Magnificent namibia - february 28 to march 13, 2009
MARCH 4 - 9, 2009:
through Etosha, doro !nawas, Damaraland, and twyfelfontein
We flew from the Tsumkwe airstrip to the eastern entrance of Etosha National
Park where we were met by Rosta who would be our guide and driver
for the remainder of our trip. Because we were in rainy season,
we we forewarned that most animals would be hiding in the tall grass near
waterholes that wouldn't be dry for another few weeks. But we did view some
lovely animals. Then we saw the Himba people of Damaraland,
Desert Elephants in Doro !Nawas, and ancient rock art in Twyfelfontein.
Gotta love the names!
Go to
Namibia3
to see the fabulous red Namib-Nauklukft Desert and Sossusvlei.
| HIMBA PEOPLE OF DAMARALAND | ||||
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GOT YOUR ATTENTION, DIDN'T I? (Above & Below Far L to R) We
visited a traditional Himba village of pastoralists (herders) for 2
hours where our Himba guide explained their daily life. The men herd the cows and goats away from the village during most of the day. That's their only job. Men dress in Western-style clothes and bathe in water when they wish. The women are not allowed to wash with water so instead each morning they enter a hut filled with smoke, enclose their heads and bodies in blankets, sweat out the toxins, then re-apply the ochre-colored mud. Their skirts and the different styles of mud-covered hair indicate marital status. Young boys wear loincloths and girl babies wear beads at their waist and eventually small skirts. Of course women do most of the work! |
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| doro !nawas conservancy | ||||
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(Above Far L to R) The "!" in Doro !Nawas indicates a "click" in the
local languages. The main building of our lodge was atop a
moonscape-like hill and the individual bungalow rooms were at the bottom. But from everywhere were views of dramatic peaks across the usually-dry, open savannah. Since we'd been in the Land Rover for 8 hours, our longest drive, we took an early "sun-downer" opportunity to relax. (Below Far L to R) The next afternoon, we found Desert Elephants up to their knees in green grass. We were only the 3rd group in 21 days to see these elephants who have adapted to their harsh desert home: bigger feet, longer legs, leaner bodies, and always covered in ochre-mud as sunscreen and bug repellant. Then we celebrated with a beautiful sunset! |
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| twyfelfontein rock art park | ||||
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Twyfelfontein means "doubtful fountain" in Afrikaans. The man
who was granted the land didn't have great luck with farming but he
found Bushmen's rock art on his property that goes back thousands of years. (Above & Below Far L to R) We walk to the visitors center, are greeted by our Damara guide then a lizard doing push-ups. As we walked out a little way, it was easy to imagine how the farmer felt approaching this amazing area for the 1st time, getting closer to brightly colored rocks, seeing the etched figures depicting the animals around his lands, and being awed that he was observ the same kinds of beasts that some primitive artists had also viewed millenia ago... |
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| Etosha national park | ||||
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(Above Far L to R) We'd seen Berchell's Zebras in South Africa but
oddly enough, we had not previously observed a striped mongoose or dung beetles rolling their burden across a road. We had definitely never viewed 2 young male Southern Giraffes necking which involves chasing each other then fighting by winding up then banging necks together! (Below Far L to R) Antelope-relations were everywhere in Etosha: Hartebeest, Greater Kudu, Oryx, Dikdik and Waterbuck. |
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