Day 2 – Goodmorning Namibia

Namibia is many times larger than Belgium but has only  2.7 million inhabitants. We have only known the country under that name since 1990 when it became independent from South Africa. The country was originally a colony of the German empire. On June 26, 1919 however, Germany lost all its colonies with the Treaty of Versailles. South Africa was responsible for German Southwest Africa as the country was then called, when it received the so-called mandate of the League of Nations. The struggle for independence from the influence of Pretoria would take 75 years. In the end, the battle was settled in favor of Southwest Africa. On February 9, 1990, the new constitution was adopted unanimously, after which the country became independent as Namibia on 21 March 1990.

This morning we land just after 5 am at Hosea Kutak International Airport, which is about 45 km from the capital Windhoek. Since 1891, Windhoek is the capital of the country. It is also the largest city in the country with about 300,000 inhabitants. Since we are only expected to be in our first lodge in the afternoon, we first make a short tour of the city. We start with the German-Lutheran Christ Church, a design by Gotlie Redecker, with a mix of gothic and Art Nouveau styles.

Behind this church lies the Independence Building with the statue of the first Namibian president.

A little further downtown  is the Gibeon Meteorite National Monument  located consisting of 33 pieces of the largest meteorite rain that ever hit the earth. These fragments date from about 500 million years ago and are from an area around current Gibeon. Some stones weigh up to 555 kg.

At the time of the South African regime, there was also apartheid in Southwest Africa and whites, blacks and colored people had to live separately. The whites lived in the city, others in townships. Those townships still exist but have nothing more to do with race but everything with economic conditions. Whoever has a license from the government to work in Windhoek may live in these townships. The houses are an aluminum cabin without comfort. There is no running water or electricity. The house is lit with candles and showering is done in open air. On our way to our destination today we pass such a township. Our first destination and also our place of residence for tonight is the Daan Viljoen Game Reserve about 20 km west of the capital. Thanks to the absence of ‘dangerous’ animals like elephants, rhinos and felines, you can make beautiful walks through the park. Until 2010 it was a government park, now it's in private hands. After a nice lunch at the beautiful swimming pool, an afternoon lazing at the pool might be the best solution. After all, many did not sleep on board during our night flight and we still have to start our tour. The walkers are warned that the baboon is the most unpredictable animal and that is why women can’t walk alone. As I walk from my chalet back to the swimming pool, I am surprised by a whole bunch of baboons accompanied by warthogs. With some of these animals I would rather not fight. So I wait a while before they move on.

At the pool, the management treats us to tea and cake while the sun starts to set. Yummy. It's almost winter in southern Africa and  hence early dark. Once the sun is gone, it becomes a bit cold. To give you an idea: this morning at the time of our landing at 5 am it was only 3°.

We warm ourselves up over dinner. Under heaters we end our first day in Africa. We already are on the African rhythm.