97. Sand
I seem to have spent a chunk of my early life surrounded by sand. Quite apart from enjoying the glorious beaches of Cape Town, Durban, Hermanus, etc., the vast expanses of the Namib personify the potential beauty of sand when blown into creative shapes and contours by the prevailing winds. How much of our otherwise green planet is stripped down to the bare rocks and sands of a desert, semi-desert or mountain? I was surprised to discover that 33% of the world is desert or semi-desert and 24% is mountainous. This means that only 43% is actually arable! So much for the frequent descriptions of our planet as being green and blue!
There is a list of the sixteen most interesting deserts in the world, and I was pleased to see that the Namib is number one on the list. Many years ago, when we were filming in the Namib, I was told by our guide, Louw Schoeman, that there was a theory that the desert had been formed after an ice age that covered the area millions of years ago.
Much more recently, further geological studies have found this to be true. Southern Africa during the Paleozoic period of 300 million years ago was located over the South Pole, when southern Africa and Brazil were joined together as part of a land mass called by scientists Gondwanaland, a “supercontinent” comprising South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India and Australia. Evidence of this has been found in the Namib where drumlins (sedimentary hills formed by fast-moving ice flows) indicate ice flows once travelled from the Namib to Brazil when Gondwanaland was in place. Now, of course, these regions are 3,500 miles apart, separated by the Atlantic Ocean.
I clearly remember standing with Louw on a cliff overlooking a dry riverbed far below, when he asserted that more details would eventually emerge about the Namib’s icy past. He has now been proved correct. On another occasion, while researching another documentary, I visited the Paleontology Department of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. They showed me a model of Gondwanaland, which was still quite a controversial subject in those days. We did not discuss the Namib at the time, but it is gratifying to see how these pieces of the global jigsaw puzzle are beginning to come together.
The list of sixteen deserts goes on to say that the Namib is richer in wildlife, compared with other deserts. The larger creatures include antelopes such as the gemsbok (oryx) and “buck” (largely springbok), ostriches, zebras, elephants, rhinos, the rare black-maned lions, hyenas and jackals. Over the years, the desert elephants have developed broader, extended footpads in order to traverse the many areas of loose sand. The desert elephants also tend to have smaller bodies but retain the same long legs. They can also go for days without water, unlike elephants in other regions. Of course, the creatures’ large ears are vitally important because of the massive system of veins in the ears. This allows them to cool their blood by flapping the ears in the heat of the day. Elephant ears are regarded by conservationists as nature’s air-conditioning units!
I never saw any elephants during my trips into the Namib, but did have a close encounter with a lioness, who was (thankfully) not hungry and walked away.
Of the smaller species in the Namib, there are many varieties of beetles, geckos (lizard family) and snakes. Most creatures in the wild adopt colors that will camouflage them in their environment. One exception is the tiny bright crimson spider that scuttles across the dunes from time to time. I’ve written this before but it’s worth stating here again that I was looking down on the ground in front of me one day, when I saw a small “stone” move. Intrigued, I picked it up and found it had legs but otherwise looked exactly like a stone in the desert. I named it a “stonehopper” and it was sent back to Namibia’s capital city of Windhoek, where they reported that they had never seen anything like it before. Sadly, it never got the Latin appellation, Stonus Dresseranthis,” or something like it!
The Walvis Bay lagoon on the edge of the desert is the home of the glorious, pink-colored flamingos. Some of these birds do migrate to southern Europe on occasions, but they are mainly domiciled around lakes and lagoons in Africa and India. When they fly en masse, it is a glorious sight of a great pink cloud in the sky.
Unique to the Namib is the Welwitschia plant, which has a lifespan of between 400 and 1,500 years. There are both male and female plants. It spreads over the sand giving the impression to some that it is very slowly moving across the desert.
I won’t attempt to describe all the sixteen deserts other than to say that the Atacama located in Peru and Chile is the driest place on earth with no rainfall ever recorded there. In contrast, the Namib has rain on average every seven or eight years. The other desert worth commenting on is Antarctica. Although it is covered in ice, it has minimal rainfall and the underlying rocks and sand have all the characteristics of a desert and it is categorized as such.
