Namibia Map

 

                     

                        Southern Africa Map

 

latest picture: November 24, 2014

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November 2nd, 1992: On board of the vessel “Luisa” of the MSC shipping line the film “Out of Africa” according to Karen Blixen’s book runs on the screen. It brings tears to Liliana’s eyes. It reflects exactly the mood we feel when in Cape Town we leave the African continent that we have crossed from North (Tanger/Morocco) to South (Capetown/South Africa) in four years and 63'000 miles with destination Fremantle in Australia.

 

July 1st, 2014: nearly 22 years later, coming from Cape Verde, we land once more in Africa – in Namibia, in the Southwest – for our second Africa adventure.

001  Indispensable for our second

African adventure (despite GPS):

Travel guide books and road maps

002  This was the route we travelled

in Namibia in 1992. There is not much

new land left in Namibia to discover for us

003  Emil is beaming! Coming from

Mindelo on Cape Verde, our Land

Cruiser arrived on July 17th, 2014,

in Walvis Bay. At Loubser’s

Backpacker he is storing our travel

bags on the car’s roof rack

004  At dune No. 7, about 6 miles

east of Walvis Bay, not much has

changed since May 13th, 1992. It still

conveys a real sense of desert …..

005  ….. but surprisingly there is still

some plant growth like this lovely trio

despite the long dry periods …..

006  ….. under a glorious blue sky

we shoot a remembrance picture

007  We enjoy a picnic together with

Adilla and Stephan at Dune No. 7.

They also shipped their LandCruiser

to Namibia and intend to explore

Africa north to Tanzania …..

008  ….. down is easier than up!

Both do not miss the chance to

climb up the 430 ft. high dune …..

009  ….. also this little guy wants

to try. For him it is more sliding

than climbing

010  Flamingos – lesser and greater

flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor und

roseus) as far as the eye can reach.

Along the Walvis Bay lagoon they roam

densely packed in their thousends (up to

250’000) through the shallow water

011  The southern wind is freezing due to

the Benguela current. We sit for hours in

our LandCruiser and watch these beautiful

birds. When they sleep they stand on one

leg and put their beak under a wing

012  The sun disappears at the Walvis

Bay lagoon. The flamingos are still

searching for food. They filter the

swirled up mud through their beaks

013  East of Walvis Bay, the deep

blue secluded pools between the

dunes are a true paradise and

sanctuary for birds …..

014  ….. also a few flamingos, some from

those 250’000 living around the Walvis Bay

Lagoon – a “Ramsar Natural Heritage Site”

– went “astray” here …..

015  ….. also white pelicans

(pelecanus onocrotalus) populate

one of the small dunes between the quiet

pools that sometimes nearly drie out

016  A flamingo high in the air impresses

us by its remarkable wingspan

017  Can a backdrop be more beautiful

for a remembrance picture? With this

photo we say good bye to the flamingos

at the Wavis Bay Lagoon

018  Along the Namibian Coast,

influenced by the cold Benguela Current

from Antarticta, not only flamingos

gather, but also Cape Cormorans

(Phalacrocorax capensis)

019  It tastes nice! Lunch on our

terrace at Loubser’s B&B

in Walvis Bay

020  Emil is arranging the evidences for

the Guinnesss Book of Records that we

have to submit for our yearly update

021  Our neighbors Adilla and Stephan

with their LandCruiser at Loubser’s B&B

yard in Walvis Bay. We spent a lovely time

with them, enjoying many delicious éclairs!

022  At the “Oceans Restaurant” at

the Walvis Bay waterfront there is not

only delicious food, but also an exotic

waitress with a lovely hairstyle

023  Always a smile on his face! A servant

at Loubser’s B&B in Walvis Bay

024  Good-bye picture with Lala, the

lady owner of Loubser’s B&B in Walvis

Bay where we spent 57 relaxed days

while firstly waiting for the arrival of our

Toyota and afterwards exhausting all

possibilities to get an Angola visa

025  Salt flats on the way to the

“Pelican Point”. The “Walvis Bay Salt

Works” want to boost soon their annual

output of 650’000 tons by about 50%

026  It feels good in the dunes! Here on

our way to the “Pelican Point” Peninsula

027  Sea gulls crow to the strong sea

breeze at “Pelican Point”. Its “Donkey

Bay” is also a surfing spot for inter-

national surfer who are waiting for the

“big wave” arriving from the Southwest

028  At “Pelican Point”, about 6 miles

beeline – 16 miles of track west of

Walvis Bay, close to the luxury hotel

near the lighthouse huge colonies of the

“Brown Fur Seals” (Arctocephalus

pusillus) are breeding …..

029  ….. the males are around 7.5ft in

length and weigh from 400-660lb. Females

are smaller, averaging 5.9ft in length and

weighing an average of 260 lb …..

