Photo Safari, Himba villages, desert and other

"A country wants us, even if only for the taste to go away"
Cesare Pavese from "The moon and the bonfire"

Starting escape from the daily activity and to trying to appease the thirst for knowledge continuing to meet new peoples and new ethnic groups, to satisfy the curiosity to see different places, but always with the conviction of return... for the sake of leaving again as soon as possible!
So I start to search a new country to visit, with these thoughts in my head. Many places deserve a trip, and every time that you focus on one there is also the regret to deny or postpone the visit to everyone else. A decision should even been taken: this is the time of Namibia.

 

Windhoek

Namibia, located in the south of the African continent, is a young country because only since 1992 has gained independence. In mid-seventeenth century Dutch settlers who landed on its coast together with European customs of that time, brought even a particular idiom of Germanic mould, similar to Dutch. This language, over the years, was influenced by that of other German settlers. The result was the birth of a new language, further amended over the years: the afrikaans, which in 1914 became the official language used by schools.
At midday (13:00 in Italy), August 9, with my other travelling companions, I land in Windhoek, the capital. Since aboard the plane the landscape surrounding the airport looks like a huge desert savannah with rare plants thorny interrupted, only in the distance, from some small mountainous reliefs.
Now we have the first surprise: Jonny's luggage does not arrive and two other travelling companions landed to Joannesburg because the plane was full; they will arrive, we hope, at about 20:30. We booked three off-roads, but they will not be available until Saturday 11, because of a withdrawal. After many discussions, perhaps, we will have them tomorrow, so it remains only to reach the city with taxis.
Located at an altitude of 1660 meters, Windhoek is a quiet ordered town, elegant and atypical compared to other African capitals. With about 160.000 inhabitants belonging to different ethnic groups, Windhoek is the most populated city in Namibia. The pleasant feeling that remains, even after a brief visit, is that of his smooth sky, ordered avenues and gardens with perfectly cut grass; new and rare skyscrapers surround typical Germanic architecture styled houses. Really there is not so much to see, but Windhoek is a great base camp useful to prepare and make plans for our trip and, inevitably, a nice point of return.

Waterberg Plateau

The off-road are nat available again, but fortunately we obtain a van with driver that will bring us to our first destination: the Waterberg plateau in the north of the country. The 4x4 will be delivered the day after. Finally at 14:00, of August 10th, we can start the first part of the road wich is pretty monotonous: tarmac, always in the middle of a huge plain. When driver diverts from the main road and gets in a dirt track, the landscape becomes even more interesting; distant Waterberg chain appears in all its vitality as we meet the first animals, including several warthogs and a cheetah lying in the middle of the track; at our arrival, this lazy one rises and leaves slowly.
The Waterberg plateau is a plateau with two long regular sides close to each other about 50 kms long, and two others even more close and irregular, with a lenght between 8 and 20 kms. It is clearly visible from the surrounding plains despite the height, only 150 meters, not significant. The beauty of the place is given by the overhanging walls that are thrown down to the entire perimeter of the rocky formation. The region, inhabited since remote times, was the scene of harsh fightings, during the German colonial army shipments, with indigenous peoples. The first whites to settle in the area were German missionaries, but the distrust of the indigenous made religious to desist and give up.
The morning, after our arrival, we make an excursion on the top of the Plateau to admire the sunrise. After some initial uncertainty guidance due to darkness, finally we find the right path and arrive at the top of the Plateau at 6:15. The dawn is beautiful: rocks become gradually a brick-like red color and intense gaze sweeps up on the plains below the horizon.

