Nama traditions

The Namas are an African ethnic group spread over Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. Frances also spoke to us about certain aspects of the culture and traditions of the Nama people. One very interesting aspect relates to their marriage. If a Nama sees a girl whom he likes and wants to marry, the right thing for him to do is to inform his parents about it and they in turn approach the girl’s father. If the girl has more than one suitor, then the father will decide the matter by asking the suitors to kill an oryx. Oryx is the national animal of Namibia and with very pointed horns and even the lion is wary of attacking this animal.

The suitor who is the first to hunt down an oryx and return with its tail becomes eligible to win the girl’s hand. Here Frances stresses that it is important that as soon as the oryx is killed, its tail must be cut, if it cannot be carried away by the hunter. Else, it is possible for any other person to claim the dead oryx as his own. This tradition ensures that the girl marries a person who is a good hunter and will be able to provide food for the family.

Frances also had an interesting piece of advice for the women to keep the peace in the family-“SWEET TONGUE…..KEEP SMILING”

China in Namibia

China is said to be the next superpower of the world. Entirely believable after you see the evidence in Namibia. Every town in Namibia has a shop that reads “The China Shop”. When we queried JoJo, our tour leader on this, he told us that the proprietors of these shops are Chinese and hence the shops are called “China shop”.

The Chinese have arrived in Namibia in more ways than one. Not only are “made in China” products flooding the Namibian markets, Chinese construction companies are doing brisk business. These companies are owned by Chinese and staffed predominantly by the Chinese and are at the forefront of “Building Namibia”. China has been very generous with giving aid to Africa and in return, Jojo informs us that the African nations have agreed to allow China to send its prisoners who have been sentenced to exile to live and work in these countries. Many of them work on the various infrastructure projects being funded by the Chinese government. In fact, China has had the foresight to invest heavily in the oilfields and minefields across the African continent which will ensure an uninterrupted supply of raw materials for its economic growth.

The locals have recognized the fact that China and the Chinese are here to stay and the Chinese language courses are very popular in Namibia. Not too far away, the Chinese will probably be the new “white” people of the African continent.

DAY 7

It is a cold, bitterly cold morning. Wrapped in coats, mufflers and wearing thick socks and gloves, we try to warm ourselves by wrapping our hands around our steaming mugs of coffee. With our teeth chattering, none of us are able to get much breakfast in. Winter nights and early mornings in the desert can be very cold-hard to imagine that as the sun comes up, we will be pulling off our layers of clothes as the day becomes hotter. Soon, only a T-shirt is bearable. The extremes of weather as can be experienced only in the desert.

We stop at the town of Solitaire-the smallest town in Namibia. At the only café in this town, we have the most divine apple crumble. The generous portion is welcome to make up for going without breakfast that morning.

The Tropic of Capricorn passes through Namibia and we cross this imaginary line on our way to the Walvis Bay.

On our way to the town of Swakopmund, we pass what is known as the moon landscape. The landscape is made up of eroded hills and valleys and is called the moon landscape because of its resemblance to the surface of the moon.

We drive into Walvis Bay and we could be forgiven to think that we are not in Namibia. Beautiful houses line both sides of the street-the style and colour very appealing to the eyes. The idea is to catch sight of some flamingoes that frequent the Walvis Bay but the thick mist that shrouds the town has probably driven the flamingoes away. It is difficult to see much further than 10 metres across the Atlantic Ocean.

Our destination for the day is Swakopmund, a town in western Namibia. When our truck enters the town, I get a feeling of déjà vu as if I were in Munich, Germany. The town has a very German feel to it with brightly painted houses and bakeries with names like Konditorei- a relic of its German colonizers. The name Swakopmund is German for “mouth of the Swakop”. The Swakop is a major river in the western part of Namibia and it reaches the sea at the southern edge of the town of Swakopmund.

We stay at Villa Weise-not a very comfortable place. But we are focused on planning our itinerary so as to make the best use of the time that we have left on the trip. Tomorrow is our last day in Swakopmund and in Namibia. After depositing our luggage in our rooms, we head out to explore the town. The fog that we had encountered in Walvis Bay follows us here. We decide to grab a cup of coffee at the Swakopmund café as much to really have coffee as to get out of the cold. The spinach quiche at the café is very delicious and so are the scones.

That night, while going out for dinner, we walk in a group; Jojo tells us that it is advisable to not walk about alone at night. Our group is the only people that we see for most of the way to the restaurant. What a marked contrast to Mumbai in India or even Cairo in Egypt, where I am presently living-there are always so many people around.

My fellow diners sample the oryx and the springbok meat for dinner; Adi and I stick to a pasta and pizza fare. Being vegetarian in Namibia is proving to be quite a challenge!

DAY 6

The alarm goes off and I come awake with a start –today is the day for visiting the number one attraction of Namibia-the Sossussvlei dunes and I cant wait to get started. We dress quickly in the numbing cold putting on layers of clothes to keep ourselves warm. There is no time for breakfast and we carry our breakfast boxes out to Peter Torche to have it on the way. After all, we will need our energy to climb Dune 45, the most accessible of all the Dunes and so called because all the dunes in the Sossusvlei are numbered and it is the 45th in number. Early morning is the right time to climb it because later in the day, the heat and the footprints of the earlier climbers will make the ascent tough.

On the way, the rising sun plays peek-a-boo from behind the hills. Parts of the desert landscape are bathed in the wintry morning sunlight and the desert hosts – the springbok, the oryx etc are out grazing the grass and getting their water fix from the dew drops still clinging to the grass.

