Great footage of sand dunes forming and moving @AwesomeChapters

Awesome Chapters Tours The sand dunes at the Namibian coast draws crowds from all over the world. Majestic and beautiful, they are very much a feature of life for the locals.

In this video, you will see some footage of the Sand Dunes as they are being created and shoved around by the wind. Particles of sand is picked up by the wind, and pushed along the ground until they hit an obstacle. At the obstacle, the sand particle either gets lodged, or is rolled around the obstacle with the wind. It's only when the sand falls into an area with no wind that will make it stop rolling.

With stronger winds more and bigger particles are moved. Where does the sand come from? Completely different question, and not the subject of this video.

Growing up in Walvis Bay where you can see the dunes from the middle of the town, one gets to know a little bit about them. In the time lapse of the area South of Walvis Bay, you can see the sand dunes approach the town over a period of ten years.

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updated 3 years ago

Great footage of sand dunes forming and moving

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-04-22 | The sand dunes at the Namibian coast draws crowds from all over the world. Majestic and beautiful, they are very much a feature of life for the locals.

In this video, you will see some footage of the Sand Dunes as they are being created and shoved around by the wind. Particles of sand is picked up by the wind, and pushed along the ground until they hit an obstacle. At the obstacle, the sand particle either gets lodged, or is rolled around the obstacle with the wind. It's only when the sand falls into an area with no wind that will make it stop rolling.

With stronger winds more and bigger particles are moved. Where does the sand come from? Completely different question, and not the subject of this video.

Growing up in Walvis Bay where you can see the dunes from the middle of the town, one gets to know a little bit about them. In the time lapse of the area South of Walvis Bay, you can see the sand dunes approach the town over a period of ten years.

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Achab: Camping in heaven

Awesome Chapters Tours 2023-10-07 | Yeah, so now we are making litte ads for the places where we camp, just so everyone in the world can see how nice it is to camp in Namibia. Achab really is the first of this series, and the ads and camps will only get better!

Achab itself is quite close to Usakos, and definitely worth a visit if you want a place with a nice farm atmosphere and swimming pool to beat the heat.

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Spitzkoppe Astrophotography Camp

Awesome Chapters Tours 2023-02-05 | Two photographers came to Namibia to do various bits of photography as it's a pretty place. One of the things that they wanted to achieve was a time lapse of the Milky Way through the Rock Arch at Spitzkoppe.

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Chapters:
0:00 Moon Landscape
0:31 Spitzkoppe Arrival
0:45 Making Camp
1:06 Nights 1
1:13 Mornings
1:24 Camp Entertainment
1:36 Bird Species
1:47 Water Species interaction
1:57 Subjects
2:04 Lizards
2:26 Elephant Shrew
2:50 Bird Food
3:05 Fight
3:48 Majestic Location
4:28 Camp and Surrounds
4:44 Truck
5:12 More Birds
6:36 Ground Squirrel
6:53 Sunset
7:37 Goodbye
8:05 Thanks

Great footage of sand dunes at Sossusvlei

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-11-11 | At recent tour of Sossusvlei in Namibia, the scenery was simply awesome.
The majestic red dunes rise above the white clay of the dead vlei, giving a beautiful backdrop to the petrified trees.

Also on this tour a short visit was done to Sesriem Canyon and the Elim dune, rounding it all off with an awesome sunset at the camp.

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How Awesome is Brandberg?

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-09-21 | The White Lady Lodge at Brandberg, Namibia. Wild Elephants roam the Ugab river freely, sometimes interacting with tourists.
We believe that the large elephant at the end was known as "Voortrekker" who was shot a few years later for being a "trouble animal"
Camping here is a wonderful experience, and it's one of my favourite spots for some time away from the rat race. The lodge is relaxing, with a nice pool, and the wildlife of this area is truly unique.

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Gorgeous grassy fields of Namibia and intriguing Rock Art

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-06-20 | What is more relaxing than watching the wind play through tall grass? Well, if you visit a lodge in Namibia shortly after a rainy season, you might have a few other activities to entertain you. The lodge here was the Ai-Aiba lodge, which boasts a living museum and some truly impressive rock art.

But, this video is not about the lodge. It's about the grassy fields! With some beautiful shots of the grass, and other plants that grow in between the grass, it's a visual masterpiece! Butterflies flapping around, and rocky outcroppings to warm even the coldest of hearts. One formation actually looks like two people embracing!

Where does all this grass come from? Is Namibia not supposed to be mostly desert? Yes, and rain is fairly rare in Namibia, and so when it does come in a good year, it is celebrated.

Life is paced differently in Africa, especially in Namibia. It's slower, and more focused on the enjoyment of life, rather than the accumulation of things.

