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Nomads in Namibia
We are in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia today and this concludes our travels through Namibia. We head to the border today to cross into Botswana and head to the Okavango Delta. We have done so much in the last 6 days we hardly know where to begin! After leaving Swakoptmund, we headed inland through the hot Namibian desert. We first stopped in Spitzkoppe, which is a natural rock formation created from magma that pushed the rocks upward to form mountains. It was once an active volcano, but the lava never broke through the surface. There, we were lead on a nature walk by our local guide Richie and we saw rock paintings done by the San people. This was our first night camping with the overland tour and we opted to sleep outdoors, falling asleep under the stars, and waking up to the sunrise on the rocks. In this part of Namibia, the local people collect the precious gems that are found in the area and sell them alongside the road. 
This is where we picked up our first Christmas ornament (we always collect them from the places we travel to), which is a palm seed carved with the "Big Five" game animals. The next morning we were off to Etosha National Park, further north in Namibia. We stopped to visit with a Herero woman who was selling hand-made dolls along the roadside. 
The Herero women wear very colorful dresses, which they fashioned after the Portuguese colonists who arrived in the 1800's. They added the interesting head dress, which is representative of the cattle, which are the main symbol of wealth in their culture. Cows are used for their milk, but a man must also have several cows as a dowery to marry a woman. 
We also visited a traditional Himba village. These people still wear loinclothes and live in very basic huts with no running water or electricity. They broke away from the Hereros because they wanted to maintain their way of living and tribal traditions. As necessity, the men will put on western clothes to go to work on the nearby farms herding cattle. The women and children earn money by selling the bracelets and necklaces they make to tourists who visit. Finally, the last two days have been spent camping in Etosha National Park. This was our first game drive and we have now seen 3 of the "Big Five" game animals. 
We encountered many lions, elephants and rhinos, as well as other animals and we hope to see the other 2 (leopards and buffalo) at Chobe in Botswana. We'll let the photos speak for themselves...see more photos.
We are in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia today and this concludes our travels through Namibia. We head to the border today to cross into Botswana and head to the Okavango Delta. We have done so much in the last 6 days we hardly know where to begin! After leaving Swakoptmund, we headed inland through the hot Namibian desert. We first stopped in Spitzkoppe, which is a natural rock formation created from magma that pushed the rocks upward to form mountains. It was once an active volcano, but the lava never broke through the surface. There, we were lead on a nature walk by our local guide Richie and we saw rock paintings done by the San people. This was our first night camping with the overland tour and we opted to sleep outdoors, falling asleep under the stars, and waking up to the sunrise on the rocks. In this part of Namibia, the local people collect the precious gems that are found in the area and sell them alongside the road. 
This is where we picked up our first Christmas ornament (we always collect them from the places we travel to), which is a palm seed carved with the "Big Five" game animals. The next morning we were off to Etosha National Park, further north in Namibia. We stopped to visit with a Herero woman who was selling hand-made dolls along the roadside. 
The Herero women wear very colorful dresses, which they fashioned after the Portuguese colonists who arrived in the 1800's. They added the interesting head dress, which is representative of the cattle, which are the main symbol of wealth in their culture. Cows are used for their milk, but a man must also have several cows as a dowery to marry a woman. 
We also visited a traditional Himba village. These people still wear loinclothes and live in very basic huts with no running water or electricity. They broke away from the Hereros because they wanted to maintain their way of living and tribal traditions. As necessity, the men will put on western clothes to go to work on the nearby farms herding cattle. The women and children earn money by selling the bracelets and necklaces they make to tourists who visit. Finally, the last two days have been spent camping in Etosha National Park. This was our first game drive and we have now seen 3 of the "Big Five" game animals. 
We encountered many lions, elephants and rhinos, as well as other animals and we hope to see the other 2 (leopards and buffalo) at Chobe in Botswana. We'll let the photos speak for themselves...see more photos.
3 comments:
I'm getting neurotic and building "knaa" dedication to checking your site for updates. We love to read what your up to and see the pictures. But come ...tell me about the showers and toilets:-)...I want to know how much you're "roughing-it". So far, it looks amazing and sleeping under the stars sounds romantic and kind of scary when you included a picture of a lion. Did you really sleep?? Our little wild one is now sleeping his crib through the night now. YAY!
So all I want to know is after reading the comment "but a man must also have several cows as a dowery to marry a woman." will Scott be looking for a little something from his father-in-law when you arrive stateside ?
So all I want to know is after reading the comment "but a man must also have several cows as a dowery to marry a woman." will Scott be looking for a little something from his father-in-law when you arrive stateside ?
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