We reach the gates leading to the Sossussvlei Park before they are open but a couple of cars are already there. We sit in the truck impatiently waiting for the gates to open. Once inside, we speed towards Dune 45 which is 150 m high. It is hard work going up the dune but the promise of a fantastic view from the top keeps us going. By the time, I am two-thirds of the way up, I am completely out of breath. The ascent is not only tough but also slow since I kept admiring the changing landscape. The red colour of the sand is due to the rusting iron present in the sand grains.

As compared to going up, the descent is a cake-walk as we take the short-cut and slide down the wind-swept side of the dune. I have so much fun doing it that I want to do it all over again but the difficult ascent deters me.

The desert may appear barren but it supports a unique ecosystem as we learn later from Frances, our guide, who takes us for a walk in the desert and the dunes. He is a Nama and totally at home in the desert. He explains to us how the moisture carried by the fog and the bits of plant matter deposited by the wind nurture life in the desert. Though the surface temperatures may exceed 50 degrees centigrade but below, the sand particles allow air to circulate freely and provide a cool shelter. Beetles are aplenty in the dunes and the beetles known locally as toktokkie have an interesting way of deriving moisture for drinking-by condensing the fog on its body. What was particularly fascinating was the tunnel house of the large dancing spider. Frances found one such tunnel house and opened its door with a stick and started funneling sand into the tunnel. Within seconds the spider was there to shut the door!

We then pass the Crazy Dune-so called because it is an extremely tough dune to climb. At 388 metres, it is the highest dune in the Namib desert and hence the highest in the world. But there is no dearth of people attempting the ascent of the Crazy Dune.

The Dead Vlei with its cream floor and dead trees provides ample photographic opportunities.

After a very enriching session with Francis, our last stop for this eventful day is the Sesriem canyon, which is the smallest canyon in Namibia. After having seen the second largest canyon in the world, this is obviously not that breathtaking but the excitement and the danger factor comes in when Jojo our guide almost steps on a poisonous snake. But Jojo being seasoned with the ways of the desert hears the hissing sound just in time. We overnight at the Hammerstein.

Tourism infrastructure in Namibia

Namibia is a country in Africa and Africa is the Dark Continent -debt-ridden, strife-torn, disease-prone and with high mortality rates. But the infrastructure in Namibia came as a complete surprise. To begin with, Namibia has an excellent network of roads and highways. The tarred roads connecting the major towns are kept in excellent condition and while you are cruising on them, it is difficult to remember that you are in Africa. Even the gravel roads are regularly visited by the road crews. In fact “overlanding” in Namibia is a joy.

The towns en route are well equipped to handle tourists and have all that may be required by travelers. The gas stations in the towns are the focal points where you can fill gas, use the toilets, stock up on snacks and beverages at the supermarket and also grab a coffee and a quick bite at the café on the premises. Travel light and you can stock up on all you need as you go along.

The toilets are clean and come with toilet paper and flushing toilets. No wet floors and no need to screw your noses and hold your breath.

The lodges that we stayed in were all aesthetically done up with hot water in the showers. Even the one star and the two star lodges are well appointed.

Along the roads and highways, benches have been provided under the shade of trees for the travelers to catch a quick lunch. Pamphlets and booklets that are well written and well illustrated with a wealth of information on all that is to see and do in Namibia are available at airports, cafes, lodges, restaurants, hotels and shops.

Truly first class infrastructure in a third-world country.

DAY 5-BUSHMEN AND AN INTERESTING PIT STOP

The Stampriet guesthouse is aesthetically built with the one storey rooms being named after the famous towns of Namibia. The lobby has a number of interesting books on the African continent and is very tastefully done up, with clippings from old newspapers laminated and used as table mats to keep you occupied while you wait for your made-to-order eggs to be brought to your table.

After a hearty breakfast, we leave for the “Bushman walk”. I am very excited at finally meeting “THE” bushmen about whom I had read a story while in school. Unfortunately, the Bushman walk is a disappointment in more ways than one-more on that later, but yet it is fascinating to hear them in speak in their “click” language.

Lunch in the town of Mariental. With a huge tree providing the shade and a chilled Diet coke for company from the freezer in “Peter Torche”, we enjoy a quick “working lunch”. On our way to the town of Hammerstein, where we are to stay for the next couple of days, we stop at the town of Maltahohe for a “pit stop”. Hotel Maltahohe had an interesting sign put up –“No Pee for Free”. But the sweet lady at the front desk allowed us to go ahead and use the toilets without a charge.

Our home for the next two days-the Hammerstein Lodge is situated close to the Sesriem Canyon and the gateway to the Soussusvlei Dunes . We reach there around 4.30 p.m and after depositing our luggage, we have a steaming mug of coffee while watching a spectacular sunset. Once the sun had set, the temperature quickly drops and we know the biting cold of a desert. At dinner that night, everyone sits with their chairs very close to the bonfire to get away from the chilling desert cold. With the delicious pasta inside us, we are sufficiently warmed to try our hand at roasting marshmallows. I had wanted to do this for a long time – roast the marshmallows, then sandwich then between chocolate bars and bite into a slice of heaven. A childhood desire fulfilled.

Though we were having a lot of fun, we do not linger long since we have an early start the next day. We are to visit the Sossusvlei dunes, the world’s most picturesque dunes. The Sossusvlei Dunes are on protected land and we want to reach the gates before they open at 6.30 a.m. and hence the need for an early start.