Namibian Brandberg Crystals

Walking the Mountains around Ceres

2011-09-26T18:48:00.000-07:00

DETAILS OF ALL MINERALS FEATURED IN THIS POST, CAN BE SEEN ON OUR WEBSITE ON THE WESTERN CAPE PAGE, SOUTH AFRICA.

We often go walking in the mountains, since we find it very destressing and enjoyable. Also, it helps to keep us fit! We are fortunate to have permission from several farmers in our area (Ceres) to walk their farms and mountains and look for crystals. This is a privilege we cherish!

We often walk rocky terrain in the mountains

More rocky terrain

Pierre, overlooking a deep gully ...

... and finding our way in the mountains

Miniature rockery

Tiny cave with small plants

A mountain dweller we saw from a distance ...

... and one from up close

Hematite stained quartz seam in a big rock

A while ago Pierre discovered a small pocket of crystals in a cavity in the rocks, and I had the privilege to help empty (most!) of it. The opening was very small, which made it rather uncomfortable. After removing a few small pieces, it looked like the end of the road, but I continued searching nonetheless. It was too dark to see inside the pocket, so I used a head lamp. Eventually I saw the shining facet of another specimen. Getting this specimen out, required lots of patience, especially since it was quite cold that day! After a while the front section with big crystal (the only part I could see, and which was hanging upside down) was already quite loose, but something at the back of the cavity wouldn't let go. With my left hand I tried to protect the main crystal’s termination from damage, while I worked with my right hand. After struggling for more than an hour (using a thin, but solid little stick to brush away soil right at the back of the long, narrow cavity), I finally managed to free it, only to find the flat section of matrix that I hadn't even been aware of!

This pocket yielded ...

... this lovely specimen! (SWCC 003)

We recently found a small pocket which yielded a few very small pieces of FADEN QUARTZ, and as far as we know, it is the first time any fadens have been found in our area – well, we haven’t heard or read of any other! We have no idea as to how many more there are, because we took out the few that we could see. We do hope that we’ll find more pockets of those in the future!

I have the privilege of emptying the pocket of fadens.

However, in the pocket that yielded the small faden crystals, we also found (right at the back of the pocket, slightly to the side - when we thought there was nothing more left!) an absolutely beautiful group, with a very prominent faden line. It was totally engulfed in moist, dark brown soil. Its base was stuck on a rock, but Pierre eventually managed to (carefully and prayerfully) chisel it free. It’s so much different to the other small crystals, that we think it may very well be a once-off specimen! The group rests on a matrix made up of many tiny quartz crystals, and it is a miracle that it did not break when we took it out! Below are photographs of it as and where we found it, followed by a photograph of the cleaned specimen.

The pocket in which we found the faden quartz crystals

Specimen SWCC 005, where it's stuck on a solid rock ...

...at last it's free!

SWCC 005, after it has been cleaned!

In another place (like a miniature cave) we also found two lovely clusters (SWCC 001 and SWCC 004 on our Western Cape Page). SWCC 001 has one small (but prominently placed) crystal with a very distinct faden line. Here are photographs of the small cavity in which we found it (and its surroundings), and just as we got it out, followed by the photograph of after we had cleaned it. This is followed by SWCC 004.

Rocks and shrubs in the mountains, just above the pocket (below)...

... which yielded ...

... this lovely cluster (above and below), SWCC 001

... and SWCC 004

About three weeks ago we went crystal hunting again, and found a small pocket where it was very wet. The water kept oozing from the pocket and its surroundings, and I soon realized that it was very difficult to feel for crystals in the soggy patch with gloves on, so I took them off. A few times I felt the sharp edges cut me, but it didn't bother me much. I was enjoying finding the crystals, and that was exciting. By the time we had to leave, I was rather muddy, and only realized how many cuts and grazes my hands had, after we got home and I had cleaned up. They were quite sore for several days! But it was worth it – I got, among others, a lovely cluster, SWCC 010.

Nice and muddy, like in childhood days

The perils of mining crystals without gloves ...

... but worth my while, finding the above specimen, SWCC 010,

... in this very wet pocket

We enjoy the mountain scenery and all the beautiful plants, especially now that the winter is over.

