The country of Namibia was one place I never expected to visit, thus, it was with some anticipation I disembarked at the port city of Walvis Bay a few days ago. I was excited to be visiting another African country, but I was ignorant to what to expect. What I found was a true paradox. An odd, contradictory, puzzling country. A country of mesmerising beauty cleaved from stark conditions. A country where the smile of its people quickly turned to frowns of discontent.
First. A bit About Namibia.
Namibia is a country of 2.6 million, located on the southwestern coast of Africa. Surprisingly, while 87.5% of its population is black (6% white and 6.5% mixed), English is the official language. It has very limited fresh water (it hasn’t rained since 2015 in the region we visited) and it boasts the world’s oldest desert (the Namid desert is 80 million years old). Mealie (corn) is the staple food. Football (soccer) is the most popular sport and crime is a serious concern. Regarding its economy, Namibia is the world’s largest producer of uranium. It also exports diamonds, gold, oil and fish.
What We Did.
Always wary of taking a tour in certain countries, we decided safety in numbers would be prudent. Thus, along with a host of fellow Resilient Lady passengers, we booked an excursion through Paulus Jamba. An adventure that would have us photographing perfectly pink flamingos in their natural habitat, sashaying past salt mines and dancing on dunes. It eventuated to be an incredible day, full of madness and confusion (we were made to change buses 3 times), beauty (from the stunning flamingoes to the breathtaking beauty of the Namibian desert) and instruction.
Why Instruction? or What We Learnt.
I arrived in Namibia expecting to find a third world country. Call it ignorance or elitism, but I expected poorer conditions. What I found was a country in which the Chinese, over the past decade, have also discovered. Buying up the salt mines, the oil rigs, the land, the view from my bus window is unexpected. Huge motorways (many still under construction). Large, modern housing estates (again still under construction). Shopping centres and enormous libraries. Elegant avenues lined with thousands of specially grown date palms.
Was It All Like this?
No, it wasn’t all like this. A part of our excursion had us visit a shanty town, which, according to our guide, developed from the accumulation of people with nowhere else to go. Full of lean-to structures, these dwellings have neither electricity nor running water. Although, and this is all part of Namibias paradox – next to this shanty-town is a new town. Boesmanland. Crammed with box-like structures and costing approximately $50-$80,000 AUD, it is where the government hopes to house the poorer who can afford it.
So What Do The Locals Think?
Our guide for the day was Brendan. A young tattoo artist, cum sand-surfer, cum tour guide. He had travelled over 300 kilometres from his hometown to be our guide for the day. These are fragments of conversation I had with him.
“Namibia is very corrupt. You go to school then university but unless you have money to pay under the table, you can’t get a job here”.
“Namibians are selfish. Everyone is for themselves. Especially the politicians and the older people. They don’t try to group together to get a better government or make a better country for the youth”.
Some Final Reflections.
I haven’t mentioned the sand yet. It’s everywhere. There are no lawns.
I also haven’t mentioned the fog. Being a country where the desert meets the ocean, the right conditions are created for thick fog to develop along the coastline, which in turn provides enough moisture for the flora and fauna. We arrived and departed in fog.
The effects of climate change. It was cold on the day we visited, with the temperature ranging from 14 to 22 degrees Celsius. We needed jumpers. According to our guides, this was not normal.
The dust. Was prolific and perfect for drying out the runny noses many of us arrived here with.
Where Next?
Today is day 2 of 9 days at sea. In a few days we will be crossing the equator. The 5th time I will have done so. Next stop will be Santa Cruz de Tenerife, largest of the Canary Islands. See you then.
