On Sunday afternoon we headed into the desert - along with what seemed to be half the local population - to see a rare event. For most of the year, the Kuiseb river bed lies dry and empty. During the rainy season (now) water flows down it from inland, but almost never makes it to the sea (our lagoon is/used to be the 'mouth' of the river). But, sometimes, the waters make it quite near Walvis Bay and the shallow, fast-flowing water makes it a fun place for the children.
You can see Etienne in the dry river bed in the January trip to Gobabeb (directly below this posting).
In the background, behind David, you can see the red sand dunes (Rooibank) across the river. In the posting below you can see photos of this spectacular red Sand Sea.
There was also a church out there, presumably for the Topenaar community.
To see the children enjoying the silty waters: www.matthiasmail.blogspot.com.
For more about the Kuiseb you can Wiki it.
PS We get our town water from bore holes into the river bed. When the river flows like this the pipes get damaged. At the moment, we only get water in our taps for a couple of hours each morning and evening whilst they fix it. So we came back dirty from the river swim but had to wait to shower it off! We are not complaining, though. A couple of years' ago the town was TOTALLY without water for quick a while.
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