All language subtitles for Aerial.Africa.Series.1.5of6.Namibia.1080p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org

♪

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.

♪

♪

♪