Namibia’s history, scenery and wildlife
Namibia is situated on the Atlantic coast and borders on Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south. The infrastructure of the country is excellent, so it is easy to travel around Namibia – and to neighbouring countries. Namibia gained its independence from Germany after the Second World War, only to be annexed by South Africa shortly afterwards. The first free elections were not held until 1990. Historical remnants from the time under the German colonists dominate architecturally around the capital Windhoek, which is situated in the centre of the country and is home to around 160,000 of the country’s population of just under 2 million. The city is also renowned for its rich flora – unlike most other places in the country, Windhoek is favoured with variable temperatures and generous amounts of rainfall in a country that has blazing sunshine 300 days a year.
The tribes of Namibia
Namibia’s population includes at least eleven different ethnic groups. The members of the Himba tribe mostly go about their everyday activities dressed in little more than a loincloth. The Himba have held onto their nudism, although German missionaries brutally tried to convince them otherwise. The Himba villages in Namibia’s desert are living proof that the enforced orthodoxy of globalisation has not prevailed everywhere. Their desert tribe brothers, the Herero, have shown their defiance in a completely different way – they have made a hallmark of imitating the German farmers’ clothing, but in an exaggerated, caricatured style. If you encounter someone wearing layers of petticoats and a big hat trimmed with cow’s horn, this is probably a salute from the Herero tribe to their cattle-breeding former oppressors.
Namibia’s attractions
As well as coming face to face with the largest sand banks in the world, you could spice up your holiday in Namibia with a visit to one of the many national parks. In the Etosha National Park, covering more than 22,000 km2, you can see a wide variety of wild animals, including elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras and leopards. Between May and September you have the best chance of seeing flamingos around the park’s waterholes, and the winter months are generally the most comfortable time to stop off in the park. From December until March, it is often so hot in Namibia that it is unbearable to spend time in the desert region that covers most of the country. If you’ve had enough of the desert, you can continue your journey out to the coast with the promising-sounding name of Skeleton Coast. This is known and infamous for the many shipwrecks that have been washed ashore over the centuries, which have led to the air of mystery and the old legends about the place. It is possible to visit many of the shipwrecks. In addition, it is easy to be won over by the bushmen of the Kalahari desert, the fur seals and dolphins in Benguela Bay, or Fish River Canyon – Namibia’s answer to the Grand Canyon in the US.