11:02,829
IT BLENDS PERFECTLY
WITH THEIR DARK BROWN SKIN.

152
00:11:05,098 --> 00:11:09,469
THESE AMBUSH PREDATORS
LIE STILL AS A LOG,

153
00:11:09,502 --> 00:11:14,040
BUT STRIKE WITH SUPERCHARGED
BURSTS OF SPEED.

154
00:11:18,311 --> 00:11:22,816
THEY HAVE RULED THIS RIVER
FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.

155
00:11:22,849 --> 00:11:26,920
BUT THE HISTORY OF THIS PLACE
RUNS MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT.

156
00:11:30,723 --> 00:11:32,858
NOT FAR FROM THE RIVER BANKS,

157
00:11:32,892 --> 00:11:34,961
MOUNTAINS
WITH MYSTERIOUS STRIPES

158
00:11:35,061 --> 00:11:37,997
RISE OUT OF THIS
ALIEN LANDSCAPE.

159
00:11:40,733 --> 00:11:44,770
THESE ARE THE ZEBRA MOUNTAINS.

160
00:11:44,804 --> 00:11:47,473
THEY WERE DISCOVERED
IN THE EARLY 1900s

161
00:11:47,507 --> 00:11:52,579
BY A HIKER NAMED
MAUDSLEY BAYNES.

162
00:11:52,612 --> 00:11:55,648
HE DESCRIBED THEM AS HAVING
STRIPES MADE OF BOULDERS,

163
00:11:55,748 --> 00:11:58,017
GIVING A ZEBRA-LIKE APPEARANCE.

164
00:12:02,188 --> 00:12:06,125
THEIR ORIGINS WERE CLOAKED
IN MYSTERY UNTIL 1989,

165
00:12:06,159 --> 00:12:09,429
WHEN GEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THAT
THESE MOUNTAINS WERE MADE UP

166
00:12:09,462 --> 00:12:13,766
OF TWO TYPES OF VOLCANIC ROCK--

167
00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:19,239
PALE ANORTHOSITE
AND DARK LEUCOTROCTOLITE--

168
00:12:19,272 --> 00:12:22,509
THAT FORMED WHEN MAGMA COOLED
BELOW THE EARTH’S SURFACE

169
00:12:22,542 --> 00:12:26,780
BEFORE ERUPTING
3 BILLION YEARS AGO--

170
00:12:26,813 --> 00:12:29,282
FORMING THE ZEBRA STRIPES.

171
00:12:29,315 --> 00:12:36,022
♪

172
00:12:36,055 --> 00:12:41,861
WHERE THERE ARE MOUNTAINS,
THERE MUST BE VALLEYS--

173
00:12:41,894 --> 00:12:46,799
AND THIS ONE HAS BAFFLED
SCIENTISTS FOR DECADES.

174
00:12:46,933 --> 00:12:59,612
♪

175
00:12:59,646 --> 00:13:01,748
IN THE LATE 1960s,

176
00:13:01,781 --> 00:13:03,983
A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL
IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA

177
00:13:04,017 --> 00:13:05,919
NAMED BEN VAN ZYL

178
00:13:05,952 --> 00:13:07,454
WAS SENT TO CARVE A ROUTE

179
00:13:07,487 --> 00:13:10,490
THROUGH THE RUGGED
OTJIHIPA MOUNTAINS.

180
00:13:13,526 --> 00:13:16,596
IT TOOK FOUR MONTHS
TO FORGE THE 7-MILE PATH

181
00:13:16,696 --> 00:13:20,233
WITH A TEAM OF 20 MEN
IN THE DRY DESERT HEAT,

182
00:13:20,266 --> 00:13:23,236
USING ONLY PICKS AND SHOVELS.

183
00:13:26,039 --> 00:13:28,575
THE CRUDE ROAD WAS INTENDED
TO BE A SHORTCUT

184
00:13:28,608 --> 00:13:30,944
THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
LEADING TO THE RIVER

185
00:13:30,977 --> 00:13:34,981
AND THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
WHO LIVE THERE.

186
00:13:35,014 --> 00:13:39,218
TODAY VAN ZYL’S PASS IS FAMOUSLY
KNOWN BY OFF-ROAD ENTHUSIASTS

187
00:13:39,319 --> 00:13:44,491
AS ONE OF THE TEN MOST
CHALLENGING ROADS IN THE WORLD.

188
00:13:44,524 --> 00:13:47,861
IT’S BEEN NICKNAMED
THE ROAD TO HELL.

189
00:13:50,797 --> 00:13:53,900
THE JAGGED-ROCK ROAD
SNAKES THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS,

190
00:13:53,933 --> 00:13:56,836
THEN MAKES A 1,000-FOOT
WHITE KNUCKLE DESCENT

191
00:13:56,869 --> 00:14:00,172
INTO THE CURIOUS
MARIENFLUSS VALLEY.

192
00:14:00,273 --> 00:14:09,916
♪

193
00:14:10,083 --> 00:14:12,185
IT LIES IN NORTHWEST NAMIBIA

194
00:14:12,318 --> 00:14:16,556
BETWEEN THE HARTMANN
AND THE OTJIHIPA MOUNTAINS,

195
00:14:16,689 --> 00:14:19,892
STRETCHING FOR 40 MILES.

196
00:14:22,995 --> 00:14:25,364
THE VALLEY’S ISOLATION
HAS MADE IT

197
00:14:25,398 --> 00:14:29,435
ONE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA’S
LAST WILDERNESS AREAS.

198
00:14:31,704 --> 00:14:35,942
A BREEZE DRIFTS IN
FROM THE ATLANTIC EVERY MORNING,

199
00:14:35,975 --> 00:14:40,246
OVER 70 MILES AWAY.

200
00:14:40,279 --> 00:14:43,349
AS THE COOL OCEAN AIR
MEETS THE HOT DESERT,

201
00:14:43,516 --> 00:14:49,355
IT CONDENSES, FORMING MOISTURE,
WHICH WATERS THE VALLEY--

202
00:14:49,389 --> 00:14:52,025
SUPPORTING LIFE!

203
00:14:52,125 --> 00:14:57,097
♪

204
00:14:57,130 --> 00:15:00,767
THE DEW IS HARVESTED
BY PLANTS, ANIMALS AND INSECTS

205
00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,736
BEFORE THE SUN BURNS IT OFF.

206
00:15:06,139 --> 00:15:10,610
THE DEW DOESN’T PROVIDE
ENOUGH WATER FOR MOST HUMANS.

207
00:15:15,047 --> 00:15:19,752
BUT ONE TRIBE HAS ADAPTED
TO THE ARID LANDSCAPE.

208
00:15:22,088 --> 00:15:25,325
THE INDIGENOUS HIMBA PEOPLE
ARE HUNTER-GATHERERS

209
00:15:25,358 --> 00:15:27,827
WHO HAVE LEARNED
TO LIVE OFF WILD FRUIT

210
00:15:27,860 --> 00:15:32,698
AND DIG FOR ROOTS DURING
THE LONG SPELLS OF DROUGHT.

211
00:15:32,732 --> 00:15:35,668
ABOUT 50,000 HIMBA
LIVE HERE TODAY--

212
00:15:35,701 --> 00:15:40,873
THE LAST SEMI-NOMADIC TRIBE
IN NAMIBIA.

213
00:15:40,907 --> 00:15:43,743
THEY RAISE GOATS AND SHEEP
AND COUNT THEIR WEALTH

214
00:15:43,910 --> 00:15:46,479
BY THE NUMBER OF CATTLE
THEY OWN.

215
00:15:46,512 --> 00:15:48,481
THE HIMBA FIRST DESCENDED
ON THIS VALLEY

216
00:15:48,514 --> 00:15:51,584
IN SEARCH OF GRAZING
FOR THEIR LIVESTOCK.