Etosha National Park

At 10:00 we start again with the bus. We meet at Otjiwarongo for the withdrawal of the desired three jeeps; finally at 12:00 we are able to drive them! The journey continues heading to Etosha National Park (namely the entrance of Namutoni) where we arrive at 17:00. Here we find a pleasant a surprise: baggage of Jonny arrived. Once set our field, at dusk, we have the first of the many indescribable and fascinating encounters with animals, because of this park is known. A group of giraffes reaches the puddle of water ("water hole") for the evening drink, located in the vicinity of our field. With the darkness, the figure of giraffe in first sight, with the red fireball of the sun which is going down, forms a landscape that seems unreal. Only in some naturalistic documentary I have seen a spectacle like this.
The Etosha National Park is located in an area that certainly looks like Africa was before the first arrival of man: savannahs, glades, salty lakes, but especially thousands of animals, which live in the beautiful and cruel harmony that nature requires. Each day the cycle of life repeats, characterized by struggles for supremacy and for coupling, migrations, months of drought alternate with rainy periods. This cycle is interrupted only around the puddles of water for a few minutes in which each animal satisfies his thirst, in mutual respect, but with the awareness that time is short and, immediately after, the cycle will resume, and with it the life, the struggle for food and territory that thousands of animals face continuously every day, now, as from dawn of times, in the savannahs of Etosha desert.
My personal impression is that the three nights and two days passed inside the park, alone worth the entire trip to Namibia. The field of Namutoni, where we spent the first night, is the historical park: produced within a fortress built at the beginning of the twentieth century by German colonial troops and open to the public in 1958, after having been used for years as police station.
During the second day of stay in the park we transferred to the field of Halali, not directly but driving on the various tracks and visiting many ponds where animals go to drink. The camp was inaugurated in 1967, in the central area of the park. The structure is less impressive than that of Namutoni but is in a particular area of the park, where the usual horizon plain is moved by some hills. During the trip, especially in the vicinity of water sources, you can admire dozens of giraffes, zebras, gnus, elephants, several species of antelope and many varieties of birds that make nest on the branches of trees. The pond is certainly more impressive than Goas, lying twenty Kms far from Halali, inside a flat surrounded by spread vegetation. The whole area is strewn with rocks and large sharp stones, but this does not prevent hundreds of animals to approach the pond.

Etosha Pan

Heart of the park is the expanse of Etosha Pan that we visit during the day. The Etosha Pan is a huge flat area of about 4700 km², completely covered with salt, which extends northwards of the main runway. There are puddles of water that have formed over the years along its southern side.
The basin, once a giant lake fed by waters from the river Kunene, was later the subject of tectonic and climatic upheavals that changed its position in relation to the aquifers, making it appear as it is nowadays. It is seasonally affected by an influx of irregular water, but the phenomenon of evaporation (particularly incisive) makes it totally dry for many months of the year. During dry periods, following the evaporation of water, on its base forms a white crust of salt that, covering the surface of dry dock, creates an unreal atmosphere in the heart of the savannah.
Departure at 9:00 for the last field of the park: Okaukuejo. It is the oldest field in the park, having been opened in 1957, and is home to the administrative centre of Etosha National Park. The flagship of this field is the enchanting puddle of water situated on its edges, separated by a wall from which, comfortably seated, anyone can admire the animals drinking. At night with lights on the whole area is illuminate, but this does not seem to disturb the animals that constantly travel here to drink: elephants, hyenaes, rhinos alternate to no more than 10 metres away from observation points.

Himba Villages

Today we leave the park and head towards north, to Opuwo, the capital of Kaokoveld where we come at 17:00. Opuwo is situated at the beginning of the territory inhabited by Himba tribes and does not offer anything particularly attractive. It is useful only as a stage for a period sufficient to organize themselves to go further, within Himba territories. Many Himbas still live in the city, together with the population of Herero tribe, but have lost most of their traditions. Tourism, although came only in small doses, already shattered the atmosphere that Opuwo had until few years ago. Fortunately we are still far from what it could become if it shifts to mass tourism. At short distance, just beyond the outskirts of the city, in the middle of Himba territory, there is the real Africa, far from "civilization" and consumerism.
Here begins the real visit to the region of the Kaokoveld, when you are away from Opuwo, and when you cross the incredibly dusty and disconnected tracks that lead further northwards, towards the Kunene river and Epupa Falls. Here, along tracks, Himba groups appear from nowhere. Women and children, mainly to protect the skin from the sun, apply on body and hair red clay that makes their skin reddish: their appearance is totally different from other African ethnic groups. You can stop and, in change for some small gifts, do photos without offending the dignity of this people that has amazingly been able to maintain their ancient traditions to the present day.

