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♪♪
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00:00:04,295 --> 00:00:06,256
THE OLDEST DESERT ON EARTH
3
00:00:06,339 --> 00:00:10,844
LIES IN THE SOUTHWEST CORNER
OF AFRICA...
4
00:00:10,927 --> 00:00:15,682
A PLACE FORGED IN FIRE
AND SHAPED OVER TIME.
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00:00:18,351 --> 00:00:22,647
IN THIS LAND OF EXTREMES,
NATURE ADAPTS...
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00:00:25,233 --> 00:00:28,945
AND MYSTERIES ABOUND.
7
00:00:29,028 --> 00:00:32,490
BONE-DRY TREES
STAND FROZEN IN TIME...
8
00:00:32,574 --> 00:00:38,246
AS STRANGE ZEBRA-STRIPED
MOUNTAINS REACH FOR THE SKIES.
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00:00:38,329 --> 00:00:41,166
IN THIS ANCIENT WORLD
OF CONTRASTS,
10
00:00:41,249 --> 00:00:44,878
SHIFTING SEAS
OF LIFELESS, BARREN EARTH
11
00:00:44,961 --> 00:00:48,256
STRETCH FOR MILES...
12
00:00:48,339 --> 00:00:51,509
WHILE COASTAL WATERS
BURST WITH LIFE.
13
00:00:53,470 --> 00:00:57,015
AS JAGGED ROCKS CARVE THE SKY...
14
00:00:59,851 --> 00:01:02,896
ANCIENT CANYONS SLICE THE EARTH.
15
00:01:04,397 --> 00:01:09,152
IT'S A PLACE ONCE CAPTURED
BY FOREIGN POWERS--
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00:01:09,235 --> 00:01:12,822
NOW RETURNED TO NATIVE RULE.
17
00:01:12,906 --> 00:01:16,659
AS ROSE-COLORED JEWELS
SHIMMER OVER THE OCEAN,
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00:01:16,743 --> 00:01:20,997
DIAMOND-RUSH BOOMTOWNS
TURN TO DUST.
19
00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:24,542
SOME STILL LIVE
IN ISOLATED WORLDS,
20
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WHERE MYSTERIES ARE UNEXPLAINED.
21
00:01:29,380 --> 00:01:33,551
GLIDE OVER THIS RUGGED LAND,
22
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WHERE EVERY LIVING THING
MUST ADAPT OR DIE...
23
00:01:40,058 --> 00:01:43,478
AND DISCOVER A COUNTRY
LIKE NO OTHER ON EARTH,
24
00:01:43,561 --> 00:01:46,981
IN THE SWIRLING-HOT SANDS
OF NAMIBIA.
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♪♪
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THE NAMIB DESERT,
IN SOUTHWEST AFRICA,
27
00:02:01,162 --> 00:02:04,290
IS THE OLDEST DESERT ON EARTH.
28
00:02:04,374 --> 00:02:10,797
IT'S BEEN THIS WAY
FOR 55 MILLION YEARS.
29
00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:13,341
IT'S CONSIDERED HYPER-ARID.
30
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RAINFALL IS LESS
THAN 2 INCHES A YEAR.
31
00:02:18,513 --> 00:02:20,682
MOST OF IT IS UNINHABITABLE
FOR HUMANS.
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00:02:20,765 --> 00:02:35,655
♪♪
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EVEN NATURE STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE
34
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IN THIS ENORMOUS
UNDULATING SEA OF SAND.
35
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THE SAND CONSISTS
OF QUARTZ GRAINS
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00:02:46,624 --> 00:02:48,585
WITH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS
OF IRON.
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♪♪
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00:02:59,512 --> 00:03:04,976
OVER TIME, THE AIR OXIDIZES
THE IRON IN THE SAND GRAINS,
39
00:03:05,059 --> 00:03:06,519
CAUSING IT TO RUST,
40
00:03:06,603 --> 00:03:12,108
TURNING IT FROM YELLOW
TO AN INCREASINGLY DEEP RED.
41
00:03:14,944 --> 00:03:19,115
THE REDDER THE SAND,
THE OLDER THE DUNES.
42
00:03:22,660 --> 00:03:26,205
THIS SAND IS OVER
5 MILLION YEARS OLD.
43
00:03:26,289 --> 00:03:30,293
♪♪
44
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OVER 70 MILLION YEARS AGO
45
00:03:33,212 --> 00:03:36,424
WATER CARRIED SAND
FROM AFRICA'S INTERIOR
46
00:03:36,507 --> 00:03:41,930
ACROSS THE COASTAL PLAIN
TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
47
00:03:42,013 --> 00:03:45,850
THEN THE COLD OCEAN CURRENT
SWEPT IT NORTHWARDS.
48
00:03:48,561 --> 00:03:54,692
ONSHORE WINDS DROVE IT INLAND,
FORMING A SEA OF SAND.
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00:03:58,571 --> 00:04:03,534
IT RANGES IN WIDTH
FROM 50 TO 130 MILES ACROSS,
50
00:04:03,618 --> 00:04:05,828
COVERING MOST
OF THE WESTERN QUARTER
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00:04:05,912 --> 00:04:08,706
OF WHAT IS NOW NAMIBIA.
52
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♪♪
53
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AT THE DESERT'S HEART
LIES SOSSUSVLEI,
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00:04:19,759 --> 00:04:23,346
AN ENORMOUS DRY LAKEBED--
KNOWN AS A PAN--
55
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SURROUNDED BY
SLEEPY RED SAND GIANTS.
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SOSSUSVLEI MEANS
"THE GATHERING PLACE OF WATER,"
57
00:04:32,814 --> 00:04:35,984
BUT TODAY IT'S
QUITE THE OPPOSITE.
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00:04:36,067 --> 00:04:37,527
THE TSAUCHAB RIVER,
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00:04:37,610 --> 00:04:41,906
WHICH ONLY FORMED HERE
IN RARE TIMES OF RAIN,
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00:04:41,990 --> 00:04:44,367
ONCE CONNECTED
TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
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00:04:44,450 --> 00:04:49,288
34 MILES TO THE WEST.
62
00:04:49,372 --> 00:04:51,374
60,000 YEARS AGO,
63
00:04:51,457 --> 00:04:56,629
ITS PATH WAS FINALLY BLOCKED
BY ENCROACHING DUNES.
64
00:04:56,713 --> 00:04:59,298
THE REMAINING WATER POOLED
IN THE VALLEYS BETWEEN THE DUNES
65
00:04:59,382 --> 00:05:03,594
AND EVAPORATED,
FORMING THE DRY CLAY PAN.
66
00:05:07,306 --> 00:05:10,977
HOWLING WINDS SHAPE
THIS LANDSCAPE,
67
00:05:11,060 --> 00:05:14,397
FORMING SOME OF THE TALLEST
DUNES ON EARTH.
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00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:19,861
THEY STAND AS TALL
AS A 70-STORY SKYSCRAPER.
69
00:05:22,322 --> 00:05:26,409
AND THEY ARE CONSTANTLY
ON THE MOVE.
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00:05:28,870 --> 00:05:33,958
IN SOSSUSVLEI, HOT WINDS
SWIRL OFF THE DESERT FLOOR,
71
00:05:34,042 --> 00:05:36,586
BLOWING IN ALL DIRECTIONS,
72
00:05:36,669 --> 00:05:39,505
CARVING THE SAND
INTO MAGNIFICENT DUNES
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00:05:39,589 --> 00:05:43,509
WITH MULTIPLE ARMS,
CALLED STAR DUNES.
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THIS IS DUNE NUMBER 45.
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00:05:52,685 --> 00:05:53,519
IT'S A FIVE-HOUR DRIVE
76
00:05:53,603 --> 00:05:57,273
FROM NAMIBIA'S CAPITAL CITY,
WINDHOEK,
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00:05:57,356 --> 00:06:03,237
THEN AN HOUR CLIMB
TO ITS 600 FOOT-HIGH CREST.
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00:06:03,321 --> 00:06:09,202
HIKERS ALSO TREK ALONG THE BACK
OF THIS DUNE CALLED, BIG MAMA.
79
00:06:09,285 --> 00:06:13,331
ITS STEEP SLOPES ARE TALLER
THAN A 100-STORY BUILDING...
80
00:06:13,414 --> 00:06:16,375
BUT WORTH THE LONG CLIMB.
81
00:06:16,459 --> 00:06:20,129
BIG MAMA LOOMS
OVER AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT:
82
00:06:20,213 --> 00:06:25,468
"DEAD VLEI," THE DEAD STREAM.
83
00:06:25,551 --> 00:06:28,179
900-YEAR-OLD CAMEL THORN TREES
84
00:06:28,262 --> 00:06:30,598
STAND FROZEN
IN SUN-DRENCHED WHITE CLAY
85
00:06:30,681 --> 00:06:36,145
THAT WAS ONCE THE ENDPOINT
OF THE TSAUCHAB RIVER.
86
00:06:36,229 --> 00:06:38,314
THE TREES WERE STARVED OF WATER
87
00:06:38,397 --> 00:06:42,151
WHEN BIG MAMA'S INVADING SANDS
SEVERED THEIR LIFELINE--
88
00:06:42,235 --> 00:06:46,280
LEAVING BEHIND
55-FOOT-TALL SKELETONS.
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00:06:46,364 --> 00:06:50,701
IT'S SO DRY,
THEY DON'T DECOMPOSE.
90
00:06:51,577 --> 00:06:56,791
BUT IN DEATH
THE TREES FOUND FAME.
91
00:06:56,874 --> 00:07:00,002
DEAD VLEI HAS BECOME
A PHOTOGRAPHER'S PARADISE
92
00:07:00,086 --> 00:07:03,714
AND A POPULAR DESTINATION
FOR TOURISTS.
93
00:07:07,426 --> 00:07:11,013
RAIN DOES FALL IN THE NAMIB,
BUT RARELY.