The grass, aside from being beautiful to look at, also sustains wildlife, and more indirectly the animals that prey on them. All through the eons, people were living in this land, seeing the grass, and not only surviving, but thriving.

These Bushmen, or the San as they are now known, left behind some amazing rock art that you are welcome to come and see.

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Relax in this beautiful oasis in the Moon Landscape

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-06-13 | Goanikontes is an Oasis in the Swakop River's Moon Landscape.

The Swakop is a river in the desert, the Namib desert.
There is always something awesome to do, and the weather is always really nice. The atmosphere is relaxed and peaceful, and it makes the perfect place to just sit and read a book and listen to the sounds of nature.

Birdwatchers enjoy watching the many species of bird, and for the more active people there are fatbikes to rent and stargazing at night.

Accommodation ranges from campsites to luxurious A-frames.

There are also quirky bungalows that look like they belong on the surface on the moon from the outside, but are actually very well furnished and perfect for a breakaway.

The surrounding landscape is simply breathtaking, and there is wild life and beautiful rocky scenes to admire for explorers.

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Omaruru Game Lodge Sights & Sounds at the watering hole

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-06-12 | Game lodges in Namibia usually have a watering hole for watching game.

At the Omaruru game lodge, they also feed the animals, and have a tame giraffe named Sammy. Sammy hangs around people more, and allows you to touch him. When he is up close and personal you realize just how massive giraffes are.

The lodge also has some white Rhino, and loads of wild Giraffes.

Overall accommodation is very comfortable, and the atmosphere relaxed, peaceful and quiet. Wildlife is seen every night at the watering hole, and this includes wild Giraffe, Ostrich, White Rhino, Eland and Rooibok.

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Time Lapse of Super Blood Moon of May 2022

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-05-18 | The Super Blood Moon of May 2022

With this time lapse, you can see stars whizzing by, as well as the shadow of the earth sweeping across the moon.

Captured with Sony A7SII, edited with Kdenlive and Slowmovideo.

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Camp where the Swakop rivers meets the Khan river

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-03-28 | It's well known that a good camp reduces stress and is really good for you. Unfortunately, when you camp a lot, you have camped at all the camp spots near to you.

The Swakop is a river in the desert, the Namib desert.

An exciting new camp is opening to the public soon. Situated on the banks of the Swakop river, just downstream of where the Khan and Swakop rivers meet, Palmenkop is a very unique camp.

As everything is provided apart from bedding, food and drinks, packing for a stay at this glorious camp is very quick and light.

There is access to the river, and you can go for a drive up the Khan river to see some wildlife, or further up the Swakop river to see the Welwitschia plants.

There are hiking routes laid out for the more sporty campers.
The video shows what to expect on a typical camp, but there is much more!

To book your own camp, contact Alessandra at Palmenkop
+264 81 149 7824 (WhatsApp and phone)
or email:
alessandratanzi03@gmail.com

Or, of course look up Awesome Chapters online, contact us and we'll arrange it.

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What Walvis Bay looks like, and surroundings

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-03-24 | You will find Walvis Bay on every world map, not because it's massive, but because it is special. As the last annex of the British empire, it's history is interesting.

Wedged in between the Ocean and Sandy Desert of the Namib, this is one beautiful town, with loads to do and see for visitors and locals alike.

The lagoon is a nature preserve site, and all the wealthiest people in Walvis Bay live on prime propery next to the Lagoon. To the South of Walvis Bay is the Salt Processing works, where salt is extracted from sea water.

The town itself is protected from the encroaching desert by multiple layers of fencing. To the East of Walvis Bay there is the Bird paradise, and further out is Dune 7.

The poorer neighborhoods also feature a little in this video, and you can see the contrast in living standards between the richest and poorest inhabitants of this harbor town.

The goods that are shipped through the port is further transported to Southern Africa by road and rail.

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Rains on the road from Maltahohe to Helmiringshausen

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-03-16 | Recently on a project with a film crew, we were travelling from Maltehohe to Luderitz via Helmeringshausen. There was predicted to be some rain, but the road was still supposed to be passable. Little did we know just how much rain there would be!

As we left Maltehohe we could already see trouble brewing. Rain is pretty uncommon in Namibia, and on the rare occasions that it does rain, people tend to avoid the gravel roads as they have a tendency to wash away.

The footage for this video was contributed by the film production team that were being conveyed between locations.

The heavy rainfall in the desert of Namibia is quite rare, and even though driving into rain storms in the desert can leave you stranded for days or worse, the scenery was amazing! The amount of water that came down was simply out of this world.