Some plants thrive in moisture ...

... whilst others need very little water

Interesting sandstone formations

Rock overhang silhouetted against the blue sky

Thank you for taking the time to read this contribution. I hope that you can visualize the joy and peace we experience when walking the mountains in search for crystals, and enjoying God’s creation all around us.

Riana

OUR SANDSTORM EXPERIENCE

2011-05-02T10:34:00.000-07:00

I should have written this long ago, soon after it happened, but it’s no wonder that the saying goes, “Procrastination is the thief of time …” Now it's already 4 months later, but I guess, still worth sharing.

On 31 December 2010 we started feeling panicky / agitated, because we could see preparations for a massive New Year’s Eve celebration, right across the street from our home. We hate loud music, and especially the madness that usually accompanies it, with people shouting, yelling, and cars racing down the street. The anticipation gave us a claustrophobic feeling, so we grabbed a few essentials and by about 5.30 pm we were on our way to the Roggeveld, a vastly open, semi-desert space, that starts about 50 km from our home, but we traveled a total of 107 km before we eventually stopped, because we decided to make it more pleasurable by looking for gypsum and calcite too. Along the way we stopped for a few minutes to look for quartz crystals, because there were many promising areas, but we found only a few tiny ones.

We arrived at the abandoned roadworks quarry at about 7 pm, with a very strong westerly wind blowing. We decided to first look for gypsum while it was still light, before pitching our tent. There were only a few dark clouds in the sky. After a while we suddenly realized that the wind had ceased. There was awesome silence (the Roggeveld must be one of the most quiet places on Earth, being so remote), and for a few minutes we enjoyed it, and proceeded looking for gypsum. Then the wind picked up again, but this time it came from a north-easterly direction. Suddenly Pierre shouted to me to run for the car, and then I saw a huge dust- / sandstorm, like a brown wall, coming towards us.

Pierre was about 20 metres ahead of me when the wall of sand / dust hit us, and for a few moments we were so engulfed in the sand and dust, that I couldn’t even see him. The wind was terribly strong, and I thought I was going to be swept off my feet! We jumped into the car (opening the door on the side away from the onslaught) and were releaved when we could shut the door. There was sand and dust all around us, and the wind was terribly strong, and the way our car shook, had us fear that it might be overturned. So Pierre then parked the car about 90 degrees to the left, so we’d be parked facing the same direction as the wind, which helped.

The sandstorm was followed by a thunderstorm and heavy rain, and within about 50 minutes from the onset of the sandstorm, the ground was covered with puddles of water, and lots of clay and mud. (The next day we struggled to get the car dislodged from it!) There was definitely no chance of us pitching our tent, and we were glad that we hadn’t done so earlier, because it would probably have been blown away or, at least, soaked.

Within a few minutes we could hear numerous little waterfalls, where the gush of water had washed away topsoil from the sides of the quarry, and then ran down into it. These little waterfalls lasted only about two hours or so, then the sound subsided.

We spent the night quite uncomfortably, because our camping gear was stashed in the back of our hatchback car, but we could put our seats back. Unfortunately many mosquitoes invited themselves, and their buzzing and tickling kept us awake most of the night. It seemed like our insect repellant was not tough enough for these Roggeveld mossies! Yet we enjoyed the absence of manmade town and city noise, as well as the lovely, fresh, unpolluted air and I spent literally hours gazing at the beautiful starlit sky, and my binoculars came in very handy in this respect.

Eventually we did fall asleep, and the next morning we awoke to a beautiful sunrise. Initially there were clouds in the sky, but very soon they disappeared and the hot sun took its place. After a quick breakfast, we went about our business scratching around for calcite and gypsum specimens. Where we had heard the little waterfalls after the storm, we then saw that many seams, containing gypsum, had been exposed. It was lovely to see these specimens, but unfortunately (especially because the ground was still moist from the rain) it was extremely soft, and we only managed to get a few pieces intact. We also found cavities, lined with beautiful dogtooth calcite crystals and Pierre found a few crystals, which we couldn’t identify positively.

