On Pramberg

Pramberg
by Rob Millenaar.

On Pramberg

The farmer's son Mondré has been roaming the hills around here and he knew that we would enjoy a hike to the top of the Pramberg. Now, Pram is the Afrikaans word for tit and the reason for the name of the hill is obvious as it looks like a nicely formed woman's breast from a distance, complete with distinct nipple.
The hike was easy and worth the effort. Stunning views all around. I made a 360 degrees panorama from the top of the nipple, but the file is too large to post anywhere. Erosion has formed these hills over the past millions of years. The harder caprock, consisting of Dolorite, has protected the underlying softer rock until the layer becomes undercut and finally crumbles too, giving these slopes their characteristic shape.
On the top we found small pieces of quarz and, surprisingly, fragments of ostrich egg shells. Through the ages, Bushmen have used these eggs to store their water supplies in. It seems that they stored many of these on the top of this hill, where the remnants can be found to this day. Elsewhere complete eggs are found and Jan, the farmer and our host, has one intact egg in his collection.
The Karoo desert has many surprises in store for those who are willing and able to appreciate its beauty.

Rob

Hilltop Prey

Hilltop Prey
by Rob Millenaar.

Like anywhere else on the planet, life in the desert feeds the stronger creature. A cat-sized rodent, locally known as a Rock Dassie, found its end on a Karoo hilltop as a bird of prey, possibly a 'Witkruis' picked it up and devoured it here. Only the skull remained. Did it take the rest to its nest to feed offspring?

Rob

Witgat/Black Rock

Witgat/Black Rock
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

The desert is a place of many contrasts. I saw a bone dry place flooded after torrential rainfall, barren terrian, but also beautiful manifestations of life. The Witgat Tree that can be found in the arid regions of Southern Afica is such an example. The white bark contrasts with the black desert varnish that covers the rocks in this part of the Karoo Desert. It is hard to capture the black and white in one image.

Rob

Quiver Tree

Quiver Tree
by Rob Millenaar.

Quiver Tree, Kokerboom, Aloe Dichotoma

The Karoo desert holds many surprises, one of which is the beautiful Quiver Tree. The name derives from the Bushman's habit of making quivers for their arrows, by hollowing out the trunks. The soft inner fiber can easily be removed.
On a nearby hillside we see many of these majestic trees. Tapping the trunk of a live one brings out the sound of a heavy, sturdy object, full of water. The trunk of a dead one is feather light. The hike to the trees was worth the effort. Standing among these pre-historic wonders, surrounded by the empty desert, brings home the relatively brief time that man has walked among them.

A quick search on the web yields this informative site on the Quiver Tree:
http://www.livingdesert.org/plants/quiver_tree.asp

Rob

Sit back...

Sit back...
Originally uploaded by Rob Millenaar.

As evening comes, the sunset invites me to sit back and relax; take the scenery in. Despite the emptiness around here in the South African Karoo, there is so much to see. Early in the morning small birds fly, in the heat of the day lizards, beetles and dragonflies move about and the evening brings out other creatures. Swarms of moths are attracted by our lights.

Rob

In awe

In awe
By Rob Millenaar.

Karoo Thunder

The day is warm and dry in the Karoo, but in the morning signs of high cumulus castellanus were visible. Many times these harbingers bring what they promise: Thunderstorm.

The end of the afternoon comes with thickening clouds and thunder can be heard in the distance. Later, on the western horizon lightning can be seen as rain gushes down on the desert. Still far behind the mountains there seems to be no need to hurry to get the equipment safely switched off and tied down. In less than 15 minutes the clouds gather from all sides and the storm is upon us. Lightning all around and the wind picks up dramatically. The rain is not here yet but we see it coming rapidly. As the sun gets lower the scenery changes into drama I've never witnessed before. The empty deset bathes in an eery light and towards the mountains an awesome sunset unfolds.

Rob

Test station in the desert

Test station in the desert
By Rob Millenaar.

A week ago now, I travelled to South Africa. In the months ahead my job will take me to some interesting places around the world, and the first stop is in SA. I'm here to do radio measurements in the field. The 'field' in this case is the middle of the Karoo desert, a dry and empty place, very suitable for building a new kind of radio telescope: the Square Kilometre Array or SKA. There are more of such empty places on the globe and it is our job to find out which one is the radio-quietest.
In the past week we travelled from Johannesburg to the guest institute at Hartebeesthoek (Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Organization, HartRAO). From there we went for a 1000 km drive to the Karoo, taking our equipment with us in a trailer. At the site the antennas and receivers were set up and measurements started.
The colleagues have been telling us that the Karoo is bone dry and getting dryer now that the rainy season is over, as Autumn on the Southern hemisphere sets in. The second day in the desert we were surprised by torrential rain however, flooding large areas of the desert plane, and filling gulches and trail tracks. All-terrain vehicles are an absolute must in these conditions, and even these can get stuck in the mud, as we foud out. This first week brought us rain, sun, and strong winds. The desert looks beautiful and the weeks ahead promise to have much in store for us.

Rob