For the sharp eyed among you, this is a re-worked video, the previous one sucked, and upon request of the community this was remade with proper sound & music.
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The most Awesome sight in Namibia - Sand dunes reflecting in still water in the desert

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-03-08 | Sand Dunes are not usually associated with rain water. In fact, the Dead Vlei, or Dooie Vlei has not had any inflow of river water for a very long time. The trees in this area died, and were preserved by the hyper-aridity of the desert.

However, sometimes it does rain, and when the water reaches Sossusvlei, a veritable wonder world emerges from the oldest desert in Africa. Green life springs forward, and animals, Namibians, tourists and film makers flock to Sossusvlei to see the spectacle.

Sesriem and Due 45 add to the epic landscapes.

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The wonder of rain transforming the desert into a green wonderland at Blutkoppe in 2022

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-02-27 | Because the Swakop river touched the ocean, it's catchment area had to have had some good rains. In the river's catchment area there is a place called Blutkoppe, after the red colour it gets at sunset.
With the good rains there was water in the dam, and loads of greenery around.
Exploring a bit, the caves are an interesting feature of this inselberg. The other inselbergs have the same cave structure, and I am not convinced that it was carved by wind, with evidence.

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Camping in South Namibia at NWR campsites with caravan

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-02-21 | In this video we go camping in the South of Namibia with our off road caravan, a Conqueror Commander.

It was just before Christmas, and most of the Namibian population were heading down to the coast to escape the heat of summer. Unfortunately, Namibia was in the middle of a Covid-19 spike of the Omicron variant, and the virus was hitching a ride.

We decided to get out of there, and go camping in the least populated parts of our already very thinly populated country.
As there are many options for camping sites to choose from in tourist-friendly Namibia, we had to pick some sort of common theme.

We picked NWR (Namibia Wildlife Resorts), who up until now was getting a bad rap for not maintaining their sites.

We were pleasantly surprised by the facilities at Gross Barmen, the Hardap Dam, Shark Island and the Nauklust Park. Duwisib castle was closed over the holiday season, as they obviously have made enough money during the pandemic. :P

The only place that we stayed at that was not NWR was the Quiver Tree Forest at Keetmanshoop. It is a really special place and if you are ever in the vicinity, go look it up!

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:40 Gross Barmen
05:42 Hardap Dam
09:16 Quiver Tree Forest/Giants Playground
12:22 Shark Island/Diaz Point
14:53 Naukluft Camp

Heavy rains washing away roads in the Namib desert

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-02-17 | Travelling from Maltehohe to Luderitz via Helmeringshausen there was predicted to be some rain, but the road was still supposed to be passable.

As we left Maltehohe we could already see trouble brewing. Rain is pretty uncommon in Namibia, and on the rare occasions that it does rain, people tend to avoid the gravel roads as they have a tendency to wash away.

The footage for this video was contributed by the film production team that were being conveyed between locations.
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Swakop River flowing into the ocean at Swakopmund

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-02-16 | For the first time in 10 years the Swakop River has managed to break through to the ocean. Hundreds of people have come to see the spectacle!

The Swakop is a river in the desert, the Namib desert.

Due to sand mining, some people were dubious that the river would ever reach the ocean again. Namibia's rivers do not flow regularly, and the last time this river was flowing this strongly was in 2011. Luckily for everyone, the predictions were wrong and it was good to see the river flowing again! The rains across Namibia have been swelling the rivers all over Namibia.

The river's muddy color is also where it gets it's name from. Swakaub is a word that means "diarrhea" in a local language, and the river looks remarkably like that when it does flow.

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Kuiseb River Flowing in 2022

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-01-25 | Most of the rivers in Namibia do not flow all the time. In fact, some of them do not even flow every year.
The Kuiseb is a river in the desert, the Namib desert.

When it rains in the catchment area, the water starts to make it's way down to the ocean. This creates surreal scenes where the water is flowing through the dry desert where it has not rained at all. These images are from the Kuiseb River recently starting to flow near Rooibank.

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Quality Family Time - touring to and camping at the most beautiful place on Earth

Awesome Chapters Tours 2022-01-04 | This video follows the first camp at Spitzkoppe after the COVID-19 pandemic started messing things up.

Spitzkoppe is an Inselberg in Namibia. These are quite common on the vast plains of the Namib Desert. At Spitzkoppe itself there are campsites with the most beautiful sights on earth. It's been a long time favorite of my family, precisely because it is so breathtakingly beautiful, and tranquil.

The stars at night are so bright that it feels like you can touch them.

We live on the coast of Namibia, so for the trip up to Spitzkoppe you have to cross some really beautiful scenery, including the dune belt and the Moon Landscape. In the Moon Landscape there is the Goanikontes oasis, as well as the road that Mad Max 4 Fury Road was shot at.

