On June 23 we flew from Kwessi Dunes to Kaokoland in far northwest Namibia. This is remote even in Namibian context with density of only person per 2 sq. km. We had to refuel in Swakopmund. View from the air there:
That dense area of buildings in the foreground is probably township housing from the apartheid era. We recognized this from the start of the trip in Johannesburg.
On the way to Hoanib Valley camp we visited a Himba Village. The Himba https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himba_people have mostly retained their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle. The men are out for weeks at time with their livestock and when tourists visit the villages are only inhabited by women and children.
Note they do get enough tourists to sell some crafts. The women are dressed mostly in livestock hides but those kids are wearing clothes from somewhere else. We asked what they buy with money from the craft sales and they said mostly food. But overall the women were confident in maintaining their lifestyle. The kids do not go to modern schools but are trained in the village to perpetuate the Himba culture. There are probably more exceptions in less remote locations.
Here one of the women applies dabs of the otjize paste to Liz and Vicki’s arms.
The Himba women cover their bodies with this mix of butterfat and ochre as effective protection from sun and insects. The elaborate hair preparations also protect from the desert sun.
We were briefly invited inside one of the dried mud huts.
It had a pleasant but not at all overpowering scent of incense.
The Himba split off in the 19th century from the better known Herero, who were nearly wiped out by the Germans from 1904-1908. Google Earth view of Himba village from above:
We passed by Giribes Plain with numerous “fairy circles.”
No one knows why they form, and but they are being studied and vehicles are not allowed off the road here to avoid disturbing them. Google Earth view from above:
It was almost dark when we arrived at camp. Here’s our room early the next morning.
The Hoanib Valley is about 1,500 feet and averages about 5 inches rain per year. Bird life is not so abundant in the desert so this red billed spurfowl attracted our attention.
Springbok were our most common sighting here. We found these jousting scenes most interesting.
In the pic above, notice the debris piled against the tree at far left. These are the results of summer flash floods funneling down from the 3,000 foot plateaus to the east.
Our guide spotted lion tracks so we only briefly stopped for these elephants.
We finally found the lion chilling in the bushes.
He relocated a short distance.
We moved on, first sighting these ostriches.
Then we stopped near a waterhole the elephants use.
Video is visible if you click on "Video on Facebook."
These are desert adapted elephants, about ¾ normal size and they can go 3-4 days without water. The water table in the Hoanib River valley is not deep, so several of these waterholes are maintained by solar powered pumps.
We were surprised to see these visitors.
They were definitely not authorized and we were told later they might have run encountered a checkpoint farther north on the roads.
After lunch we found giraffes at another waterhole. These are also desert adapted.
The solar panel and pump are at far right. Vegetation is confined to the valley; background hills look barren.
Liz zoomed on giraffe to get a good tongue picture.
This giraffe has a tracking tag in his ear. Hoanib Valley Camp is involved with the Giraffe Conservancy Foundation. I have seen giraffes on nearly every game drive in both 2002 and 2024. But all of them have been in expansive areas with sparse human population. In East Africa and the Sahel their numbers have declined due to loss and fragmentation of habitat.
We returned to camp for a mid afternoon break. This was the only safari camp where we were tempted to use the pool in midwinter.
We went out again before sunset. The tsamma melon grows from this ground vine.
Liz liked this hole in the rock.
Here’s a lone cactus high in the rocks.
Oryx are the only animal we saw at every Namibia camp.
Dinner was in the open outside camp. The staff at all the camps like to perform local singing and dancing at our last dinner.
The otjikaiva horned headdress symbolizes respect for the cows that have historically been a vital part of the Herero people's lives.
That dense area of buildings in the foreground is probably township housing from the apartheid era. We recognized this from the start of the trip in Johannesburg.
On the way to Hoanib Valley camp we visited a Himba Village. The Himba https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himba_people have mostly retained their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle. The men are out for weeks at time with their livestock and when tourists visit the villages are only inhabited by women and children.
Note they do get enough tourists to sell some crafts. The women are dressed mostly in livestock hides but those kids are wearing clothes from somewhere else. We asked what they buy with money from the craft sales and they said mostly food. But overall the women were confident in maintaining their lifestyle. The kids do not go to modern schools but are trained in the village to perpetuate the Himba culture. There are probably more exceptions in less remote locations.
Here one of the women applies dabs of the otjize paste to Liz and Vicki’s arms.
The Himba women cover their bodies with this mix of butterfat and ochre as effective protection from sun and insects. The elaborate hair preparations also protect from the desert sun.
We were briefly invited inside one of the dried mud huts.
It had a pleasant but not at all overpowering scent of incense.
The Himba split off in the 19th century from the better known Herero, who were nearly wiped out by the Germans from 1904-1908. Google Earth view of Himba village from above:
We passed by Giribes Plain with numerous “fairy circles.”
No one knows why they form, and but they are being studied and vehicles are not allowed off the road here to avoid disturbing them. Google Earth view from above:
It was almost dark when we arrived at camp. Here’s our room early the next morning.
The Hoanib Valley is about 1,500 feet and averages about 5 inches rain per year. Bird life is not so abundant in the desert so this red billed spurfowl attracted our attention.
Springbok were our most common sighting here. We found these jousting scenes most interesting.
In the pic above, notice the debris piled against the tree at far left. These are the results of summer flash floods funneling down from the 3,000 foot plateaus to the east.
Our guide spotted lion tracks so we only briefly stopped for these elephants.
We finally found the lion chilling in the bushes.
He relocated a short distance.
We moved on, first sighting these ostriches.
Then we stopped near a waterhole the elephants use.
Video is visible if you click on "Video on Facebook."
These are desert adapted elephants, about ¾ normal size and they can go 3-4 days without water. The water table in the Hoanib River valley is not deep, so several of these waterholes are maintained by solar powered pumps.
We were surprised to see these visitors.
They were definitely not authorized and we were told later they might have run encountered a checkpoint farther north on the roads.
After lunch we found giraffes at another waterhole. These are also desert adapted.
The solar panel and pump are at far right. Vegetation is confined to the valley; background hills look barren.
Liz zoomed on giraffe to get a good tongue picture.
This giraffe has a tracking tag in his ear. Hoanib Valley Camp is involved with the Giraffe Conservancy Foundation. I have seen giraffes on nearly every game drive in both 2002 and 2024. But all of them have been in expansive areas with sparse human population. In East Africa and the Sahel their numbers have declined due to loss and fragmentation of habitat.
We returned to camp for a mid afternoon break. This was the only safari camp where we were tempted to use the pool in midwinter.
We went out again before sunset. The tsamma melon grows from this ground vine.
Liz liked this hole in the rock.
Here’s a lone cactus high in the rocks.
Oryx are the only animal we saw at every Namibia camp.
Dinner was in the open outside camp. The staff at all the camps like to perform local singing and dancing at our last dinner.
The otjikaiva horned headdress symbolizes respect for the cows that have historically been a vital part of the Herero people's lives.
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