It gets very hot in summer, and we were armed with suntan lotion and hats. But we did not expect the mosquitoes to bite us in the middle of a hot day! They caught us quite off-guard!

There was quite a big pool at the bottom of the quarry, after all the water that had gushed into it the previous night. At a stage we rinsed our hands in this water, but it felt very strange. When they dried, our hands were covered with a coating of gypsum powder! We quickly rinsed them off with fresh water, which we had brought along, to prevent them from drying out too much!

Later that afternoon, on our way back, we again enjoyed rain in the Roggeveld, with puddles of water and bubbling rivulets alongside the road, and water streaming across the road in many places. It was an exhilirating feeling, especially knowing that we were in a semi-desert area!

By the time we got back to Ceres, the New Year’s madness had worn off, and we enjoyed being home, and sleeping properly that night. But all-in-all, we had a lovely transition from 2010 to 2011. We just love quietness and Nature!

We hope that you will enjoy the following photographs with us.

Riana

The Roggeveld - a vastly open and remote place.
We found a few tiny quartz crystals near the road.

Pierre found a few crystals in this rock

Sunset in the Roggeveld, 31/12/10

Riana (black speck on the left against
the quarry wall) looking for crystals

The wall of sand

The sandstorm has just passed ...

Rain on our windscreen ...

Puddles of water and mud / clay everywhere!

Sunrise over the quarry, 1/1/11.

Cavities lined with dogtooth calcite crystals

Crystals from a mineral we cannot identify

Lovely gypsum crystals in layers of shale

More gypsum crystals

Pool of water in the quarry after the storm (left)
& Pierre removes a crystal from a rock (front)

A crystal we cannot identify

Exposed seams on the quarry walls
where we found gypsum crystals

Water streaming across the road

Everything is nice and wet!

The Amazing Brandberg and its Stunning Mineral Specimens

2010-12-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

It is commonly accepted that the most beautiful quartz and prehnite specimens come from the Brandberg and nearby hills. Lately topaz, in a variety of colours, some weighing several kilograms, have been discovered, as well as aquamarine and tourmaline. In addition to these, beautiful calcite, epidote, green garnet and a number of lesser known mineral specimens are found in the immediate vicinity.

Even though the Brandberg mineral specimens are fairly well known, I do not think that most people have fully come to realize just how special they really are. I have seen quartz specimens from all over the world and even though there are many really nice specimens, none can match the best from Brandberg. The Brandberg area is quite a vast area and in this article I want to concentrate on the South Western side of the Brandberg where the quartz, prehnite, calcite and epidote specimens are mined. This area, a range of hills and small mountains, are known to collectors as Tafelkop and Goboboseb, and lies about 15 km from the Brandberg itself. The closest town, about 80 km to the Eastern side of Tafelkop, is a small mining town called Uis (the Damara word meaning 'bitter water', referring to the quality of water at Uis). The road from Uis to Brandberg is a sand road and mostly not fit for standard vehicles. The local mineral specimen miners, comprising of Damaras, Hereroes and Ovamboes as well as a few Europeans, mostly live in Uis and travel to and fro and sometimes live in the desert in makeshift shelters for weeks at a time 'till they have enough specimens to sell, either to mineral dealers or tourists.

