The Wilderness of Damaraland

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Damaraland is our next stop. 300 pls km of dusty gravel road driving is giving us first impressions what to expect. It is fun driving on gravel, it feels like on snow at times and seeing the huge dust trail one leaves behind, gives a kind of Dakar rally feeling... Our car is a 4X4 Ford Ranger which was customized for off road driving. Special all terrain tires, heavy-duty off-road suspension, and front and rear tow hooks, so Nenad can be towed out of trouble. Especially the 4H and 4L selection is interesting. In 4H (four-wheel drive, high range) all four wheels are driving your vehicle. In 4L (four-wheel drive, low range), all four wheels are driving your vehicle and a low gear ratio is being used. Your vehicle's wheels will turn much more slowly than they would in high range, so slower speeds and more torque allow more challenging off road terrain to be tackled, Nenad was explained by the rental folks. So off we go !!!

Passing the huts of the local Himbas reminded us that in Namibia there are still people living an ancient lifestyle, herding, hunting and collecting. They added however one 'occupation', dealing with tourists. We were told not to buy anything from children who are selling on the road side, nor give them money or presents. Many kids found out it is much more fun and profitable selling junk to tourists than to go to school. The adults, mainly ladies are selling handcraft and textile and pose in their native traditional outfits (which means semi-naked) for pictures with you, if you want. The OvaHimba (offical term for Himba people), are semi-nomadic as they have base homesteads where crops (mainly maize and millet) are cultivated, but may have to move within the year depending on rainfall and where there is access to water. They breed fat-tailed sheep and goats and count their wealth in the number of their cattle. Livestock are the major source of milk and meat for the Himbas. Their main diet is sour milk and maize porridge (oruhere ruomaere) and sometimes just plain hard porridge, due to milk and meat scarcity. Only occasionally, and opportunistically, are their livestock sold for cash. Women and girls tend to perform more labor-intensive work than men, because they have to look after the village, whilst the guys are out and about with the livestock. Tribal chiefs and the village counsel can only be consisting of men. Himba people, especially women, are remarkably famous for covering themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat andX ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity, as well as protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate and insect bites. This cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red characteristic, texture and style. Otjize is considered a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing blood, for them the essence of life. it is OvaHimba's ideal of beauty. So boys next time get a bottle of it in the duty free, the local beauties will appreciate it!!! Himbas practice polygamy and arranged marriages as early as 9 or 10 years for the girls. This practice is illegal in Namibia, however ignored by some remote communities. Through government sponsored schooling and drought support Namibia's administration tries to develop Himba's life style to be closer to the mainstream Namibian society.

At the Doro Nawas desert camp we were received with a singing and dancing performance of the staff. The camp is build from stone and canvas blending beautifully into the desert landscape. It even has a private airstrip (nothing really unusual in Namibia's countryside) for the busy ones who do not want to swallow the dust. Doro Nawas is located in the Aba-Huab River Valley and is famous for its most astounding views of mountain ranges and the night sky. Star-gazing is a real experience here as we also will find out. Nearby is the Doro Nawas Conservancy where wild roaming black rhinos are being protected. Not many are left unfortunately and it is extremely hard to spot them. During our welcome drink we met a group of guests from Munich who were out the day before for 10h and have seen no trace of these animals. Surprise surprise this time we are not alone but share the desert camp with 6 others. So a small New Years eve party will happen "auf Deutsch". A very strong wind with a touch of coldness reminded us that we shall spend the next four days in total wilderness. So we skipped the idea to go for a bush walk and just relaxed preparing for the New Year. A special feeling grabbed us, looking back on 2020 and all what has happened; quitting our jobs, relocating from Bangkok to Switzerland getting married, mountaineering in Switzerland, discovering Croatia, then South Africa and now this. Nenad appreciated also the time he could spend in between all these travels with his parents. Who knows they are 92 and 87 after all. But now is time to raise the glasses and wish all family and friends a HAPPY 2021 !!! We gazed up to the stars, toasted, kissed and smiled truly satisfied having been able to do all these adventures despite Covid related worldwide restrictions.

Next morning quite early, Marcel Meier our Namibian guide for the wilderness outing, was picking us up at the camp. Going through the preparations with him, we realised how badly we were prepared for this in terms of equipment. It was all too hectic organising this Namibian Africa extension. Luckily Marcel expected that and was in turn prepared. So with a bit of improvisation we will be fine. Marcel is in his mid 30's and is a professional adventurer for 10 years already. He was born in Namibia from German parents, who migrated there in the 1970's. He speaks fluently German, Afrikaans, English and Oshiwambo. We realised as we travelled that such language diversity is not uncommon among educated Namibians, including Africans. The race relations here are much more positive than in South Africa. People mingle more naturally with each other and we did not feel this tension and segregation that plagues the Namibian southern neighbor. Crime is also much less of a problem, as are gun related issues. Although Namibia was also under the Apartheid rule when occupied by SA, they managed after their independence to create a society in somewhat better harmony. We were told that among others, one reason is that the African tribes in Namibia are mainly peaceful peasants by nature, whereby the Xhosas and especially the Zulus have warriors and conquerors blood, thus are much more aggressive and dominant. Another reason is that the extreme White racist supremacy thinking, especially to be found among some Afrikaans in South Africa, is not at all so strong in Namibia. The German element within the white population is surprisingly dominant in Namibia.

