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May took me
once again into the country of
Namibia
with a group of fantastic and quite adventurous repeat guests. It was not long
ago that I was in this spectacular place, last month in fact but instead of
flying we went overland on this trip which gave a completely different
perspective and experience. Our 11 day journey began at the magnificent red sand dunes of Sossusvlei where we climbed one
of the world’s tallest sand dunes, appropriately
named “Big Daddy.” From the top there is only sand as far as the eye can see.
These red sand dunes stretch 50 kilometers from Sossusvlei all the way to the west
coast of
Namibia
.
Our next
stop was the old German town of
Swakopmund
. Here too you see beautiful rolling sand dunes, but the sand
content has changed from the oxidized iron rich sand that gives the unique red
hue at Sossusvlei to a beautiful golden color that evokes feelings of
relaxation and serenity. Those calming effects were quickly replaced by
adrenaline as we hopped onto quad bikes to explore the seemingly endless sand
dunes of Swakopmund. I always like to mention that we only quad bike on designated
tracks to protect the fragile environment of the
Namib desert
.
Being a coastal town you also have the option of getting onto the water by catamaran
and other motorized boats to enjoy the sea life. Our boat cruise included the
famous
Walvis Bay
oysters washed down by a few
glasses of bubby.
From Swakopmund
we ventured north away from civilization into the heart of Damaraland, where
for 2 days we did not see another human being. While stopping for a moment to
watch an oryx we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of a female cheetah
and her three 4-month old cubs that unfortunately did not stay in sight for
long. However, the highlight of these 2 days was spending a good part of an
hour with a herd of desert elephant in the dried out Huab River, and in
particular the 3 sub-adults playing together. The youngest of the herd didn’t
want his brother to climb up the bank of the river. Each time he ventured up
the incline the cheeky younger one pushed him back down; all in good fun of
course. It is always great to see their personalities and draw similarities to
our own behaviour as children and teens.
In the northern
part of Damaraland lies the Etendenka mountain range which provided us with great
sightings of Hartman’s mountain zebra, oryx, springbok, giraffe, kudu, hyena and a wonderful
sighting of a black rhino. The rhino apparently wanted a little bit of alone
time because once she spotted us she gave us a bit of a huff and puff and then
was on her way. This area supports the largest free roaming population of black
rhino in the world. What saved this small and rarely seen population was the
harsh environment in which they live. This was a special moment and one that we
experienced completely on our own.
The end of
our trip was spent further north in the Hourasib river in central Kaokaland.
This is Himba country and we made a stop at one of the remote Himba villages
and were greeted by the women and giggling children as the men were away
looking after the cattle. The Himba are one of the very few tribes left in
Africa that carry out a semi-nomadic lifestyle and were once regarded along
with the Massai up in
East Africa
as the wealthiest cattle herders in the world. The trip came and went far too
quickly, but each time I truly appreciate
Namibia
’s stark beauty and endless
vistas that are forever changing. The fact that it can support such large
diversity of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles and insects that are endemic under
such harsh conditions is truly amazing. I can’t wait to return.
Till next
time…
Richard
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