Lake Abbe Part 2
The Road Chose Me Volume 2 OUT NOW!!
The Road Chose Me Volume 2: Three years and 54,000 miles around Africa
The display of stars overnight is breathtaking in the desert, and I rise long before sunrise to take it all in. I feel a huge pang of longing and familiarity when I instantly spot the Southern Cross low in the sky just before dawn. Even this far North of the equator it still makes a brief appearance. I wonder for how much longer I will be able to see it.
The first hint of dawn
The sun making an appearance
Surely this is what the moon looks like
Before the sun makes an appearance I make my way again down into the strange rock and thermal formations to fully appreciate the landscape. I wander for a couple of hours, again feeling like an explorer on another planet, so strange are all the sights before me.
The rock formations are bizarre
The contrast is staggering – where the spring water flows is lush and green
I found these bullets on the ground rusting
Most of the hot springs are shockingly hot – very close to boiling in fact – though I do find a couple that would be perfect for a soak. In every direction I see springs bubbling and hissing from the ground, and even a few cold ones that are perfectly clear.
Actual Lake Abbe in the distance
A camel and his man
The winding dusty roads are stunning
Reluctantly I begin the long drive back to civilization, still shocked at the world I have just visited.
Got dust?
-Dan
Amazing pictures, Dan! Thanks for sharing everything on your blog. I really have been enjoying following your African adventure!
Cheers Brian, great to hear from you as always!
-Dan
Hi Dan, over the past couple weeks I’ve read almost all of your posts from both the Americas trip and this one. What an inspiring story! You’ve renewed my wanderlust and I’m planning a two week road trip from Montreal to Cape Breton this summer with a husband, dog and whatever camping gear we can fit in the trunk of a civic. Thanks for showcasing the lesser known countries in Africa that I had no idea were so amazing and are now on my bucket list – Angola, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe. (Namibia, Kenya, South Africa were already on there). While reading through your posts there has always been one question on my mind that I haven’t seen asked or answered – what do you do for a bathroom when you’re wild camping? Dig a hole? What about when there are curious locals around?
Hey Katie,
Thanks for the kind words and I’m stoked to hear I have given you a little nudge to get out there camping ! I’m sure you’ll have a great time, that is a beautiful part of the world.
Yep, I’ve never used the shovel to dig out the Jeep, but it does get used most days when wild camping.
When there are a ton of locals around it gets interesting, I usually wait till after dark, when they always go home. I usually wait until then to cook and eat too, just so I’m not doing it directly in front of them!
Have a great trip!
-Dan
Those are shells, the bullets long gone. Looks like 7.62.
Keep alert. Safety, and danger, are never constant.
The words “The camel and his man” seems like a appropriate description of the photograph. I liked the humor, hopefully there will be more opportunities for entertaining desciptions in the future.
It’s actually a reference to “A horse and his boy” for anyone that got it…
-Dan