The Damaraland is part of the Kunene Region in the north-west of Namibia and is dominated by the Brandberg massif, with the highest mountain Brandberg with 2'573 m altitude. It is characterised by its rocky and rugged landscapes of wild, rough, fascinating beauty. The area's geology is of volcanic origin, crating a spectacular mixture of black rocks, rocks with a high content of iron ore, giving it a reddish color, the sand of either yellow of red tint and green patches of vegetation, surviving wherever a bit of water is present. This region is home to the people of the Damara language group. The name „Damaraland“, is a terminology from the colonial days, today it is only used in tourism and as geographical classification, not political. The flora and fauna of the region have adapted perfectly to the harsh weather conditions of high heat and persisting droughts. Here you find the desert dwelling elephants, who with elongated limbs and broader soles are able to handle the extreme rock and sand desert better and can travel for kilometers in the dry river beds in search of water. Also the critically endangered desert lions managed to adapt to the arid climate as did the black rhinos. Zebras, giraffes, ostriches and springboks have also made Damaraland their home as did of course the king of the desert, the Orix. The animals are even much shyer than in Etosha. Water holes are even more important and this determines everything. Numerous endemic desert plants are found in the Damaraland such as the poisonous but photogenic Euphorbia Virosa (poison tree) and the ancient Welwitshia Mirabilis, the national flower of Namibia. On the Mopane tree (angel tree) mopane white grey worms live. They are deep fried a specialty for Himbas. The leaves of this tree keep meat cool and keep flies away, a kind of a natural refrigerator.

Our plan is to drive downstream the Huab valley, cross into the Ugab river and follow it upstream until we reach the foot of the Brandberg. Distance wise not a terribly large trip. But with no roads, at times not even indicated paths we could not expect to drive faster than 10-12 km/h in average. Constantly changing surface from sand to rock, sometimes of impressive dimensions, to slight mud makes driving a unique experience. The freedom one feels is unmatched from what we know in the more populated and developed countries. Selecting the right camping site for the night is important. Lions and hyenas roam at night and can intrude in the camp. Never camp near water. Surly this will attract game and their predators. If you set your tent in an elephant path, they may not want to alter greatly their way. Your coffee pot may not be usable any more if a 15 ton animal stands on it. We were filled with stories and tips how to behave and act in the wilderness by Marcel. One he got from his bushmen friends he regularly visits in the outback. Lions do respect territory of other large mammals. So what do you do to ensure a lions do not walk further than a special point? You pee there. Marcel ensured us, that despite the quite unbelievable story, he does that especially if he is camping alone. And one morning he saw lion tracks in the sand walking towards and turning again away from that 'line of defense'. Well Nenad can not reconfirm this by his own experience, he could not find lion tracks where.... Cave paintings of bushman can be found in the numerous hollow rocks and grottos. We lit every evening open fires. With rocks we build a foundation and collected wood in the dry riverbeds. Fire is needed for cooking, to keep wild animals away from the camp site, but also to warm yourself, as it gets chilly at night in the desert. The temperature drops from 35 degree to around 15, sometimes even less. We had braai every dinner over the open fire something Marcel knew how to prepare masterfully. He showed us also the bushman candle, a spiny succulent shrub of about 10 to 20 cm with waxy stems (thus the name) and beautifully delicate white or yellowish flowers. It is mainly found in Damaraland. When the plant dies it leaves on the ground a kind of wax that is collected by the Himba tribe. It is full of warm notes of amber, caramel, vanilla aroma. When burned, it produces a wonderful smell. We could not resist collecting it for our evening use. Less romantic though, as liquid in small bottles this plant extract can be purchased in shops in Namibia. Nenad can watch for hours the play of wood and fire in the open air atmosphere, from time to time gazing up to the stars. It gives an incredible feeling of freedom and pioneer spirit. The locals call this the bushman TV; watching fire and stars.