A regular miner, Lori Raaths (the famous Namib cowboy), one of the very first to mine for the beautiful Brandberg crystals, told me that when he started mining the crystals, he found them lying on top of the ground. He and his wife, three sons and daughter, lived in the desert for a number of years, but now reside in Uis. When I visited Goboboseb in 2006, there were already over 200 mineral specimen miners just in that area alone. Because of the increasing difficulty of mining in that area, the number of miners have dwindled considerably. Besides the scorching heat (often over 40º Celsius), there is a shortage of water, no guarantee of success (you can mine for weeks without getting anything worthwhile), and the mining method is extreme: 10 pound hammers, large masonry chissels and hard basalt rock. Being a quartz miner myself, I know what drives them. To open a pocket of Brandberg crystals must be an addiction second to none, and you stand the slim chance of finding a pocket of crystals worth several thousands of dollars. I remember one December, while visiting the mining area at Goboboseb, I gave an Ovambo man a lift back to Uis. His foot was swollen from a mining accident. He was discouraged and have been mining for weeks without success. I dropped him off at the clinic at Uis and left. About a week or so afterwards, I had a surprise visit from this very same person. He had quickly recovered from his injury, gone back to the diggings and found a lovely pocket worth quite a few thousand dollars, and that just before Christmas! He offered me some really nice crystals at very good prices. My dollars were getting a bit thin so I bought a few crystals and declined a beautiful large, double terminated specimen that, even though he offered it to me at about half price, was still above my budget. We have since occasionally had the chance to buy really top specimens, but they can be very expensive and we are not in that retail bracket yet. Brandberg crystals of quality, that are large, are rare and usually very expensive. We have seen a few crystals that would easily retail for US $ 20 000 +! Next time when you see a nice quartz or other mineral specimen from Brandberg, and you wonder why it is relatively expensive, you will know that they are not just the best, but are also not easily found. There are a few European miners that are using dynamite and digger loaders, but they are destroying pockets and those quartz specimens that do survive, are often cracked. I am not in favour of this method. Even this method is very costly and, thank goodness, limited.

The very first Brandberg crystals that I ever purchased were from a fellow dealer, Reine Ackermann, and I have never looked back. We still get just as excited today while viewing Brandberg crystals, as then. The appreciation of Brandberg crystals and other mineral specimens from this area, should be accompanied by one's appreciation for those who make a living in providing us with these beauties. There are those who exploit these miners, but in doing so they show no respect for these hardworking and often, poor, people. When I first visited Uis, I stayed there for a good while and spent most of my time in the location, befriending the local miners. Getting to know these lovely people, has aided Riana and I in purchasing specimens (which are not always easy to buy) on the last number of visits to Uis.

Pierre

A large quartz specimen weighing more than 3 kg. (Sold)

 

A stunning sceptre. (Sold)

A large quartz crystal offered to us for sale and
even though it was a very good price, it was outside our budget.

Me on the right, with the famous Namib cowboy.

A very perculiarly shaped quartz crystal.

One of our best Brandberg crystals as seen on our website.

 

A beautiful large smoky quartz crystal that appears on our website.

A stunning, rare, amethyst quartz crystal that appears on our website.

A beautiful amethyst semi-sceptre that appears on our website.

An aerial photograph of a famous beacon on the Brandberg.

An aerial shot of the Brandberg, facing West.

Our Ovambo friend and his brother, digging in the background.

A footpath leads to a mining village at Goboboseb, 2006.

Another shot of a mining village at Goboboseb, 2006.

This is how it is done - 2006.

A few temporary shacks with the quartz-bearing background, 2006.

In the mining village at Goboboseb, 2006.

Christmas day 2006, somewhere in the Namib desert, digging for 'music' crystals.

An aerial photo of the Brandberg, taken by the late Nico van Dyk.

An aerial photo of the Brandberg, taken by the late Nico van Dyk.
Note the green desert after good rains!

An aerial photo of the Brandberg, taken by the late Nico van Dyk.

An aerial photo of Uis, taken by the late Nico van Dyk.

An aerial photo of the Brandberg, taken by the late Nico van Dyk.

Springtime in the Mountains around Ceres

2010-11-08T03:32:00.000-08:00

Although Springtime is just about over, and we’re more into summer now, I would still love to share the beauty of Springtime in our surroundings with you. These photographs will give you a glimpse of the scenery we have the privilege of enjoying each time we go for a walk in the mountains.

Early Spring is the most spectacular, because then there are still numerous little streams of water syphering from the mountain (after our winter rains), and giving the little flowers ample opportunity to flourish on the damp mountainside. Then it’s often difficult to walk, because we have to tread so carefully not to trample them under our feet!

When we walk up the mountain early morning, all the flowers are open, with most of their faces turned towards the sun. When the sun goes down, and darkness approach, their fragile petals fold away neatly, to cover their crowns … just to open again the next day at sunrise. Some of these flowers are minute – yet they are perfect! Another way that we can witness God’s glory and perfect design in His creation!