Epupa Falls

The more suggestive zone into the wild Kaokoveld region is certainly the one placed on a strip of land that is even the last strip of Namibia near border with Angola.
It is the zone of the Kunene river and its waterfalls, the Epupa Falls. At the waterfalls we assembled our field.
Epupa Falls (which in herero dialect means "falling water") have a length of about 2 km and their water falls from an overall height of over 65 meters, with several jumps of different heights, the highest of which is 38 metres. The calm streams of water placed above waterfalls, invite the visitor to a restaurant bathroom, partly because the temperature is always high, but attention must be payed to currents that away from the bank, are always very strong.
We dedicate the afternoon to the exploration of the river, following a path that runs along the downhill. At the end of the waterfalls the shape of the river bends with beautiful beaches formed by a particularly fine sand. On the opposite bank you see an uninterrupted succession of hills that are in Angolan territory.

Twyfelfontein

After having admired sunrise on waterfalls, around 10:00 we start to go southwards. An overnight stay in Opuwo and then we proceed to the city of Twyfelfontein in Damaraland. The stage presents magnificent landscapes; after crossing the plains immense spaces, near Twyfelfontein, we can see, watching at the horizon, the figure of the massive Brandberg that, with its 2606 meters high, is the highest peak in Namibia.
Twyfelfontein is the most interesting city of the region, from archaeological point of view, because of the presence of stone carvings dating back to 5000-6000 years ago. These recordings were maintained perfectly distinguishable despite millennia passed. They depict scenes of everyday life and hunting; there are also animal figures which today live only into savannas, as elephants, lions and giraffes, clear testimony of their presence in the area in remote eras.
We visit the site of stone carvings in the late afternoon, with the sun already low on the horizon. Crossing the paths within the archaeological area we admire incisions on red coloured rocks, because of the fall of the sun, a scenery that infuses deep emotions in visitors for the charm and peace that these places give off.
The next morning, August 18, we leave Twyfelfontein for the Skeleton Coast, to visit the petrified forest ("Versteende Woud"), which is located nearby and reported by a roadsign. In this area there is an expanse of petrified tree trunks dating back 250 million years ago, probably transported to this site from a full river. About 60 trunks are clearly visible, some with a length of over 25 metres.

Skeleton Coast

After a few problems due to a car lost somewhere with his crew, at 11:00, we direct to the Skeleton Coast and Henties Bay. Passed the entry gate, which is a few dozen kilometers from the ocean, the landscape changes radically: savannah turns into desert of sand dunes lasting until the sea is reached. Once on the coast I remain fascinated by the ocean view, always tumultuous, with enormous waves, under a gloomy sky and permanently beaten by a very cold wind.
The name of park and coast comes from the amount of ship wrecks that over the years were found in the area. The sandy coasts, always covered by fog that rises from them, have been for decades the nightmare of the sailors who saw their ships going aground into the low seabed without possibility of escape. Even today there are many of these wrecks, rusted and invaded by sand.
Along the road that runs alongside the ocean we have a break to visit the colony of sea lions standing at Cape Cross, a place interesting yet from natural and historical point of view. In this colony there are thousands of sea lions passing most of the day in water, hunting fish and managing to withstand ocean low temperatures thanks to the fur insulation that is under the first layer of hair. This fur, in addition to being waterproof, retains the air and maintains the body temperature above 36°C.
The thousands of seals lying at the sun to dry, mothers caring their small puppies, also continuously hunting fish into the ocean waves, offer an invaluable and unique spectacle.
But Cape Cross is not only interesting from the naturalistic point of view but also from the historical one. Here, in 1486, Diogo Cao (a Portuguese navigator), landed in search of the street for indies, reaching latitudes never touched by a white person before. Here Cao posed (in memory of, and witness to the Portuguese possession of the site) a "padrao" (milestone carved) and a cross stone bearing inscriptions, as the Portuguese used to leave when new territories were discovered by them.

