4×4, C19, Namibia

DECEMBER 2006 – A white 4×4 speeds along the gravel highway C19 between Solitaire and Sesriem in Namibia. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com

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The story behind the image

Earlier today I blogged about the long drive from Walvis Bay to Sesriem. Here’s what happened later that day.

We continued our drive towards Sesriem. well not directly to Sesriem but actually to a lodge in the middle of nowhere 60 kilometers away from Sesriem. The highway was even at first with just minimal lanes in the gravel. Fine. However, over time the lanes got deeper. And deeper. And yes, even deeper. At some point the gravel was scratching the vehicle floor. The noise was loud, extremely loud, almost like a continuous thundering. And the lanes still got a bit deeper. I switched on the headlights on and changed to the other lane to drive on the opposite side. (One of the benefits of driving in a rural area.) This eased the tension on the body of the car (and the tension on our nerves) a bit, but not much as there were lanes here, too.

I had reduced the speed already to about 50 km/hour (30 Miles/hour). I was sweating because I did not want to break the car here. Heck, I did not want to break the car at all. So we inched forward hour by hour and fortunately made it in one piece to the lodge. A cool pool, a tasty dinner, and a nice room were waiting for us. And two nights in this awesome place.

What did we learn from this? Whenever you plan for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa, please do yourself a favour and rent a 4×4. If you are concerned about the cost, go for cheaper lodges or guestfarms, or consider an older 4×4.

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The high resolution image

Capture Date & Time	04-DEC-2006, 16:30
Location	C19, Namibia
Camera	Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II
Lens	Canon EF 24-70mm 2.8L USM
ISO	200
Exposure	1/1000 sec at f/8
Digital Image Source Format	JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, AdobeRGB
Edited Image Format	JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB
Edited Image Dimensions	4992 x 3328 Pixels
Copyright	© by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com