Why am I fascinated by deserts and the Namib in particular?
There are a number of reasons. I suppose the main reason for me is that I found I was transported to a very different world in contrast to verdant areas I have lived in, ranging from Britain to Switzerland and parts of South Africa. The desert has a sense of stillness, so rare in this mechanical, electronic world. The air is pure and clean. Gazing at the myriad stars of the southern hemisphere in the clear desert air, one can feel in communication with the entire universe. There is an underlying spirituality about the desert. When alone there on numerous occasions, I have often felt a oneness with myself whilst also in strong communication with the physical universe.
I am also fascinated by the complete contrast in scenic beauty between, for example, the rich autumn colors of the Cape Winelands and the spectacular curving high dunes of the Namib with varying shades of sand from pure white to yellow, brown, red and even patches of black or grey.
Travelling in the US from Los Angeles to Aspen, Colorado, and later to the magnificent Grand Canyon, I came to appreciate the rugged beauty of that country’s semi-desert regions.
All of which has led me to wonder about the numerous tribes, communities and a few nations that live in semi-deserts and even deserts. Do they live there out of choice or of necessity? Have stronger groups driven them there or do they prefer the harsh conditions isolating them from the mainstream of society?
I think that, in most instances, groups have fled into deserts from stronger groups; but, having adapted to a more Spartan lifestyle, some have grown used to it. Examples that come to mind are:
- The Hereros of Namibia, after trying to rise against German Colonial rule in 1904, were subjected to the attempted genocide of the entire nation by German troops led by Lieutenant-General Lothar von Trotha until 1908. Up to 100,000 Hereros were murdered or died of starvation and dehydration after being driven into the Namib desert. The remnants of this once-peaceful pastoral people still live on the edges of the desert.
- Many Native American tribes were driven by US troops into dry, infertile parts of America, where many still remain to this day.
- In Australia, the indigenous Aborigines fled into the harsh hinterland of central Australia as the new settlers grabbed the best farmland.
- The Eskimos retreated into the icy northern regions of Canada and Alaska as the early settlers claimed the best arable land.
- Warring nations in Europe, in particular eastern Europe and as far as Siberia, drove underdogs into inhospitable regions.
- Did the Mongol hordes invading much of Central Asia and the Middle East result in whole nations fleeing to remote and inhospitable parts of the globe?
There are many more examples, I’m sure; but I’m really just putting the thought out there. I’m not really an historian but just expressing these thoughts as they come to me. I think that there are some regions that were previously lush and arable but despite climate change creating new desert regions, the inhabitants mostly remained and adapted to the new conditions. I’d welcome comments and more factual data, if any of you readers know something about this subject.
Meanwhile, we should prepare to adapt in a much more positive way to a new culture that will emerge as ExoTech spreads across the globe. It will introduce a whole new era of positive and truthful communication that will presage a calmer, more peaceful society, growing in understanding of each other and our various cultures. Then, perhaps, we can begin to learn how to finally share in the arable lands, perhaps working together to improve conditions in the desert regions of our planet. It’s a dream well worthwhile turning into reality!
“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French literary giant and author of The Little Prince.
An ExoTech Ltd shareholder, Chris is currently authoring two of the four books to be published the day ExoBrain launches and has helped to create ExoBrain’s introductory video to the Confidential Technical Briefing. Chris has spent his working life in the film and television industry, starting with BBC Television in London, then ATV in Birmingham becoming, at the time, the youngest Studio Manager in Britain.
Later, in South Africa, he wrote and directed film and TV commercials, having four South African entries at the Cannes Advertising Festival. After a number of years of writing and directing or producing documentaries (eight international awards) and corporate videos, he concentrated on writing feature film screenplays (five screened) and television series (seven screened). He has a novel, ”Pursuit of Treachery,” with a literary agent and is currently obtaining finance for an action adventure feature film he has written and is co-producing. He is a published poet and has given many readings.