030  ….. whether they waddle on

land or dive into the sea, these colossus

are always entertaining to watch

031  “Don’t dare to disturb us”! End

of November/Beginning of December it

is getting busier. Females give birth to their

pups. They remain in and around the

colony for the next ten to eleven months

032  A black ribbon of Cape fur seals

stretches along a big part of the coast of

“Pelican Point”. 23 huge seal colonies

breed at the Namibia and South African

Coast with tens of thousands of animals,

despite of the commercial cullings

033  On the right of the road sign to

Swakopmund and Windhoek is our

rolling “home”. On the left side uniform

low cost houses – former “townships”

– are stretching along the highway;

here Kuisebmund with about half of

the people of Walvis Bay

Swakopmund – Namibia’s premier holiday resort – is a treasure chest on German, well preserved,

restored and even new constructed colonial buildings, what adds to the city’s charm

034  Palm lined “Daniel Tjongarero

Ave.” (former Poststrasse) with the tower

of the Catholic Church of Swakopmund

035  (German) Evangelical

Lutheran church, consecrated 1912

036  New business building,

built in the old German colonial style

037  Beautifully restored building with

the tower of the “Woermann House”

in the background, built in 1905

038  Lighthouse, completed in 1902 –

21 years older than the one at “Pelican

Point” in Walvis Bay (picture # 28)

039  Reunion after 18 years with Anne

and Wilfried at the “Alte Brücke”

Campground in Swakopmund. We

met them for the first time begin of

April 1989 in Tamanrasset/Algeria

040  Liliana poses next to a termite

mound, which are characteristic of the

African savannah. The adamant walls

are difficult to break up. Predators are

anteater and armadillos. Whereas the

former cannot be found in Africa, the

pangolins only exist in Namibia’s south

041  Thorny acacia, adorned with

bird nests, belong to the African

savannah just as the termite mounds

042  Probably a nest of the rain

spider or huntsman spider

(genus Palystes), one of the biggest

spiders in Southern Africa

043  The Christ Church at the Robert

Mugabe Avenue in Windhoek is a

historic landmark, proclaimed as a

National Monument. It was built

1910 in what was then German

South-West Africa

044  The new, on March 20th, 2014,

inaugurated „Independence Memorial

Museum“ in Windhoek looks like a

“coffee grinder” and was planned

and built by North Koreans

045  At the Garden Restaurant

“Wirtshaus Windhoek” along

Independence Avenue we enjoy the

good German cuisine. We celebrate

the receipt of our Angolan visa

046  The “Elisenheim Guest Farm”,

about 9 miles north of the capital

(3.3 miles east of the main highway

B1 to Okahandja). The huge Australian

eucalyptus (Eucalyptus) rising

132 ft. towards the sky grows

through the restaurant roof

047  Our camping site at the “Elisenheim

Guest Farm” where we enjoy the

quietness and the birdlife …..

048  ….. our “regulars' table” with

the wireless internet on the patio of the

restaurant where Liliana is busy writing

the Angolan captions for our website

We enjoy the twittering of all the birds visiting us daily at the “Elisenheim Camping”:

049  A Lilac-breasted roller

(Coracias caudatus)

050  A Swallow-tailed bee-eater

(Merops hirundineus)

051  A southern masked weaver

(Ploceus velatus) building its nest:

It builds it at the edge of a palm leaf,

where snakes and other predators

cannot reach it. Time: About 1 day

052  The blue ribbon is a result of the

dammed-up river on the property of the

“Elisenheim Guest Farm”. It’s possible

to camp there “off the beaten track” .....

053  ….. Liliana overlooking the peaceful

mini reservoir, where at its shore camping

is also possible …..

054  ….. a bush fire is blazing in the

region spreading incredibly fast due to the

extreme dryness. Obviously it was arson

055  Liliana is walking to the antenna

at the “Elisenheim Guest Farm” –

660 ft. higher up …..

056  ….. view from the antenna

to our camping spot …..

057  ..... and far to the plains where the

new residential area (city) “Elisenheim”

with around 5’000 houses is under

construction (currently only about 200)

058  A tree, bent by timeless winds,

overlooking the plains towards the

north of Namibia

059  A squirrel in Africa? Apparently

they are native also to Namibia: Smith's

bush squirrel (Paraxerus cepapi)

060  The lights of the capital Windhoek

(here the North) sparkle in the plain.

Windhoek lies in a basin on an altitude

of about 5’600 ft. and counts about

350’000 people

061  Ursula, a co-camper and chiro-

practor from Germany, adjusts Liliana’s

"Sacroiliac Joint" on our camping table,

which dislocated because of an abrupt

move during chilly temperature. A painful

and tedious convalescence with

medication followed

062  Emil, the “handy man”,

repairs Liliana’s shoes

063  Happy faces and celebration

at the occasion of a re-encounter after

25 years: In the African bush, the

Swiss Fondue offered by Dorly

and Wolfgang with their Iveco
tastes even better!