94
00:07:11,097 --> 00:07:15,351
SHOWERS CAN BE TEN YEARS APART.
95
00:07:16,853 --> 00:07:19,397
WHEN IT DOES RAIN,
GRASS GROWS ON THE DUNES,
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00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,483
KICK-STARTING
A COMPLEX FOOD CHAIN
97
00:07:22,567 --> 00:07:26,112
HIDING UNDER THE SAND.
98
00:07:26,195 --> 00:07:29,365
TINY BEETLES
LIVE OFF DEAD PLANTS.
99
00:07:29,448 --> 00:07:32,160
THEY ARE HUNTED BY SNAKES
AND SAND LIZARDS,
100
00:07:32,243 --> 00:07:34,912
WHO BURROW DOWN INTO
THE COOLER PART OF THE DUNE
101
00:07:34,996 --> 00:07:36,789
TO DIGEST THEIR MEALS.
102
00:07:41,878 --> 00:07:45,381
THIS ORYX RELIES
ON DESERT MELONS FOR FOOD
103
00:07:45,464 --> 00:07:48,134
AND HAS A TRICK
FOR CONSERVING MOISTURE:
104
00:07:48,217 --> 00:07:50,553
IT URINATES CRYSTALS.
105
00:07:50,636 --> 00:07:55,057
ITS LIGHT GRAY HAIR
REFLECTS THE DESERT HEAT.
106
00:07:55,141 --> 00:08:01,731
♪♪
107
00:08:01,814 --> 00:08:03,232
FEMALES AND YOUNG MALES
GATHER IN HERDS
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00:08:03,316 --> 00:08:07,403
OF UP TO 40 INDIVIDUALS.
109
00:08:07,486 --> 00:08:11,032
THEIR NUMBERS HELP THEM KEEP
A LOOKOUT FOR DANGER.
110
00:08:13,367 --> 00:08:17,830
CHEETAHS, HYENAS AND LIONS
ARE A THREAT IN THESE PARTS.
111
00:08:17,914 --> 00:08:29,884
♪♪
112
00:08:29,967 --> 00:08:30,801
WHILE THE NAMIB DESERT MAY BE
113
00:08:30,885 --> 00:08:34,388
ONE OF THE MOST BARREN
REGIONS ON EARTH,
114
00:08:34,472 --> 00:08:37,808
NAMIBIA'S NORTHWESTERN BORDER
WITH ANGOLA IS DEFINED
115
00:08:37,892 --> 00:08:41,896
BY THE REFRESHING WATERS
OF THE MIGHTY KUNENE RIVER.
116
00:08:45,524 --> 00:08:50,947
ON ITS 652-MILE-LONG JOURNEY
WEST TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN,
117
00:08:51,030 --> 00:08:53,699
THE KUNENE IS A RIVER
OF WHITEWATER RAPIDS,
118
00:08:53,783 --> 00:08:59,288
TRANQUIL STREAMS
AND THE SPECTACULAR EPUPA FALLS.
119
00:09:00,623 --> 00:09:03,793
IT STRETCHES
THROUGH A PRIMEVAL VALLEY
120
00:09:03,876 --> 00:09:08,965
CARVED OUT OF ROCK BY GLACIERS
280 MILLION YEARS AGO
121
00:09:09,048 --> 00:09:11,968
THAT EXPLODES
WITH SHADES OF GREEN.
122
00:09:13,552 --> 00:09:16,347
THE RIVER'S EMERALD GREEN COLOR
123
00:09:16,430 --> 00:09:19,809
IS CAUSED BY A MINERAL
CALLED GLAUCONITE,
124
00:09:19,892 --> 00:09:22,645
ALSO KNOWN AS GREEN SAND,
125
00:09:22,728 --> 00:09:25,898
WHICH ERODES EASILY,
GIVING IT ITS COLORFUL TINT.
126
00:09:25,982 --> 00:09:31,153
♪♪
127
00:09:31,237 --> 00:09:34,198
THIS WATER IS A LIFELINE
TO THE DESERT CREATURES
128
00:09:34,282 --> 00:09:36,325
AND THE THIN FOREST
OF PALM TREES
129
00:09:36,409 --> 00:09:39,537
THAT LINE THE KUNENE'S BANKS.
130
00:09:39,620 --> 00:09:43,332
THEY ARE CALLED REAL FAN PALMS.
131
00:09:43,416 --> 00:09:46,544
THE TREES ONLY GROW
IN SALTY SOIL.
132
00:09:46,627 --> 00:09:48,504
THEY THRIVE ALONG THESE BANKS
133
00:09:48,587 --> 00:09:51,173
BECAUSE THE RIVER'S FRESH WATER
BECOMES BRACKISH
134
00:09:51,257 --> 00:09:55,678
AS IT SEEPS
INTO THE MINERAL-RICH SANDS.
135
00:09:55,761 --> 00:09:58,139
THEY CAN BE OVER 100 YEARS OLD
136
00:09:58,222 --> 00:10:03,978
AND STAND
AN IMPRESSIVE 60 FEET TALL.
137
00:10:04,061 --> 00:10:10,067
THE PALM TREES DO MORE THAN
PROVIDE SHADE ALONG THE RIVER.
138
00:10:10,151 --> 00:10:15,156
THEY ARE A DESERT OASIS
ALL ON THEIR OWN.
139
00:10:15,239 --> 00:10:18,034
THE OVAMBO TRIBES WHO LIVE
ALONG THE RIVER BANKS
140
00:10:18,117 --> 00:10:21,829
POKE HOLES IN THE STEMS
TO TAP PALM SAP.
141
00:10:24,749 --> 00:10:28,336
IT TASTES A LITTLE LIKE
A ROBUST GINGER ALE.
142
00:10:28,419 --> 00:10:32,840
BUT ONCE FERMENTED, THE SAP
TURNS INTO A SOUR-TASTING WINE,
143
00:10:32,923 --> 00:10:35,051
WITH A KICK.
144
00:10:35,134 --> 00:10:37,762
LOCALS CLAIM
IT CAN CAUSE SCARY DREAMS
145
00:10:37,845 --> 00:10:41,557
AND WILD HALLUCINATIONS.
146
00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:43,392
WHILE THE PREHISTORIC-LOOKING
FORMS ALONG THIS RIVER
147
00:10:43,476 --> 00:10:47,229
MAY SEEM SURREAL...
148
00:10:47,313 --> 00:10:50,066
THE CROCODILES LIVING IN IT
ARE VERY REAL.
149
00:10:50,149 --> 00:10:54,820
♪♪
150
00:10:54,904 --> 00:10:59,700
THE CROCS USE THE MURKY GREEN
WATER FOR CAMOUFLAGE.
151
00:10:59,784 --> 00:11:03,621
IT BLENDS PERFECTLY
WITH THEIR DARK BROWN SKIN.
152
00:11:04,955 --> 00:11:10,211
THESE AMBUSH PREDATORS
LIE STILL AS A LOG,
153
00:11:10,294 --> 00:11:13,964
BUT STRIKE WITH SUPERCHARGED
BURSTS OF SPEED.
154
00:11:19,011 --> 00:11:23,557
THEY HAVE RULED THIS RIVER
FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.
155
00:11:23,641 --> 00:11:27,686
BUT THE HISTORY OF THIS PLACE
RUNS MUCH DEEPER THAN THAT.
156
00:11:30,564 --> 00:11:32,608
NOT FAR FROM THE RIVER BANKS,
157
00:11:32,692 --> 00:11:35,611
MOUNTAINS
WITH MYSTERIOUS STRIPES
158
00:11:35,694 --> 00:11:37,863
RISE OUT OF THIS
ALIEN LANDSCAPE.
159
00:11:40,533 --> 00:11:45,454
THESE ARE THE ZEBRA MOUNTAINS.
160
00:11:45,538 --> 00:11:48,165
THEY WERE DISCOVERED
IN THE EARLY 1900s
161
00:11:48,249 --> 00:11:53,129
BY A HIKER NAMED
MAUDSLEY BAYNES.
162
00:11:53,212 --> 00:11:55,464
HE DESCRIBED THEM AS HAVING
STRIPES MADE OF BOULDERS,
163
00:11:55,548 --> 00:11:57,925
GIVING A ZEBRA-LIKE APPEARANCE.
164
00:12:02,930 --> 00:12:06,851
THEIR ORIGINS WERE CLOAKED
IN MYSTERY UNTIL 1989,
165
00:12:06,934 --> 00:12:10,104
WHEN GEOLOGISTS DISCOVERED THAT
THESE MOUNTAINS WERE MADE UP
166
00:12:10,187 --> 00:12:14,650
OF TWO TYPES OF VOLCANIC ROCK--
167
00:12:14,733 --> 00:12:19,947
PALE ANORTHOSITE
AND DARK LEUCOTROCTOLITE--
168
00:12:20,030 --> 00:12:23,325
THAT FORMED WHEN MAGMA COOLED
BELOW THE EARTH'S SURFACE
169
00:12:23,409 --> 00:12:27,413
BEFORE ERUPTING
3 BILLION YEARS AGO--
170
00:12:27,496 --> 00:12:29,081
FORMING THE ZEBRA STRIPES.
171
00:12:29,165 --> 00:12:36,839
♪♪
172
00:12:36,922 --> 00:12:42,636
WHERE THERE ARE MOUNTAINS,
THERE MUST BE VALLEYS--
173
00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:47,600
AND THIS ONE HAS BAFFLED
SCIENTISTS FOR DECADES.
174
00:12:47,683 --> 00:12:59,445
♪♪
175
00:12:59,528 --> 00:13:02,531
IN THE LATE 1960s,
176
00:13:02,615 --> 00:13:04,783
A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL
IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA
177
00:13:04,867 --> 00:13:06,702
NAMED BEN VAN ZYL
178
00:13:06,785 --> 00:13:08,287
WAS SENT TO CARVE A ROUTE
179
00:13:08,370 --> 00:13:11,415
THROUGH THE RUGGED
OTJIHIPA MOUNTAINS.