Sometimes we see (and often hear) the baboons; the closest they came so far, was about 15 metres from us. We enjoy seeing them, but do not encourage them to come any closer.

Even in winter time, with most of the flowers at rest, we can still enjoy the beauty of the fascinating rock formations. We never get tired of these lovely mountains, and try to walk there at least once a week.

Riana

Beautiful little flowers, growing very close to the ground

Some of the larger shrubs on the mountain slopes

Interesting rock formation

Insect catcher plant - note the sticky droplets

Small cave in a rock overhang

Delicate floral beauty

Tiny flowers growing in a bit of soil in the rocks

Insect catcher plants

Small bell-like flowers

"Deep Thinker" rock

What's going on out there?

Let me investigate!

Very high rock pillars

Mountain greenery

Tiny pink flowers winding their thin stem around a stick

The baby baboon gets a ride on its mother's back

Flowers growing in rock crevices

Floral splendour

Lovely rock formations

Overlooking a part of the agricultural area of Ceres

Hundreds of little flowers on the moist mountain slopes

We have to tread so carefully not to trample the little flowers!

Searching for Crystals in the Scenic Western Cape Mountains

2010-08-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

For a good many years, we have been driving to farms in the mountains, mostly Villiersdorp, Worcester and Ceres, to search for quartz crystals. Quartz crystals from these areas, are mostly milky to clear, with a few places yielding smoky crystals. Single crystals rarely exceed 100 mm, while most crystals found are smaller than 30 mm. Some of the small crystals are as bright and gemmy as they come, while some of the smokies are of very high quality. The crystals are not easy to find and requires a lot of walking, sometimes up steep mountain slopes. We have discovered some crystal deposits that are very promising, but also very hard to get to.

Some of the places where we dig can be accessed by motorcar on farm land. We are eternally grateful to generous farm owners, who grant permission to dig for crystals.

About 9 months ago we moved to Ceres, a town situated in the mountains, about 120 km drive from Cape Town. Ceres is surrounded by mountains and farms and we regularly walk in the mountains, trout fishing or looking for crystals.

When searching for crystals, we firstly search for quartz veins, that are usually snow white. Once such veins are found, we look for tell-tale sighns of quartz crystals. More than often there is none, but with persistence, some nice pockets of crystals are discovered. One such pocket recently yielded about 15 kg of crystals, but most pockets are much smaller and only a small percentage of the crystals are of good quality. One of the best pockets that we found, was about the size of a man's head, and of very high quality.

My nephew and I digging for crystals on a farm

I found a nice pocket in mid-winter

Riana removes smoky quartz crystals just beneath the surface

Some lovely smokies exposed

A lovely find of (unwashed) crystals from the above pocket

Riana found a lovely smoky

Digging's the name of the game!

Lovely scenery near the place we found crystals

We found a good pocket high up in the mountains

Lovely crystals

A pretty quartz cluster

Digging for crystals in a remote area

Lovely female quartz crystal

Part of our scenic climb to get to the crystals

Pretty semi-sceptre

A gemmy little crystal group

Pretty crystal on quartz matrix

Our Vredendal Trip, March 2010.

2010-08-14T03:12:00.000-07:00

We were more than 30 club members who met at the gates of the lime quarry a few kilometeres outside Vredendal early on Saturday morning. After the usual briefing and signing of indemnity forms, everyone started their long-awaited search for crystals. (Access to this mine is closed to the public, and only club members may go with the club about twice a year.)

I found a few crystals in a red clay wall, while Pierre went on to the main mining area, where he found a pocket of quartz crystals within about 5 minutes. The pocket extended about 2m into the rock face. Pierre marked his pocket, then came and called me, where I was still finding only a few, isolated, crystals. (He always does the hard work, then allows me to join in the fun of removing the specimens from his pockets!) At some point in time, there must have been a flush of water that came through the pocket which removed the original soft, yellow clay, and deposited a brown, harder clay. Quite a few of the crystals were embedded in this type of clay. There have obviously also been some movement in the pocket somewhere in the past, because a number of the bigger crystals were badly broken. Still we removed quite a few beautiful crystals from this pocket.

