Original subtitles

♪

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.

♪

♪

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