180
00:13:14,293 --> 00:13:17,505
IT TOOK FOUR MONTHS
TO FORGE THE 7-MILE PATH
181
00:13:17,588 --> 00:13:20,966
WITH A TEAM OF 20 MEN
IN THE DRY DESERT HEAT,
182
00:13:21,050 --> 00:13:24,011
USING ONLY PICKS AND SHOVELS.
183
00:13:26,055 --> 00:13:29,391
THE CRUDE ROAD WAS INTENDED
TO BE A SHORTCUT
184
00:13:29,475 --> 00:13:30,809
THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS
LEADING TO THE RIVER
185
00:13:30,893 --> 00:13:35,773
AND THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
WHO LIVE THERE.
186
00:13:35,856 --> 00:13:39,985
TODAY VAN ZYL'S PASS IS FAMOUSLY
KNOWN BY OFF-ROAD ENTHUSIASTS
187
00:13:40,069 --> 00:13:45,241
AS ONE OF THE TEN MOST
CHALLENGING ROADS IN THE WORLD.
188
00:13:45,324 --> 00:13:48,827
IT'S BEEN NICKNAMED
THE ROAD TO HELL.
189
00:13:51,705 --> 00:13:54,750
THE JAGGED-ROCK ROAD
SNAKES THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS,
190
00:13:54,833 --> 00:13:56,752
THEN MAKES A 1,000-FOOT
WHITE KNUCKLE DESCENT
191
00:13:56,835 --> 00:14:01,090
INTO THE CURIOUS
MARIENFLUSS VALLEY.
192
00:14:01,173 --> 00:14:10,808
♪♪
193
00:14:10,891 --> 00:14:13,060
IT LIES IN NORTHWEST NAMIBIA
194
00:14:13,143 --> 00:14:16,605
BETWEEN THE HARTMANN
AND THE OTJIHIPA MOUNTAINS,
195
00:14:16,689 --> 00:14:20,776
STRETCHING FOR 40 MILES.
196
00:14:23,821 --> 00:14:26,156
THE VALLEY'S ISOLATION
HAS MADE IT
197
00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:30,369
ONE OF SOUTHERN AFRICA'S
LAST WILDERNESS AREAS.
198
00:14:32,621 --> 00:14:36,792
A BREEZE DRIFTS IN
FROM THE ATLANTIC EVERY MORNING,
199
00:14:36,875 --> 00:14:41,046
OVER 70 MILES AWAY.
200
00:14:41,130 --> 00:14:44,216
AS THE COOL OCEAN AIR
MEETS THE HOT DESERT,
201
00:14:44,300 --> 00:14:50,222
IT CONDENSES, FORMING MOISTURE,
WHICH WATERS THE VALLEY--
202
00:14:50,306 --> 00:14:53,017
SUPPORTING LIFE!
203
00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:57,146
♪♪
204
00:14:57,229 --> 00:15:00,774
THE DEW IS HARVESTED
BY PLANTS, ANIMALS AND INSECTS
205
00:15:00,858 --> 00:15:04,778
BEFORE THE SUN BURNS IT OFF.
206
00:15:07,156 --> 00:15:11,577
THE DEW DOESN'T PROVIDE
ENOUGH WATER FOR MOST HUMANS.
207
00:15:15,164 --> 00:15:20,836
BUT ONE TRIBE HAS ADAPTED
TO THE ARID LANDSCAPE.
208
00:15:22,129 --> 00:15:26,175
THE INDIGENOUS HIMBA PEOPLE
ARE HUNTER-GATHERERS
209
00:15:26,258 --> 00:15:28,719
WHO HAVE LEARNED
TO LIVE OFF WILD FRUIT
210
00:15:28,802 --> 00:15:33,641
AND DIG FOR ROOTS DURING
THE LONG SPELLS OF DROUGHT.
211
00:15:33,724 --> 00:15:36,685
ABOUT 50,000 HIMBA
LIVE HERE TODAY--
212
00:15:36,769 --> 00:15:41,857
THE LAST SEMI-NOMADIC TRIBE
IN NAMIBIA.
213
00:15:41,940 --> 00:15:43,859
THEY RAISE GOATS AND SHEEP
AND COUNT THEIR WEALTH
214
00:15:43,942 --> 00:15:47,404
BY THE NUMBER OF CATTLE
THEY OWN.
215
00:15:47,488 --> 00:15:49,448
THE HIMBA FIRST DESCENDED
ON THIS VALLEY
216
00:15:49,531 --> 00:15:52,618
IN SEARCH OF GRAZING
FOR THEIR LIVESTOCK.
217
00:15:55,245 --> 00:15:57,956
THEY WERE TROUBLED
BY WHAT THEY SAW.
218
00:15:58,040 --> 00:16:03,212
♪♪
219
00:16:03,295 --> 00:16:09,301
THESE MYSTERIOUS "FAIRY CIRCLES"
STRETCH OUT FOR MILES.
220
00:16:09,385 --> 00:16:11,637
THE HIMBA BELIEVE
A GIANT DRAGON LIVES
221
00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:14,181
UNDER THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.
222
00:16:15,933 --> 00:16:18,686
ITS FIERY BREATH
BURNS THE VEGETATION
223
00:16:18,769 --> 00:16:23,273
AS IT BUBBLES TO THE SURFACE.
224
00:16:23,357 --> 00:16:25,567
THE BIZARRE
BARREN PATCHES OF LAND
225
00:16:25,651 --> 00:16:26,944
ARE FRINGED BY PERENNIAL GRASSES
226
00:16:27,027 --> 00:16:32,658
AND RANGE IN SIZE
FROM 6 TO 50 FEET ACROSS.
227
00:16:34,326 --> 00:16:39,748
SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN STUDYING
THE CIRCLES SINCE 1971
228
00:16:39,832 --> 00:16:44,545
BUT ARE STILL
SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS.
229
00:16:44,628 --> 00:16:48,298
ONE THEORY SUGGESTS POISONOUS
BUSHES CALLED EUPHORBIA
230
00:16:48,382 --> 00:16:49,049
ONCE GREW HERE,
231
00:16:49,133 --> 00:16:54,054
AND STOPPED GRASS FROM GROWING.
232
00:16:54,138 --> 00:16:56,932
OTHERS THINK TERMITES BLOWN INTO
THE NAMIB DURING WET CYCLES
233
00:16:57,015 --> 00:17:02,563
DECIMATED THE PATCHES OF GRASS.
234
00:17:02,646 --> 00:17:05,983
SAND TERMITES DO LIVE
IN MOST OF THE CIRCLES.
235
00:17:06,066 --> 00:17:08,902
BUT NEW EVIDENCE
SHOWS A CORRELATION
236
00:17:08,986 --> 00:17:11,029
BETWEEN THE SIZE
OF FAIRY CIRCLES
237
00:17:11,113 --> 00:17:14,324
AND THE AVAILABILITY OF WATER.
238
00:17:14,408 --> 00:17:20,080
THE DRYER THE AREA,
THE LARGER THE GRASSY CIRCLES.
239
00:17:20,164 --> 00:17:22,958
SO THEY COULD BE
PATTERNS THAT OCCUR
240
00:17:23,041 --> 00:17:26,336
WHEN THE DESERT GRASSES
COMPETE FOR WATER.
241
00:17:26,420 --> 00:17:29,173
BUT NO ONE CAN SAY FOR SURE.
242
00:17:31,008 --> 00:17:33,594
FAIRY CIRCLES ARE NOT
THE ONLY FEATURE IN THIS VALLEY
243
00:17:33,677 --> 00:17:36,680
THAT GET PEOPLE TALKING.
244
00:17:36,764 --> 00:17:41,143
HERE, OVERLAND EXPLORERS FOLLOW
A SERIES OF OLD FUEL DRUMS,
245
00:17:41,226 --> 00:17:44,855
LIKE THIS ONE, FOR NAVIGATION.
246
00:17:44,938 --> 00:17:47,608
THE BRIGHTLY COLORED DRUMS
ARE MARKED ON MAPS
247
00:17:47,691 --> 00:17:50,569
WITH PRECISE GPS COORDINATES.
248
00:17:50,652 --> 00:17:52,488
A JOKER INSTALLED
AN OLD TELEPHONE ON THIS DRUM
249
00:17:52,571 --> 00:17:54,990
IN 1997
250
00:17:55,073 --> 00:17:58,744
COMPLETE WITH A RESTAURANT MENU
TO ORDER TAKEOUT.
251
00:18:00,287 --> 00:18:04,166
NO ONE ACTUALLY DELIVERS FOOD
IN THE DESERT.
252
00:18:04,249 --> 00:18:07,795
BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN
YOU CAN'T CATCH YOUR OWN.
253
00:18:10,589 --> 00:18:14,593
JUST 70 MILES TO THE WEST,
NAMIBIA'S ATLANTIC COAST
254
00:18:14,676 --> 00:18:19,389
IS A FAVORITE FISHING
DESTINATION FOR SURF ANGLERS.
255
00:18:19,473 --> 00:18:24,728
THEY COME FROM ALL OVER
IN HOPES OF HOOKING A BIG COB.
256
00:18:24,812 --> 00:18:29,274
IT'S A FIRM WHITE-FLESHED FISH
THAT CAN GROW TO 160 POUNDS.
257
00:18:31,401 --> 00:18:36,115
THE COB FEED ON SMALLER BAITFISH
ALONG THE COASTLINE,
258
00:18:36,198 --> 00:18:39,535
WHERE THERE ARE HIGH
CONCENTRATIONS OF PLANKTON...
259
00:18:39,618 --> 00:18:43,205
WHICH ALSO ATTRACT
LARGE PODS OF WHALES.
260
00:18:45,958 --> 00:18:48,043
IN THE 16th CENTURY
261
00:18:48,126 --> 00:18:53,966
PORTUGUESE EXPLORERS NAMED
THIS BAY BAHIA DAS BAHLEAS,
262
00:18:54,049 --> 00:18:58,387
OR BAY OF WHALES.