Spitzkoppe

Today, August 19th, we transfer to the Spitzkoppe foothills: a huge volcanic origins complex of granite with a name of clear German derivation. This great mountain, with its 1729 meters height, is visible from several kilometers away and rises from the flat and desolate plain. The mountainous complex, formed by a multitude of curious rock formations, becomes very attractive as you get closer because acquires a particular liveliness of colors. Under one of these formations we assemble our tents: it is the only field available in a zone totally solitary and free from the structures of guarded camps. We read on a guide that in the vicinity there is a path that leads to a natural floor, the so-called "Bosciman Paradise". We can not miss the opportunity to visit it! So we have to follow a path that becomes increasingly impervious to disappear suddenly. When we realize that, perhaps, we have not followed the right track, we do not lose morale and decide to also reach the top of the hill that dominates us. Our efforts were amply rewarded by the beauty of the place reached and the vastness of the landscape: from the top our sight can range in the distance on the plains and get lost into the horizon, while the top of the Spitzkoppe seems to erect as a sentinel. Descending, almost by chance, we find the right path indicated by a sign. We just have to go back. The trail is well marked and, in some of the most dangerous points, easily viable thanks to metal cables that allow you to hold on in the ascent. At the top you walk on granite rock with rough surface, eroded by the elements. After the ascent, moreover not very tiring, you can relax, lying in the sun on hot granite rocks. The place is nice, and the landscape is not evil but, in my opinion, we have been lucky to walk in the wrong path, because the beauty of the first top and its landscape far exceeded that offered by the "Bosciman Paradise". In the evening, with the darkness interrupted only by the light of some candle and our front lamps, we honoured the wild beauty of the place with an excellent grilled meat, cooked on a wood fire.

Swakopmund

On August 20th we return to the Atlantic, precisely in Swakopmund, a town made up of buildings in pure Bavarian style crossed by roads overlooked by palms, invaded regularly by mists and surrounded by one of the most harsh deserts of the world: the Namib.
Swakopmund was founded by German settlers in 1892 to cover the fact that the British annexed to South Africa the nearby port of Walvis Bay, trying to replace what until then had been the only port on the namibian coast. The walk made along its ordered boulevards, overlooked by buildings of the German colonial period, proved to be an interesting and fun experience, since the town offers an atmosphere outside time, with its palaces and Gothic facades with windows embellished by many vases of flowers.
In the afternoon, with departure at 13:00, we make an excursion with all-terrain vehicles along the Welwitschia route: a route of about 100 kms from Swakopmund that reaches the area where remarkable plants live. With a squat and low trunk, and only 2 leaves that can reach the length of several meters and then turn in an unusual way around their own trunk. These plants, the Welwitschias, which gave the name to the itinerary, grow very slowly and bigger of them have even 2000 years. One point of interest on the route are the fields of lichens, that draw what they need to live by drops of moisture that the morning fog leaves. These lichens, according to the guide, need just a drop of water to flourish instantly... I must however say that despite our many attempts we failed to see the flower. Another point of attraction encountered during this trip is the "Moon Landscape", the lunar landscape. Never a name was more appropriate: the landscape that anyone can admire appears really like the moon, because of rock formations eroded by the Swakop river.
Coming back from the excursion we stop on the beach waiting for the sunset. The fog, which in the area is normally present, today (fortunately for us), is absent, so we could admire one of the most beautiful sunsets that anyone can see from the beach. The sun slowly diving in, silence and tranquillity prevailing on the beach, attracts the sight and make us not feel the cold that, with the decline of the evening, is increasingly intense.

Namib Naukluft Park

Approximately 50 kms to the south of Swakopmund begins the Namib Naukluft Park within which extends the Namib Desert, whose dunes coming up the ocean draw the line on the coast. Often the entire landscape is shrouded by mists that rise every night from the ocean. The Atlantic desert coast extends southward for hundreds of kilometers presenting unique characteristics: it lacks any road and is completely uninhabited. There is only a trace of runway exclusively viable by off-road 4x4.
The day after our arrival in Swakopmund, we made an excursion with off-roaders along this coast. It starts from the beautiful Walvis Bay where you can admire hundreds of pink flamingos a few meters from the shore, while groups of pelicans took off from the beach perform acrobatic evolutions. Through a sandy track Sandwich Harbour can be reached, it is another ornithological reserve where you can see thousands of cormorants perfectly aligned on the shoreline waiting to dive into the sea in order to procure food. There are even some seals, whose head can be seen between the waves of the ocean, and is not unusual to see jackals following the coast, hoping to capture some bird. Going some meters inside the coast small dunes can be climbed, from whose top the view can cover the Atlantic in all its immensity.

