J o u r n e y s: Namibia Part 2- Landscape

After leaving Hobatere, my time in Namibia shifted from landscape to cultural and natural sites. We stopped at a "traditional village" - aka tourist trap- to see women in traditional clothing (topless) being shown off by the polygamist males wearing all western clothing. I don't mind polygamy. I don't mind traditional clothing. I do mind very clear gender imbalances, which is what I saw here- Very young girls being taunted by older men about their bodies in front of Western visitors. This was not traditional division of labor. I didn't enjoy this.

The next stop was much better- a petrified forest. Trees had washed down from central Africa when the glaciers melted millennia ago, and eventually turned to rock in the desert of Namibia. The stones looked like wood but were hard as metal. It was pretty amazing. Some of them were meters long!

The final stop that day was a Twyfelfontein, site of bushman rock carvings that are thousands of years old. My guide was an adorably eager student, who cheerfully pointed out the images of animals, maps of the land, and other marks made by early inhabitants here. I think this was the oldest human artwork I've seen.

The lodge at Twyfelfontein was lovely, with a very cold pool set in the rocks and a delicious buffet. There was a beautiful view of the flat countryside beyond the lodge.

The next morning was an early start. We drove over to the coast to see the seals at the Cape Cross Seal Colony. They're actually sea lions. They smell TERRIBLE. But they had the most adorable baby seals! Seriously, so cute. There were tens of thousands of animals on the beach and in the water.

I ended the day in Swakopmund, a very German feeling city on the coast. There were several expensive excursions available, but I had no money. Instead I had a fairly lazy evening. I walked down to the pier, then bought some food at the grocery store, and enjoying having a couch in the little apartment for the evening.

The next day we went back to the capital, and said farewell until the second part of the tour, to the south, which went the next day.

On the second leg, I was joined by an American couple down visiting from DRC. It was great to have company, and really nice to talk to fellow Americans abroad! The drive the first day was fairly long. We went south to the border of Sossusvlei National Park, where we stayed at the Desert Camp. The first night wasn't much. We had an amazing dinner featuring all kinds of African animals to eat- oryx, impala, ostrich, zebra, kudu, water buffalo, blue wildebeest, and more. It was fun to try different ones! I was such a carnivore at that restaurant.

The next morning started our exploration of Sossusvlei. We went right to Dune 45 to start. I hate walking on sand and climbing things, so this was just swell. I'm kidding. It was awful. So exhausting. But gorgeous views. Then we went over to the Dune they called "Big Daddy." I didn't climb that one. I did a shorter hike to see Deadvlei, a bunch of very old trees frozen in time in the desert.

After the dunes, we left for lunch. In the late afternoon we went to Sesreim Canyon. We could walk down into the gorge caused by rain runoff. It was really pretty in the late afternoon light. Dinner was back at the meat buffet. Yum. And oh. OH. THE STARS. I finally got to see that perfect night sky.

The last day was back to Windhoek, and then a few days of dealing with the embassy and passports. In the end it all worked out, and I flew back to the US, albeit with a day delay in Germany thanks to a cancelled flight.

Namibia was a giant pain to schedule, but it was so worth the effort. Despite the passport troubles, the lonely week on the road, and the drama of flights, I saw so much and have such a new appreciation for Southern Africa. Someone told me once that you'll fall in love there, and I did. I'm already scheming how I can get to Botswana. And Zimbabwe. And South Africa. And back to Namibia.