So, all in all, this video shows a little what it is like camping with your family in Namibia, and I really hope you enjoy it!

While making this video, my thoughts turned to how our world has changed, and what is normal, and how to carry on from here. The endurance and capability of humankind to deal with adversity is amazing. It would appear that we have already adapted to this new normal, and are getting the best out of it.

Should you have any critique on this video, please do not hesitate to comment on it.

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How to experience the Spitzkoppe in the best way? (4K)

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-10-13 | Stay two days! Relax, and drink in the beautiful colors and sights of this magical place.
At Spitzkoppe, or Spitzkoppen as it is also known in Namibia, the scenery changes in a magical way all throughout the day. As sun sets, this place will amaze you with soft pastel colors, every bit as beautiful as Sossusvlei.

Yes, it is not enough to just show up, take some pictures and leave, you will need some more time! As the landscape changes drastically throughout the day, you can't do a proper visit to Spitzkoppe in less than a day. Please, put this on a 4K TV, and sit close to really get the feeling that you are there!

About the location:
This location has been used in Monster Hunter recently, and quite a few other movies where a desert landscape is necessary.

About the video:
The footage in this video has been captured in 4K with a Sony A7S II, both in rec709 and Slog2 (PP7) and the drone footage is from a DJI Mavic Pro, shooting in D-Log. Post-processing and editing was done on Kdenlive running on Arch Linux.

About Awesome Chapters cc:
Awesome Chapters makes it easy to legally produce small films and documentaries in Namibia. Check out our website:
awesomechapters.com

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Chapters:
00:00 Spitzkoppe from far away
01:09 Wildlife at Spitzkoppe
02:04 Rock Art by the San (bushmen)
02:57 Night time lapse and twilight magic
03:49 Exploring and more camera angles to consider

Sandwich Harbor and Pelican Point excursion. Experience the thrill!!

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-09-18 | This video shows a typical tour with Awesome Chapters, you see Walvis Bay and Sandwich Harbor in contrast. If you want your own video, this is the easiest way to get it!

A little more about this specific tour:
Walvis Bay is developed modern civilization, at one with the nature around it. Not always by choice!

From Walvis Bay, you see the Salt Processing works and the wetlands. From there it's over to the Cape Fur Seal colony at Pelican point, and Sandwich Harbor itself.

Along the way there are stunning sights, and a great time to be had. Of course, Sandwich Harbor and Walvis Bay are not the only pretty sights in Namibia. Feel free to ask about any of the other great getaways in Nambia.

All the footage and editing for this ad was done by Awesome Chapters. Should you want a great ad like this one for your business, google Awesome Chapters!
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Epic trip to Sossusvlei

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-09-08 | The area around Sossusvlei is very unique, and if you have the chance to see it, you should grab it.
In this video you can see a little of what it is like to travel from Walvis Bay to this wonderful destination. The road trip winds it's way through the vast Namib, with the scenes changing from the various types of desert to grasslands and majestic mountains.

With a bit of time to spare, the Sesriem Canyon was a great taste of the natural wonders to come.

At Sossusvlei, lodging was at Sossus Dune Lodge, with a great view of the dunes as the sun sets behind them. To climb Big Daddy, the highest dune in the world, you have to start very early.

On the way to the top of Big Daddy, dune landscapes unfold, and with the rains some pans are full, providing a juxtaposition of barren and water, desert and life. From the top of Big Daddy, you can see some for miles into the dune sea.

At the foot of Big Daddy is the Dead Vlei. Used in "The Cell" and other movies like "Monster Hunter" this area produces feelings of being in an alien landscape.

Sossusvlei with water in it is a rare sight, as it only rains enough to reach the pans once every five years. With the dunes reflecting in the water, and green grassy fields around the Oryx and other wildlife enjoy the landscape almost as much as the tourists.

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:56 Road trip
03:20 Solitaire
04:52 Sesriem
06:56 Getting to Big Daddy / Ostrich pan
08:24 Climbing Big Daddy
10:00 The Summit
11:44 The Descent
12:55 The Dead Vlei
14:14 Sossusvlei
15:00 Surroundings
15:52 Appreciation

Take a break at Sandwich Harbor

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-05-17 | Imagine driving through the desert on a corrugated gravel road all day. What do you do to relax?
You book a private tour to Sandwich Harbor, of course! No driving, just beautiful scenery and being treated like a VIP to take the stress away.

Sandwich Harbor is always a fun place to visit, even on windy days. Nicolas and Liesbeth grabbed the opportunity to relax a little after a long drive from Sossusvlei.

