Overlanding in Namibia Part II
Spitzkoppe (March 31-April 1)
Our third day overlanding brought us to Spitzkop, i.e. "the Matterhorn of Namibia." It is an area of great natural beauty consisting of a group of red rocky granite peaks rising spectacularly above the surrounding flat plains. We camped near the largest peak (1787m) and went on a short guided walk of the area in the late afternoon. During our exploratory walk, we were shown some Bushmen rock paintings that depicted different animals. The red color used in some of these paintings was achieved, so we were told, using a mixture of iron and sacrificial animal blood. Umm...lovely?
Our guide kept checking his watch and trying to hurry us along for he had planned for us to reach the "rock bridge" in time to watch the sunset. Unfortunately, time was not on our side due to our dawdling so the guide suddenly urged us to "Run! (Forest) Run!!" And off we all went, sprinting towards the rocky outcrop to which he had pointed. At first, I was in the lead, racing towards the rocks as if a mad pack of machete-wielding maniacs was after me but, alas, my short legs were unable to completely hurdle the tangle of thorn-ridden bushes that riddled the terrain, forcing me to slow down and jog (rather than run) towards the rock bridge. Many in the group soon overtook me but I did at least manage to reach our prime sunset viewing spot in time to see the hot sun slip beneath the horizon. Despite the bloody trail of scratches covering my calves, I oohed and aahed at the colorful display. Oh yeah, and I may have snapped a few photos in a lame attempt to capture the beauty of the Spitzkop sunset.
That night, most of us, including yours truly, opted to camp out on the Spitzkoppe rocks under the stars. We were warned to check our sleeping bags and shoes for scorpions and snakes but no nasty stingers showed up to spoil our celestial slumber.
Swakopmund (April 1-3)
Next up on the Grand Overlanding Tour of 2012 was Swakopmund, a popular seaside resort for both foreigners and Namibians alike. The city's Germanic colonial past is readily apparent; all one has to do is have a quick gander at the architecture or listen in on a conversation between the white locals for quite a few of them still speak German. Fun frivolous factoid: Swakopmund is the birthplace of Brangelina's first biological child, Shiloh, and I even had the chance to photograph the outside of the clinic where the blessed event took place. I am such a celebrity whore!
There are a number of spectacular sand dunes just outside of the town which provide those with a taste for sandy, sweaty escapades to indulge in activities such as sand boarding, quad biking, dune bashing, etc. Most of those in our bus opted for the more sporty activities on offer, but I was looking to do something more educational/cultural. Therefore, I chose to go on a township tour on the first afternoon, and a "Living Desert" (TM) tour the following day. And boy oh boy am I ever glad I did so!!
The township tour was provided by Hafeni Cultural Tours (400 Namibian dollars) and it was simply incredible! Our driver and bossman of the outfit was Heymi, and our main guide was named Michael, both of whom grew up in the main township of Mondesa (20,000 inhabitants). Michael, whose English was exceptional in spite of the fact that it had been tainted by a yearly stay in Canada (Ha ha!), gave us the rundown on his neighborhood as well as some of the tragic history of the native people of Namibia. The township of Mondesa is made up primarily of 3 tribes, the Damara, the Herero and the Namas. The population of all 3 tribes was decimated during the attempted genocide of 1904-1908 perpetuated by Germany. According to our guide Michael, 25% of the Namas tribe and a whopping 80% of the Herero tribe were killed during this dark time period, and, although Germany both acknowledged & apologized for their horrendous treatment of these peoples in 2004, they continuously refuse to offer any sort of financial compensation to the descendants of those killed. Shameful!
During the tour,we first visited the communal market place where goods for sale included dried spinach which disgustingly resembled animal dung, salt-treated dried fish, and boiled peanuts. I was delighted to learn that there is a long-standing honorable system of payment at work in the market. Essentially, if any one of the sellers momentarily steps away from their booth to go to the toilet or run an errand, buyers simply leave cash for their purchases beneath the baskets or bags holding the goods. And apparently nobody abuses the system! Things like this restore my faith in humanity, y'all!
After the market visit, we paid a visit to the home of an elderly Damara woman named Miss Josephine. The woman wore her finest headscarf and long dress and introduced us to one of her daughters and son-in-law, also dressed to the nines for our visit. The cheerfully-decorated home was certainly small, but also spotless. We were made to feel like honored guests to which I can only offer my humble thanks.
Next up was a visit to the Tears of Hope, a local orphanage for children at risk or living with HIV, run by a remarkable Herero woman. We were told that, currently, she was looking after 20 orphans, the youngest of which she held lovingly in her lap for the majority of our visit. I had purchased a bag of balloons just prior to our township tour at a Pick N' Save and was absolutely thrilled to give a bunch of them away to the kids at this orphanage. To see their eyes grow bigger, Bigger and BIGGER watching me inflate those balloons (I totally hammed it up!) was a moment I will cherish till the day I die, no lie. I only wish I had had more time to hang out and play as I am sure we could have had a blast playing horsey together.
Following the orphanage, we briefly drove through the significantly poorer township, the Democratic Resettlement Community (DRC). I was beyond dismayed to learn that those who live in this impoverished shanty town have no electricity or running water. Instead, they are forced to purchase water from metered pumps placed throughout the township. Makes me feel like a dumb ass heel for ever whining about not having a decent WiFi connection. We only briefly stopped and got out of our vehicle while visiting this area but, unsurprisingly, were not able to visit one of the
Last but not least, we were taken to Heymi's home where a typical meal had been graciously prepared for us, consisting of chicken, spinach, fried bread and....WORMS!! My eyes "bugged" out at the sight but I only briefly hesitated before chomping down on one of them. I mean, here I was being given a "Survivor" Reality TV type moment and how could I look myself in the mirror if I hadn't been able to (wo)MAN up?!? As to the taste? Err...salty...and...uncomfortably CRUNCHY! Once we had had our insectual fill, we were serenaded by the acapella harmonies of Michael's musical group, Vocal Galore. They sang songs in both their local language as well as in English, including the poular, albeit predictable, "Lion Sleeps Tonight". I recorded part of their performance using my camera and also purchased the group's CD to give to my father upon my return to Chicago. Such a delightful yet humbling way to spend an afternoon....
On the following day in Swakopmund, I went on a "Living Desert" tour (600 Namibian dollars) run by a larger-than-life manly man named Tommy, Namibia's equivalent to Australia's Steve Irwin. In a nutshell, he takes people out to the dunes in order to show them the small creatures which dwell above/below the sand. It is a tour blatantly geared towards the kiddies so any families who happen to be planning a trip to Swakopmund, consider this a heads up and recommendation. Although I was well beyond the age of those to whom this tour predominantly catered, I still got a kick out of the critters we encountered that day such as numerous desert chameleons, a transparent gecko (strangely enough NOT touting Geico), a harmless sand snake, 2 poisonous sidewinders(Sss!) and a Fitzsimons burrowing skink (which Tommy suddenly and dramatically placed in his mouth in order to delight the kids and freak out the adults). I had a pretty good time all in all, despite being subjected to naughty children repeatedly shouting "Poopiehead!!" out the window of our 4x4 vehicle, but fear that I will never walk through the desert without fearing that I will accidentally trod upon a burrowed sidewinder!
Comments
Post a Comment