Hiking in Kaokaland - the Himba tribe
Naukluft
I enjoyed my 8 day hike very much.
It wasn't hard at all - not a lot of K"m per day and we finished each day at 14-16 (including a lot of stops and long lunch breaks). The scenery reminds a bit Eilat mountains, only bigger and less pointed mountains. There were a lot of Canyons that were narrow and long and had a lot of dry waterfalls in them.
Most of the waterfalls were small ones (1-2 Meters) with a few of more then 10 Meters and two over 200 Meters. I really enjoyed the Waterfalls since I had to climb them all the time (all of this with a full 26 kg big bag). The nice ones I did a few times: First time with the bag using the chains that were in the rock and then I climbed a few more times - without the bag or chains.
The first two days we didn't see almost any animals only the remains of them : skeletons of Zebra and the horns of Kudu. We saw more than 30 horns in two days. We also saw skeletons of Rock Rabbits (Rockdaisies~), Baboon and klipspringer. The only animal I saw the first day (except birds) was a more than two meter Black Mamba. I am usually not afraid of snakes - but this one just scared me. It was amazing.
I was, of course, using my new GPS all the time and it has improved my navigation skills quit a bit. I looked at the map and try to find out where exactly I am and only then I look at the GPS. I then checked out why I was wrong (slowly more accurate every time).
The next days where just as nice, still with almost no animals. There was a full moon so we did a small night hike without flashlights and it was amazing how much light the moon gives out. We were walking in a canyon, in the shade of the moon and still had enough light to see the way.
The next days we started to see animals (Kudu, Zebra, Klipspringers, Springbok, Baboons and a lot of birds). We saw some of the animals from very close (just a few meters) and it was beautiful. Most of the time the weather was wonderful at day time and a bit cold at night except for the last two days. We arrived at the shelter (a rock wall about half a meter high) with a roof at just after 14:30 so I decided to hike to the bottom of the valley we just came up (about 400meter down and 4-5 KM out) and then came the clouds: they came fast and it started to rain above me but the rain evaporated before it came tome. It was an amazing sight - I saw the rain coming down (and hitting the plato I just came down from). I climbed back to the plato and then I came to the rain and the wind. The rain was not hard but since the wind was so hard, the rain hitting the face was a bit painful. The wind was so hard I lost my balance a few times!
When we finished the hike Emanuelle (a French girl I traveled with) and I decided to hitchhike the nice way to L�deritz. After three days of standing on the empty roads (a car every 2 hours) we got to a city that had a bus! Actually the way was fun and enjoyable since we saw a lot of things: I saw a zebra from very close up - so close that it thought that my jacket was food and tore a 30 cm hole in the sleeve. I hope that the zebra met a hungry Leopard in the mean time. We also rode in a moving van - in the empty container in the back with the door open - which was an experience. We also met a farm owner that invited us to stay with him the night. He was a very interesting and fun guy. We stayed all night in front of the fire in his garden, ate cheese, wine (for me - coke) and homemade biltong. The highlight of that evening was (do not forget - I was after8 day hike and two day hitchhiking) - a boiling bubble bath! Now -that is roughing it in Africa.
Fish River Canyon
I stopped at Aus and did a two day hike in an area that is on the boundary of a huge Plato (over 100 K"M). The area is full of big boulders - Mom it reminds quit a bit of Hampy in India. Did some nice mountain climbing and slept at a 'chalet' that was built in the boulders. I also did a horse ride and saw Oryx from about 7 Meters. I think that Oryx are one of the most beautiful animals that I saw! From there, I went to Fish River Canyon and while hitchhiking, I got a ride with a bus full of South Africans. They offered me to join them on the hike. They had a permit for 40 people and were 45, and they said that nobody checks busses. It was strange being in a bus full of people with Mom and Louise accents. We went out on the hike the next morning (I slept in the kitchen of their hotel room) and got to the start point. I have never being to the Grand Canyon (even though we did white water rafting in the Colorado River!)- But if I was told that this point is the Grand Canyon - I would have believed it.
