This post’s featured image comes from circa one minute after the final image in #2 of this series, but it looks in the opposite direction, toward the Namib’s temporarily-invisible sand sea.
On a normal day, the horizon in a photo taken from this vantage point would have been defined by the crests of some of the world’s most spectacular dunes.
Namibia’s emblematic mammal – the gemsbok (aka “oryx”) – is superbly adapted to its very demanding environment.(as will be detailed in at least one future post, devoted entirely to Oryx gazella)
As you can see, stoic gemsbok just “get on with it”, sandstorm notwithstanding.
At this point – 4.30 pm on 21 November 2022 – we had been in or near to the sandstorm for about 20 minutes.
A few minutes later, the sand-dance was in full swing.
Usually, when taking photos from a vehicle, I open the relevant window. (shooting through glass – a tinted window’s, most especially – is almost always a very bad idea)
On this occasion, however, the only sane option was to keep all windows firmly shut.
Even so, the constantly-shifting quality of light and the speedily-changing “visibility factor” were extraordinary to experience; my photos do not do them full “justice”, but I hope they convey at least some sense of what was happening.
This post’s final image was taken shortly before we reached Kulala Desert Lodge. If you look carefully, you can see that it and the above image give a hint of what would unfold, shortly thereafter.
The remaining images in this series are unimpeded by windows.
As you will see, “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet”, relatively speaking!