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Published: August 11th 2006
Picking up from where we left you guys....
We left Swakopmund on day seven and headed towards Spitzkoppe (which in German means sharp point). Spitzkoppe is named after the pointy mountains in the region. When we arrived, we climbed up a steep cliff (meaning we had to pull ourselves up with ropes) to view some of the oldest Bushmen cave paintings, which is about hundreds of thousands of years old (but we can't quite remember the exact time). The bushmen used these paintings as a source of communication from one tribe to another. They would mostly tell stories about the animals they killed in the area. It was pretty cool to see their depictions of rhinos, cows, kudu and of themselves hunting with bows and arrows. After viewing the paintings, we hiked around huge boulders that barely stood on some of the cliffs' edges. Later that evening we arrived to our campsite, cooked dinner, and celebrated Christmas (it wasn't really x-mas, our guide just likes to add a little fun into our trip). You should have seen what we did to make it feel like Christmas; we had someone dress up like Santa (we made his hat and beard out
of toilet paper and tissue paper), we made a christmas tree decorated with aluminum foil and cut stars from paper, and we all exchanged gifts in this little grotto-like cave. Mike got a little African curio (a little carved ball like keychain) and Meghan got bubbles (yes, the kind that you play with when you're a little kid). We all had a lot of laughs and our Santa was awesome.
Days eight and nine were spent driving and were rather uneventful. However, we did stop at some outdoor stands where these ladies were dressed in their traditional outfits and were selling dolls that looked just like them. They wore these funny flat hats and extremely vibrant colored dresses. Meghan was suckered into buying one of the dolls.
Day Ten was one of the most memorable days of the trip thus far. It began early in the morning when we walked from our campsite into the Himba Village. The Himba people are nomadic people who once roamed from Namibia through Uganda and Botswana. Today, due to urbanization, their land has decreased and in reaction, the government has set different plots of land throughout Namibia for their use. The Himba
people live very simple lives. One woman is the head chief of the tribe and is queen through heredity. A man is determined wealty by the number of livestock he has. He is also permitted to have several wives. When we arrived at the tiny village, we were blown away by how simplistic this village was. There were about 7 huts, all of which are made from dirt, bush, and termite manure/spit (which acts as a glue). There are two families (that number about 30 people) that live in this tiny little village. Often times, when families get too large, they have to split up and live in different areas so that everyone can eat and survive. This man Jaco, our Himba guide, took us into his house (or rather, hut). Jaco is a white man, originated from Europe, but has been part of the Himba tribe since he was 11 years old. He was originally sent as a translator, by his father, who wanted to buy the land that the Himba owned. He, however, fell in love with the culture and the people and has since acted as a liason between the modern world and the Himba way of
life. He is married to the queen of the tribe, as well as two other women (one being 16 years old!). While having 3 wives, Jaco has no biological children. He however, has adopted 19 children over the years. He sends some of the kids to school in the modern world, where they will be forever changed and no longer accepted as Himba people. The ones that aren't sent to school are kept in the village and raised the Himba way. In his hut, he told us about the daily routines of the Himba people. They wake up at 4am and begin their 3 hour bathing and cleaning ritual. Due to the fact that they live in the desert and water is a scarcity, they use not one drop of water while bathing. Rather, they "steam clean" themselves with several herbs, coals, and a mud-like substance. They begin by steaming all of their privates by crouching over this little contraption that holds their cleaning products. They then put all of their clothes (or what little they have) over it to steam clean thier clothes. Himba women wear furs around their lower region and lots of jewelry, especially around the ankles
(which is considered the most sacred part of a woman's body). The men wear little loin cloths and some jewelry as well. After the bathing is over, there is an hour long massage period where everyone gets massages. At this point, they apply their cosmetics. The cosmetics consist of a brownish-red mud for women and a black mud for men. The red mud gives the Himba women a distinct appearance and is used for a variety of reasons: it acts as a hair remover, as sunscreen, as deoderant, as bug repellent, and as a healing agent. They rub it all over their entire body and on the bodies of babies as well. They consistently reapply throughout the day. After about 10 minutes in the village, we had red mud all over us from touching and interacting with the people. The men use the black mud as a hair grower. The women also use the black mud in their hair. They first layer dreads of hair with the black mud, then cover it with the red mud, and then put a leather hair piece at the tops of their heads. This process takes several days. After the three hour bathing rituals,
the men begin their workday by taking the livestock in and out of the village to feed them. They call their animals to and from the village through a horn from a rhino. Jaco also showed us several of their hunting tools that the men use to kill animals, which they still hunt with today. One of the men was making shoes out of giraffe hide while we were there. After about two hours in the village, it was time to leave. However, before we left, the women set up a little market and we were able to buy handmade jewelry which supported their community. We both bought bracelets and left in awe of their way of life. After this visit, we truly felt like we were in Africa.