263
00:18:58,470 --> 00:19:04,226
TODAY IT'S CALLED WALVIS BAY
AND IS NAMIBIA'S MAIN HARBOR.
264
00:19:04,309 --> 00:19:08,063
THE BRITISH ANNEXED THE PORT
IN 1878,
265
00:19:08,146 --> 00:19:11,358
BUT FIVE YEARS LATER,
TRIBAL LAND TO THE SOUTH
266
00:19:11,441 --> 00:19:14,903
WAS ABOUT TO BE TAKEN OVER
BY ANOTHER EUROPEAN POWER
267
00:19:14,987 --> 00:19:19,825
WHO WANTED A PIECE
OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.
268
00:19:19,908 --> 00:19:23,161
ONCE HERE, THEY COMMITTED
HEINOUS WAR CRIMES
269
00:19:23,245 --> 00:19:26,039
THAT BECAME SHROUDED IN SECRECY.
270
00:19:26,123 --> 00:19:36,425
♪♪
271
00:19:36,508 --> 00:19:41,513
IN 1883 A GERMAN TOBACCO
MERCHANT NAMED ADOLF LUDERITZ
272
00:19:41,597 --> 00:19:45,559
SET HIS MIND TO OWNING
A PIECE OF NAMIBIA'S COAST.
273
00:19:48,604 --> 00:19:54,276
HE ESTABLISHED A TRADING STATION
250 MILES SOUTH OF WALVIS BAY,
274
00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:58,697
WHICH IS NAMED LUDERITZ
IN HIS HONOR.
275
00:19:58,780 --> 00:20:00,115
OVER THE NEXT YEAR
276
00:20:00,198 --> 00:20:04,119
NEIGHBORING CHIEFS GRANTED
LARGE TRACTS OF LAND TO LUDERITZ
277
00:20:04,202 --> 00:20:09,207
FOR A HANDFUL OF GOLD COINS
AND A FEW HUNDRED GUNS.
278
00:20:09,291 --> 00:20:12,294
CONVINCED THAT BRITAIN--
WHICH CONTROLLED WALVIS BAY--
279
00:20:12,377 --> 00:20:15,547
WAS ABOUT TO CLAIM THE AREA
AS A PROTECTORATE,
280
00:20:15,631 --> 00:20:17,549
LUDERITZ TRANSFERRED
HIS LAND RIGHTS
281
00:20:17,633 --> 00:20:19,301
TO THE GERMAN
IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT--
282
00:20:19,384 --> 00:20:22,930
SETTING THE SCENE
FOR ONE OF THE WORST ATROCITIES
283
00:20:23,013 --> 00:20:26,058
IN HUMAN HISTORY.
284
00:20:26,141 --> 00:20:27,017
THE GERMANS PROCEEDED
TO COLONIZE
285
00:20:27,100 --> 00:20:29,561
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY
286
00:20:29,645 --> 00:20:32,522
AND LAUNCHED A WAR
ON THE NATIVE HERERO PEOPLE.
287
00:20:32,606 --> 00:20:37,653
IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST BRUTAL
COLONIAL CONFLICTS IN HISTORY.
288
00:20:37,736 --> 00:20:42,032
THE HEREROS THAT SURVIVED WERE
HELD IN CONCENTRATION CAMPS
289
00:20:42,115 --> 00:20:43,617
ON SHARK ISLAND,
290
00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:47,871
A ROCKY, WINDSWEPT OUTCROP
OFF THE COAST OF LUDERITZ.
291
00:20:47,955 --> 00:20:54,795
♪♪
292
00:20:54,878 --> 00:20:58,048
MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN
WERE FORCED TO WORK
293
00:20:58,131 --> 00:21:00,634
WITH LITTLE OR NO FOOD.
294
00:21:00,717 --> 00:21:04,638
IT WAS THE FIRST GENOCIDE
OF THE 20th CENTURY.
295
00:21:04,721 --> 00:21:09,893
80,000 HERERO WERE REDUCED
TO 15,000 STARVING REFUGEES
296
00:21:09,977 --> 00:21:14,314
WITHIN JUST THREE YEARS.
297
00:21:14,398 --> 00:21:18,151
THE CAMP WAS FINALLY ABOLISHED
IN 1908,
298
00:21:18,235 --> 00:21:19,695
BUT FORMED A TEMPLATE
299
00:21:19,778 --> 00:21:22,322
FOR THE FUTURE NAZI
FORCED-LABOR CAMPS
300
00:21:22,406 --> 00:21:25,450
LIKE AUSCHWITZ AND BUCHENWALD.
301
00:21:27,744 --> 00:21:30,872
TODAY 20th CENTURY
ART NOUVEAU BUILDINGS
302
00:21:30,956 --> 00:21:33,041
STAND IN LUDERITZ
AS A CONSTANT REMINDER
303
00:21:33,125 --> 00:21:36,294
OF THE GERMAN OCCUPATION.
304
00:21:36,378 --> 00:21:44,302
♪♪
305
00:21:44,386 --> 00:21:50,726
THE GERMANS WEREN'T
JUST IN IT FOR LAND.
306
00:21:50,809 --> 00:21:54,438
THIS DESERT SAND
ONCE GLITTERED...
307
00:21:54,521 --> 00:21:57,733
WITH DIAMONDS.
308
00:21:57,816 --> 00:22:01,028
THEY WERE DISCOVERED HERE
IN NEARBY KOLMANSKOP,
309
00:22:01,111 --> 00:22:05,657
JUST SIX MILES INLAND
FROM LUDERITZ.
310
00:22:05,741 --> 00:22:08,618
TODAY, IT'S A GHOST TOWN.
311
00:22:08,702 --> 00:22:13,457
BUT IN ITS HEYDAY, KOLMANSKOP
WAS AN OPULENT FRONTIER TOWN,
312
00:22:13,540 --> 00:22:17,085
COMPLETE WITH BALLROOMS,
CASINOS, THEATERS,
313
00:22:17,169 --> 00:22:21,339
ICE FACTORIES, AND HOSPITALS.
314
00:22:21,423 --> 00:22:24,760
FRESH WATER WAS IMPORTED
FROM CAPE TOWN
315
00:22:24,843 --> 00:22:28,138
AND CHEESES FROM FRANCE.
316
00:22:28,221 --> 00:22:32,768
ORCHESTRAS PLAYED AT TEA DANCES
UNTIL WELL AFTER DARK.
317
00:22:32,851 --> 00:22:35,896
SPECIAL TEAMS OF WORKERS
KEPT THE STREETS CLEAR
318
00:22:35,979 --> 00:22:39,441
OF THE EVER-ENCROACHING SAND.
319
00:22:39,524 --> 00:22:43,528
BUT WHEN THE DIAMONDS
DRIED UP IN 1956,
320
00:22:43,612 --> 00:22:47,157
THE RICH DESERTED THE TOWN.
321
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,952
THE ABANDONED BUILDINGS STILL
STAND AS A HAUNTING REMINDER
322
00:22:51,036 --> 00:22:53,914
OF A PLACE THAT ONCE
SPARKLED WITH LIFE.
323
00:22:53,997 --> 00:22:59,419
♪♪
324
00:22:59,503 --> 00:23:02,672
NAMIBIA STILL HAS DIAMONDS,
BUT THEY ARE LODGED UNDERGROUND,
325
00:23:02,756 --> 00:23:10,931
16 MILES SOUTH OF KOLMANSKOP,
HERE AT ELIZABETH BAY MINE.
326
00:23:11,014 --> 00:23:13,225
THE MINING OPERATION
SPANS SIX SQUARE MILES
327
00:23:13,308 --> 00:23:17,145
ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST.
328
00:23:17,229 --> 00:23:19,272
THEY MAY NOT LOOK GLAMOROUS,
329
00:23:19,356 --> 00:23:21,691
BUT THESE STRUCTURES
TRANSPORT AND FILTER
330
00:23:21,775 --> 00:23:25,862
HUGE QUANTITIES OF EXCAVATED
SAND AND MARINE SOIL
331
00:23:25,946 --> 00:23:31,785
THAT EXTRACT PRECIOUS STONES
WORTH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
332
00:23:31,868 --> 00:23:35,956
OVER 270,000 CARATS
OF GEM-QUALITY DIAMONDS
333
00:23:36,039 --> 00:23:40,544
WERE MINED HERE IN 2013.
334
00:23:40,627 --> 00:23:44,798
BUT NAMIBIA'S DIAMONDS
ARE NEARLY MINED OUT.
335
00:23:48,260 --> 00:23:51,555
THE COUNTRY NOW RELIES
ON ITS GROWING TOURISM ECONOMY.
336
00:23:51,638 --> 00:23:54,891
IT'S RANKED THIRD
IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
337
00:23:54,975 --> 00:23:59,062
AS A TOURIST DESTINATION.
338
00:23:59,146 --> 00:24:00,981
AND ITS WILDLIFE RESERVES
339
00:24:01,064 --> 00:24:06,987
ARE SOME OF THE MOST PRISTINE
PLACES ON EARTH.
340
00:24:07,070 --> 00:24:09,447
RISING OUT OF THE ROCKY TERRAIN,
341
00:24:09,531 --> 00:24:15,245
THESE STRANGE LOOKING ALOES
ARE CALLED QUIVER TREES.
342
00:24:15,328 --> 00:24:18,039
NATIVE SAN HUNTER-GATHERERS
LIVING HERE
343
00:24:18,123 --> 00:24:20,542
HOLLOW OUT THE SPONGY CENTER
OF THE TUBULAR BRANCHES
344
00:24:20,625 --> 00:24:25,380
AND THEN COVER ONE END
WITH A LEATHER POUCH.
345
00:24:27,632 --> 00:24:29,509
IT MAKES A SIMPLE QUIVER
346
00:24:29,593 --> 00:24:32,762
FOR CARRYING ARROWS
WHILE OUT HUNTING.
