Nam!
Spring Fall Break 2010: Namibia
If you have trouble finding endless fascination with desolate landscapes, Namibia may not be the place for you. With a population of 2 million people, spread out over an area half the size of Alaska, Namibia is the second least densely populated country in the world, next to Mongolia. Urban centers are not Namibia’s strong suit. Most Namibian towns are quite small, and often spread out by a few hours drive. Petrol stations are few and far between, and it is fairly common for them to be out of petrol. But if you can enjoy that kind of remoteness, Namibia is stunning.
I had a field day (or 7) with the camera, and we saw all kinds of wild animals I had no expectations of seeing, including wild zebras, tons of antelope, desert foxes, etc. In North America when you go camping, you have to lock up your food at night so bears don’t get it. In Namibia, you have to worry about baboons. We woke up one morning to discover that a baboon had trashed a box of our oatmeal. Not to mention the giant bugs.
Namibia is somewhat of a strange country to blast around with nine other young Americans in a giant van. Inside the van, everything is abrasive, with music roaring for every foot of the 2600 mile trip, people singing, laughing, sometimes dancing, and on rare occasion, crowd surfing. But outside the van is an overwhelming silence that is damn near impossible to obtain if you are near any kind of human civilization. There is little in between these two extremes.
The largest dose of civilization we had was two nights spent in Swakupmond, a pretty town located on the Atlantic coast. Swakupmond was originally colonized by Germans, and is now a place where Europeans come to vacation. It was a refreshing burst of tourism at the end of a long drive through the desert. Nate and I spent the better part of our morning in Swakupmond antiquing, an activity that generally does not characterize our demographic. Here is a gif of Nate licking our hostel’s electric fence:
Below I’ve posted photos. Comments are welcomed.