To make this day even better, we went to Etosha National Park, our first game park next. Etosha Game park was declared a National Park in 1907 and covers an area of 22,270 square km, it is home to 114 mammal species, 340 bird species, 110 reptile species and 16 amphibian species. On our first game drive we were amazed by all of the animals we saw: giraffes, elephants, springbok,
zebras, impalas, and many species of birds. We went on two game drives that afternoon and both realized, this is what we came to Africa for. We must have taken 8 rolls of film because we were so excited! That night we watched a beautiful African sunset over a watering hole just outside of our campsite, located in the park. We were astonished to see rhinos (black rhino and white), elephants, and even a lion drinking from the watering hole; three of the big 5. For all of you who don't know, the Big 5 are Lion, Leopard, Black Rhino, Elephant, and Buffalo. These five animals were named the Big 5 because they were considered the hardest and most dangerous animals to kill. After dinner, we returned to the watering hole and were watching a rhino and it's baby play when a herd of about 50 elephants came. It was absolutely incredible. These humongous and fascinating animals were only 20 to 30 feet from us. The only thing that kept them from us was a little incline/wall which we were perched up on. The funny thing about it was we were like the caged animals at the zoo, not them.
When we walked back to our tents later that night, we heard these weird bird noises coming from the trees over our tent. We shined our light up and saw 5 owls chilling on a branch. They didn't flinch when our light was on them and just kept sitting there cooing. We went to bed that night astonished and in such anticipation for the next day and the thought of more animals.
We woke up early on the morning of day eleven to catch the animals at sunrise. Most animals are active early in the morning, at sunset, and late at night when it is cooler. Our sunrise game drive was moderately successful; we saw 5 female lions, but unfortunately they were pretty far away and we didn't get any good pics. We saw a lot of the same animals from the night before and to add to our list, we saw red hetabeests (look like impalas but have horns that curve backwards which allow them to be incredibly fast) and kudu (antelope species with spiral horns). At lunch time, we drove to another campsite and went swimming while lunch was being prepared. It was an absolutely gorgeous, sunny
Elephants
CAN YOU FIND THE FIFTH LEG?!and warm day. We were definitely living the life. After we ate lunch, we went to the watering hole at this campsite and once again saw about 20 elephants and some warthogs. At this point, we had decided that Africa is amazing and everything we ever dreamed it would be! After lunch we headed out into the park for another game drive. At first, we didn't see that many animals because it was still a bit too hot for the animals, so we drove to the Etosha Pan (still inside the park). The Pan is part of the Kalahari Basin, the floor of which was formed around 1000 million years ago. The Etosha Pan covers around 25% of the National Park. The pan was originally a lake fed by the Kunene River. However, the course of the river changed thousands of years ago and the lake dried up. The pan is now a large dusty depression of salt and dusty clay which fills only if the rains are heavy and even then only holds water for a short time. This temporary water in the Etosha Pan attracts thousands of wading birds including impressive flocks of flamingos. The perennial springs along
the edges of the Etosha Pan draw large concentrations of wildlife and birds. Basically, it was one huge white, dry piece of land where we saw mirages and a few lost ostriches. After the Pan, we began our game drive to our next campsite (there are 3 campsites within ENP). Due to the fact that it was cooler and closer to sunset, there were a gazillion animals out. By this time, we had seen so many zebras, springbok, giraffes, and impalas we no longer stopped to take pictures of them. It is a rule, accompanied by a hefty fine, that you must arrive in your campsite by sunset. So that we did. That night, we saw giraffes at the watering hole and bonded with all of our fellow travelers (with a bottle of booze).
Day Twelve began with a morning game drive. We saw basically all of the same animals as we had seen the previous days. We left Etosha and drove towards a town called Rundu, along the Kavango River....we will continue later....
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Leigh
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Incredible...
...is what I kept saying aloud while reading your blog and seeing those amazing pictures! What a fascinating adventure you two are on, and to share it with one another makes it all that much better. Keep the updates coming so we can live vicariously through you! Have tons of fun!