The ‘Brandberg’ Mountain Range get their name from their almost black appearance. Early San hunter and gatherers used this widespread mountain range as a navigational point and called it ‘The Burnt Mountains’. The ‘Brandberg’ are also well known for their rock paintings.

Warming early morning rays, Damaraland, Namibia
It was a chilly morning when I crawled out of Zimba’s rooftop tent.

Clouds add to any landscape photo, Damaraland, Namibia
I sat with coffee in the sun and was hoping to see an elephant or two. So were the Safari vehicles, who were surprisingly plentiful.

Riverbed express, Damaraland, Namibia
Asking if I had seen any elephants, they moved on along the riverbed express. I really wasn’t much in a hurry and savoured the serenity and warming rays.

Fascinating oasis, Damaraland, Namibia
These gave a different colour spectacle towards the western ridges, just magnificent.

More typical desert view, Damaraland, Namibia
I passed another large open sand area which had, similar to yesterday, a little plant growing patch. I was very much tempted to follow the Huab Riverbed out west to the Skeleton Coast but decided to leave this adventure for next time.

River, trees and sand dune, Damaraland, Namibia
Instead, I followed the ‘Aba Huab’ riverbed east towards ‘Twelvefontain’ (12 fountains). The sand dune combination with tall green trees is just fascinating.

Sand dune formation, Damaraland, Namibia
A few fallen trees gave the scene some added perspective.

Popular track, Damaraland, Namibia
This riverbed is a well-used highway too.

Lookout point towards Brandberg, Damaraland, Namibia
I took Zimba up to a lookout point and gave myself a better idea on direction and location.

Riverbed in western direction, Damaraland, Namibia
A shady oasis along the river.

Ostrich roaming plains overlooking Brandberg mountain range, Brandberg, Namibia
The landscape changed back to flat, dry and sandy savanna once passing Twelvefontein. A solitaire male ostrich roamed the plains along the ‘ Burnt Mountains’ escarpment.

Springbok heading to the airstrip, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
A springbok buck made his way back to his young family,

Young Springbok calf and mother using airstrip, Brandberg, Brandberg Mountains
waiting patiently on the airstrip. The wet season is not far off.

Surreal boulders around Twelvefontain, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
Different sized round boulders piled up on various locations looked fascinating as we drove along.

Devils Marbles?, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
One formation reminded me of Australia’s outback at ‘Devils Marbles’.

Fascinating boulder formation, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
I took a few off-road shortcuts through the scorching hot sands before reaching ‘Brandberg White Lady Lodge and Campground’. Named after a famous San rock painting, this is a very popular tourist destination. Herds of mainly German tourists had taken the swimming pool area over, it almost had a ‘Mallorca’ feel to it. I wasn’t in tourist mode but decided to stay a night in the well-spaced camping spots. Desert elephants are regularly seen here but had moved north as the ranger explained. Bummer.

Cacti garden at ‘White Lady Lodge’, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
What fascinated me most around here was the large cacti garden.

Flowerful display, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
With the rainy season not far off, most cacti started flowering.

Tiny flowers go round and round, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
In comparison tiny colourful flowers dotted along the green and spiky cactus.

Fruitful cactus, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
Others were carrying fruit already, adding to this colourful odd shaped bonanza.

Desert colour and shape bonanza, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
An ocean of purple/red in the green spiky environment.

Cactus in and out of focus, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
Quite fascinating.

Cactus wooden background, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
From a photographer’s point of view, the spiky backdrop looks scurrilous when focused on the flower.

Shifting focus point, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
I prefer that on black and white mode.

Different shapes in black and white, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
The same applies to different shapes and colours.

Surprisingly shaped, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
One can be very creative with their camera’s focus point. Some cacti were almost as tall as me.

Perfectly round, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
As most were perfectly round,

Mid evil appearance, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
others looked like mid evil weapons.

No cactus garden without a tortoise, Brandberg Mountains, Namibia
This tortoise added perfectly to this desert scene.
Whilst the sunset viewpoint overloaded in German language, I decided to light the fire at camp and skip tomorrow’s planned visit to the ‘White Lady’.