Namibia

The year was 1990. Namibia had just got its independence from South Africa. I was with a small adventure operator out of Johannesburg. There were seven of us and the guide. One small van and three weeks of empty roads offering the exquisite poetry of the Kalahari and Namib deserts, the rich history of Lüderitz and Kolmanskop, the drama of the Skeleton Coast, the magic of African wildlife in Estosha, and warm wonderful people everywhere.

These pictures are old. Scanned from faded albums that I have lugged around the planet as the most treasured part of my chattel.

The Namib Desert

Sometimes we camped in nice grounds, left over luxuries from the Colonial era with private ablution rooms boasting deep bathtubs and impressive tiling. Other times, we were right out in the desert in the heart of winter, learning how to manage our rituals with a shovel and a match.

I have never experienced such contrast between the hot days and chilly cold nights. When all the beautiful scenery faded behind the veil of darkness, the sky became alive with the most astonishing view of the heavens I’ve ever seen: the milky way spiralling overhead peppered with an array of shooting stars and  satellites purposely traversing their orbits. All of it visible with a naked eye.

Locals would see us coming along the main highway for days and meet us when we pulled into their villages with local gemstones like tiger eye, and handmade crafts. I loved seeing how materials were used such as coffee and drink cans for roof tops and even to build pens for goats.

 

 

Kolmanskop

After a week in the desert we hit the coast and visited the ghost town of Kolmanskop. It is the most haunting and intriguing place I’ve ever been. At one time, it was a busy diamond rush town before it was abandoned and left to the whims of the wind and the desert sand.  It’s popular with tourists now but back then, we had the place to ourselves, which added to its eerie allure. All of the buildings were accessible to walk through, most of them filled with sand. I don’t have a photo of it but there was an old fashion bowling alley in one of the buildings that we were able to set up the pins and have a few runs at.

Lüderitz

We found Lüderitz to be almost as much of a ghost town as Kolmanskop. There was simply no one around, and just like in the old Western movies, we thought we were being spied on from behind some frilly curtains dressing the windows of houses we passed. We were booked into a campsite at the top of the town and the gate was locked when we pulled up there. Within a few moments, a van came tearing up the road and the groundkeeper let us in.

 

Walrus Bay and The Skeleton Coast

Prehistoric Wonders

The desert is filled with many spectacular curiosities. In one day, we took a long drive looking for the Hoba Meteorite and some nearby dinosaur tracks. Both attractions were discovered without any fanfare–alone and easily missed if we hadn’t been looking very hard for them. The same could be said about the petrified forest and the magnificent Welwitchiii trees–the oldest in Africa. I’d expected something very large and instead found something that looked like it was evaporating in the hot sun. A marvel, this tree is known as a living fossil.

Etosha National Park

 

In Windhoek, I got my favourite souvenir: this little hand painted silk card of the famous Herrero Women. The first contact they had with foreigners was during the Victorian times, and since then they have been dressing up in large skirts–though the vibrant colours are more traditional to Africa.