The scenery is as fantastic as always. Playing in the sand and exploring, taking in all the raw natural beauty of this unique destination certainly brought some smiles!

Thank you so much for visiting!
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Drone Reel For Awesome Chapters

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-04-08 | Various drone shots done by Awesome Chapters.

Aerial Pan, Tracking, Pedestal and Fly-Over are all covered, with a nice reveal at the end are all covered. Any type of shot you can imagine with a drone.

Fully registered for commercial flights in Namibia to add that something extra to your production! The beautiful landscapes of Namibia look even more stunning from above, and sometimes a drone is the only way of getting a certain shot.

Prices are dirt cheap, too.
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The amazing scenery of a tour to Sandwich Harbor

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-03-31 | Have you heard the news that Sandwich Harbor is a premium tourist destination South of Walvis Bay?

Yes, that is true, and Awesome Chapters (awesomechapters.com) can take you there.
Whether you book a private tour in one of the company vehicles, or want to drive in your own car, this is definitely a bucket list item.

In this video you will see some of the amazing sights, as well as learn a little about the tour. The footage for this advertisement has been taken from many trips to this beautiful destination over the last two years.

The voice over for this video is all AI generated, and require the following disclaimer: "created with the voices from LOVO @ www.lovo.ai.”

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:40 Salt Processing works
01:25 Sandwich Harbor
02:05 Credits

Amazing surf at Skeleton (Donkey) Bay

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-03-30 | Surfers catching gnarly waves!
Fun video of surfers enjoying the waves at Donkey Bay, better known as Skeleton Bay internationally.

When surfers heard the news of some stormy weather out at sea, they flocked to Walvis Bay. Skeleton Bay, or Donkey Bay as it is locally known, is a world renowned surf spot, due to the size and duration of the curl.

This video shows some surfers surfing the waves, catching some good ones. It's not the most spectacular video out there, you need a drone for that! To give you an idea of what people were flocking to this surf even for, look at this video: youtube.com/watch?v=bjKzJIu56oU

I'm not a surfer myself, so I don't know the language that much, so please forgive my ignorance. I provided the transport from the city of Walvis Bay out to Pelican Point where the Skeleton bay is. Since I don't surf myself, I dragged my trusty Canon 5D Mk III and 100-400 USM-L along to have some entertainment of my own.

This footage was taken in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, when international travel was still allowed, and lock down was not even a thought. I have learned a few tricks in regards with video editing since the footage was taken, and so I have now taken the time to give it some love and show it to the world.

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What is looks like at Sesriem Capsites

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-03-14 | When visiting Sossusvlei, you can't sleep at Sossusvlei. Sesriem campsites are the nearest cost-effective camp sites to this natural wonder.

Enjoy these gorgeous scenes that you can expect to see when camping here. The place is so beautiful that we have stayed here and skipped Sossusvlei entirely!

These beautiful views are set to just over two minutes of soft ambient music for your enjoyment. No talking, no fuss.

Just relax for two minutes and enjoy nature at it's best.

Incredible Sossusvlei Adventure from Walvis Bay

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-03-03 | Sossusvlei is filled with water, which is a very rare sight in itself.

Christophe and Nawal, the traveling couple, when they heard this news, and saw some of our earlier videos, wanted a trip to this rare sight.

They are sailing around the world, and a little break from the water would do them good, as well as climbing the "Big Daddy". They also wanted a video to remember this event by.

The coronavirus in 2020 changed their travel plans quite a lot, and they were stuck in the city of Walvis Bay for a few months, and before that in South Africa for almost a year because of the travel restrictions.

Since Awesome Chapters does videos and tours, the choice was easy. An itinerary was created, and the price was right, so booking was made, and it was not long before everybody was loaded into the car, and we were off on an Adventure. Sossusvlei is quite a distance from the beach, a little over 300km, in fact.

The 300km road was no match for the enthusiasm and great companionship and was over in the blink of an eye. The very many types of terrain created a beautiful stream of nature drifting by.

Because of the coronavirus and the lockdowns from 2020, all the touristy spots in Namibia are pretty deserted now, so right now is the perfect time if you want to see untouched nature. Almost any place on the map of Namibia is offering deep discounts, and the Sossus Dune Lodge where we decided to stay was no exception.

Big Daddy is a bit of a challenge, and you need to be reasonably mobile to attempt it. Just google "Highest sand dune in the world" if you don't believe us. ;)
Parking is fairly near to the dune if you have a 4x4 vehicle. If you don't you can park at the end of the tarred road and catch a lift with one of the taxies for the last 5km. If you are really brave an fit, you can attempt the walk too, but it gets very hot. The beautiful view of Ostrich pan, also with water, makes for stunning sunrises.

