About to descend

About to descend (page 213)

Namibia

Namibia has a landscape as old as time; a spectacular desert of dusty-brown, rocky mountains streaked with hues of purple, pink and gold, surrounded by shifting sands dunes ranging from white to rusty red. It is as if the forests and grasslands have been peeled away to expose the bare bones of Africa, making the great upheavals that took place when the earth was formed look as fresh and clear as if it had all happened yesterday.

The Namib Desert stretches the entire length of the coastal area from Angola to South Africa. This is the most beautiful and interesting part of Namibia; the names themselves evoke a sense of excitement: Damaraland, Kaokoveld, Sossusvlei, the Omaruru, Khumib and Hoanib rivers and, of course, the Skeleton Coast.