African Sunset Over Samfya Lake – Friday’s Weekly Travel Photo
Located in the northern part of Zambia there’s a lake that literally stretches beyond the horizon. It’s a shallow lake – often little more than four meters deep but that lack of depth does little to reduce its feel and character. In many ways it would be easy to confuse with an inland sea. Only this sea varies up to 1.5 meters in depth depending on if it is wet or dry season and is fresh water.
Our visit began late in the afternoon eager to catch the sunset after hearing that it was one of the must-see sights in the region. I’m glad we did. The Zambians had begun to burn a few weeks earlier and the sky was laden with a tolerable, but still visible, layer of smoke. The result was what you see in this photo – a sky on fire awash in rich oranges, reds, and golds. What you can’t see in this photo was the crescent moon and planet which were also brightly visible over the water during the last throes of the sunset. One of the things that really struck me was how the sky and water blended together. For about 20 minutes it was impossible to distinguish between where the calm-as-glass water met the sky….the only indications were the small boats which looked as though they were pushing their way across the clouds. A magical moment!
Would you like to see previous Friday Photos? View past travel pictures here. This photo was taken on a Canon T3i (600D)
Unbelievable sun set picture.
Greetings,
Filip
Thanks Filip! It was a magical moment! Feel free to check out some of the others in the album. I think you’ll enjoy them!
Damn Beautiful!
Thank you Dan!
Wow. Rarely can you find this awesome sun set. Job well done Alex.
Thanks Mike!
Breathtaking, Alex, and your description just piles on the atmosphere. One reason I long so much to see Africa!
Thank you Linda! Glad it added to it. The sunsets were out of this world. The fact that they do seasonal burns is rough on the lungs but amazing for the sunsets!
“One of the things that really struck me was how the sky and water blended together”
You’ve got it. Did they tell you its name, Bangweulu, means ‘where the water meets the sky’. So big and the surrounding country so flat, you get out in the middle and lose the rest of the world. And the fishermen go out with nothing but a paddle, a stick and a dugout canoe – their sense of direction must be their super-power.
I wish my photos had come out like yours.
Thanks for that information and your kind words John! It really is an amazing place. I would love to find my way back there and to make it out on a small boat at some point. I agree about the super power…talk about skills that many of us in the western world have lost! Did you find the rest of my shots form the visit in the Flickr Album?