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Travel Newsletters > Namibia - A Bountiful Harvest for the Adventure Traveler > Page
2 1.1 Namibia - A Bountiful Harvest Awaits the Adventure Traveler Namibia's barren and unwelcoming coastlines served as a natural deterrent to
the ambitions of European explorers. That was until 1884 when the
German
merchant Adolf Luderitz established a permanent settlement between the Namib
Desert and the Atlantic seaboard that afterwards took his name.
Bismarck
subsequently declared the territory covered by Namibia a German colony and named
it Südwestafrika or South West Africa. As German
settlers moved into the
interior, conflict was inevitable with the inheritors of the land.
The
German occupation was a particularly unhappy
experience for the Herero. The
Herero resented the German's harsh and racist rule and the effect of the
encroachment on their lands on their
livelihood and way of life. On the first
day of the year 1904, the Herero led by Chief Samuel Maharero, rose suddenly and
unexpectedly in arms
against their colonial overlords. The Nama joined the
insurrection and the authorities did not regain control even after six months of
trying. Over
100 German settlers and soldiers died in the uprising. Historians
now consider events that followed to constitute the first genocide of the
twentieth
century.
Lieutenant General Lothar von Trotha was furnished
with a contingent of 14,000 soldiers and tasked to put down the rebellion. The
governor general of the territory was then Rudolph Goering -the father of Herman
Goering, Hitler's right hand man. Lothar von Trotha was a
generation ahead of
his time and his kind of thinking was to become government policy under the
Third Reich. He argued that the Herero must be
destroyed as a people and he did
not wince at the murder of women or children. At the end of it all, 100,000 Nama
and Herero were killed. The
survivors were herded in concentration camps where
unspeakable things happened. The Herero fared very badly and 80% of her people
perished. The
population of the Nama diminished by 35-50%.
Windhoek, the
capital of 165,000 people is the only true city in the country. For those
traveling to more remote regions, this is where you settle practical matters.
The positive aspects of the German period can be seen in the charming
style of
older buildings in the city. Places of interest in the city include the State
Museum, State Archives, and the Namibia Crafts Centre. The Dan
Viljoen Game Park
lies 24 Km west of Windhoek on the gentle hills of Khoma Hochland. In this
resort you find ostriches, baboons, zebras and over 200
species of birds. The
Waterburg Plateau Park, located 230 km from Windhoek is popular with weekenders.
This extensive mountain wilderness is home to
cheetah, leopard, kudu, giraffe,
and white rhino.
Etosha National Park is what brings wildlife lovers to
Namibia. The park is comparable in
size and diversity of species with the best
in Africa. The unusual terrain of Etosha holds savanna grassland, dense brush
and woodland. But it is the
Etosha Pan, a depression that sometimes holds water
and covers 5,000 sq km, that is the heart of park. The perennial springs around
the pan, attract
many birds and land animals in the dry winter months. The
effect of this background is magical and some of the best wildlife photographs
have been
taken here.
A Namibia wildlife safari experience in Etosha will not disappoint. There are 144 mammal species in
the park and
elephants are particularly abundant. Some other interesting wildlife here
includes giraffe, leopard, cheetah, jackal, blue wildebeest,
gemsbok and black
rhino. The birding is great at Etosha and over 300 bird species have been
recorded. You will get best value by spending at least
three days here. There
are excellent accommodation facilities at the three rest camps of Namutoni,
Halali and Okaukuejo. The best time to see animals
is between May and September,
when water draws them in huge numbers to the edge of the pan. Etosha is 400 km
to the north of Windhoek by road.
The Fish River Canyon is unrivalled in
Africa and only the Grand Canyon in the U.S in larger. The Canyon runs for 160
km and reaches a
width of 27 km and depth of 550 m. But size alone does not
explain the appeal of the canyon. You experience incredible views at various
points along
the rim. Adventure lovers do not merely come for the views. Hiking
through the canyon is the ultimate endurance adventure for hikers. There is an
established 90 km hiking trail that will take you 4-5 days to cover.
The
trail ends at Ai-Ais hot spring resort where you can unwind. You
are allowed to
hike between early May and end of September. The hike is quite strenuous and
needless to say, you must be physically fit. The
authorities disbelieve the
capacity of most people to undertake the hike and will actually insist on seeing
a medical certificate of fitness before
allowing you to start off. Fish River
Canyon is 580 km to the south of Windhoek.
The Skeleton Coast has been
the graveyard of seafarers and
whales and deserves that morbid name. The problem
is the dense fogs. And woe to the ship wreck survivor who expects respite
onshore! Ahead is the
Namib Desert, one of the driest and most unwelcoming
places. Adventure travelers love trekking along the coastline as they enjoy the
stark beauty of
the area. To the south at Cape Cross, you find a seal colony
carrying tens of thousands of seals. The Skeleton Coast Park covers 16,400 sq km
and
begins at 355 km northwest of Windhoek.
The Portuguese explorer
Diego Cao reached this part of the world in the year 1486. He is probably one
of
the people whose experiences discouraged Europeans from venturing ashore until
the arrival of the Germans 400 years later. Further south is the
Namib-Naukluft
National Park, a vast wilderness covering 50,000 sq km. The landscape is very
diverse and covers mountain outcrops, majestic sand
dunes, and deep cut gorges.
For really spectacular dunes, the Sossusvlei area is unsurpassed. Here you have
dunes rising to 300 m! The orange tint
giants extend as far as the horizon and
the area has an unreal, unforgettable atmosphere.
To the northeast of
the country, the well-watered
Kavango and Caprivi Strip region offers an
unspoilt wilderness suitable for rugged game viewing and camping. The area also
promises a feast for bird
lovers. Game reserves in the area include: Kaudom,
Caprivi, Mahango, Mudumu and Mamili. Poachers did great damage to wildlife
during the years of the
civil war in neighbouring Angola. Animal numbers are
however building up rapidly. Some of the wildlife in the region includes
leopard, elephant,
buffalo, cheetah, lion and various antelope species. The
Caprivi Reserve falls in an area of swamps and flood plains. Here you have an
opportunity to
partake fishing, hiking, game viewing safaris and river trips in
traditional mokoro boats.
In Namibia you can enjoy up to 300 days of
sunshine. The coast is temperate and thermometers run between 5C-25C. Inland,
daytime temperatures range from 20C-34C, but can rise to 40C in the
north and
south of the country. Winter nights can be quite cold and frost occurs over
large parts of the country. The rains inland fall in summer
(November-April) and
are heaviest in the Caprivi region. Rains do not much affect travel, but beware
of flash floods in the vicinity of riverbeds.
The best time to travel is over
the dry months of March to October, when it is easier to see animals at
waterholes. It is best to avoid the Namib
Desert and Etosha between December and
March when it can get unbearably hot. Before you travel to this country, make
sure you review our Namibia
safari and tour offers.
You can get by
wearing light cottons and linens in summer. Over winter nights and mornings, you
need heavier
cottons, warmer wraps and sweaters. Comfortable walking shoes are
essential, as the ground gets very hot. Some useful stuff to pack includes:
camera,
binoculars, sunglasses, sun hats, sunscreen and mosquito repellant. Be
ready for dusty conditions and carry your clothing, equipment and supplies in
dust proof bags. Do not be tempted to buy items made of ivory. You may not be
allowed to carry them through customs at home. And it also good that
you do not
encourage the trade in ivory products that keeps poachers busy.
Help and More Information for Namibia! Planning to go for a safari
in Namibia? Contact us
today and we will assist you in picking and booking the best hotel
and
flight, and all your other Namibia travel arrangements.
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