Spitzkoppe: January 26

After spending two nights in the bush at the Kuisab River and meeting the Topnar people we headed to Spitzkoppe. Yet again Spitzkoppe was a new landscape and absolutely beautiful. It was very open and climbing the rocks there gave a great view of the open landscape in surrounding areas. It was also my first night sleeping outside!!

Because the rock mountains of Spitzkoppe are erected in the middle of a very flat and dry plain they can be seen from miles and miles away. So as we were driving to our campsite Burger pointed them out. Little did I know that we would be camping right at the base of the rocks. Although Spitzkoppe is not the highest mountain in Namibia it is the most famous. It is over 700 million years old and is known for its views of the sunrises and sunsets. Over our three weeks in Africa we saw beautiful sunsets and millions of stars every night, but the night we spent at Spitzkoppe is one of the most memorable.

Once we arrived at the camp and got situated we all climbed up a rock to have a better view of our surroundings. All of the boys and a couple girls put their sleeping bags up there and didn’t even set up a tent, but sleeping up there on a rock that large seemed a little too risky for me. Amy and I settled for a smaller rock that seemed perfect for us to sleep under the stars. We even named it “pride rock” just like in the Lion King. Sleeping and climbing on these rocks was so different than the past few nights and it was a welcomed change. The weather was even a little bit cooler!

The sunset was amazing to say the least. One thing I noticed in general about African sunsets and sunrises is the amount of colors in the sky. Maybe there are some places in the United States where every evening the sky is lit up with bright pinks and oranges and blues, but no where that I have ever been. The way the sun disappeared behind the rocks allowed for a shadow to be created between the rocks. After the sun went down all of the stars started to appear. The lack of light from humans allows the stars to be much more obvious and they created a depth in the sky that proves there is not just one layer of stars as it often appears in the United States. As Amy and I were lying on our rock to fall asleep I just kept looking up and was in awe of the magnitude of stars.

Sleeping outside at Spitzkoppe was a unique experience that I wish I could have experienced more. Most of the other campsites, in my opinion, were too close to wild animals (like jackals) or had too many bugs and my tent just seemed more comfortable, although some people felt differently. It was invigorating to breathe in the fresh air and not worry about any pollution. It was not too hot and a pleasant nights sleep! The next day we were off to Ongongo Falls for three nights.