064  Side by side at the same palm

leaf: A bird's nest and a wasp nest

065  A peaceful picture of togetherness:

The rock pigeon (Columba guinea)

is a resident of the African savannah

066  A golden-tailed woodpecker

(Campethera abingoni) is busy

knocking on a knobby tree

Creepy crawlies that appear on our campsite:

067  A tarantula respectively camel

spider (Solifugae) feeding on a moth

068  A turtle creeping

past our LandCruiser

069  A millipede on the run

They are never far away:

070  The groundscraper thrush

(Psophocichla litsitsirupa) dashing

round with its fairly long legs

071  The Southern Yellowbilled

Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) that

regularly interrupts Emil’s siesta when

it wants something to pick

072  The blue feathers of the Cape

Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis nitens)

are glistening beautifully in the sunshine

073  Two shy dik-diks (Madoqua

kirkii) scan attentively their surroundings.

At the shoulder they are only about

12 to 15 inches tall

074  Two treacherous baboons (chacma

baboons - Papio ursinus). They are waiting

for an opportunity to snatch some food

from campers and leave behind a mess

075  “Watch out, an intruder is

approaching!” An ever watchful yellow

mongoose, also called “red meerkat”

(Cynictis penicillata). It eats lizards,

insects and scorpions

076  Swainson's spurfowl (Pternistis

swainsonii) are searching for seeds and

bread crumbs. They cackle so loud that

one could get a hearing damage

077  Even a locust (Phymateus baccatus)

can be impressive

078  The Crimson-breasted shrike

(Laniarius atrococcineus) makes itself

felt through its short whistle. It eats

worms and lays its eggs preferably

into another birds nest

African moods near the “Elisenheim Guest Farm” that delight us over and over again:

079  The evening light makes

the hill to glow

080  The setting sun bewitches us

with its play of crimson clouds

081  The moon is rising behind

the golden gleaming savannah

Continuation to the next Namibia page: Namibia Part 2 – from Windhoek to the Angolan border and back again

 

The "Greater"-Middle East trip 2012/13 + Cape Verde 2013/14:

Sharjah/Dubai/1st Traveler's Festival/Emirates National Auto Museum - UAE with car Nov. 2012 to Jan. 2013 - part 1

Western UAE - Liwa - United Arab Emirates  with car in January 2013 - part 2

Oman 2013 – Part 1 - February 2013: Musandam Peninsula

Oman 2013 – Part 2 - February 2013: Sohar - Muscat - Rustaq - Nizwa

Oman 2013 – Part 3 - March 2013: Sur - East Coast - Island of Masirah - Dhofar

Oman 2013 – Part 4 - March 2013: Salalah & Surroundings (Dhofar) - Nizwa

Oman 2013 – Part 5 - March 2013: Western Hajar Mountains

Al Ain, Eastcoast & Ras al Khaima - United Arab Emirates with our car in April 2013 - part 3

Iran - part 1: Ferry Port Bandar Abbas-Shiraz-Persepolis-Pasargad (between Persepolis and Yazd) – May 2013

Iran - part 2: Pasargad (excl.)-Yazd-Esfahan – May 2013

Iran - part 3: Esfahan (excl.)-Chelgerd-Hamadan-Sanandaj-Orumiyeh – May 2013

Turkey - Iran Border-Esendere-Hakkari-Van-Dogubayazit-Kars-Ardahan-Hopa-Georgia Border – May 28 to June 4, 2013

Georgia - part 1: Ajaria-Gori-Tbilisi-Kakheti-Azerbaijan Border – June 4 to 13, 2013

Azerbaijan - Georgia Border-Balakan-Seki-Lahiç-Baku-Xinaliq-Quba-Laza-Baku-Ganca-Georgia Border – June 13 to 24, 2013

The African trip 2013-15:

CapeVerde: Santiago/Praia part 1 – November18th to December 13th, 2013

CapeVerde: Fogo – Dezember13th to 23rd, 2013

CapeVerde: Brava – December 23rd to 26th, 2013

Cape Verde: Santiago/Praia part 2 – December 26th, 2013 to February 28th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Nicolau – February 28th to March 13th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 1 – March 13th to 20th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Eastern side part 1 – March 20th to April 7th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Western side part 2 – April 7th to 10th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 2 – April 10th to 29th, 2014

Angola Part 1 – September 26th to October 4th, 2014

Angola Part 2 – October 4th to 22nd, 2014

Namibia Part 2 – from Windhoek to the Angolan border, back again and on to South Africa