Big daddy itself is over 300m from base to tip, and is standing on the edge of the Deadvlei. Walking through the Dead Vlei is a surreal experience, with the long dead trees sticking out of the white clay.

The surroundings of Sossusvlei has numerous beautiful places to visit, and you really need to stay for two nights to have enough time to appreciate all of the scenery.

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Christophe and Nawal, and agenda
01:05 Road Trip - C14 Vogelvederberg, Kuiseb and Gaub
03:52 Road Trip - Solitaire and the desert turning green

05:50 Sesriem Canyons and Sossus Dune Lodge
07:39 Oschtrich vlei & Big Daddy climb
12:49 Down Big daddy fun
13:57 Deadvlei stroll
15:16 Sossusvlei views
16:02 Elm dune views
16:46 Drive to Dune 45 in the golden hour

Beautiful Namibian Road Trip - C14 Walvis Bay to Sesriem camps

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-02-18 | Each road trip in Namibia is an adventure.
With wide open spaces, and epic landscapes, half the fun of being in Namibia is the awesome road trips.

From our home in Walvis Bay, we kicked off to go see the water in Sossusvlei. It's only 360 kilometers to the Sesriem campsites from Walvis Bay, but as large sections of the road is a little tricky to navigate, it takes much longer than the 4 hours that Google says it should take.

Close to Walvis Bay the tarred road gives way to salt roads. Close to the coast, the gravel roads heal themselves from the moisture in the air. Past Vogelvederberg the road gets the usual corrugation that is common in Namibia.

Due to international travel restrictions, there are not so many people on the road, and the graders were finally able to catch up a little. We enjoyed the relative smoothness of the road, as we remember some other occasions that were much, much worse.

The landscapes in this video are quite varied, with the change in landscape sometimes just popping up as we crest a hill, or come around a bend.

The Kuiseb river was in flood when we crossed it. Not massively, but enough for us to stop and enjoy the cool water. Most of the rivers in Namibia are normally dry, and only flowing after a good rain in their catchment area. Through the millennia, these rivers have carved gorgeous canyons in the landscape.

After the canyons, the landscape changes color and texture to the orange sands still devoid of any vegetation. We found an Oryx next to the road that is quite skinny. At least it was heading in the right direction, as just around the corner the vegetation started getting more and more green from the recent rainfall.

Solitaire is the only fuel station for the area, and it's usually a bustling hive of activity. Also due to the lack of tourists, only the pumps were operating, and all the shops and even the lodge here was closed.

We managed to get a flat on the road between Solitaire and Sesriem. To avoid being stranded next to the road, it's recommended to carry at least two spare tires. We carry three because the caravan has the same size tire as the Cruiser.

Agama lodge is about an hour's drive from the gate to the Sesriem camp sites and where the road to Sossusvlei begins. They agreed to pay for the fuel for this trip in return for an ad of their lovely place. With plenty of beautiful rooms, each built to take advantage of the clear skies and low light pollution to make stargazing a treat. Prices are very reasonable too.
You can see the produced video here: youtu.be/N1mxzyFnPq4

Not long after cruising past Agama, we got to the Sesriem campsites. The next morning we kicked off to go film the waters at Sossusvlei. The first video for it is here: youtu.be/D7Wnm2ZIdlk

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction, preperation
00:43 First signs of recent rain
01:23 Kuiseb Canyon
02:39 Road to Solitaire
04:32 Solitaire to Sesriem

Nice Epupa Falls scenery

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-02-11 | Recently I had the opportunity to go visit the Epupa falls in the Kunene river.

This river forms the Northern border of Namibia. On the other side is Angola.
The river is quite low in this video, after some heavy rains it will come down a lot harder.
I was stationed in the Epupa Falls Lodge for the first few days. The place is amazing, with unique construction of the walls of the buildings from fallen Makalani leaves treated with tar and parrafin.
The view from the rooms are amazing, and the roar of the water rushing over the falls is constant and calming.

Then, we were moved to the tents in Epupa Camps, and it was just as nice an experience!

As I was being employed as a driver on a film shoot, (One Strange Rock) there really was no space to bring along any nice camera gear. All I had with me was my trusty Samsung S7, and using the FilmicPro app to get the best out of the phone's sensor. Not even a tripod, and stabilizing a phone is tricky.

So, the more eagle-eyed among you will notice all sorts of artifacts as the app tries to do stabilizing, and when there is low light the frame rate has suffered a little too.