A canyon inside a canyon - with the inside canyon the height of 550 Meters and the whole river winding like in the fairies .Luckily (later on it became a bit bad luck) there was water flowing in the river - brown muddy water. I got to the bottom and saw that people weren't coming down so I went back up (with out my backpack) and met one of the women that had bad knees: she fell when here knees 'gave up' on here. After Mom's problems I could sympathize with here - so I took her backpack and helped her down. I told her that if her knees will not be O.K. the next day or the day after that - she can exit at the 'Emergency Exit' down the river. I then had a nice bath (short -the water was cold), lunch and black coffee (the concept of KAFFE BOTZ got a new meaning with the muddy water)
We camped not far from there. The next morning I took the woman with the knees food so she will carry less weight (and I could practice for the next part of SVIL ISRAEL - in Aug-Sep). I set off for my own exploration. I climbed the side of the canyon wall to the other side (I was proud of myself - not going upstrait - but looking for a 'safe' way up.). That safe way up included a 30 Meter cliff climb - very enjoyable. I then continued to see a lot of views from the other side - amazing. I also saw a few rivers with waterfalls that some of them had springs in them. I will not continue to describe the views since I will only repeat my self with the adjectives that will sound the same - but the views were not the same. I didn't want to go back down and every time I told myself - just one more view/river and then that is it. In the end I had to run (literally) back to the river and got to the group in the last of the fading light(I had to get to the group - I had the lady�s food!). On the canyon ridge I saw a hyena from a meter away!
On the third day I went up the 'Emergency Exit' to see the view - but wasn't as impressive as the second day. I then got to the hot springs at lunch time - too hot to go in (also the air and also the hot springs). From this point I started to cross the river too many times. The path went from one side to the other and every time I had to take off my backpack, take off my shoes and pants, put on my sandals, cross over, dry my feet, put back my shoes and pants. All together I did this almost 50 times - and I got tired of it.
The forth day I took a rest day and walked with the group. The views opened up a bit and became less 'cliffy'. The fifth day I didn't take the short cut with the group and continued down the river. I saw some wild horses from up close - swimming in the river. When I arrived to the group - it turned out that one of the guys got stung by a scorpion in his finger. Mom&Dad - This is a time of confession: I was stung by a scorpion twice in my life and haven't told you about it: Once in Hi-Bar (even saw a Doctor)and second time in SDE BOKER. Its all right - I am fine. If I am confessing - did I ever tell you that I was also bitten by snakes throughout SDE BOKER? Better late than never! Anyway - I told him that if its like the scorpions in Israel - he will suffer pain for a few hours and be like new in no time. It turns out that he is Anaesthetic and he helps out in a research that one part of it is injecting pigs hearts with scorpion poison and trying to get the heart to continue working. For the past few months -they had a 0% survival rate - so you can imagine what panic state he was in.
I went out with another guy and ran to the end point (14 K"M) to get some help. We had to cross the river eight times but this time I did it with my shoes and pants. With the incompetent 'rescue team' (it is an insult to Ferns group to call this group a 'rescue team') - we were lucky that I was right and the guy was O.K. after three hours. It took more that two hours for them to get a car and even then another half an hour to find people that know the river. It then turned out that they did not bring torches (luckily we brought), key to the gate of the short cut and they got stuck in the sand. The GPS helped me guide them to another short cut through one of the rivers (that they didn't know).
The next day I did that last part again - but this time with my sandals all the way .After the hike we did a big braii (BBQ - if you have forgotten) and I ate like a pig.
I tried to continue from there to do the upper Fish River hike - but no luck in hitchhiking so I continued to Brukkaros - a volcanic crater. It was Sunday and Farther Day. The locals told me that they go to church on Farther day - So I joined a church ceremony in Berseba. Quit funny to hear them singing in !nama Christian chores songs.
I then continued to the crater- the only mountain in a few tens of K"M. The crate was full of quarts and other minerals and had a waterfall with a pool at the bottom. The sky here is quit amazing - so clear and so many stars - it amazes me every time.
I then continued to Hardap Dam reserve. I did a two day hike and saw a lot of wild ostrich from close up. I saw tracks and shit of rhino - but no rhino. I was not allowed to sleep in the reserve and in the morning I was caught by one of the ranges. He took me to the office where I was told to pay a fine of 100 N$ (about US$ 15 ) - but when I agreed and not made a fuss - they let me off. I then met one of the workers of the Eco Fish Farms and asked him for a tour of them place. Very interesting and thorough tour.
Koakoland - the Himba tribe
I took a mini cab and hitchhiked to Opowo. The last 5 hour drive I got a ride with the Mayor and the chief Executive of Opuwo and with a teacher. On the way, I had a very interesting conversation with the Chief Executive that had studied Israeli history in Collage and knew a lot about Israel. He also told me a lot about his region.
