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Claire
Desert Elephants in the Snow in Twyfelfontein
Desert elephants and powder dust adventures from Twyfelfontein to the Khowarib Schlucht
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The map made it look like a metropolis – and, by remote Namibian standards, it is. A fuel station and workshop, a Damara living museum, a campsite, some lodges. After the drive from Ugab Camp, allowing dried river courses to guide us, Twyfelfontein was a welcome stop-off. That said, I’m not sure we were ready for anything more in terms of civilisation.
Rather than civilisation, it is the link to the past that makes Twyfelfontein outstanding. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has one of the largest concentrations of petroglyphs – rock engravings that give us an idea of the people and animals that roamed the area more than 2000 years ago. The nearby Organ Pipes are also a popular natural attraction – basalt rock formations that add to the mystique of this already intriguing scenery.
At Twyfelfontein Country Lodge, red rocks with exquisite engravings line the walkway to the lodge. I took the time to revel in ancient markings that are modern marvels. As with any historical monument, these relics play the role of a time machine. Once, a nomadic hunter-gatherer – ancestor to us all – stood on that spot. Once, guided by spiritual rite and, perhaps, the urge to note and record, he was moved to document the gift of a moment, the power of an experience.
These are time-worn tales of wild Namibia told in the voice of ancient storytellers – powerful whispers of relevance in the rush of the modern world. This is the beating heart of history – conserved in rock forever. The view from the lodge was a fragment of the beautiful oblivion generations have known. Only the people (and perhaps the number of animals) have changed. →
Life As Art
What compels us to make pictures, to keep records? Whatever it is, it's something common across mankind, something that spans the ages. In recording life, the spiritual relevance of things, the San could never have known that these etchings would captivate audiences over ages - the world's best history books.
A day of driving unmarked trails along rivers from Ugab Camp to Twyfelfontein made the formality of dinner and drinks feel jarring. We are all different kinds of travellers, but nothingness moves me – a place left to the wild. With my mind full of these fresh memories, I took in the changing view from the lodge: red rocks in poured moonlight – moonlight that connected me to the day’s earlier tracks. These are stories we will tell forever, as if in rock, but that only the two of us will truly understand. Their retelling started over dinner that night.
In the morning, we decided to go on a short drive to explore and search for desert elephants. For decades, my dreams have been of deserts and these profoundly special animals among the dunes. Desert elephants are the exception to the general rule when it comes to this water-loving, tree-destroying animal. They are proof that the world’s most precious species span even the most unexpected places. They are the greatest symbol of the potent life in even the world’s most hostile places. They are the greatest symbol of the ability to adapt.
Man-made dams and guided drives seem to come with the territory in the quest to spot desert elephants. There were both in the vicinity of the lodge and so we made our way past all of this. We drove in the direction with the most nothingness. Beyond the well-beaten gravel tracks close to the lodges, an elephant stood at the foot of a dune, feeding. →
Light Fades On Another Ageless Day
The views from Twyfelfontein Country Lodge - and Damaraland in general - hold the kind of peace that makes the place feel ageless. A thousands years ago, the days would end in an exquisite display of colour and quiet - as it does today.
In the desert heat, I felt a rush of gooseflesh and an overflow of tears – a physical understanding of dreams becoming real. But there’s more. The air was filled with floating grass seeds – white, whispy, and silent like snowfall. Snow in the desert and elephants in the snow – everything about this experience felt otherworldly, supernatural.
Rather than break, strip, and discard branches, there was a delicacy to this elephant’s actions – a lace-like precision from the largest animal on earth. The leaves were removed, but the branches remained intact – an understanding of and investment in tomorrow.
Desert elephants are anatomically and socially different to other elephants. Their feet are larger to help them walk – and even slide – great distances in desert sand. Their body mass also tends to be lower. They also live in smaller groups, giving these great creatures less of an impact wherever they go. Solitary, different, and desert-loving – sounds familiar.
As we made our way along the road, we looked back on the previous days with renewed bravery. We had skipped a large section of the Ombondi River and Khowarib Schlucht because we didn’t have a map (phone-free holidays are a must – and the details of our first attempt appear in earlier stories), but the gap in our travel plans was glaring. There was only one thing to be done: download a map and try again – from the other side this time.