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Awesome Spitzkoppe scenery after some rains

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-01-29 | In this video, you can see what Spitzkoppe looks like after a bit of rain.
Namibia is pretty arid already, and Spitzkoppe is arid, even for Namibia.

For quite a few years, the rains have passed them by completely, and this is the last time it was green before the rains of 2021.

These footage for this video is from around 2014, and suffer horribly from compression artifacts.
I have much better cameras now, and am itching to go do a proper video of this place. Like, at least half an hour long, with details on the restaurant, open air solar shower and especially the Rock Arch, which is missing from this video.

This video was edited together with me in quarantine, and thus not being able to go see the greenery that is surely springing up now. Let's hope that it is still there when I finally have some free time!

In any case, the video is here for your enjoyment, and any comments will be appreciated. Also, if you have any ideas or parts of the Spitzkoppe that you would like to see in the next video, just drop a comment.

These clips focus more on scenery, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy the video.
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Sossusvlei in flood - stunning scenes with Deadvlei petrified trees for good measure!

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-01-28 | The area around Sossusvlei is some of the most visually appealing places on earth.

Don't just take my word for it, watch the video! (To the end, please!)
It starts off with us being there as early as possible, and seeing the dried up clay and spots of water from the recent floods.

The Dead vlei, or valley, is quite pretty, and it's not hard to see why it is one of the most desirable destinations on earth. It was used in some movies, and is the most popular tourist destinations of Namibia.

It only rains every few years, so water is a bit of a rare thing here, and you can see from the desert surrounding that this place is definitely not used to water.

For some relief, some wild animals were added into the mix. The Oryx at the end had pretty poor condition, it must be terrible to have to watch your food grow after being hungry and thirsty for so long.

It's almost impossible to take a bad picture here, but with a bit of framing and utilizing the light, you just can't stop looking.

Yes, the same things that makes for nice photographs also go for video, but since you are not just capturing one instant in time, new rules come into play.

This footage was shot on a Sony A7S II, most of it in 4K and then downsampled to 1080p in the editor. Lens used was Sony's 24-240mm, and a relatively cheap tripod on some of the shots. To avoid the scenery looking like just a photo colleage, I left some movement in. Settings were on auto, it's quite hard to do better than the camera's auto functions.

As such, very little post-processing was needed. Just in case you were curious, the video editor was Kdenlive on an Arch linux box.

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:40 Dead Vlei & Ostrich Vlei
01:20 Sossusvlei in flood
02:00 Recap

Kuiseb River Flowing after a long drought

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-01-17 | Water is the key to all life on this planet. After a very long drought, Namibia is receiving rains. Almost all the rivers in the country are flowing. You see, most of the time, most of the rivers in Namibia are just dry riverbeds, only flowing for a few days in a year.

Rumors about the river starting to come down started circulating on Facebook, and we went to check up on the river's progress on 16th January 2021. While it was flowing, it was too far inland, and we decided to try again on the 17th of January.

The weather in the riverbeds is always stunning, and the people are quite friendly. The people inhabiting the riverbanks belong to the #Aionin tribe, but they are better known as the Topnaar people, who have been living in this riverbed from before the Europeans arrived.

This short video shows how the water is slowly making it's progress to the ocean. It still has a long way to go, and as it is flowing the underground reservoirs are also being filled, so it's pretty tough going.

Everybody coming to see the river were quite happy and relaxed, and just enjoying the day!

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Awesome Brandberg Mountain Elephants, birds and scenery

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-01-14 | Brandberg is situated in Namibia. .
The White Lady Lodge is the definitive lodge of this region. It has camping, tented camping and chalets available to stay in. There is a nice restaurant, and swimming pools & bar at the reception area. There are also activities provided by the lodge itself.

This video is not about that. (Let's hope someday they invite me over to make a proper video of the lodge and it's amenities)

In this video you will see some of the birds of the region, Hornbills and grey go-away birds.

The star of the show, and this region is definitely the Desert Elephant, and a large part of this video shows the wild elephants peacefully munching away at Camelthorn trees and wandering around in between the chalets and tented camping.

The second half of the video is a drive around the mountain. The sights are really pretty. It takes at least half a day, and without proper guidance you might become hopelessly lost in an area with no cellphone reception, and GPS maps are almost non-existent. Do not try this on your own!

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Blutkoppe Sights through the years

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-01-13 | This video is a collection of clips through the years of camping at Blutkoppe, Namibia. The earliest is from 2009, and the latest from 2017. The mountain itself has not changed much, but the technology capturing it all sure did.

This short video starts off with a drive through the desert landscape from the coast up to the Inselberg of Blutkoppe, with a little of the wildlife seen along the way.

