On a deserted road in Namibia, we came across this old rusted vehicle on the side of the road. It was a sight which would be repeated a number of times in our travels there, and got me to wondering how the vehicle got there and why was it left there.
Did it break down on that spot and was deemed too broken to fix? Was it put there by somebody who thought it would amuse passers by and inspire photographers? Was it stripped of its fittings and tires – or did those weather away in the harsh environment?
Most of the vehicles left in the desert were very old model cars and trucks, which made me think they were deliberately put there as a kind of decoration – as if the desert was too empty without some sign of a human presence.
©WMB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
©WMB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
©WMB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
Watch this short video with the sound turned on . . .
At a small settlement known as Solitaire (more about that in a later post), we came across a small collection of these rusted old vehicles. Not exactly good advertising for the garage and workshop nearby!
©WMB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
©WMB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
And then sometimes on a deserted road, you will come across some other sign of human habitation which is far more reassuring!
Aren’t ALL emergencies unexpected?! ©LB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
This post is part of a series I will be publishing about our travels through Namibia. It is also part of my daily posts for October 2016 – otherwise known as The October Dash
Notes from Africa 
Haha! I love the sign – great name for a repair shop! Perhaps the ‘unexpected’ doesn’t refer to the ’emergency’ itself, but to the fact that you don’t expect to find someone who can fix your car in such an isolated area? 🙂
I’ve also seen those abandoned old vintage cars by the roadside, and wondered how they ended up there… Some are obviously car wrecks, but these ones don’t look like they’ve been in accidents, they look more like they ran out of ‘steam’ or like the owners couldn’t find the spare parts anymore…. They make great photographic motifs, hey?
BTW, in the video, was that the fan being turned by the wind?
Ah, I didn’t read it as the name of a repair shop, so you could just be right! 🙂 It certainly was an unexpected place to find that kind of assistance.
Yes, it was the truck fan being turned by the wind. The only part of the truck still capable of movement!
Smile at the repair shop ‘advertisement’ of course but my innate sense of neatness, I suppose, makes me wish that beautiful nature pristine and the corpses towed away . . . interesting, but somehow sad . . .
Yes I agree, nature would be better off without the rusted vehicles.
Awesome that the fan still works, now all you need is the fan belt…and tires..and an engine. 🙂 Interesting shots, thanks for sharing.
Yes, it does need a little more work to make it roadworthy! 🙂 Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
I agree about not having the old vehicles in the desert, but I imagine these items are few and far between in the immensity of the desert spaces. Interesting how they become objects of interest, simply because they don’t really belong there. I love the fact that the truck fan still rotated! I imagine that abadonned vehicles are quickly stripped of all useful bits to be used as spare parts. I bet there is a long wait for parts to be sent in for repairs!
You’re right of course, there aren’t that many wrecks lying about in the desert. There was one little settlement – which I’ll be writing about in a future post – where there were a number of wrecks in one place.