347
00:24:34,472 --> 00:24:38,226
FOR 30,000 YEARS
THE SAN SURVIVED
348
00:24:38,310 --> 00:24:40,353
IN THE WESTERN REGIONS
OF NAMIBIA,
349
00:24:40,437 --> 00:24:46,067
BUT HAVE NOW RETREATED INTO
ISOLATED PARTS OF THE DESERT...
350
00:24:46,151 --> 00:24:47,861
AFTER YEARS OF BRUTAL ATTACKS
351
00:24:47,944 --> 00:24:52,449
BY COLONIAL SETTLERS
AND BANTU TRIBES.
352
00:24:52,532 --> 00:24:57,704
TODAY ONLY 27,000 REMAIN
IN NAMIBIA.
353
00:24:57,787 --> 00:24:59,247
SOME USED TO LIVE
IN THE CLIFFS AND OVERHANGS
354
00:24:59,331 --> 00:25:03,752
OF THIS SPECTACULAR MOUNTAIN.
355
00:25:03,835 --> 00:25:07,631
IT'S A HUGE GRANITE PLUG THAT
WAS PUSHED OUT OF A VOLCANO PIPE
356
00:25:07,714 --> 00:25:11,426
OVER 120 MILLION YEARS AGO.
357
00:25:11,509 --> 00:25:13,970
IT'S THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN
IN NAMIBIA,
358
00:25:14,054 --> 00:25:18,725
STANDING 8,442 FEET
ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
359
00:25:21,061 --> 00:25:24,940
IT'S THE FIRST LANDMASS TO CATCH
THE LIGHT OF THE RISING SUN
360
00:25:25,023 --> 00:25:28,151
AND THE LAST TO HOLD
ITS GLOW AT DUSK,
361
00:25:28,235 --> 00:25:31,696
GIVING IT ITS NAME--
BURNING MOUNTAIN.
362
00:25:33,823 --> 00:25:37,410
THE SAN WHERE NATURALLY DRAWN TO
THIS AWE-INSPIRING PHENOMENON,
363
00:25:37,494 --> 00:25:40,872
WHICH IS NOW A SACRED SITE.
364
00:25:40,956 --> 00:25:42,332
A RECORD OF THEIR CULTURE
365
00:25:42,415 --> 00:25:46,253
IS STORED IN THE CRAGS
AND CREVICES OF THE MOUNTAIN.
366
00:25:46,336 --> 00:25:49,297
THE TSISAB RAVINE AT THE FOOT
OF THE MOUNTAIN ALONE
367
00:25:49,381 --> 00:25:51,800
CONTAINS MORE THAN 1,000
ROCK SHELTERS
368
00:25:51,883 --> 00:25:55,220
AND OVER 45,000 ROCK PAINTINGS.
369
00:25:57,013 --> 00:25:59,599
MANY DEPICT THE WILDLIFE
LIVING IN THE REGION,
370
00:25:59,683 --> 00:26:03,812
INCLUDING THE ELUSIVE
GIANT DESERT ELEPHANT.
371
00:26:03,895 --> 00:26:14,322
♪♪
372
00:26:14,406 --> 00:26:18,451
PALMWAG LODGE IS NESTLED
NEXT TO A PALM-LINED SPRING,
373
00:26:18,535 --> 00:26:21,079
ALONG THE UNIAB RIVER.
374
00:26:24,416 --> 00:26:27,711
THE AREA IS RECOGNIZED
FOR ITS SPECTACULAR SCENERY
375
00:26:27,794 --> 00:26:30,213
AND A HEALTHY POPULATION
OF WILDLIFE
376
00:26:30,297 --> 00:26:34,217
THAT HAVE ADAPTED
TO THE DRY ENVIRONMENT.
377
00:26:34,301 --> 00:26:38,054
ANTELOPE LIKE THESE ORYX
THRIVE HERE.
378
00:26:38,138 --> 00:26:41,725
A VITAL ADAPTATION HELPS THEM
SURVIVE THE NAMIB HEAT,
379
00:26:41,808 --> 00:26:46,688
WHICH COMMONLY REACHES
115 DEGREES AND ABOVE.
380
00:26:47,731 --> 00:26:49,941
BLOOD EN ROUTE
TO THE ANIMAL'S BRAIN
381
00:26:50,025 --> 00:26:52,068
PASSES THROUGH
ITS NASAL PASSAGE,
382
00:26:52,152 --> 00:26:53,069
WHERE A MAZE OF VESSELS
383
00:26:53,153 --> 00:26:56,448
ACTS MUCH LIKE AN AUTOMOBILE
RADIATOR SYSTEM,
384
00:26:56,531 --> 00:26:59,367
REDUCING ITS TEMPERATURE.
385
00:26:59,451 --> 00:27:02,454
THE COOL BLOOD
PREVENTS BRAIN DAMAGE.
386
00:27:05,123 --> 00:27:14,049
♪♪
387
00:27:14,132 --> 00:27:16,051
MOST ELEPHANTS DRINK DAILY,
388
00:27:16,134 --> 00:27:20,847
BUT THIS DESERT SPECIES CAN GO
WITHOUT WATER FOR THREE DAYS.
389
00:27:20,930 --> 00:27:22,474
THEY SURVIVE ON MOISTURE
390
00:27:22,557 --> 00:27:25,018
EXTRACTED FROM SUCCULENT
DESERT PLANTS.
391
00:27:25,101 --> 00:27:30,857
THEIR SENSITIVE TRUNKS CAN
SNIFF OUT UNDERGROUND WATER.
392
00:27:30,940 --> 00:27:34,736
THE MINERAL-RICH WATER THEY FIND
NOURISHES THEIR BONES,
393
00:27:34,819 --> 00:27:36,571
GROWING THEM INTO GIANTS.
394
00:27:36,654 --> 00:27:42,285
THEY ARE THE TALLEST ELEPHANTS
ON EARTH.
395
00:27:42,369 --> 00:27:46,498
SOME GROW TO OVER 13 FEET.
396
00:27:46,581 --> 00:27:48,416
IT'S TAKEN MILLIONS OF YEARS
397
00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:53,088
FOR NATURE TO ADAPT
TO THE HARSH NAMIB DESERT.
398
00:27:53,171 --> 00:27:54,839
BUT IT TOOK LESS THAN A CENTURY
399
00:27:54,923 --> 00:27:58,760
FOR MAN TO USE NATURE'S BOUNTY
TO TURN A PROFIT.
400
00:27:58,843 --> 00:28:04,182
♪♪
401
00:28:04,265 --> 00:28:06,935
THESE MAN-MADE LAGOONS
AT WALVIS BAY
402
00:28:07,018 --> 00:28:08,853
WERE BUILT TO HARVEST SALT.
403
00:28:11,773 --> 00:28:16,277
WATER IS PUMPED IN
FROM THE OCEAN.
404
00:28:16,361 --> 00:28:19,697
AS IT EVAPORATES
OVER A PERIOD OF 15 MONTHS,
405
00:28:19,781 --> 00:28:21,866
ALGAE AND TINY BRINE SHRIMP
406
00:28:21,950 --> 00:28:24,786
MULTIPLY IN THE INCREASINGLY
SALTY WATER,
407
00:28:24,869 --> 00:28:28,748
PRODUCING BEAUTIFUL SHADES
OF PINK AND RED.
408
00:28:31,543 --> 00:28:33,878
THESE SALT FIELDS
COVER 14 SQUARE MILES
409
00:28:33,962 --> 00:28:40,176
AND ARE AMONG THE LARGEST
OF THEIR KIND IN THE WORLD.
410
00:28:40,260 --> 00:28:46,641
THEY PRODUCE 400,000 TONS
OF HIGH QUALITY SALT EVERY YEAR.
411
00:28:50,979 --> 00:28:54,691
FLAMINGOS FEED ON THE ALGAE
AND BRINE SHRIMP.
412
00:28:54,774 --> 00:28:56,943
BOTH CONTAIN BETA-CAROTENE,
413
00:28:57,026 --> 00:29:01,114
WHICH GIVES THE FLAMINGOS THEIR
ROSY PINK PLUME OF FEATHERS.
414
00:29:02,532 --> 00:29:05,326
THEY FLY IN FORMATIONS
415
00:29:05,410 --> 00:29:06,703
TO AND FROM
THEIR BREEDING GROUNDS,
416
00:29:06,786 --> 00:29:11,249
AT THE ETOSHA PAN
IN NORTHERN NAMIBIA--
417
00:29:11,332 --> 00:29:15,462
A 400-MILE JOURNEY.
418
00:29:15,545 --> 00:29:20,049
GIANT FLOCKS OF CORMORANTS
ALSO FEED ALONG THIS SHORE.
419
00:29:20,133 --> 00:29:24,554
THEY ARE MASTERS
AT SPOTTING SHOALS OF FISH.
420
00:29:24,637 --> 00:29:28,099
THEY ARE FOLLOWED
BY OTHER MIGRATING FLOCKS.
421
00:29:30,602 --> 00:29:32,854
CORMORANTS FLY IN
FROM NORTHERN AFRICA
422
00:29:32,937 --> 00:29:36,357
AND FROM AS FAR AWAY
AS EUROPE AND ASIA.
423
00:29:36,441 --> 00:29:40,445
♪♪
424
00:29:40,528 --> 00:29:43,865
PLOVERS, TERNS, WADERS
AND FLAMINGOS
425
00:29:43,948 --> 00:29:44,866
REPLENISH THEIR ENERGY RESERVES
426
00:29:44,949 --> 00:29:49,204
HERE AT SANDWICH HARBOR
NEAR WALVIS BAY.
