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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:01,543 --> 00:00:04,212 ♪♪ 2 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. 5 00:00:18,351 --> 00:00:22,647 IN THIS LAND OF EXTREMES, NATURE ADAPTS... 6 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. 9 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-- 16 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, 18 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 00:01:24,626 --> 00:01:27,629 WHERE MYSTERIES ARE UNEXPLAINED. 21 00:01:29,380 --> 00:01:33,551 GLIDE OVER THIS RUGGED LAND, 22 00:01:33,635 --> 00:01:37,222 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. 25 00:01:47,065 --> 00:01:57,200 ♪♪ 26 00:01:57,283 --> 00:02:01,079 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 00:02:13,424 --> 00:02:16,386 RAINFALL IS LESS THAN 2 INCHES A YEAR. 31 00:02:18,513 --> 00:02:20,682 MOST OF IT IS UNINHABITABLE FOR HUMANS. 32 00:02:20,765 --> 00:02:35,655 ♪♪ 33 00:02:35,738 --> 00:02:37,115 EVEN NATURE STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE 34 00:02:37,198 --> 00:02:43,079 IN THIS ENORMOUS UNDULATING SEA OF SAND. 35 00:02:43,162 --> 00:02:46,541 THE SAND CONSISTS OF QUARTZ GRAINS 36 00:02:46,624 --> 00:02:48,585 WITH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF IRON. 37 00:02:48,668 --> 00:02:59,429 ♪♪ 38 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 00:03:30,376 --> 00:03:33,129 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. 49 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 51 00:04:05,912 --> 00:04:08,706 OF WHAT IS NOW NAMIBIA. 52 00:04:08,790 --> 00:04:16,172 ♪♪ 53 00:04:16,255 --> 00:04:19,676 AT THE DESERT'S HEART LIES SOSSUSVLEI, 54 00:04:19,759 --> 00:04:23,346 AN ENORMOUS DRY LAKEBED-- KNOWN AS A PAN-- 55 00:04:23,429 --> 00:04:29,143 SURROUNDED BY SLEEPY RED SAND GIANTS. 56 00:04:29,227 --> 00:04:32,730 SOSSUSVLEI MEANS "THE GATHERING PLACE OF WATER," 57 00:04:32,814 --> 00:04:35,984 BUT TODAY IT'S QUITE THE OPPOSITE. 58 00:04:36,067 --> 00:04:37,527 THE TSAUCHAB RIVER, 59 00:04:37,610 --> 00:04:41,906 WHICH ONLY FORMED HERE IN RARE TIMES OF RAIN, 60 00:04:41,990 --> 00:04:44,367 ONCE CONNECTED TO THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 61 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. 68 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. 70 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 73 00:05:39,589 --> 00:05:43,509 WITH MULTIPLE ARMS, CALLED STAR DUNES. 74 00:05:48,306 --> 00:05:52,602 THIS IS DUNE NUMBER 45. 75 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, 77 00:05:57,356 --> 00:06:03,237 THEN AN HOUR CLIMB TO ITS 600 FOOT-HIGH CREST. 78 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. 89 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, 96 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 108 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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