217
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:56,956
THEY WERE TROUBLED
BY WHAT THEY SAW.

218
00:15:56,989 --> 00:16:02,228
♪

219
00:16:02,395 --> 00:16:08,334
THESE MYSTERIOUS "FAIRY CIRCLES"
STRETCH OUT FOR MILES.

220
00:16:08,367 --> 00:16:10,569
THE HIMBA BELIEVE
A GIANT DRAGON LIVES

221
00:16:10,603 --> 00:16:13,139
UNDER THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.

222
00:16:14,974 --> 00:16:17,577
ITS FIERY BREATH
BURNS THE VEGETATION

223
00:16:17,610 --> 00:16:22,248
AS IT BUBBLES TO THE SURFACE.

224
00:16:22,281 --> 00:16:24,450
THE BIZARRE
BARREN PATCHES OF LAND

225
00:16:24,550 --> 00:16:26,886
ARE FRINGED BY PERENNIAL GRASSES

226
00:16:26,919 --> 00:16:31,624
AND RANGE IN SIZE
FROM 6 TO 50 FEET ACROSS.

227
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:38,665
SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN STUDYING
THE CIRCLES SINCE 1971

228
00:16:38,698 --> 00:16:43,536
BUT ARE STILL
SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS.

229
00:16:43,569 --> 00:16:47,273
ONE THEORY SUGGESTS POISONOUS
BUSHES CALLED EUPHORBIA

230
00:16:47,306 --> 00:16:48,607
ONCE GREW HERE,

231
00:16:48,641 --> 00:16:53,012
AND STOPPED GRASS FROM GROWING.

232
00:16:53,045 --> 00:16:56,882
OTHERS THINK TERMITES BLOWN INTO
THE NAMIB DURING WET CYCLES

233
00:16:56,916 --> 00:17:01,421
DECIMATED THE PATCHES OF GRASS.

234
00:17:01,587 --> 00:17:05,758
SAND TERMITES DO LIVE
IN MOST OF THE CIRCLES.

235
00:17:05,791 --> 00:17:07,893
BUT NEW EVIDENCE
SHOWS A CORRELATION

236
00:17:07,927 --> 00:17:09,962
BETWEEN THE SIZE
OF FAIRY CIRCLES

237
00:17:09,996 --> 00:17:14,167
AND THE AVAILABILITY OF WATER.

238
00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:19,939
THE DRYER THE AREA,
THE LARGER THE GRASSY CIRCLES.

239
00:17:19,972 --> 00:17:21,841
SO THEY COULD BE
PATTERNS THAT OCCUR

240
00:17:21,874 --> 00:17:25,244
WHEN THE DESERT GRASSES
COMPETE FOR WATER.

241
00:17:25,278 --> 00:17:28,081
BUT NO ONE CAN SAY FOR SURE.

242
00:17:29,815 --> 00:17:32,484
FAIRY CIRCLES ARE NOT
THE ONLY FEATURE IN THIS VALLEY

243
00:17:32,518 --> 00:17:35,654
THAT GET PEOPLE TALKING.

244
00:17:35,688 --> 00:17:40,126
HERE, OVERLAND EXPLORERS FOLLOW
A SERIES OF OLD FUEL DRUMS,

245
00:17:40,159 --> 00:17:43,763
LIKE THIS ONE, FOR NAVIGATION.

246
00:17:43,796 --> 00:17:46,465
THE BRIGHTLY COLORED DRUMS
ARE MARKED ON MAPS

247
00:17:46,499 --> 00:17:49,535
WITH PRECISE GPS COORDINATES.

248
00:17:49,569 --> 00:17:52,272
A JOKER INSTALLED
AN OLD TELEPHONE ON THIS DRUM

249
00:17:52,305 --> 00:17:53,907
IN 1997

250
00:17:53,940 --> 00:17:57,577
COMPLETE WITH A RESTAURANT MENU
TO ORDER TAKEOUT.

251
00:17:59,245 --> 00:18:03,116
NO ONE ACTUALLY DELIVERS FOOD
IN THE DESERT.

252
00:18:03,149 --> 00:18:06,586
BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN
YOU CAN’T CATCH YOUR OWN.

253
00:18:09,522 --> 00:18:13,426
JUST 70 MILES TO THE WEST,
NAMIBIA’S ATLANTIC COAST

254
00:18:13,593 --> 00:18:18,298
IS A FAVORITE FISHING
DESTINATION FOR SURF ANGLERS.

255
00:18:18,331 --> 00:18:23,636
THEY COME FROM ALL OVER
IN HOPES OF HOOKING A BIG COB.

256
00:18:23,669 --> 00:18:28,908
IT’S A FIRM WHITE-FLESHED FISH
THAT CAN GROW TO 160 POUNDS.

257
00:18:31,043 --> 00:18:34,847
THE COB FEED ON SMALLER BAITFISH
ALONG THE COASTLINE,

258
00:18:35,014 --> 00:18:38,351
WHERE THERE ARE HIGH
CONCENTRATIONS OF PLANKTON...

259
00:18:38,384 --> 00:18:41,854
WHICH ALSO ATTRACT
LARGE PODS OF WHALES.

260
00:18:44,890 --> 00:18:46,792
IN THE 16th CENTURY

261
00:18:46,959 --> 00:18:52,865
PORTUGUESE EXPLORERS NAMED
THIS BAY BAHIA DAS BAHLEAS,

262
00:18:52,898 --> 00:18:57,136
OR BAY OF WHALES.

263
00:18:57,169 --> 00:19:03,108
TODAY IT’S CALLED WALVIS BAY
AND IS NAMIBIA’S MAIN HARBOR.

264
00:19:03,142 --> 00:19:06,746
THE BRITISH ANNEXED THE PORT
IN 1878,

265
00:19:06,779 --> 00:19:10,249
BUT FIVE YEARS LATER,
TRIBAL LAND TO THE SOUTH

266
00:19:10,282 --> 00:19:13,619
WAS ABOUT TO BE TAKEN OVER
BY ANOTHER EUROPEAN POWER

267
00:19:13,653 --> 00:19:18,625
WHO WANTED A PIECE
OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.

268
00:19:18,658 --> 00:19:22,028
ONCE HERE, THEY COMMITTED
HEINOUS WAR CRIMES

269
00:19:22,061 --> 00:19:24,764
THAT BECAME SHROUDED IN SECRECY.

270
00:19:24,864 --> 00:19:35,341
♪

271
00:19:35,374 --> 00:19:40,379
IN 1883 A GERMAN TOBACCO
MERCHANT NAMED ADOLF LUDERITZ

272
00:19:40,413 --> 00:19:44,417
SET HIS MIND TO OWNING
A PIECE OF NAMIBIA’S COAST.

273
00:19:47,486 --> 00:19:53,959
HE ESTABLISHED A TRADING STATION
250 MILES SOUTH OF WALVIS BAY,

274
00:19:53,993 --> 00:19:57,430
WHICH IS NAMED LUDERITZ
IN HIS HONOR.

275
00:19:57,463 --> 00:19:58,864
OVER THE NEXT YEAR

276
00:19:58,898 --> 00:20:02,802
NEIGHBORING CHIEFS GRANTED
LARGE TRACTS OF LAND TO LUDERITZ

277
00:20:02,835 --> 00:20:07,973
FOR A HANDFUL OF GOLD COINS
AND A FEW HUNDRED GUNS.

278
00:20:08,007 --> 00:20:11,143
CONVINCED THAT BRITAIN--
WHICH CONTROLLED WALVIS BAY--

279
00:20:11,310 --> 00:20:14,346
WAS ABOUT TO CLAIM THE AREA
AS A PROTECTORATE,

280
00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:16,349
LUDERITZ TRANSFERRED
HIS LAND RIGHTS

281
00:20:16,382 --> 00:20:18,985
TO THE GERMAN
IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT--

282
00:20:19,018 --> 00:20:21,721
SETTING THE SCENE
FOR ONE OF THE WORST ATROCITIES

283
00:20:21,754 --> 00:20:24,824
IN HUMAN HISTORY.