Sesriem and Sossusvlei

August, the 22nd, our visit continue through the Namib Desert getting further inland southwards in the field of Sesriem. During the route we cross predominantly desert and savannah. Before arriving at Solitaire, a small town about half way between Swakopmund and Sesriem, the road crosses the Kuiseb pass along a track continuously sloped and full of dangerous curves. If there wasn't a sign that indicated it, the pitch could have passed unnoticed: nothing to do with our alpine passes. The field of Sesriem is placed at the beginning of the runway that, in about 25 Kms, leads to the edge of the dunes area. At about 4 kms from the field there is the Namesake Canyon, often overlooked for the closeness to the most famous dunes, but it deserves a visit mainly for the evocative visions that it offers. The hasty visit made the day of our arrival in the late afternoon, allowed us to admire the colors and shadows of rock formations shaped by water that once ran through the canyon.
The next morning we visited Sossusvlei, certainly the main point of interest around Sesriem. The dunes of Sossusvlei reach a height of three hundred meters and clearly stand out in the flat horizon. The spectacle of the rising sun, seen from the top of a dune, amply repays the effort made to climb it. The landscape that everyone can enjoy from the top is breathtaking: the desert and dunes around indefinitely. Below, behind dunes, you can admire the contrast with the white expanses of salt that formed after the evaporation of waters deposited in the rainy season. The colors change with the advance of the day, the faded yellow ochre, showed by the sand in the first hours of the morning, passes to much more heavy tones in the hours of noon, and then to the warm colors of the afternoon that become even more intense, almost red, during the burning sunset.

Keetmanshoop and Kakerboom Forest

Our journey continues towards the south of Namibia, on August 24th, we will transfer to Keetmanshoop to reach the following day, the Fish River Canyon. At Keetmanshoop, a town of about 15000 inhabitants, we rent a bungalow in a perfect old west style camp. There are even a multiple gallows, where we try to put our head in the noose. Fortunately, there is no trapdoor that opens under our feet as in times when the hangings were carried out. In the vicinity of Keetmanshoop there is the Kokerboom Forest (a "forest" of strange trees, the Kokerbooms, which grow very slowly) that we visited the morning after our arrival. Adjacent to the forest lies the Giant's Playground: an unique formations of black rock, shaped 170 million years ago.

Fish River Canyon

In early afternoon we arrive at the Fish River Canyon park, Hobas camp, located in the northern area. The Fish River Canyon is located near the border with the Republic of South Africa and is probably one of the most significant of Namibia: dug from the Fish river, spread to 162 kms of lenght, with a depth of over 500 meters and a width that in some points reaches 27 kms.
At about 10 kms from the field there are two main "view points" that we reach after mounting our tents. From here we appreciate the view of the beautiful sunset: 500 meters farther down the Fish River winds, although almost dry, between steep rock walls, in her bed slowly dug in thousands of years.
The morning after we move, always within the the Fish River Canyon park, heading to Ai-Ais, in the southern park area, known for hot springs that flow into it.

back home

Unfortunately, our journey draws to the end: tomorrow, August 27th, begins our journey back to Windhoek where the plane awaits us to return in Italy.
Travel Companions (in alphabetical order)
Alberto - Turin
Antonella - Rastignano (Bologna)
Bruno - Germagnano (Turin)
Daniela - Turin
Davide - Vercelli
Fabrizio - Saronno (Varese)
Fabrizio - Turin
Francis - Budrio (Bologna)
Fransisco - Oggiono (Lecco)
Ivana - Bologna
Jonny - Gussago (Brescia)
Mirko - Turin
Paul - San Donato (Milan)
Serena - Valle S. Nicolao (Biella)
Tiziana - Rome