You can also see the landscape change from barren desert to grassland. Keep in mind that this video was taken over many years, and in some years the desert is more arid than in other years.

At Blutkoppe itself the camping areas are serviced with a long drop toilet and an amazing view. Everything else you have to bring with you. There are drums for waste, but it is appreciated if you take all waste along with you, as this area is not serviced all that well.

What you do get is very strange rock formations, from the "foamy" orange coloured rock to caves that look to be carved by the wind. In the same area is the Tinkas dam and rock arch, which also requires a little bit of offroad driving. The view makes the drive definitely worth it!

There are some wild animals in this destination as well. The husk of the Cicada, and Hyrax are probably the most curious ones there. Bird life is plentiful as well, especially in years with a good rain fall.

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Awesome Chapters and Namibia promotional Video

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-01-12 | Everyone that has visited Namibia agrees, it's a pretty epic country.

The views range from out of this world to breathtaking. The people are friendly, speak mostly English and the food is excellent.

The footage from this video was all captured by Awesome Chapters, in Namibia. To really get the best out of this country, you need a guide. Someone that is nimble and well-connected.

Check out Awesome Chapters at http://www.awesomechapters.com

Don't forget to subscribe for Awesome videos when they are prepared...

This video, for instance, has some drone footage over dunes near Walvis Bay, as well as some wild animal shots from Etosha and Erindi. There is a time lapse in there of the Matterhorn of Spitzkoppe, as well as some footage from the iconic Dead Vlei at Sossusvlei.

It takes a lifetime to fully explore Namibia.

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Stunning sand dune footage from the sky!

Awesome Chapters Tours 2021-01-06 | Just some nice shots of the dunes at sunset, accompanied by some relaxing piano music.
At the golden hour, the dunes have a special treat, as they start throwing the most gorgeous shadows. The textures that suddenly become apparent makes one just grab pictures until the sun is well and truly under the horizon.

In this specific location, very close to Walvis Bay, there are salt flats, which have a white sheen from recent rains bringing the salt to the surface. In some of the clips you can see Walvis Bay on the horizon.

Looking down on sand dunes is an amazing and out of this world sight. Aerial footage in this video was taken by a venerable DJI Phantom II carrying a GoPro Hero 4, Black edition. It was actually quite fortunate to get this footage, as all I wanted to do was drain the batteries of the drone for storage. This particular drone does not auto-discharge it's batteries.

Footage was edited with Kdenlive on Arch Linux box.

Music is from Jan Hanford, her piano preludes, and available from Magnatune.com
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Illofa camp sites in 2020

Awesome Chapters Tours 2020-12-31 | Breaking away for Christmas to a nice and relaxing place.

Illofa campsites fit the bill nicely!
Turn up the volume for some nice summery vibes. The camp spots are spacious, and normally quite quiet. Around the last few weeks of December there is a real holiday vibe, as Summertime coincides with Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere. Schools are closed, and all the kids are having fun!

In this video our son, Aiden, takes you on a bicycle ride through the campsites, as well as some slides down the banks of the Omaruru river, where these campsites are located. There are some drone shots of the beautiful surroundings, and great landscape.

This is the cream of life on the coastal regions!

Music is by Barks and Crock, from the album Fxxkyouthatswhy. The song name is Cosmic Gita Drops, available from Magnatune.com

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Stunning Vogelvederberg camp at blue moon.

Awesome Chapters Tours 2020-11-05 | Bernette Louw and Samuel John Webster joined us for a photographic camp at Vogelvederberg. It's not far from Walvis Bay, and the road is nice. The location is perfect, as it is nearly always sunny and with the second full moon of October 2020 (Blue moon), the stage was set for an unforgettable night.

Both Bee and Sam are serious photographers, and the photos of the camp are already enjoyed all over the internet.

This video is intended to showcase the beautiful views of the Namib desert, as well as all the fun that can be had on a little outing like this. Believing in minimalism, the entire camp was loaded into one car, saving on fuel and getting everyone together for a very chatty one hour ride to the camping spot.

While waiting for the golden hour, some exploration to find the best spots were done. The music in this video is not licensed. The original music video is found here, with more details on the artist and where to buy the music.

You can have a stunning and fun camp as well, just Google Awesome Chapters and book!
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Stunning wildlife scenes at Etosha national park

Awesome Chapters Tours 2020-09-22 | Etosha is home to an amazing array of wildlife. This collection of shots of the animals were taken in 2018, during a long drought. The greenery is almost non-existent, and most of the watering holes were dry.

Etosha does supply some water during droughts to stop large parts of the animal populations dying off.

Video edit by Awesome Chapters. Scene selection, color correction and background music was all added to turn this collection of footage into something presentable.
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