I knew Sesriem Canyon was entirely forgettable and when I wrote that previous post I entirely forgot it. 😀
As we said goodbye to the high sand dunes and left the Namib-Naukluft National Park, before returning to Zebra River Lodge for that mesmerizing cold beer, we made a brief detour (4km) to gawp at the Sesriem Canyon. Now, before we’d left for Namibia, I had marked this day as, perhaps, one of my better chances to see some Odonata. My thinking was based on this extract from Explore!’s trip notes for the day:
We’ll also explore the cool passageways of the Sesriem Canyon on foot. The canyon is small but very picturesque – many plants grow in the shade and shelter offered by the canyon, and water pools attract several species of birds and animals.
The mention of water pools did it.
Considering that the rest of northern Namibia is currently enjoying a particularly wet wet season, with water flowing where it doesn’t usually flow and standing where it doesn’t usually stand, it was particularly ironic that Sesriem Canyon proved to be as dry as a buzzard’s crotch; not a drop – NADA, NICHTS, RIEN.
Francine went down into the canyon with some of our number for a wander. I stayed above and shot the breeze with a few others that couldn’t be arsed. It’s just a pile of drab rocks and stone, after all. The only heartbeats involved were ours. Well, and those transported by another similar tour truck. If you look top right in the picture, you’ll just sees one of the heartbeats to give an idea of scale. We were there getting on for an hour.
Now, where’s that beer ..?
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