Discussion · bonfire of thepocolips

@withaveeay@mastodon.scot · 10 hours ago

Westward, ever westward, the road goes straight on.
But in about a 250km stretch we counted at least 7 memorials, some formal, some attached to fences or stuck into the ground, showing where people have been killed along the road. This is not the place to lose concentration. The winds can buffet the car as well, and on a couple of occasions even pushed our little hire car closer to the white line than was safe if another car was coming

#TLHHTraveling

A view of a straight road, with the GPS inside the car also showing it as being straight

A view of the rear view mirror in which a straight road can be seen

Stevan

@withaveeay@mastodon.scot replied · 10 hours ago

The first leg of the journey was over 130km, during which time no settlements larger than the occasional farm would be seen. But the landscape changes subtly in these long journeys. At several points. these weird rock formations, not out of place in a sci-fi movie, appeared dotted around the place. The rocks are huge, yet seem to have been carefully placed there
#TLHHTraveling

A pile of large black rocks in a barren landscape

Stevan

@withaveeay@mastodon.scot replied · 10 hours ago

There is a tradition in this area of building corbelled roofs on houses. Quite a few can be seen from the road and, we believe, some can be visited. Some. of covered in turf, could be mini Maes Howes. I'd guess these houses would be cooler in summer, but we've not been able to find out where the tradition came from or who the builders were

#TLHHTraveling

In the distance a bee-hive shaped house roof, showing it to be one of these corbelled houses

A white house with a stepped roof on one side and a more rectangular building next to it

Stevan

@withaveeay@mastodon.scot replied · 10 hours ago

We missed taking a snap to the turn-off to Sutherland, but the one here is where South Africa's optical telescope observatories are located. Instead,, we entered Namaqualand proper, though we did find ourselves in the Highlands, if not in our Highlands. We're about at the height of Ben Nevis now and have been for the last few days. Tomorrow, we go down the escarpment that sits over the whole of South Africa. We may notice this in increased temperatures.
#TLHHTraveling

A sign saying "Namakwa" and alternative spelling of Namaqua

Stevan

@withaveeay@mastodon.scot replied · 10 hours ago

Even after our first stop after 130km, we had another 120km+ until the next settlement

#TLHHTraveling

The road drops down into a barren landscape and disappears in the distance

Stevan

@withaveeay@mastodon.scot replied · 10 hours ago

This is typical view of a farmstead that one sees from time to time. Some water has been found, and windpumps, typically, now solar-powered pumps, with the addition of generations of struggle, allow a little greenness to appear

#TLHHTraveling

A scrubby landscape. In the middle distance some trees and some greenery

Stevan

@withaveeay@mastodon.scot replied · 10 hours ago

But this is the land of big one spaces and big skies. In some ways, it can be seen as monotonous, but it has a stunning beauty and, if one seeks to be observant, numerous subtle changes

#TLHHTraveling

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