284
00:20:24,857 --> 00:20:26,692
THE GERMANS PROCEEDED
TO COLONIZE

285
00:20:26,726 --> 00:20:28,494
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY

286
00:20:28,527 --> 00:20:32,231
AND LAUNCHED A WAR
ON THE NATIVE HERERO PEOPLE.

287
00:20:32,264 --> 00:20:37,369
IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST BRUTAL
COLONIAL CONFLICTS IN HISTORY.

288
00:20:37,403 --> 00:20:40,907
THE HEREROS THAT SURVIVED WERE
HELD IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS

289
00:20:40,940 --> 00:20:42,542
ON SHARK ISLAND,

290
00:20:42,575 --> 00:20:46,646
A ROCKY, WINDSWEPT OUTCROP
OFF THE COAST OF LUDERITZ.

291
00:20:46,812 --> 00:20:53,719
♪

292
00:20:53,753 --> 00:20:56,923
MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN
WERE FORCED TO WORK

293
00:20:56,956 --> 00:20:59,525
WITH LITTLE OR NO FOOD.

294
00:20:59,558 --> 00:21:04,396
IT WAS THE FIRST GENOCIDE
OF THE 20th CENTURY.

295
00:21:04,430 --> 00:21:09,602
80,000 HERERO WERE REDUCED
TO 15,000 STARVING REFUGEES

296
00:21:09,635 --> 00:21:13,939
WITHIN JUST THREE YEARS.

297
00:21:13,973 --> 00:21:17,009
THE CAMP WAS FINALLY ABOLISHED
IN 1908,

298
00:21:17,042 --> 00:21:18,410
BUT FORMED A TEMPLATE

299
00:21:18,644 --> 00:21:21,147
FOR THE FUTURE NAZI
FORCED-LABOR CAMPS

300
00:21:21,180 --> 00:21:24,183
LIKE AUSCHWITZ AND BUCHENWALD.

301
00:21:26,385 --> 00:21:29,521
TODAY 20th CENTURY
ART NOUVEAU BUILDINGS

302
00:21:29,555 --> 00:21:32,591
STAND IN LUDERITZ
AS A CONSTANT REMINDER

303
00:21:32,625 --> 00:21:34,927
OF THE GERMAN OCCUPATION.

304
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:44,036
♪

305
00:21:44,069 --> 00:21:49,374
THE GERMANS WEREN’T
JUST IN IT FOR LAND.

306
00:21:49,408 --> 00:21:53,078
THIS DESERT SAND
ONCE GLITTERED...

307
00:21:53,112 --> 00:21:56,449
WITH DIAMONDS.

308
00:21:56,749 --> 00:21:59,752
THEY WERE DISCOVERED HERE
IN NEARBY KOLMANSKOP,

309
00:21:59,785 --> 00:22:04,323
JUST SIX MILES INLAND
FROM LUDERITZ.

310
00:22:04,356 --> 00:22:08,193
TODAY, IT’S A GHOST TOWN.

311
00:22:08,227 --> 00:22:12,932
BUT IN ITS HEYDAY, KOLMANSKOP
WAS AN OPULENT FRONTIER TOWN,

312
00:22:12,965 --> 00:22:16,569
COMPLETE WITH BALLROOMS,
CASINOS, THEATERS,

313
00:22:16,602 --> 00:22:20,806
ICE FACTORIES, AND HOSPITALS.

314
00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:23,309
FRESH WATER WAS IMPORTED
FROM CAPE TOWN

315
00:22:23,342 --> 00:22:26,712
AND CHEESES FROM FRANCE.

316
00:22:26,745 --> 00:22:31,383
ORCHESTRAS PLAYED AT TEA DANCES
UNTIL WELL AFTER DARK.

317
00:22:31,417 --> 00:22:34,420
SPECIAL TEAMS OF WORKERS
KEPT THE STREETS CLEAR

318
00:22:34,453 --> 00:22:38,924
OF THE EVER-ENCROACHING SAND.

319
00:22:38,958 --> 00:22:42,128
BUT WHEN THE DIAMONDS
DRIED UP IN 1956,

320
00:22:42,161 --> 00:22:45,765
THE RICH DESERTED THE TOWN.

321
00:22:45,798 --> 00:22:49,535
THE ABANDONED BUILDINGS STILL
STAND AS A HAUNTING REMINDER

322
00:22:49,568 --> 00:22:52,571
OF A PLACE THAT ONCE
SPARKLED WITH LIFE.

323
00:22:52,605 --> 00:22:57,944
♪

324
00:22:57,977 --> 00:23:02,114
NAMIBIA STILL HAS DIAMONDS,
BUT THEY ARE LODGED UNDERGROUND,

325
00:23:02,147 --> 00:23:09,521
16 MILES SOUTH OF KOLMANSKOP,
HERE AT ELIZABETH BAY MINE.

326
00:23:09,555 --> 00:23:12,725
THE MINING OPERATION
SPANS SIX SQUARE MILES

327
00:23:12,758 --> 00:23:15,894
ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST.

328
00:23:15,928 --> 00:23:17,897
THEY MAY NOT LOOK GLAMOROUS,

329
00:23:17,930 --> 00:23:20,433
BUT THESE STRUCTURES
TRANSPORT AND FILTER

330
00:23:20,466 --> 00:23:24,603
HUGE QUANTITIES OF EXCAVATED
SAND AND MARINE SOIL

331
00:23:24,637 --> 00:23:30,510
THAT EXTRACT PRECIOUS STONES
WORTH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

332
00:23:30,542 --> 00:23:34,513
OVER 270,000 CARATS
OF GEM-QUALITY DIAMONDS

333
00:23:34,546 --> 00:23:39,317
WERE MINED HERE IN 2013.

334
00:23:39,351 --> 00:23:43,522
BUT NAMIBIA’S DIAMONDS
ARE NEARLY MINED OUT.

335
00:23:46,792 --> 00:23:51,030
THE COUNTRY NOW RELIES
ON ITS GROWING TOURISM ECONOMY.

336
00:23:51,063 --> 00:23:53,499
IT’S RANKED THIRD
IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

337
00:23:53,532 --> 00:23:57,770
AS A TOURIST DESTINATION.

338
00:23:57,803 --> 00:23:59,638
AND ITS WILDLIFE RESERVES

339
00:23:59,672 --> 00:24:05,444
ARE SOME OF THE MOST PRISTINE
PLACES ON EARTH.

340
00:24:05,477 --> 00:24:08,013
RISING OUT OF THE ROCKY TERRAIN,

341
00:24:08,047 --> 00:24:13,786
THESE STRANGE LOOKING ALOES
ARE CALLED QUIVER TREES.

342
00:24:13,819 --> 00:24:16,655
NATIVE SAN HUNTER-GATHERERS
LIVING HERE

343
00:24:16,689 --> 00:24:19,992
HOLLOW OUT THE SPONGY CENTER
OF THE TUBULAR BRANCHES

344
00:24:20,025 --> 00:24:23,829
AND THEN COVER ONE END
WITH A LEATHER POUCH.

345
00:24:26,231 --> 00:24:28,266
IT MAKES A SIMPLE QUIVER

346
00:24:28,300 --> 00:24:31,236
FOR CARRYING ARROWS
WHILE OUT HUNTING.

347
00:24:33,872 --> 00:24:36,708
FOR 30,000 YEARS
THE SAN SURVIVED

348
00:24:36,742 --> 00:24:38,811
IN THE WESTERN REGIONS
OF NAMIBIA,

349
00:24:38,911 --> 00:24:44,550
BUT HAVE NOW RETREATED INTO
ISOLATED PARTS OF THE DESERT...

350
00:24:44,583 --> 00:24:46,485
AFTER YEARS OF BRUTAL ATTACKS

351
00:24:46,518 --> 00:24:51,023
BY COLONIAL SETTLERS
AND BANTU TRIBES.

352
00:24:51,056 --> 00:24:56,228
TODAY ONLY 27,000 REMAIN
IN NAMIBIA.

353
00:24:56,395 --> 00:24:58,697
SOME USED TO LIVE
IN THE CLIFFS AND OVERHANGS

354
00:24:58,731 --> 00:25:02,101
OF THIS SPECTACULAR MOUNTAIN.

355
00:25:02,134 --> 00:25:06,038
IT’S A HUGE GRANITE PLUG THAT
WAS PUSHED OUT OF A VOLCANO PIPE

356
00:25:06,138 --> 00:25:10,042
OVER 120 MILLION YEARS AGO.

357
00:25:10,075 --> 00:25:12,444
IT’S THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN
IN NAMIBIA,

358
00:25:12,478 --> 00:25:17,283
STANDING 8,442 FEET
ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

359
00:25:19,585 --> 00:25:23,389
IT’S THE FIRST LANDMASS TO CATCH
THE LIGHT OF THE RISING SUN

360
00:25:23,422 --> 00:25:26,492
AND THE LAST TO HOLD
ITS GLOW AT DUSK,

361
00:25:26,658 --> 00:25:30,162
GIVING IT ITS NAME--
BURNING MOUNTAIN.

362
00:25:32,097 --> 00:25:35,901
THE SAN WHERE NATURALLY DRAWN TO
THIS AWE-INSPIRING PHENOMENON,

363
00:25:35,934 --> 00:25:39,271
WHICH IS NOW A SACRED SITE.

364
00:25:39,304 --> 00:25:40,806
A RECORD OF THEIR CULTURE

365
00:25:40,839 --> 00:25:44,643
IS STORED IN THE CRAGS
AND CREVICES OF THE MOUNTAIN.

366
00:25:44,810 --> 00:25:47,680
THE TSISAB RAVINE AT THE FOOT
OF THE MOUNTAIN ALONE

367
00:25:47,713 --> 00:25:50,316
CONTAINS MORE THAN 1,000
ROCK SHELTERS

368
00:25:50,349 --> 00:25:53,586
AND OVER 45,000 ROCK PAINTINGS.

369
00:25:55,487 --> 00:25:58,090
MANY DEPICT THE WILDLIFE
LIVING IN THE REGION,

370
00:25:58,223 --> 00:26:02,127
INCLUDING THE ELUSIVE
GIANT DESERT ELEPHANT.

371
00:26:02,161 --> 00:26:12,738
♪

372
00:26:12,771 --> 00:26:16,942
PALMWAG LODGE IS NESTLED
NEXT TO A PALM-LINED SPRING,

373
00:26:16,975 --> 00:26:19,377
ALONG THE UNIAB RIVER.

374
00:26:22,748 --> 00:26:26,185
THE AREA IS RECOGNIZED
FOR ITS SPECTACULAR SCENERY

375
00:26:26,218 --> 00:26:28,520
AND A HEALTHY POPULATION
OF WILDLIFE

376
00:26:28,687 --> 00:26:32,591
THAT HAVE ADAPTED
TO THE DRY ENVIRONMENT.

377
00:26:32,624 --> 00:26:36,528
ANTELOPE LIKE THESE ORYX
THRIVE HERE.

378
00:26:36,562 --> 00:26:40,232
A VITAL ADAPTATION HELPS THEM
SURVIVE THE NAMIB HEAT,

379
00:26:40,265 --> 00:26:44,870
WHICH COMMONLY REACHES
115 DEGREES AND ABOVE.

380
00:26:46,105 --> 00:26:48,407
BLOOD EN ROUTE
TO THE ANIMAL’S BRAIN

381
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,409
PASSES THROUGH
ITS NASAL PASSAGE,

382
00:26:50,442 --> 00:26:52,044
WHERE A MAZE OF VESSELS

383
00:26:52,077 --> 00:26:54,947
ACTS MUCH LIKE AN AUTOMOBILE
RADIATOR SYSTEM,

384
00:26:54,980 --> 00:26:57,749
REDUCING ITS TEMPERATURE.

385
00:26:57,783 --> 00:27:00,619
THE COOL BLOOD
PREVENTS BRAIN DAMAGE.

386
00:27:04,256 --> 00:27:12,364
♪

387
00:27:12,397 --> 00:27:14,432
MOST ELEPHANTS DRINK DAILY,

388
00:27:14,466 --> 00:27:19,171
BUT THIS DESERT SPECIES CAN GO
WITHOUT WATER FOR THREE DAYS.

389
00:27:19,204 --> 00:27:20,639
THEY SURVIVE ON MOISTURE

390
00:27:20,772 --> 00:27:24,142
EXTRACTED FROM SUCCULENT
DESERT PLANTS.

391
00:27:24,243 --> 00:27:29,315
THEIR SENSITIVE TRUNKS CAN
SNIFF OUT UNDERGROUND WATER.

392
00:27:29,348 --> 00:27:33,052
THE MINERAL-RICH WATER THEY FIND
NOURISHES THEIR BONES,

393
00:27:33,152 --> 00:27:35,855
GROWING THEM INTO GIANTS.

394
00:27:35,888 --> 00:27:40,593
THEY ARE THE TALLEST ELEPHANTS
ON EARTH.

395
00:27:40,626 --> 00:27:44,897
SOME GROW TO OVER 13 FEET.

396
00:27:44,930 --> 00:27:46,665
IT’S TAKEN MILLIONS OF YEARS

397
00:27:46,832 --> 00:27:51,437
FOR NATURE TO ADAPT
TO THE HARSH NAMIB DESERT.

398
00:27:51,470 --> 00:27:53,205
BUT IT TOOK LESS THAN A CENTURY

399
00:27:53,238 --> 00:27:57,008
FOR MAN TO USE NATURE’S BOUNTY
TO TURN A PROFIT.

400
00:27:57,042 --> 00:28:02,481
♪

401
00:28:02,514 --> 00:28:05,217
THESE MAN-MADE LAGOONS
AT WALVIS BAY

402
00:28:05,250 --> 00:28:08,053
WERE BUILT TO HARVEST SALT.

403
00:28:10,923 --> 00:28:14,493
WATER IS PUMPED IN
FROM THE OCEAN.

404
00:28:14,526 --> 00:28:17,963
AS IT EVAPORATES
OVER A PERIOD OF 15 MONTHS,

405
00:28:18,063 --> 00:28:20,165
ALGAE AND TINY BRINE SHRIMP

406
00:28:20,265 --> 00:28:23,168
MULTIPLY IN THE INCREASINGLY
SALTY WATER,

407
00:28:23,202 --> 00:28:26,806
PRODUCING BEAUTIFUL SHADES
OF PINK AND RED.

408
00:28:29,675 --> 00:28:33,045
THESE SALT FIELDS
COVER 14 SQUARE MILES

409
00:28:33,078 --> 00:28:38,483
AND ARE AMONG THE LARGEST
OF THEIR KIND IN THE WORLD.

410
00:28:38,517 --> 00:28:44,723
THEY PRODUCE 400,000 TONS
OF HIGH QUALITY SALT EVERY YEAR.

411
00:28:49,328 --> 00:28:52,932
FLAMINGOS FEED ON THE ALGAE
AND BRINE SHRIMP.

412
00:28:53,031 --> 00:28:55,133
BOTH CONTAIN BETA-CAROTENE,

413
00:28:55,167 --> 00:28:59,304
WHICH GIVES THE FLAMINGOS THEIR
ROSY PINK PLUME OF FEATHERS.

414
00:29:01,607 --> 00:29:03,476
THEY FLY IN FORMATIONS

415
00:29:03,575 --> 00:29:05,844
TO AND FROM
THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS,

416
00:29:05,877 --> 00:29:09,381
AT THE ETOSHA PAN
IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA--

417
00:29:09,414 --> 00:29:13,685
A 400-MILE JOURNEY.

418
00:29:13,719 --> 00:29:18,224
GIANT FLOCKS OF CORMORANTS
ALSO FEED ALONG THIS SHORE.

419
00:29:18,390 --> 00:29:22,661
THEY ARE MASTERS
AT SPOTTING SHOALS OF FISH.

420
00:29:22,761 --> 00:29:26,265
THEY ARE FOLLOWED
BY OTHER MIGRATING FLOCKS.

421
00:29:28,734 --> 00:29:31,170
CORMORANTS FLY IN
FROM NORTHERN AFRICA

422
00:29:31,203 --> 00:29:34,606
AND FROM AS FAR AWAY
AS EUROPE AND ASIA.

423
00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:38,611
♪

424
00:29:38,644 --> 00:29:42,148
PLOVERS, TERNS, WADERS
AND FLAMINGOS

425
00:29:42,180 --> 00:29:43,848
REPLENISH THEIR ENERGY RESERVES

426
00:29:44,016 --> 00:29:48,287
HERE AT SANDWICH HARBOR
NEAR WALVIS BAY.

427
00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:53,725
♪

428
00:29:53,825 --> 00:29:57,062
WITH SO MANY BIRDS FEASTING
ALONG THESE SHORES,

429
00:29:57,095 --> 00:30:00,298
AN UNUSUAL BUSINESS EXISTS
THAT HAS MADE A FORTUNE

430
00:30:00,332 --> 00:30:03,669
ON A SEEMINGLY UNAPPEALING
BYPRODUCT.

431
00:30:06,238 --> 00:30:10,476
THESE STRUCTURES WERE ERECTED
OVER THE SEA IN 1932

432
00:30:10,509 --> 00:30:12,144
BY ADOLF WINTER,

433
00:30:12,177 --> 00:30:16,114
A HUMBLE CARPENTER
WITH A DREAM TO MAKE IT BIG.

434
00:30:18,884 --> 00:30:20,352
HE BUILT THE PLATFORMS

435
00:30:20,385 --> 00:30:24,089
TO ATTRACT FLOCKS OF SEAGULLS,
CORMORANTS AND PELICANS

436
00:30:24,122 --> 00:30:26,324
LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO REST.

437
00:30:28,927 --> 00:30:30,862
THE DECKS COLLECT
THE BIRD DROPPINGS

438
00:30:30,996 --> 00:30:35,267
DEPOSITED BY
MORE THAN 500,000 BIRDS.

439
00:30:37,002 --> 00:30:40,439
BIRD DROPPINGS, OR GUANO,
ARE RICH IN MINERALS

440
00:30:40,472 --> 00:30:43,709
AND USED TO FERTILIZE CROPS.

441
00:30:46,645 --> 00:30:50,516
CRITICS CALLED THESE STRUCTURES
"WINTER’S FOLLY,"

442
00:30:50,549 --> 00:30:56,622
BUT UPON COMPLETION, THE PROJECT
MADE ADOLF A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE.

443
00:30:56,655 --> 00:31:02,995
650 TONS OF GUANO IS PRODUCED BY
THE MASSIVE FLOCKS EVERY YEAR.

444
00:31:10,001 --> 00:31:14,672
JUST 20 MILES NORTH
OF WALVIS BAY IS SWAKOPMUND--

445
00:31:14,706 --> 00:31:19,945
NAMIBIA’S LARGEST AND MOST
POPULAR COASTAL DESTINATION.

446
00:31:19,978 --> 00:31:22,747
SANDWICHED BETWEEN
THE ATLANTIC SURF

447
00:31:22,781 --> 00:31:24,283
AND THE NAMIB DESERT,

448
00:31:24,316 --> 00:31:27,352
THE TOWN LOOKS LIKE
A SURREAL COLONIAL REMNANT

449
00:31:27,386 --> 00:31:29,321
STUCK IN TIME.

450
00:31:31,957 --> 00:31:34,827
SWAKOPMUND WAS FOUNDED
AS THE MAIN HARBOR

451
00:31:34,860 --> 00:31:39,498
FOR GERMAN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
IN 1892...

452
00:31:39,664 --> 00:31:41,633
BECAUSE THE PORT TOWN
OF WALVIS BAY

453
00:31:41,666 --> 00:31:45,603
HAD ALREADY BEEN ANNEXED
BY THE BRITISH 14 YEARS EARLIER.

454
00:31:48,874 --> 00:31:51,043
FRESH WATER
FROM THE SWAKOP RIVER

455
00:31:51,076 --> 00:31:55,213
MADE THE SETTLEMENT POSSIBLE.

456
00:31:55,247 --> 00:31:58,517
120 GERMAN TROOPS
AND 40 SETTLERS

457
00:31:58,550 --> 00:32:02,287
LANDED WITH SUPPLIES
AND BUILDING MATERIALS--

458
00:32:02,320 --> 00:32:06,457
AND CONSTRUCTION
ON THE PORT BEGAN.

459
00:32:06,491 --> 00:32:08,460
SOON ENOUGH, PEOPLE AND GOODS

460
00:32:08,493 --> 00:32:11,830
WERE FERRIED
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC,

461
00:32:11,863 --> 00:32:15,433
AND SWAKOPMUND BECAME
A BUSTLING TOWN.

462
00:32:18,036 --> 00:32:19,971
THE TOWN’S
MOST PROMINENT LANDMARK

463
00:32:20,005 --> 00:32:22,407
IS THE SWAKOPMUND LIGHTHOUSE.

464
00:32:22,507 --> 00:32:27,178
BUILT IN 1902, IT STANDS
NEARLY 100 FEET TALL.

465
00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:32,350
ITS POWERFUL BEACON
STILL OPERATES TODAY,

466
00:32:32,517 --> 00:32:35,754
GUIDING SHIPS
20 MILES OUT TO SEA,

467
00:32:35,921 --> 00:32:38,223
WHILE THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER’S
DWELLING AT THE BASE

468
00:32:38,390 --> 00:32:40,325
HAS BECOME A RESTAURANT.

469
00:32:43,795 --> 00:32:46,364
THE TOWN’S JETTY STANDS
AS ANOTHER REMINDER

470
00:32:46,398 --> 00:32:50,102
OF ITS BUSY BEGINNINGS.

471
00:32:50,135 --> 00:32:52,371
IT WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1905

472
00:32:52,404 --> 00:32:56,275
SO BOATS COULD QUICKLY OFFLOAD
GOODS AND PASSENGERS.

473
00:32:58,810 --> 00:33:01,913
OVER THE YEARS,
IT WAS BATTERED BY HIGH SEAS,

474
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,083
AND THE WOODEN PLANKS
WERE REPLACED WITH IRON.

475
00:33:07,452 --> 00:33:11,856
A RESTAURANT NOW STANDS AT
THE END OF THE REFURBISHED PIER.

476
00:33:11,890 --> 00:33:14,393
ITS GLASS FLOORS AND BIG WINDOWS

477
00:33:14,493 --> 00:33:17,997
GIVE PATRONS THE FEELING
THAT THEY ARE OUT AT SEA--

478
00:33:18,029 --> 00:33:19,998
WHILE THE HALF-MILE-LONG JETTY

479
00:33:20,031 --> 00:33:23,201
KEEPS THEM TIED
TO THE TOWN’S HISTORY.

480
00:33:23,235 --> 00:33:33,145
♪

481
00:33:33,245 --> 00:33:38,884
♪

482
00:33:38,984 --> 00:33:42,521
SWAKOPMUND’S EXQUISITE
GERMAN-COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE

483
00:33:42,554 --> 00:33:47,392
IS A HISTORIC REFLECTION
OF THE TOWN’S HERITAGE.

484
00:33:47,425 --> 00:33:50,762
DESPITE ITS CHEERFUL COLOR
AND ELEGANT FACADE,

485
00:33:50,795 --> 00:33:55,133
THIS BUILDING IS KNOWN
AS "THE OLD PRISON"

486
00:33:55,166 --> 00:33:59,771
AND HAS BEEN HERE
FOR OVER 100 YEARS.

487
00:33:59,938 --> 00:34:01,640
PRISONERS ARE DETAINED
IN THE CELLS

488
00:34:01,673 --> 00:34:04,776
AT THE BACK OF THE BUILDING
NEAR THE VEGETABLE GARDENS,

489
00:34:04,809 --> 00:34:08,413
AND POLICE OCCUPY
THE MAIN BUILDING.

490
00:34:08,446 --> 00:34:12,150
SO IT’S EASILY MISTAKEN
FOR A FINE HOTEL.

491
00:34:15,921 --> 00:34:20,759
THIS IS THE TOWN’S ORIGINAL
RAILWAY STATION, BUILT IN 1901.

492
00:34:20,792 --> 00:34:23,928
THE TRAIN TRACK IS LONG GONE.

493
00:34:24,095 --> 00:34:26,064
TODAY THE STATION
HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED

494
00:34:26,097 --> 00:34:30,868
INTO AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE
AND CASINO.

495
00:34:30,902 --> 00:34:34,873
IT’S NOT THE ONLY BUILDING
IN TOWN WITH A NEW IDENTITY.

496
00:34:37,342 --> 00:34:40,745
THIS ARCHITECTURAL RELIC
IS THE HOHENZOLLERN HOUSE,

497
00:34:40,779 --> 00:34:43,949
NAMED AFTER THE GERMAN
FAMILY DYNASTY.

498
00:34:44,082 --> 00:34:47,519
IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT
AS A HOTEL IN 1909,

499
00:34:47,552 --> 00:34:52,257
BUT SOON AFTER, THE LOCAL JUDGE
REVOKED ITS LICENSE TO OPERATE.

500
00:34:52,290 --> 00:34:54,559
IT WAS RUMORED TO HAVE BECOME
A GAMBLING DEN

501
00:34:54,726 --> 00:34:56,895
AND A SECRET BROTHEL--

502
00:34:56,928 --> 00:35:01,433
ALTHOUGH NONE OF IT
WAS EVER PROVEN TO BE TRUE.

503
00:35:01,466 --> 00:35:04,869
TODAY IT’S
AN APARTMENT BUILDING.

504
00:35:04,903 --> 00:35:08,840
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT ITS PAST
REMAINS A MYSTERY...

505
00:35:08,873 --> 00:35:13,211
BECAUSE IN 1990
NAMIBIA GAINED INDEPENDENCE,

506
00:35:13,244 --> 00:35:17,315
AND SWAKOPMUND’S HISTORY
WAS COMPLETELY REWRITTEN.

507
00:35:17,482 --> 00:35:19,117
EVEN THE STREET NAMES
WERE CHANGED

508
00:35:19,150 --> 00:35:21,886
TO HONOR ITS NEW LEADERS.

509
00:35:24,689 --> 00:35:30,328
TODAY TOURISM IS SWAKOPMUND’S
NUMBER ONE DRAW.

510
00:35:30,362 --> 00:35:31,797
THE TOWN IS THE GATEWAY

511
00:35:31,830 --> 00:35:36,201
TO THE SURROUNDING NAMIB DESERT
RECREATION AREA,

512
00:35:36,234 --> 00:35:41,606
WHERE SAND DUNES--AND FUN--
RISE TO ASTONISHING HEIGHT.

513
00:35:41,640 --> 00:35:46,111
IT’S A GIANT PLAYGROUND.

514
00:35:46,144 --> 00:35:47,912
THE MOST POPULAR
TOURIST ACTIVITY

515
00:35:47,946 --> 00:35:52,751
IS QUAD BIKING IN THE DUNE BELT.

516
00:35:52,784 --> 00:35:56,755
THE OPEN SPACE MAKES IT PERFECT
FOR NOVICE RIDERS.

517
00:35:56,788 --> 00:36:02,494
BUT IT’S IMPORTANT TO RIDE
WITH AN EXPERIENCED GUIDE.

518
00:36:02,527 --> 00:36:05,296
DUNES CAN STAND 300 FEET TALL,

519
00:36:05,330 --> 00:36:08,166
AND A SLIP OFF
THEIR SHARPLY SLANTED FACE

520
00:36:08,199 --> 00:36:10,802
COULD CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY.

521
00:36:15,206 --> 00:36:20,211
OTHER SAND LOVERS RELY
ON THESE STEEP SLOPES FOR SPEED.

522
00:36:20,245 --> 00:36:24,950
SANDBOARDING IS SIMILAR
TO SNOW-SLEDDING.

523
00:36:24,983 --> 00:36:27,886
ADRENALINE JUNKIES HURTLE
DOWN THE SOFT DUNES

524
00:36:27,919 --> 00:36:31,089
AT INCREDIBLE SPEEDS.

525
00:36:31,122 --> 00:36:34,225
EVEN THE PETS CAN’T RESIST
GETTING IN ON THE FUN.

526
00:36:39,664 --> 00:36:42,333
♪

527
00:36:42,367 --> 00:36:46,605
IN NAMIBIA, THE SUN SHINES
300 DAYS A YEAR.

528
00:36:46,638 --> 00:36:50,909
IT’S THE PERFECT LOCATION
TO PRODUCE FEATURE FILMS.

529
00:36:50,942 --> 00:36:54,546
NAMIBIA STOOD IN
AS POST-APOCALYPTIC AUSTRALIA

530
00:36:54,579 --> 00:36:59,350
FOR THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE
"MAD MAX: FURY ROAD."

531
00:36:59,384 --> 00:37:00,685
DIRECTOR GEORGE MILLER

532
00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,689
WAS SWAYED FROM USING
COMPUTER-GENERATED BACKGROUNDS

533
00:37:03,855 --> 00:37:09,794
AND PREFERRED THE AUTHENTICITY
THAT REAL DESERT SCENES CREATED.

534
00:37:09,828 --> 00:37:13,298
FOR MANY ON THE PRODUCTION CREW,
IT WAS THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE

535
00:37:13,331 --> 00:37:17,769
FILMING IN THE DESERT
ENVIRONMENT.

536
00:37:17,869 --> 00:37:19,838
THEY SOON FOUND
THAT IN THE DESERT

537
00:37:20,004 --> 00:37:23,741
THERE IS A THIN LINE
BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH.

538
00:37:23,775 --> 00:37:30,248
♪

539
00:37:30,415 --> 00:37:36,354
THESE WEIRD-LOOKING PLANTS
ARE CALLED WELWITSCHIA.

540
00:37:36,387 --> 00:37:39,056
THEY MAY LOOK LIKE THEY ARE
DEAD OR DYING,

541
00:37:39,090 --> 00:37:40,792
BUT THEY’RE ALIVE,

542
00:37:40,825 --> 00:37:43,294
AND MANY HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE
IN WESTERN NAMIBIA

543
00:37:43,328 --> 00:37:46,498
SINCE THE TIME OF JESUS CHRIST.

544
00:37:49,567 --> 00:37:51,502
REFERRED TO AS LIVING FOSSILS,

545
00:37:51,536 --> 00:37:54,305
THEY’RE INDIGENOUS
TO THE NAMIB DESERT.

546
00:37:56,674 --> 00:37:59,110
THEY’RE ONE OF THE RAREST PLANTS
IN THE WORLD,

547
00:37:59,144 --> 00:38:01,346
BUT ARE COMMONLY FOUND
IN THE FOG BELT

548
00:38:01,379 --> 00:38:04,649
OF THE DESERT PLAINS
EAST OF SWAKOPMUND.

549
00:38:06,317 --> 00:38:10,388
WELWITSCHIA HAVE A COMPLEX
WATER-GATHERING SYSTEM.

550
00:38:12,690 --> 00:38:15,393
AS FOG CONDENSES ON ITS LEAVES,

551
00:38:15,426 --> 00:38:18,696
THE PLANT ABSORBS WATER
THROUGH MINUTE PORES--

552
00:38:18,730 --> 00:38:21,933
160,000 PER SQUARE INCH.

553
00:38:24,202 --> 00:38:26,571
LEFTOVER WATER
SEEPS INTO THE SOIL

554
00:38:26,604 --> 00:38:28,639
AND IS ABSORBED
THROUGH LATERAL ROOTS

555
00:38:28,673 --> 00:38:32,243
THAT LIE JUST BELOW THE SURFACE.

556
00:38:32,277 --> 00:38:34,713
AND TAPROOTS NINE FEET LONG

557
00:38:34,746 --> 00:38:39,517
REACH DOWN TO DRAW
SUBTERRANEAN WATER.

558
00:38:39,551 --> 00:38:41,987
WELWITSCHIA HAVE EVOLVED
TO MAKE THE MOST

559
00:38:42,020 --> 00:38:45,423
OF AN INCREDIBLY SCARCE
WATER SUPPLY.

560
00:38:51,563 --> 00:38:54,266
BUT WATER IS NOT
THE ONLY PRECIOUS RESOURCE

561
00:38:54,299 --> 00:38:57,969
LYING BURIED BELOW
THE DRY NAMIB LANDSCAPE.

562
00:39:03,107 --> 00:39:04,942
THIS JAGGED-EDGE MOUNTAIN RANGE

563
00:39:05,043 --> 00:39:07,679
FORMED AROUND
500 MILLION YEARS AGO,

564
00:39:07,712 --> 00:39:12,984
WHEN LAVA GUSHED THROUGH
CRACKS IN THE EARTH’S CRUST.

565
00:39:13,017 --> 00:39:17,088
IT HAS SINCE BEEN ERODED INTO
WHAT IS CALLED "THE BADLANDS."

566
00:39:20,258 --> 00:39:21,826
BENEATH THE BADLANDS

567
00:39:21,860 --> 00:39:25,597
IS A PRIME SOURCE
OF CONCENTRATED ENERGY.

568
00:39:28,233 --> 00:39:32,104
THE ROSSING URANIUM MINE,
40 MILES FROM SWAKOPMUND,

569
00:39:32,136 --> 00:39:37,108
IS THE WORLD’S LONGEST-RUNNING
OPEN PIT URANIUM MINE.

570
00:39:37,141 --> 00:39:40,378
IT’S ALSO THE LARGEST.

571
00:39:40,411 --> 00:39:44,181
THE PIT STRETCHES FOR TWO MILES,
IS A MILE WIDE,

572
00:39:44,215 --> 00:39:49,420
AND 1,280 FEET DEEP.

573
00:39:49,454 --> 00:39:55,994
SINCE 1976, IT HAS PRODUCED OVER
120,000 TONS OF URANIUM OXIDE

574
00:39:56,027 --> 00:40:00,498
AND EMPLOYS OVER 1,000 PEOPLE.

575
00:40:00,531 --> 00:40:04,402
MINING IS DONE BY BLASTING,
LOADING AND HAULING ORE

576
00:40:04,569 --> 00:40:08,139
FROM THE HUGE MAN-MADE RAVINE.

577
00:40:08,172 --> 00:40:12,143
THE ORE IS THEN PROCESSED INTO
A POWDERED URANIUM CONCENTRATE,

578
00:40:12,243 --> 00:40:17,915
WHICH IS THE BASIS
FOR NUCLEAR REACTOR FUEL RODS.

579
00:40:18,149 --> 00:40:23,554
BY 2020 THE MINE IS EXPECTED
TO REACH THE END OF ITS LIFE.

580
00:40:23,588 --> 00:40:26,224
BUT IN SOUTHERN NAMIBIA,
THERE IS A CANYON

581
00:40:26,257 --> 00:40:29,260
FORMED MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO
BY MOTHER NATURE

582
00:40:29,294 --> 00:40:32,764
THAT’S SO HUGE, IT COULD EASILY
SWALLOW THIS MINE

583
00:40:32,931 --> 00:40:35,033
OVER 1,000 TIMES.

584
00:40:35,066 --> 00:40:45,076
♪

585
00:40:45,109 --> 00:40:49,413
OVER 500 MILLION YEARS AGO,
THIS GIGANTIC RAVINE WAS FORMED

586
00:40:49,547 --> 00:40:51,449
WHEN SHIFTING TECTONIC PLATES

587
00:40:51,582 --> 00:40:54,385
CAUSED THE DESERT FLOOR
TO COLLAPSE.

588
00:40:54,485 --> 00:41:00,458
♪

589
00:41:00,491 --> 00:41:02,660
IT STRETCHES
THROUGH SOUTHERN NAMIBIA

590
00:41:02,694 --> 00:41:06,531
FOR 100 MILES,
IS UP TO 17 MILES WIDE

591
00:41:06,564 --> 00:41:09,434
AND 1,800 FEET DEEP.

592
00:41:09,467 --> 00:41:15,206
♪

593
00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:17,475
IT’S CALLED
THE FISH RIVER CANYON--

594
00:41:17,642 --> 00:41:21,713
AND IT’S THE SECOND LARGEST
IN THE WORLD.

595
00:41:21,746 --> 00:41:25,383
IT’S TRUMPED
ONLY BY THE GRAND CANYON.

596
00:41:29,387 --> 00:41:32,824
PEOPLE COME FROM ALL OVER
TO EXPLORE THE RIM OF THE CANYON

597
00:41:32,857 --> 00:41:34,892
AND HIKE ALONG THE FISH RIVER

598
00:41:34,926 --> 00:41:37,362
THAT SUPPORTS HERDS
OF MOUNTAIN ZEBRA

599
00:41:37,528 --> 00:41:40,464
AND TROOPS OF CHACMA BABOONS.

600
00:41:44,235 --> 00:41:47,305
WILDLIFE RELIES
ON THE RIVER WATER FOR SURVIVAL,

601
00:41:47,405 --> 00:41:51,276
INCLUDING THE WILD HORSES
THAT ROAM THE REGION.

602
00:41:51,309 --> 00:41:53,178
TODAY THE RIVER IS LOW,

603
00:41:53,211 --> 00:41:59,150
BUT WHEN IT RAINS UPSTREAM
IT BECOMES A RAGING TORRENT.

604
00:41:59,183 --> 00:42:01,919
THE STEEP CANYON WALL
BECOMES A PRISON,

605
00:42:01,953 --> 00:42:06,391
WHERE THERE IS NO ESCAPE
FROM THE FLOODWATERS.

606
00:42:06,424 --> 00:42:10,461
ANIMALS, ROCKS AND SAND
GET WASHED ALONG THE VALLEY,

607
00:42:10,495 --> 00:42:13,365
TUMBLING MILES OUT TO SEA.

608
00:42:15,900 --> 00:42:19,003
THE SILT FROM THE RIVER
IS THEN PUSHED BACK ON SHORE,

609
00:42:19,103 --> 00:42:22,940
CREATING SAND DUNES
THAT ENGULF MARINE DEBRIS.

610
00:42:23,041 --> 00:42:29,481
♪

611
00:42:29,514 --> 00:42:34,052
IT’S A MASSIVE SHIP GRAVEYARD
KNOWN AS THE SKELETON COAST.

612
00:42:36,854 --> 00:42:42,059
THIS SHIP, THE EDUARD BOHLEN,
STRANDED ON THE BEACH IN 1909.

613
00:42:43,828 --> 00:42:46,664
THEN, AS SAND DEPOSITS EXPANDED,

614
00:42:46,697 --> 00:42:51,001
IT WAS LEFT FURTHER ON SHORE,
RUSTING IN THE SEA AIR.

615
00:42:53,938 --> 00:42:58,709
EVENTUALLY, IT WILL MERGE
WITH THE DESERT.

616
00:42:58,810 --> 00:43:02,881
AS HIGH WINDS WHIP INTO
THE VESSEL, IT ERODES TO DUST.

617
00:43:05,149 --> 00:43:08,052
WIND BLOWS THE DUST
HUNDREDS OF MILES INLAND--

618
00:43:08,152 --> 00:43:13,190
SANDBLASTING THE LANDSCAPE
INTO WONDROUS FORMS.

619
00:43:13,224 --> 00:43:16,427
LIKE THESE MOUNTAINS
CALLED SPITZKOPPE,

620
00:43:16,461 --> 00:43:18,763
WHICH MEANS "SHARP HEADS."

621
00:43:22,366 --> 00:43:26,503
THIS ONE HAS BEEN NICKNAMED
"THE MATTERHORN OF AFRICA."

622
00:43:26,537 --> 00:43:29,407
IT WAS CREATED BY THE COLLAPSE
OF A GIANT VOLCANO

623
00:43:29,574 --> 00:43:32,644
MORE THAN 100 MILLION YEARS AGO.

624
00:43:35,646 --> 00:43:40,251
ROCK FROM THE CENTER OF THE
VOLCANO REMAINS ABOVE GROUND.

625
00:43:42,253 --> 00:43:44,188
AS IT WEATHERS AND ERODES,

626
00:43:44,222 --> 00:43:46,624
BEAUTIFUL TOPAZ
AND QUARTZ CRYSTALS

627
00:43:46,657 --> 00:43:49,793
CAN BE FOUND
ON THE GRAVEL PLAINS.

628
00:43:52,630 --> 00:43:55,500
IT’S A POPULAR FILMING LOCATION
AND WAS FEATURED

629
00:43:55,533 --> 00:43:59,871
IN THE HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER
"2000 B.C."

630
00:44:05,676 --> 00:44:07,912
ROCK CLIMBERS COME
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

631
00:44:07,945 --> 00:44:11,015
TO SCALE THESE
FOREBODING CLIFFS.

632
00:44:13,017 --> 00:44:15,253
THIS ONE IS CALLED
LITTLE SPITZKOPPE--

633
00:44:15,286 --> 00:44:20,224
AT AN ELEVATION
OF 5,196 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.

634
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:28,933
THE HIGHEST PEAK, BIG SPITZKOP,
WAS FIRST SCALED IN 1946.

635
00:44:28,966 --> 00:44:32,369
IT STANDS OVER 5,600 FEET TALL.

636
00:44:34,972 --> 00:44:37,007
FOLKLORE SUGGESTS
THAT THE FIRST ASCENT

637
00:44:37,041 --> 00:44:38,276
OF THE SPITZKOPPE

638
00:44:38,376 --> 00:44:40,945
ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE IN 1904,

639
00:44:40,978 --> 00:44:43,781
WHEN A GERMAN SOLDIER
CONQUERED THE SOARING PEAK

640
00:44:43,814 --> 00:44:46,250
AND MADE A FIRE ON THE SUMMIT.

641
00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:52,190
HE WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN.

642
00:44:52,223 --> 00:44:54,425
BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO CLIMB
MOUNTAINS

643
00:44:54,525 --> 00:44:59,463
TO SEE THIS SPECTACULAR LAND
FROM THE SKY.

644
00:44:59,497 --> 00:45:08,706
♪

645
00:45:08,873 --> 00:45:12,176
GIANT HOT-AIR BALLOONS
CRADLE BASKETS OF PEOPLE...

646
00:45:12,276 --> 00:45:13,911
IN STUNNED SILENCE

647
00:45:13,945 --> 00:45:17,749
AS THE RISING SUN
PEEKS OVER THE HORIZON.

648
00:45:19,550 --> 00:45:21,485
IT’S A SIGNAL
FOR NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

649
00:45:21,519 --> 00:45:23,721
TO RETURN
TO UNDERGROUND BURROWS,

650
00:45:23,754 --> 00:45:26,390
AWAY FROM THE ADVANCING HEAT.

651
00:45:28,426 --> 00:45:30,161
THE MORNING SLOWLY REVEALS

652
00:45:30,194 --> 00:45:35,066
A STRING OF MAGNIFICENT VISTAS
AND AWE-INSPIRING VIEWS,

653
00:45:35,099 --> 00:45:37,735
STRETCHING ACROSS
THE NAMIB DESERT

654
00:45:37,768 --> 00:45:41,805
AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE.

655
00:45:41,906 --> 00:45:46,244
TOURISTS WITNESS IT FROM ABOVE,
LIKE ASTRONAUTS IN ORBIT--

656
00:45:46,277 --> 00:45:49,413
THE EARTH SLOWLY TURNING BELOW.

657
00:45:51,315 --> 00:45:54,485
DESERT WINDS STEER THE BALLOON
INTO THE UNKNOWN,

658
00:45:54,652 --> 00:45:57,622
SAILING GENTLY
OVER THE SANDY SEA.

659
00:45:57,655 --> 00:46:07,165
♪

660
00:46:07,198 --> 00:46:13,071
THE NAMIB DESERT WILL ALWAYS BE
A LAND OF EXTREMES...

661
00:46:13,104 --> 00:46:19,210
FROM PECULIAR ALIEN VALLEYS
FROZEN IN TIME

662
00:46:19,243 --> 00:46:24,381
TO REFURBISHED HOTELS
BUILT BY THE SLAVES OF WAR.

663
00:46:27,652 --> 00:46:31,523
AS ANCIENT RESOURCES
ARE UNEARTHED,

664
00:46:31,555 --> 00:46:36,026
MODERN SHIPS WASTE AWAY
ON THE SKELETON COAST.

665
00:46:38,896 --> 00:46:43,567
THIS STORY IS SHARED
WITH VISITORS OF ALL KINDS,

666
00:46:43,701 --> 00:46:47,605
AS ITS CULTURE
AND HISTORY COLLIDE.

667
00:46:47,638 --> 00:46:53,244
BUT SOME UNEXPLORED PLACES
STILL EXIST...

668
00:46:53,277 --> 00:46:58,048
BETWEEN EERIE LUNAR LANDSCAPES

669
00:46:58,082 --> 00:47:01,385
AND OVER FIERY DESERTS
OF DUST...

670
00:47:03,187 --> 00:47:07,958
WHERE CURIOUS CAMPERS SLEEP OUT
UNDER CLEAR DESERT SKIES...

671
00:47:07,992 --> 00:47:10,761
LIKE TRIBAL FOLK
WHO STILL TRUST NATURE

672
00:47:10,795 --> 00:47:13,164
TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR NEEDS.

673
00:47:14,999 --> 00:47:18,569
IN A DESERT THAT APPEARS
DEAD TO THE EYE...

674
00:47:18,736 --> 00:47:24,675
NATURE CONTINUES TO REINVENT
ALL ITS MAGNIFICENT FORMS...

675
00:47:24,709 --> 00:47:30,048
CRAFTING RUGGED ROCKS
INTO BREATHTAKING VISTAS...

676
00:47:30,147 --> 00:47:34,551
IN THE WIDE-OPEN COUNTRYSIDE
OF NAMIBIA.

677
00:47:34,585 --> 00:47:39,790
♪

678
00:47:39,957 --> 00:47:50,534
♪

679
00:47:50,568 --> 00:47:59,110
♪