Passing sand dunes and sandy river beds, driving along rock formations of volcanic origin in red and black, climbing ranges of hills and descending steep escarpments for four days, Nenad was wondering how many times will he be changing tires. And in all that desert landscape if the tiniest bit of water surfaces, nature explodes. Green grass and bushes with trees and flowers of all colors. Peter’s Pools is such a place along the Huab valley. The Huab river is an ephemeral river of app. 300 km length. It flows westward into the Atlantic Ocean at the Skeleton Coast. Its valley has a sizeable population of free roaming desert elephants and houses a Rhino conservancy area. Only about 300 free roaming rhinos are estimated in this conservancy. Rangers don’t give information on their whereabouts. We did not spot them; neither lions and hyenas. Our other reference point the Uhab River is also ephemeral, meaning it only flows above the surface of its sandy bed a few days each year, but even during much of the dry season its subterranean water surfaces as pools in places, and provides an important resource for species in the Damaraland, including us, who refilled regularly our water tanks at the man made waterholes. Nenad was quite skeptical initially drinking from the wells, but was assured by Marcel. And he is right; the quality of the ground water is indeed exceptional. The Uhab is slightly longer with 470km, than the Huab. In the past the two rivers produced enough ground water for everyone's use. In the last decade their activity was less and less, creating the need for man made water holes (boreholes). Never set up a camp in a dry river bed. Flesh floods after rain, some rainfall many miles away, can cause violent activity of water flushing everything away. Nenad remembers the same lesson he received from the local Bedouins in the Sinai when on a camping / diving safari in the Red Sea in 1984. In Arab these dry river beds are called 'wadis'. So we searched a nice high ground, yet protected for our second night camp in the Huab valley.

On the open terrain we encountered at times heavy wind, blowing up the dust into every pore. In the river beds it was quiet, disrupted only by the occasional sound of birds and our Ford Rangers. We passed abandoned large scale tin and zinc open pit mines, who have seen better days when prices of their ore were higher. We visited a rock crystals mine, attached with a sad story. A guy called Mondi mined crystals for over 20 years, hoping for his big lucky strike. It is a hand mined operation, tough, hard work, using smaller hand-tools only, similar what Nenad experienced during his stay in Cooper Pedy in the Australian outback in 1982, when he helped an adventurer miner from Berlin find opals on his claim. Beside a lot of dust in his throat, cool beers after work and a lot of fun, Nenad, by the way, found nothing. This Mondi guy, so the story, did one day find the largest purest crystal he had ever seen. Deprived of cash and full with debts he did not enquire too long on the possible value. He sold to a trader for Euro 250'000, only to hear later that the same fellow sold it on an auction in Europe for 3.5 million. This drove the poor man, who was struggling for so long with so little money, crazy. He got a heart attack and barely survived. The mining is today being done by his former African employees, who should pay him a royalty if they find something, "should". He is still alive in Uis, a mining town nearby, living under rather pitiful conditions.

Acacia trees are the main source of food for elephants and giraffes in Damaraland. Hence one has a good chance to find elephant herds along riverbeds where these trees grow. Only watch where you put up your tent. Marcel's dog Kalia (our four legged bodyguard), senses animals and alerts us, but can also be attracting predators at night. Therefore when darkness falls she has to sleep in the car. Kalia did on our last camping stop alert us that a group of elephants passed near our camp. Marcel knew their usual path and we camped slightly off their route. This allowed us to observe them in the dim light of the early evening, without needing to fear they will trample over our things. The Damaraland has usually 40 degrees temperature this time of the year with no cloud in the sky and bone dry conditions. The "Queen of the Desert", Nenad's name for Nui, brought rain. Marcus in the 10 years he does camping safaris, never saw rain in this region, but now with us !!!! We think he made more pictures than us one morning, disbelieving when he saw the rain poring down on us. This deluge did not last very long and we enjoyed dry and sunny conditions soon again.

After four days we encountered the first human signs as we approached the desert hotel White Lady Lodge. It seemed the perfect place to again have an espresso and enjoy the nice view of the Brandberg massif. We ended our adventure with Marcel in Uis, Mondi's hometown and the main supply center of the region. Not only we learned a lot from Marcel, we also established a bond with a really nice guy, in German we call "Naturbursche". As we continue our trip alone, (a 350km gravel road trip is awaiting us to our next destination), we have to prepare. Buy water and snack (you never know if you get stuck on the lonely desert roads with a flat tire or an engine defect) refuel, check oil and cooling water for the engine, tire pressure and clean all car windows. We are ready to go on, happy to drive towards a shower and a toilette (for the last four days wet wipers were our shower and a shovel and a the bush the toilette), but sad to leave this amazing Damaraland nature.

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Photos

Leaving Etosha
leaving the tarred roads

our 4X4 Ford Ranger
specially customized for off road

passing bushman villages
Himbas a tribe of the Herero

Himba ladies
(borrowed picture)

ready for 2021 "party"
this year quite tame.... C19 ?!?!

New Years eve celebration
of a different kind

open fire is a standard
in the desert

1st Jan 2021 breakfast
excitement for the wilderness rises

making friends with our body guard
Kalia