427
00:29:49,287 --> 00:29:55,668
♪♪
428
00:29:55,752 --> 00:29:57,962
WITH SO MANY BIRDS FEASTING
ALONG THESE SHORES,
429
00:29:58,046 --> 00:30:02,050
AN UNUSUAL BUSINESS EXISTS
THAT HAS MADE A FORTUNE
430
00:30:02,133 --> 00:30:05,637
ON A SEEMINGLY UNAPPEALING
BYPRODUCT.
431
00:30:07,180 --> 00:30:11,392
THESE STRUCTURES WERE ERECTED
OVER THE SEA IN 1932
432
00:30:11,476 --> 00:30:13,061
BY ADOLF WINTER,
433
00:30:13,144 --> 00:30:17,148
A HUMBLE CARPENTER
WITH A DREAM TO MAKE IT BIG.
434
00:30:20,735 --> 00:30:22,070
HE BUILT THE PLATFORMS
435
00:30:22,153 --> 00:30:25,782
TO ATTRACT FLOCKS OF SEAGULLS,
CORMORANTS AND PELICANS
436
00:30:25,865 --> 00:30:28,076
LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO REST.
437
00:30:29,869 --> 00:30:31,871
THE DECKS COLLECT
THE BIRD DROPPINGS
438
00:30:31,955 --> 00:30:37,043
DEPOSITED BY
MORE THAN 500,000 BIRDS.
439
00:30:38,086 --> 00:30:42,298
BIRD DROPPINGS, OR GUANO,
ARE RICH IN MINERALS
440
00:30:42,382 --> 00:30:45,677
AND USED TO FERTILIZE CROPS.
441
00:30:48,429 --> 00:30:52,141
CRITICS CALLED THESE STRUCTURES
"WINTER'S FOLLY,"
442
00:30:52,225 --> 00:30:58,314
BUT UPON COMPLETION, THE PROJECT
MADE ADOLF A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE.
443
00:30:58,398 --> 00:31:04,112
650 TONS OF GUANO IS PRODUCED BY
THE MASSIVE FLOCKS EVERY YEAR.
444
00:31:11,869 --> 00:31:16,499
JUST 20 MILES NORTH
OF WALVIS BAY IS SWAKOPMUND--
445
00:31:16,583 --> 00:31:21,754
NAMIBIA'S LARGEST AND MOST
POPULAR COASTAL DESTINATION.
446
00:31:21,838 --> 00:31:24,465
SANDWICHED BETWEEN
THE ATLANTIC SURF
447
00:31:24,549 --> 00:31:26,092
AND THE NAMIB DESERT,
448
00:31:26,175 --> 00:31:29,304
THE TOWN LOOKS LIKE
A SURREAL COLONIAL REMNANT
449
00:31:29,387 --> 00:31:31,097
STUCK IN TIME.
450
00:31:32,932 --> 00:31:36,811
SWAKOPMUND WAS FOUNDED
AS THE MAIN HARBOR
451
00:31:36,894 --> 00:31:41,441
FOR GERMAN SOUTH-WEST AFRICA
IN 1892...
452
00:31:41,524 --> 00:31:43,443
BECAUSE THE PORT TOWN
OF WALVIS BAY
453
00:31:43,526 --> 00:31:47,363
HAD ALREADY BEEN ANNEXED
BY THE BRITISH 14 YEARS EARLIER.
454
00:31:49,991 --> 00:31:52,952
FRESH WATER
FROM THE SWAKOP RIVER
455
00:31:53,036 --> 00:31:57,123
MADE THE SETTLEMENT POSSIBLE.
456
00:31:57,206 --> 00:32:00,460
120 GERMAN TROOPS
AND 40 SETTLERS
457
00:32:00,543 --> 00:32:04,297
LANDED WITH SUPPLIES
AND BUILDING MATERIALS--
458
00:32:04,380 --> 00:32:08,509
AND CONSTRUCTION
ON THE PORT BEGAN.
459
00:32:08,593 --> 00:32:10,511
SOON ENOUGH, PEOPLE AND GOODS
460
00:32:10,595 --> 00:32:13,681
WERE FERRIED
ACROSS THE ATLANTIC,
461
00:32:13,765 --> 00:32:17,268
AND SWAKOPMUND BECAME
A BUSTLING TOWN.
462
00:32:19,062 --> 00:32:21,856
THE TOWN'S
MOST PROMINENT LANDMARK
463
00:32:21,939 --> 00:32:24,359
IS THE SWAKOPMUND LIGHTHOUSE.
464
00:32:24,442 --> 00:32:28,279
BUILT IN 1902, IT STANDS
NEARLY 100 FEET TALL.
465
00:32:30,531 --> 00:32:34,369
ITS POWERFUL BEACON
STILL OPERATES TODAY,
466
00:32:34,452 --> 00:32:37,830
GUIDING SHIPS
20 MILES OUT TO SEA,
467
00:32:37,914 --> 00:32:40,249
WHILE THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S
DWELLING AT THE BASE
468
00:32:40,333 --> 00:32:42,251
HAS BECOME A RESTAURANT.
469
00:32:45,797 --> 00:32:48,383
THE TOWN'S JETTY STANDS
AS ANOTHER REMINDER
470
00:32:48,466 --> 00:32:51,928
OF ITS BUSY BEGINNINGS.
471
00:32:52,011 --> 00:32:54,222
IT WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1905
472
00:32:54,305 --> 00:32:58,101
SO BOATS COULD QUICKLY OFFLOAD
GOODS AND PASSENGERS.
473
00:33:00,812 --> 00:33:03,106
OVER THE YEARS,
IT WAS BATTERED BY HIGH SEAS,
474
00:33:03,189 --> 00:33:07,110
AND THE WOODEN PLANKS
WERE REPLACED WITH IRON.
475
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:12,907
A RESTAURANT NOW STANDS AT
THE END OF THE REFURBISHED PIER.
476
00:33:12,990 --> 00:33:16,411
ITS GLASS FLOORS AND BIG WINDOWS
477
00:33:16,494 --> 00:33:19,914
GIVE PATRONS THE FEELING
THAT THEY ARE OUT AT SEA--
478
00:33:19,997 --> 00:33:21,165
WHILE THE HALF-MILE-LONG JETTY
479
00:33:21,249 --> 00:33:25,211
KEEPS THEM TIED
TO THE TOWN'S HISTORY.
480
00:33:25,294 --> 00:33:35,263
♪♪
481
00:33:35,346 --> 00:33:40,977
♪♪
482
00:33:41,060 --> 00:33:44,439
SWAKOPMUND'S EXQUISITE
GERMAN-COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE
483
00:33:44,522 --> 00:33:49,360
IS A HISTORIC REFLECTION
OF THE TOWN'S HERITAGE.
484
00:33:49,444 --> 00:33:52,780
DESPITE ITS CHEERFUL COLOR
AND ELEGANT FACADE,
485
00:33:52,864 --> 00:33:57,034
THIS BUILDING IS KNOWN
AS "THE OLD PRISON"
486
00:33:57,118 --> 00:34:00,955
AND HAS BEEN HERE
FOR OVER 100 YEARS.
487
00:34:01,038 --> 00:34:03,666
PRISONERS ARE DETAINED
IN THE CELLS
488
00:34:03,750 --> 00:34:05,960
AT THE BACK OF THE BUILDING
NEAR THE VEGETABLE GARDENS,
489
00:34:06,043 --> 00:34:10,465
AND POLICE OCCUPY
THE MAIN BUILDING.
490
00:34:10,548 --> 00:34:14,177
SO IT'S EASILY MISTAKEN
FOR A FINE HOTEL.
491
00:34:18,056 --> 00:34:21,893
THIS IS THE TOWN'S ORIGINAL
RAILWAY STATION, BUILT IN 1901.
492
00:34:21,976 --> 00:34:25,980
THE TRAIN TRACK IS LONG GONE.
493
00:34:26,063 --> 00:34:28,107
TODAY THE STATION
HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED
494
00:34:28,191 --> 00:34:33,070
INTO AN ENTERTAINMENT VENUE
AND CASINO.
495
00:34:33,154 --> 00:34:37,074
IT'S NOT THE ONLY BUILDING
IN TOWN WITH A NEW IDENTITY.
496
00:34:39,368 --> 00:34:42,872
THIS ARCHITECTURAL RELIC
IS THE HOHENZOLLERN HOUSE,
497
00:34:42,955 --> 00:34:45,208
NAMED AFTER THE GERMAN
FAMILY DYNASTY.
498
00:34:45,291 --> 00:34:49,504
IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT
AS A HOTEL IN 1909,
499
00:34:49,587 --> 00:34:54,175
BUT SOON AFTER, THE LOCAL JUDGE
REVOKED ITS LICENSE TO OPERATE.
500
00:34:54,258 --> 00:34:55,843
IT WAS RUMORED TO HAVE BECOME
A GAMBLING DEN
501
00:34:55,927 --> 00:34:59,013
AND A SECRET BROTHEL--
502
00:34:59,096 --> 00:35:03,601
ALTHOUGH NONE OF IT
WAS EVER PROVEN TO BE TRUE.
503
00:35:03,684 --> 00:35:07,021
TODAY IT'S
AN APARTMENT BUILDING.
504
00:35:07,105 --> 00:35:11,067
THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT ITS PAST
REMAINS A MYSTERY...
505
00:35:11,150 --> 00:35:15,196
BECAUSE IN 1990
NAMIBIA GAINED INDEPENDENCE,
506
00:35:15,279 --> 00:35:19,534
AND SWAKOPMUND'S HISTORY
WAS COMPLETELY REWRITTEN.
507
00:35:19,617 --> 00:35:21,244
EVEN THE STREET NAMES
WERE CHANGED
508
00:35:21,327 --> 00:35:24,080
TO HONOR ITS NEW LEADERS.
509
00:35:26,833 --> 00:35:32,547
TODAY TOURISM IS SWAKOPMUND'S
NUMBER ONE DRAW.