I ate a good meal, that was cooked by one of the students, at the teachers house and went to sleep. In the morning I started my walk and as soon as I came out of the house I saw that for the first time since I arrived in Namibia, I was in real Africa. Local Himba Tribe men and women in traditional cloths: The are bare foot or have sandals made from Tires. Have bracelets on there feet, wear mini skirts (men and women) made from leather strips that are tied to thier hips. There wear no tops (the amount of breast I saw in the week and a half�), have a necklace that is made out of wood and mud and is about 5 c"m wide and the women have a sea shell as an ornament. They have what looks like rasta hair made out of mud! They have other ornaments (but you will have to wait for the pictures.) The most impressive thing about them is the color of there skin: its red-brown since they rub on their whole body a mixture of mud, fire ash and butter and never take it off! They have the color of Hamra mud and it is beautiful and hypnotizing. I walked for three days to the village of Okawangti and on the way stopped at smaller villages and walked with the local people. On one of the nights I slept with three locals that were going somewhere and they made for dinner �Himba Popcorn�: you take dried up corn, boil it up and then toast it in a pot. It has the taste of Popcorn except it isn�t �exploded� and it doesn�t get stuck in you teeth. I gave them 5 minute pasta. They got up at three in the morning and continued to walk - but I stayed in the warm sleeping bag till sunrise. I also walked with two schoolchildren that live 25 k"m from school and walk home every Friday afternoon and back on Sunday afternoon. But it was not snowing and they had shoes.
On Sunday night I visited a church in Okawangti and they were singing and dancing to religious Christian songs like in a disco. I think Jesus is turning in his grave at the site of half naked woman dancing in his church. I then got a ride to Epopa Falls (one of two touristic spots in the area - 5 tourist a day) and rested there for a day. The falls were impressive.
I then continued to walk another few days along the river with two days into the Zebra mountains (that are called that way - not because of the animals but because that they have strips of volcanic Toff stones and trees). The locals have not arrived at the19 Century yet (not to talk about the 20 or the upcoming 21). They prefer things than money: i.e. they will prefer a half k"g of sugar (that coast 3.1 n$) than 10 N$. It looks like a lot of them do not have a understanding of the money system. They prefer one 10N$ note to three5N$ coins - because �notes are worth more�!
After two days in the mountains I arrived back to the river tired, hungry and thirsty (I did a long, non stop walk to the river) and I found a nice sandy beach next to the river. There were two little crocodiles (1-1.5 Meters long) and I managed to chase them away, but then I saw that there was no place to fill up water (you need a shallow place or with boulders sticking out in a certain way - so that the crocodiles won�t be able to get to you. The locals taught me that). I was sitting and trying to get energy to continue another few K"m to a good filling place when a kid with some sheep came along. He saw me and to take a closer look he went to the water and drank some water. I said to myself - if he is taking the change for himself - why not use him? I asked him to fill up my bottle of water and in return I invited him (and three others that came in the meantime) for lunch. While eating - one of the crocodiles came back to the beach and I got a fright but the kids said that not to worry - we are far enough. I thought of putting the kid in-between me and the crocodile, but in the end decided that that will be too much exploitation of the kid - so I put my bag in-between. After lunch they also did the dishes in the river (with one crocodile on the beach and at least on in the water!).
The next evening I met a group of South Africans and they told war stories of going on this road and driving on land mines that the Namibian terrorist put. The next day I decided to get a lift out of the region and stood in the back of a bakki (pickup truck) with a Namibian Solder. As we past an old army truck - he said that he was a Namibian Freedom fighter and that truck was blown up by land mine that he planted in the road. To close the circle: I stopped at a local �stop station�/shop and met a group of Namibians that with the aid of the Americans are demining Namibia in a �MineSeeker�.
I got a ride to Ombalanto and slept at the local police station (no hotels in the area). I explained the local policemen that Israel is not in heaven and does really exist and there is place still called Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Sea of Galilee - but the cross of Jesus isn�t still there! In the morning (it was Sunday) I went to visit a big Baobab tree that to my surprise was turned into a church. Inside the hollow tree they had three benches, a stand for the reverent and a cross. I watched them as they were conducting prayers inside a tree!
From there I continued to Roy�s Rest Camp for a restful day hot shower, washing and real meal. The camp was built by the local farmer that saw people sleeping on the side of the road, because there is nothing for a few hounded K"m. He built the whole place from things he found on thefarm - even the toilet paper holders are a bark of carved wood with a stick inside. It was beautiful. About 20 meters from the �bar� there is a waterhole and while drinking or eating the Kudu, Zebra, Vulture, deer and ostrich came to drink.