After toing and froing to find the trailhead, we drove into what can only be described as monumental scenery. The sand track and Arab desert oasis surroundings became dry riverbed (a 4x4 driver’s test track in what is aptly called ‘powder dust’) and we were soon dwarfed by Ana trees and rockfaces. →
Rather than break, strip, and discard branches, there was a delicacy to this elephant’s actions – a lace-like precision from the largest animal on earth.
The World As It Was
The borderless views around Twyfelfontein are remarkably unfettered by modern landmarks. Landscape like this rips holes in the fabric of time, giving us a glimpse of the landscape as it must have appeared to the San nomads who documented ancient life on the area's rockfaces.
The feeling was initially Hannibalesque – the sheer height of the gorge around us was precipitous; a fortress against humanity. Canopy gives way to canyon and, just when you think you understand verticality, your eyes are drawn even more to the skies by ever-looming rock. There is dust aplenty on this drive, but this leviathan geology renders even humans miniscule.
As the drive went on, the Dakar feeling eased off – and we could turn our attention to the true awe of our surroundings. The rock of the gorge around us was enveloping and evolving. These formations changed from blood red and tangerine to muted hues of the day’s end. The Ana trees lining the riverbank sheltered placid springbok and giraffe. Everything about the scenery draws your eyes upwards, as if in continuous prayer – the act of observation an homage of thanks for its greatness.
We followed the riverbed as the current would during the rains past the crayon box flash of fleeing flocks of lovebirds – our engine and birdsong the only break in otherwise perfect, moving silence (it’s the dust in my eyes, I swear).
Just past the junction we had reached with our friends in their overlanding truck, we found a spot to wild camp for the night. Pitching tents on elephant prints has become a bit of a doctrine in my life in recent years. Under the impermeable parasol of an Ana tree, we set up our tent on the edge of the riverbed – alongside a tide of elephant tracks. →
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Eyes To The Skies
It starts with what's happening at eye level - and then it goes up to the top of great riparian trees. And then it goes up, up past lines in the rock - eyes passing through like a guitar strum - until the view crests even further up, high in the sky. This is a view that dwarfs everything below it - but the things that make us feel small often have the biggest impact.
A simple meal by the light of the setting sun took us into the blanketing stillness of night. We had heard that nine lions patrolled this area and one ear was kept beyond the reaches of sleep in the darkness that night.
Coffee in-hand, my mind silently grappled with the ineffable mysteries of the place. The sun rising over another day in this place so preserved from human interference and so shaped by the ages in terms of geology and natural landmarks.
As we drove out, desert elephants in the dawn added to the intrigue. With high river walls that dwarfed the car on one side, we watched in silence. The herd had become statuesque in response to our presence and so there we were – man and elephant suspended in moments shared by us alone. I don’t think I’ve ever willed inaction more than in those sacred minutes. Eventually, together, they walked along the riverbed as if following the current and, once they had disappeared, we were swept along in their wake, back to the vet fence that meant we had gone full circle in our Damaraland adventure. →
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Life In Hard Places
Every sighting of desert elephants is an incredible privilege. This desert caravan of elephants passed along the dry riverbed, watchful and silent - the events of this place merging into a precious, untold history.
The semi-desert region of Damaraland in Namibia has unique conditions that impact what you pack. Get in-depth Damaraland safari packing advice and quick tips for travellers to Damaraland in Namibia from our experts and your comprehensive safari packing list.
Spring At The Chance
Our drive along the Khowarib Schlucht was marked by a procession of life along the dry riverbed - from the vibrant flash of green lovebird feathers to the observant eyes of springbok.
Walking On Water
Following what is usually a watercourse is pretty special when you're following elephants. Survival of these amazing animals in this dry landscape is brought into stark relief as their feet kick up dust, following an invisible current.
Going On A Carfari
Our camp for the night, on the dry riverbed. The current will sweep away our tyre tracks and truly leave no trace. Like the desert elephant tracks around us, we are rendered weightless in the tides of time.
Earth's Giants Dwarfed By Scenery
High river walls, great gorges, and silent giants in the sand. Damaraland is an experience of scale and size in every way.
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