510
00:35:32,630 --> 00:35:34,048
THE TOWN IS THE GATEWAY
511
00:35:34,132 --> 00:35:37,552
TO THE SURROUNDING NAMIB DESERT
RECREATION AREA,
512
00:35:37,635 --> 00:35:42,890
WHERE SAND DUNES--AND FUN--
RISE TO ASTONISHING HEIGHT.
513
00:35:42,974 --> 00:35:48,104
IT'S A GIANT PLAYGROUND.
514
00:35:48,187 --> 00:35:49,981
THE MOST POPULAR
TOURIST ACTIVITY
515
00:35:50,064 --> 00:35:54,902
IS QUAD BIKING IN THE DUNE BELT.
516
00:35:54,986 --> 00:35:58,948
THE OPEN SPACE MAKES IT PERFECT
FOR NOVICE RIDERS.
517
00:35:59,031 --> 00:36:04,871
BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO RIDE
WITH AN EXPERIENCED GUIDE.
518
00:36:04,954 --> 00:36:07,456
DUNES CAN STAND 300 FEET TALL,
519
00:36:07,540 --> 00:36:10,376
AND A SLIP OFF
THEIR SHARPLY SLANTED FACE
520
00:36:10,459 --> 00:36:13,129
COULD CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY.
521
00:36:16,507 --> 00:36:22,346
OTHER SAND LOVERS RELY
ON THESE STEEP SLOPES FOR SPEED.
522
00:36:22,430 --> 00:36:26,267
SANDBOARDING IS SIMILAR
TO SNOW-SLEDDING.
523
00:36:26,350 --> 00:36:29,937
ADRENALINE JUNKIES HURTLE
DOWN THE SOFT DUNES
524
00:36:30,021 --> 00:36:32,398
AT INCREDIBLE SPEEDS.
525
00:36:32,481 --> 00:36:36,485
EVEN THE PETS CAN'T RESIST
GETTING IN ON THE FUN.
526
00:36:41,824 --> 00:36:44,452
♪♪
527
00:36:44,535 --> 00:36:48,831
IN NAMIBIA, THE SUN SHINES
300 DAYS A YEAR.
528
00:36:48,915 --> 00:36:52,251
IT'S THE PERFECT LOCATION
TO PRODUCE FEATURE FILMS.
529
00:36:52,335 --> 00:36:56,714
NAMIBIA STOOD IN
AS POST-APOCALYPTIC AUSTRALIA
530
00:36:56,797 --> 00:37:01,594
FOR THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE
"MAD MAX: FURY ROAD."
531
00:37:01,677 --> 00:37:02,887
DIRECTOR GEORGE MILLER
532
00:37:02,970 --> 00:37:06,015
WAS SWAYED FROM USING
COMPUTER-GENERATED BACKGROUNDS
533
00:37:06,098 --> 00:37:12,021
AND PREFERRED THE AUTHENTICITY
THAT REAL DESERT SCENES CREATED.
534
00:37:12,104 --> 00:37:15,524
FOR MANY ON THE PRODUCTION CREW,
IT WAS THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE
535
00:37:15,608 --> 00:37:19,195
FILMING IN THE DESERT
ENVIRONMENT.
536
00:37:19,278 --> 00:37:21,280
THEY SOON FOUND
THAT IN THE DESERT
537
00:37:21,364 --> 00:37:25,952
THERE IS A THIN LINE
BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH.
538
00:37:26,035 --> 00:37:32,500
♪♪
539
00:37:32,583 --> 00:37:38,506
THESE WEIRD-LOOKING PLANTS
ARE CALLED WELWITSCHIA.
540
00:37:38,589 --> 00:37:41,384
THEY MAY LOOK LIKE THEY ARE
DEAD OR DYING,
541
00:37:41,467 --> 00:37:43,010
BUT THEY'RE ALIVE,
542
00:37:43,094 --> 00:37:45,513
AND MANY HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE
IN WESTERN NAMIBIA
543
00:37:45,596 --> 00:37:48,724
SINCE THE TIME OF JESUS CHRIST.
544
00:37:51,936 --> 00:37:53,729
REFERRED TO AS LIVING FOSSILS,
545
00:37:53,813 --> 00:37:56,607
THEY'RE INDIGENOUS
TO THE NAMIB DESERT.
546
00:37:58,985 --> 00:38:01,320
THEY'RE ONE OF THE RAREST PLANTS
IN THE WORLD,
547
00:38:01,404 --> 00:38:03,572
BUT ARE COMMONLY FOUND
IN THE FOG BELT
548
00:38:03,656 --> 00:38:07,034
OF THE DESERT PLAINS
EAST OF SWAKOPMUND.
549
00:38:08,619 --> 00:38:12,748
WELWITSCHIA HAVE A COMPLEX
WATER-GATHERING SYSTEM.
550
00:38:14,125 --> 00:38:17,628
AS FOG CONDENSES ON ITS LEAVES,
551
00:38:17,712 --> 00:38:20,923
THE PLANT ABSORBS WATER
THROUGH MINUTE PORES--
552
00:38:21,007 --> 00:38:24,385
160,000 PER SQUARE INCH.
553
00:38:26,512 --> 00:38:28,931
LEFTOVER WATER
SEEPS INTO THE SOIL
554
00:38:29,015 --> 00:38:30,141
AND IS ABSORBED
THROUGH LATERAL ROOTS
555
00:38:30,224 --> 00:38:34,645
THAT LIE JUST BELOW THE SURFACE.
556
00:38:34,729 --> 00:38:37,064
AND TAPROOTS NINE FEET LONG
557
00:38:37,148 --> 00:38:41,902
REACH DOWN TO DRAW
SUBTERRANEAN WATER.
558
00:38:41,986 --> 00:38:43,487
WELWITSCHIA HAVE EVOLVED
TO MAKE THE MOST
559
00:38:43,571 --> 00:38:47,742
OF AN INCREDIBLY SCARCE
WATER SUPPLY.
560
00:38:53,873 --> 00:38:56,584
BUT WATER IS NOT
THE ONLY PRECIOUS RESOURCE
561
00:38:56,667 --> 00:38:59,545
LYING BURIED BELOW
THE DRY NAMIB LANDSCAPE.
562
00:39:05,593 --> 00:39:07,261
THIS JAGGED-EDGE MOUNTAIN RANGE
563
00:39:07,344 --> 00:39:10,097
FORMED AROUND
500 MILLION YEARS AGO,
564
00:39:10,181 --> 00:39:15,394
WHEN LAVA GUSHED THROUGH
CRACKS IN THE EARTH'S CRUST.
565
00:39:15,478 --> 00:39:19,482
IT HAS SINCE BEEN ERODED INTO
WHAT IS CALLED "THE BADLANDS."
566
00:39:22,693 --> 00:39:24,278
BENEATH THE BADLANDS
567
00:39:24,361 --> 00:39:28,074
IS A PRIME SOURCE
OF CONCENTRATED ENERGY.
568
00:39:30,534 --> 00:39:33,662
THE ROSSING URANIUM MINE,
40 MILES FROM SWAKOPMUND,
569
00:39:33,746 --> 00:39:39,502
IS THE WORLD'S LONGEST-RUNNING
OPEN PIT URANIUM MINE.
570
00:39:39,585 --> 00:39:42,713
IT'S ALSO THE LARGEST.
571
00:39:42,797 --> 00:39:46,634
THE PIT STRETCHES FOR TWO MILES,
IS A MILE WIDE,
572
00:39:46,717 --> 00:39:50,888
AND 1,280 FEET DEEP.
573
00:39:50,971 --> 00:39:58,270
SINCE 1976, IT HAS PRODUCED OVER
120,000 TONS OF URANIUM OXIDE
574
00:39:58,354 --> 00:40:02,817
AND EMPLOYS OVER 1,000 PEOPLE.
575
00:40:02,900 --> 00:40:06,946
MINING IS DONE BY BLASTING,
LOADING AND HAULING ORE
576
00:40:07,029 --> 00:40:10,616
FROM THE HUGE MAN-MADE RAVINE.
577
00:40:10,699 --> 00:40:13,702
THE ORE IS THEN PROCESSED INTO
A POWDERED URANIUM CONCENTRATE,
578
00:40:13,786 --> 00:40:20,459
WHICH IS THE BASIS
FOR NUCLEAR REACTOR FUEL RODS.
579
00:40:20,543 --> 00:40:26,006
BY 2020 THE MINE IS EXPECTED
TO REACH THE END OF ITS LIFE.
580
00:40:26,090 --> 00:40:28,592
BUT IN SOUTHERN NAMIBIA,
THERE IS A CANYON
581
00:40:28,676 --> 00:40:31,554
FORMED MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO
BY MOTHER NATURE
582
00:40:31,637 --> 00:40:35,182
THAT'S SO HUGE, IT COULD EASILY
SWALLOW THIS MINE
583
00:40:35,266 --> 00:40:37,476
OVER 1,000 TIMES.
584
00:40:37,560 --> 00:40:47,570
♪♪
585
00:40:47,653 --> 00:40:51,866
OVER 500 MILLION YEARS AGO,
THIS GIGANTIC RAVINE WAS FORMED
586
00:40:51,949 --> 00:40:53,951
WHEN SHIFTING TECTONIC PLATES
587
00:40:54,034 --> 00:40:55,995
CAUSED THE DESERT FLOOR
TO COLLAPSE.
588
00:40:56,078 --> 00:41:02,877
♪♪
589
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:05,171
IT STRETCHES
THROUGH SOUTHERN NAMIBIA
590
00:41:05,254 --> 00:41:08,132
FOR 100 MILES,
IS UP TO 17 MILES WIDE
591
00:41:08,215 --> 00:41:11,010
AND 1,800 FEET DEEP.
592
00:41:11,093 --> 00:41:17,641
♪♪
593
00:41:17,725 --> 00:41:20,019
IT'S CALLED
THE FISH RIVER CANYON--
594
00:41:20,102 --> 00:41:24,231
AND IT'S THE SECOND LARGEST
IN THE WORLD.