I was on my way to Katima Malilu to meet Elise, that works here as a voluntary teacher. I was planing to get here on the weekend so we could go together to Victoria Falls so I decided to go to BushmanLand for few days.
I got a lift with people from the ministry of health that were doing a check-up of the medical clinics of the area - so I got to get to all the villages that had medical clinics on the way to the Tsumkwe (the capital of BushmanLand). Looking back - it was the most interesting part of Bushmanland. I was invited to sleep at a teacher's house in Tsumkwe. The next day They gave me a ride to Hamsa (pronounced like the Morrocan good luck hand/five in Arabic) and expecting to get a lot of good luck- but didn�t get any. The village was empty and I could not find anybody in the area.
I then continued to another Village - Namapan and found there the local village arranged around the fire and having a meeting. There are no tribe/village leaders and all the decisions are voted on with all the grownups having a say and vote (including women!). I wanted them to take me to show me how they traditionally hunt and gather food - but they didn�t agree/understand. As I was about to leave - an old guy came from the bush with a bow and arrows - after he had no luck catching anything. He blamed the Elephants that chased him away. I didn�t see any - but a lot of fresh tracks and shit.
I then went back to Tsumkwe and went to the only hotel for 300 K"m (Roy�s rest camp is the next one) and decided to book a one day tour with them. I was suppose to join a German couple - but the next day the woman was not feeling good so the tour was cancelled. Having had all this bad luck - I decided to leave the area and got a lift back to Roy�s Rest Camp. BushmanLand was my first disappointment in Namibia and did not even get close to my expectations. I guess I should be happy that after two months of travelling - I have had only one disappointment.
Victoria Falls
I arrived at Katimal Malilu after hitchhiking about 1200 k"m. I met
Elise (the Voluntary teacher from the USA that I met in Windhoek) and after a day we started to hitchhike towards Victoria Falls. After ten minutes of walking on the road, we saw an overland truck passing and Elise said that they never stop. After it passed us, it did a U-turn, came back and took us. It is so easy to hitchhike with a longhaired blond girl! It took us all the way to Victoria Falls and through three border crossings.
We didn�t have too much time so we rushed to see the falls (even though Elise wanted to go eat some special bread first). The falls were not high as I expected but very very wide - over a kilometer and a half wide! The most amazing thing about the falls is the massive spray that comes out of the falls. The spray is so thick that it becomes rain at some parts and even supports a rain forest in the middle of the savanna.
Then we went to the Zambia part of Victoria Falls and over there I got sopping wet. We also saw a triple rainbow and one that was almost 270 degrees.
The next day we hitchhiked back to Katima Mulilo, also quit easily (again - it is so good to hitchhike with a longhaired blond girl).
Adrenaline in Swakopmund
Well, guess from were I saw the sunset today: I saw the sun set over the sea and the sand dunes while going 220 kilometers per hour towards the ground from three kilometers high! YES- I started my Sky Diving course yesterday. I went from Windhoek to Spitzkoppe - a massive granite mass that comes out of a Plato. I climbed to the top which included fun and beautiful rock climbs. The view from the top (about 600 meters above the Plato) was amazing. On the way to the top, I saw some Klipspringers (like Yael/Deer) running down a cliff that was almost 90 degrees. I thought that they will fall down - but they just half run, half floated to the bottom. I was in shock.
On the way down I saw a beautiful HARDON (lizard) that had a green, orange and yellow head that looked as if it was spray painted by some misbehaving kids that did a graffiti on it.
After that I started to walk to the cross road to catch a lift to Brandberg to do a 2-3 day hike and on the way, while thinking about the Klipspringers - I decided to head to Swakopmund to go skydiving. I crossed the road and hitchhiked the other direction. My first day was only theoretic but today I did two jumps. The first one was a static line one: I flew with the door less plane to a Kilometer above sea level, stepped out (one leg on the wheel and two hands on the wing) and just jumped out. Wonderful .My second jump was from 11,000 feet (over three Kilometers high!), floated (you don't feel like you are falling or flying, but rather like you are floating in midair) for 5,000 feet and then pulled the parachute open at 5,500 feet and parachuted to the ground. Luckily it was sunset and the sun sank over the sea and on the other side there was the sand dunes and it was beautiful (an understatement). The actual thrill of jumping isn't as high as Bunji jumping - since you don't get too scared or full of adrenaline - but just the enjoyment of being as close as man will ever get to flying. I got Video pictures of my jumps (so I can learn from my mistakes) - so I will show you them when I get back.
Ready, Set, Go. Arch. Check Altitude. At 6,000 feet: Look, Reach, Pull. