Thursday 5 January 2017

Indelible Memories Part 1: Dunes, Cave Art and the Milky Way - Camping in Namibia's Deserts

Of the skills that artists and writers can call upon, as well as creative use of colour and language and eye for detail, is memory, all of which are well-documented strengths of many people diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Though I am often told that I have a good memory for knowledge and information, but through simple noticing through being present with each moment, I find that sensory experiences from different landscapes, climates and lighting leaves almost indelible memories within my consciousness. Nearly three months on from my journey through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, I find myself making use of what I have with these to share the memories here on this blog.
Sand dunes at Sossusvlei, Nambia

The first part of my adventure through Southern Africa saw me travel up the Western Cape from Cape Town via a kayaking excursion along the Orange River through Namibia's other-worldly desert landscape of Sossusvlei, A wealth of sensory experiences await the traveller who is prepared to open to the landscape and its properties, as well as being able to observe and experience nature's forces in action. As well as dune shapes, the formation of the landscape through journey's brought by the Orange River, where I started my journey into Namibia, and the currents of the Atlantic Ocean has also played a huge part in shaping its distinctive colouring. As part of an ever-renewing process over millions of years, the reddish orange sand we see in the desert today was originally deposited in the Atlantic Ocean via the Orange River, before the ocean's currents gradually brought it back where the wind carried it back inland over time where it has mixed with salt and clay deposits as well as other elements, including iron.

Dune 45, Namibia
Almost like the opposite extreme of Svalbard's glaciers, where I was earlier in 2016, sand dunes initially appear still to the naked eye, but are gradually changing slowing in response to the wind, temperature and air pressure. Through getting up close and personal with them though, we can experience how their shapes and texture are constantly changing and renewing them through our other senses.Trekking up Dune 45 (85 metres high), I found that as well as the effects of natures forces on its shape, I also gained an appreciation of nature's effects on the texture of the sand, the density of the sand grains and of the dune itself. Often overwhelmingly hot during the day as I experienced going up Dune 45, at night temperatures in the desert take on a different dimension becoming much cooler, occasionally dropping below freezing point. Cooler temperatures can occasionally bring fog from the Atlantic meaning droplets of moisture can find its way into the sand. This affects the density of the sand, thus also effecting both the sensory experience and difficulty of the walking on it. Having previously trekked on grainy surfaces, including volcano ash, I initially expected Dune 45 to be 'skiddy', but instead, the sand was rather firm. It was still early in the morning so levels of moisture within the sand were still heavy. 

The Milky Way viewed from Spitzkoppe, Namibia 
When in tune to sensory experiences of a desert landscape, as well as an appreciation of its physical qualities, one can also notice the range of colouring within the materials that make up the landscape with more clarity as well as how their hue changes dramatically in accordance with levels of sunlight. After the Sun has gone down, another set of colouring gradually becomes more apparent. Far removed from the effects of light pollution and overcast skies, more stars can be seen with the naked eye than usual, including an arm of the Milky Way. With concentrated observation, the colours within the stars, including white, yellow, red and blue also become much more apparent than usual, while the patterns that we often use to navigate our way around the night sky, the constellations, gradually fade within a star-filled sky.

San cave art, Matobo National Park, Zimbabwe
When focusing on the night sky in the desert, an effect I felt that it had on me internally was that it helped me to expand my usual thought patterns. Being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, I do still find that I can be constrained by thought patterns and that my thinking can be clouded by emotions, similar to how my view of the night sky can sometimes be constrained to the constellations as well as hindered by light pollution. In this way, I felt that by expanding my attention externally towards the night sky, it also gave me insight internally to the workings of my mind. being able to understand the local surroundings in a different light, together with fascinating tours of cave paintings throughout my journey also enabled me to understand the world from the perspective of the indigenous San people, commonly known as 'bushmen'.

San bushmen, Botswana
It is said that Australia's Aborigines were able to see the moons of Jupiter. This would have been enabled not only by clear skies and an obvious absence of light pollution, but also, as hunter gatherers, their eyesight was well-adapted for such purposes. Similarly, the San have historically relied on the the stars to track down animals when hunting animals for food, fuel and clothing material. The way their eyesight adapted for hunter-gatherer purposes is visible in their art work in rocks and caves across the region, some of which is many thousands of years old. Though in an increasingly modernising Africa, the traditional ways of the San people have largely disappeared, they do give a fascinating insight into human relationship with nature, including how we adapt to it to survive.
  

Sunset over Sossusvlei, Namibia
The sensory experiences I felt I had camping in Namibia's desert also gave me an insight into how the San would have had to make use of all their senses for survival purposes in an extreme environment where resources are often scarce, as well as leaving me with memories of what were, for me, new and different experiences. Such memories often find themselves 'etched' within one's consciousness. My most indelible memories of Namibia's deserts though, which the present day convenience of cameras allow us to capture and store, were the night sky sights and the dramatic sunsets.

Indelible Memories Part 2, in which I recall my experience of the Okavango Delta, will follow soon.

       

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