We also ventured to the hills where we have previously found some nice smokies. These crystals were embedded in very hard clay, and we had to make use of a pick to break the ground. The hard work paid off, and we found some lovely smoky quartz crystals. I even found and retrieved my very own, good sized smokie!

We camped for two nights at the mine, and left by midday on the Monday of the long week-end. When we got home, after about 2½ hours on the road, a refreshing shower was at the top of our priority list - a vital necessity after having camped and mined for 2½ days without any facilities or running water ...

Riana

The pocket, extending about 2m into the rock face.

A pick is needed to break through the very hard clay

Searching for crystals

Some crystals were embedded in brown clay

Lovely, double terminated smoky

A lovely quartz cluster

Single quartz crystal with iron oxide coating

A pocket found!

Double terminated, flat, quartz crystal.

Beautiful quartz crystals with rutile, on feldspar matrix

A lovely quartz cluster

Our Trip to Vredendal, August 2009.

2010-08-14T02:51:00.000-07:00

We went with about 40 or so club members. Everybody met there on Saturday morning, and only left on the Monday afternoon.

It must be the most enjoyable trip we ever had to Vredendal! It was also the least productive, crystal-wise, because the miners have blasted since we were last there, and have destroyed many cliff faces. There were piles of rock-rubble where we've previously found beautiful crystals!

The chaos on the mine forced us to explore and we saw many beautiful flowers and new areas that we have never seen before. We found some real smoky crystals up to 1 kg and some crystals with lots of green chlorite inclusions. In total we found about 2 shoe boxes of crystals that we collected from 7 different areas on the mine.

The company from all our club family was wonderful and the weather was good.

Pierre

Our camping site - with absolutely no facilities ...... back to basics!

Our camping site from another angle

What's left of our previously good rock cliffs ...

Pierre removing green phantom quartz from a little gulley

A lovely smoky weighing 1 kg

A lovely smoky quartz crystal

Riana pointing to a lovely smoky quartz
crystal sitting in a clay wall

Flowers in the field on the mining grounds

Our trip to Namibia, January 2009

2010-08-14T02:31:00.000-07:00

We left Somerset West on the morning of Thursday the 15th, and crossed the Namibian border at Vioolsdrif late that afternoon. We spent the night at Grünau, and had to combat hundreds of small flying beetles before we could eventually settle for the night. The next morning we resumed our journey (with the road apparently stretching endlessly ahead of us) and encountered a cloudburst and terrible storm as we passed Windhoek, which left us with a cracked windscreen. We reached Karibib early that evening, and pitched our tent at a camping site.

Saturday we drove about 18 km to Namdeb, also known as Neu Schwaben (because of the Neu Schwaben mine, about 3 km further). One of the local residents told us that the original name was Tjomtjas, meaning "to clean with saliva" - the method they often used when quickly wanting to see the quality of the stones, since they don't have much water. We spent about 5 hours there, looking at all the stones the people had for sale (mostly cathedral smoky quartz and a few toumalines on matrix) and making purchaces. We found the people very friendly, and enjoyed the time we spent there, although it was quite hot that day. Eventually it became overcast. Getting back to our camp, we discovered that the bad dirt road we had travelled to Namdeb, had cost us one of our car's hub caps and damage to a head lamp protector.

On Monday morning we packed a picnic basket for the day, and made some mineral purchaces in town. There we teamed up with our friend and guide, Enrico, and drove to Usakos, some 30 km west of Karibib, where we visited the location and made many purchaces of Erongo minerals e.g. fluorite, schorl, aquamarine and quartz. On our way back we again encountered a severe storm, and at times we could hardly see the road ahead of us. Getting back to our tent, we discovered that the storm had tilted our tent (we hadn't used any storm hooks for anchoring!) and thus managed to soak our mattresses and sleeping bags! We had to pack up and eventually we rented a room for the night in a lodge in town.