595
00:41:24,315 --> 00:41:27,943
IT'S TRUMPED
ONLY BY THE GRAND CANYON.
596
00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:34,408
PEOPLE COME FROM ALL OVER
TO EXPLORE THE RIM OF THE CANYON
597
00:41:34,491 --> 00:41:36,493
AND HIKE ALONG THE FISH RIVER
598
00:41:36,577 --> 00:41:39,914
THAT SUPPORTS HERDS
OF MOUNTAIN ZEBRA
599
00:41:39,997 --> 00:41:42,875
AND TROOPS OF CHACMA BABOONS.
600
00:41:45,836 --> 00:41:49,757
WILDLIFE RELIES
ON THE RIVER WATER FOR SURVIVAL,
601
00:41:49,840 --> 00:41:53,594
INCLUDING THE WILD HORSES
THAT ROAM THE REGION.
602
00:41:53,677 --> 00:41:54,803
TODAY THE RIVER IS LOW,
603
00:41:54,887 --> 00:42:01,435
BUT WHEN IT RAINS UPSTREAM
IT BECOMES A RAGING TORRENT.
604
00:42:01,518 --> 00:42:04,480
THE STEEP CANYON WALL
BECOMES A PRISON,
605
00:42:04,563 --> 00:42:08,859
WHERE THERE IS NO ESCAPE
FROM THE FLOODWATERS.
606
00:42:08,943 --> 00:42:13,030
ANIMALS, ROCKS AND SAND
GET WASHED ALONG THE VALLEY,
607
00:42:13,113 --> 00:42:15,950
TUMBLING MILES OUT TO SEA.
608
00:42:18,494 --> 00:42:20,704
THE SILT FROM THE RIVER
IS THEN PUSHED BACK ON SHORE,
609
00:42:20,788 --> 00:42:25,542
CREATING SAND DUNES
THAT ENGULF MARINE DEBRIS.
610
00:42:25,626 --> 00:42:31,840
♪♪
611
00:42:31,924 --> 00:42:35,761
IT'S A MASSIVE SHIP GRAVEYARD
KNOWN AS THE SKELETON COAST.
612
00:42:39,431 --> 00:42:43,811
THIS SHIP, THE EDUARD BOHLEN,
STRANDED ON THE BEACH IN 1909.
613
00:42:45,562 --> 00:42:49,108
THEN, AS SAND DEPOSITS EXPANDED,
614
00:42:49,191 --> 00:42:53,654
IT WAS LEFT FURTHER ON SHORE,
RUSTING IN THE SEA AIR.
615
00:42:55,572 --> 00:43:01,287
EVENTUALLY, IT WILL MERGE
WITH THE DESERT.
616
00:43:01,370 --> 00:43:04,707
AS HIGH WINDS WHIP INTO
THE VESSEL, IT ERODES TO DUST.
617
00:43:06,875 --> 00:43:09,837
WIND BLOWS THE DUST
HUNDREDS OF MILES INLAND--
618
00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:15,676
SANDBLASTING THE LANDSCAPE
INTO WONDROUS FORMS.
619
00:43:15,759 --> 00:43:19,054
LIKE THESE MOUNTAINS
CALLED SPITZKOPPE,
620
00:43:19,138 --> 00:43:21,432
WHICH MEANS "SHARP HEADS."
621
00:43:24,935 --> 00:43:29,023
THIS ONE HAS BEEN NICKNAMED
"THE MATTERHORN OF AFRICA."
622
00:43:29,106 --> 00:43:32,151
IT WAS CREATED BY THE COLLAPSE
OF A GIANT VOLCANO
623
00:43:32,234 --> 00:43:35,321
MORE THAN 100 MILLION YEARS AGO.
624
00:43:38,240 --> 00:43:42,745
ROCK FROM THE CENTER OF THE
VOLCANO REMAINS ABOVE GROUND.
625
00:43:44,872 --> 00:43:46,665
AS IT WEATHERS AND ERODES,
626
00:43:46,749 --> 00:43:49,251
BEAUTIFUL TOPAZ
AND QUARTZ CRYSTALS
627
00:43:49,335 --> 00:43:52,588
CAN BE FOUND
ON THE GRAVEL PLAINS.
628
00:43:55,257 --> 00:43:58,052
IT'S A POPULAR FILMING LOCATION
AND WAS FEATURED
629
00:43:58,135 --> 00:44:02,639
IN THE HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER
"2000 B.C."
630
00:44:08,354 --> 00:44:10,522
ROCK CLIMBERS COME
FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
631
00:44:10,606 --> 00:44:12,858
TO SCALE THESE
FOREBODING CLIFFS.
632
00:44:14,818 --> 00:44:17,863
THIS ONE IS CALLED
LITTLE SPITZKOPPE--
633
00:44:17,946 --> 00:44:22,951
AT AN ELEVATION
OF 5,196 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
634
00:44:25,663 --> 00:44:31,585
THE HIGHEST PEAK, BIG SPITZKOP,
WAS FIRST SCALED IN 1946.
635
00:44:31,668 --> 00:44:35,130
IT STANDS OVER 5,600 FEET TALL.
636
00:44:36,799 --> 00:44:39,718
FOLKLORE SUGGESTS
THAT THE FIRST ASCENT
637
00:44:39,802 --> 00:44:41,011
OF THE SPITZKOPPE
638
00:44:41,095 --> 00:44:43,639
ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE IN 1904,
639
00:44:43,722 --> 00:44:45,432
WHEN A GERMAN SOLDIER
CONQUERED THE SOARING PEAK
640
00:44:45,516 --> 00:44:48,811
AND MADE A FIRE ON THE SUMMIT.
641
00:44:51,522 --> 00:44:54,775
HE WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN.
642
00:44:54,858 --> 00:44:57,152
BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO CLIMB
MOUNTAINS
643
00:44:57,236 --> 00:45:02,074
TO SEE THIS SPECTACULAR LAND
FROM THE SKY.
644
00:45:02,157 --> 00:45:11,542
♪♪
645
00:45:11,625 --> 00:45:15,003
GIANT HOT-AIR BALLOONS
CRADLE BASKETS OF PEOPLE...
646
00:45:15,087 --> 00:45:15,963
IN STUNNED SILENCE
647
00:45:16,046 --> 00:45:20,634
AS THE RISING SUN
PEEKS OVER THE HORIZON.
648
00:45:22,386 --> 00:45:24,221
IT'S A SIGNAL
FOR NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
649
00:45:24,304 --> 00:45:25,597
TO RETURN
TO UNDERGROUND BURROWS,
650
00:45:25,681 --> 00:45:29,143
AWAY FROM THE ADVANCING HEAT.
651
00:45:31,270 --> 00:45:32,354
THE MORNING SLOWLY REVEALS
652
00:45:32,438 --> 00:45:37,734
A STRING OF MAGNIFICENT VISTAS
AND AWE-INSPIRING VIEWS,
653
00:45:37,818 --> 00:45:40,404
STRETCHING ACROSS
THE NAMIB DESERT
654
00:45:40,487 --> 00:45:44,658
AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE.
655
00:45:44,741 --> 00:45:48,996
TOURISTS WITNESS IT FROM ABOVE,
LIKE ASTRONAUTS IN ORBIT--
656
00:45:49,079 --> 00:45:52,249
THE EARTH SLOWLY TURNING BELOW.
657
00:45:54,042 --> 00:45:57,296
DESERT WINDS STEER THE BALLOON
INTO THE UNKNOWN,
658
00:45:57,379 --> 00:46:00,340
SAILING GENTLY
OVER THE SANDY SEA.
659
00:46:00,424 --> 00:46:09,099
♪♪
660
00:46:09,183 --> 00:46:14,980
THE NAMIB DESERT WILL ALWAYS BE
A LAND OF EXTREMES...
661
00:46:15,063 --> 00:46:22,029
FROM PECULIAR ALIEN VALLEYS
FROZEN IN TIME
662
00:46:22,112 --> 00:46:27,159
TO REFURBISHED HOTELS
BUILT BY THE SLAVES OF WAR.
663
00:46:30,537 --> 00:46:34,333
AS ANCIENT RESOURCES
ARE UNEARTHED,
664
00:46:34,416 --> 00:46:38,003
MODERN SHIPS WASTE AWAY
ON THE SKELETON COAST.
665
00:46:41,757 --> 00:46:46,512
THIS STORY IS SHARED
WITH VISITORS OF ALL KINDS,
666
00:46:46,595 --> 00:46:50,390
AS ITS CULTURE
AND HISTORY COLLIDE.
667
00:46:50,474 --> 00:46:56,021
BUT SOME UNEXPLORED PLACES
STILL EXIST...
668
00:46:56,104 --> 00:47:00,817
BETWEEN EERIE LUNAR LANDSCAPES
669
00:47:00,901 --> 00:47:04,363
AND OVER FIERY DESERTS
OF DUST...
670
00:47:05,656 --> 00:47:09,910
WHERE CURIOUS CAMPERS SLEEP OUT
UNDER CLEAR DESERT SKIES...
671
00:47:09,993 --> 00:47:12,746
LIKE TRIBAL FOLK
WHO STILL TRUST NATURE
672
00:47:12,829 --> 00:47:16,083
TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR NEEDS.
673
00:47:17,042 --> 00:47:21,505
IN A DESERT THAT APPEARS
DEAD TO THE EYE...
674
00:47:21,588 --> 00:47:27,594
NATURE CONTINUES TO REINVENT
ALL ITS MAGNIFICENT FORMS...
675
00:47:27,678 --> 00:47:32,933
CRAFTING RUGGED ROCKS
INTO BREATHTAKING VISTAS...
676
00:47:33,016 --> 00:47:37,312
IN THE WIDE-OPEN COUNTRYSIDE
OF NAMIBIA.
677
00:47:37,396 --> 00:47:42,693
♪♪
678
00:47:42,776 --> 00:47:53,328
♪♪
679
00:47:53,412 --> 00:48:01,128
♪♪
53304
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