Tuesday was a hot day, and our wet bedding dried quickly. We resumed our journey and visited the well known mineral stalls some 24 km outside of Usakos, where we saw some lovely mineral specimens. We only wished that we had unlimited space in our car and loads of spending money! Early afternoon we reached our furthest destination, Uis, having travelled a total of 1 980 km, and pitched our tent. The swimming pool on the camping ground was a welcome sight, and we made good use of it! We spent the next four days visiting local dealers and the location outside of Uis, making many purchaces of prehnite, quartz, fluorite etc. from the Brandberg area,and also looking up friends we hadn't seen for a few years. On Sunday we enjoyed coffee at daybreak on a hill outside of town, having been taken there by microlight aeroplane. What an experience to see the sun come up and cast its light over the majestic Brandberg!

We also met two Austrian gentlemen at the camp site, who had been lost in the desert (and already without water) a few days earlier, and had been rescued by the same microlight owner. He had taken them food and water and showed them the way out. This experience hadn't deterred their adventurous spirit, and they continued on their journey!

Early on Monday morning we made our last purchaces, and were sorry to leave this quiet little town and its friendly people. But we were very glad to leave the millions of mosquitoes behind! It was a cool, overcast day. We travelled back on a different road, the one that leads to Omaruru. Most of the roads were very quiet, sometimes we travelled up to 100 km without seeing any other vehicles! At Okahandja (where we had made our first purchaces on our way to Uis, and had experienced heavy rain) we noticed a sign saying "Okahandja - the Garden Town". This is, indeed, an apt description!

Driving through Windhoek (Namibia's capital city) on our way back, it was raining lightly. We went to the mining office to pay the due taxes on our purchaces and get the required permit. North of Keetmanshoop it was hot and still very dry, the earth almost seemed scorched. About 100 km before Grünau, we saw a massive electric storm ahead of us. We have never seen such severe and long-lasting lightning bolts before! Some 30 km further we were in the storm, and were in it for about 13 minutes, when the road swerved and took us out of it. We could still see the darkness of the raging storm behind us, and were thankful that we were out of it. We were met by a most beautiful sunset!

We again spent the night at Grünau, but this time we had to compete with small grasshoppers for space in our room! It seems like there are many more plagues of a variety of insects in the desert land! Next morning we drove the last 144 km of our trip on Namibian soil, and then crossed the border at Vioolsdrif, after having paid the due import taxes on our stones at the customs office.

At about 21h30 on Tuesday the 27th, we arrived back home in Somerset West, and thanked God for His protection. Although it had been tiring, we enjoyed our trip tremendously. We had travelled a total of 3 956 km.

Riana

Wellcome to Namibia!

Making purchaces at Namdeb

Purchasing at Usakos location

One of Karibib's special inhabitants, ± 25 cm long

The town of Karibib

Aerial view of Uis

Desert land with the Brandberg in the distance

The road stretches ahead in the vast distance ...

Spitzkoppe in the distance

Usakos mineral stalls

A special moment, being in the same picture as the Brandberg.
This picture was taken by the late Nico van Dyk.

Our Trip to the Vredendal Lime Quarry, October 2008.

2010-08-14T01:39:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had the pleasure of accompanying 26 other members of the Cape Town based mineralogical society to a lime quarry just outside Vredendal , Western Cape, South Africa. This wonderful privilege was granted to the club who visits the mine twice a year for a weekend at a time. This was the fourth time we visited this mine and we have never been disappointed. On all the visits we found many lovely crystals. I must hasten to say that it is hard work! The hard dolomite rock faces have veins filled with soft yellow clay that yields an amazing mix of feldspar, dolomite, quartz, rutile and calcite crystals. The quartz crystals vary from a few milimeters to specimens weighing up to 5 kg. We found a few specimens between 2 and 4.2 kg. All the photographs below are from our last visit.

Pierre

I have just discovered an amazing pocket

The pocket extends for about 2 metres into solid rock

One of the bigger quartz clusters removed

A quartz group with lovely red rutile needles.

Riana with a lovely quartz crystal fresh from the earth

A flat floater crystal, one of many floaters

Fellow diggers, exploring old veins and empty pockets

Our campsite at the mine

A single crystal weighing 1.7 kg

Another flat crystal floater.

Smitty and John coming to terms with a new day.

Some members have a good health insurance.

Graham and sons found

an interesting pocket of rutilated quartz

A large crystal with a coating of iron oxide

A large floater quartz crystal group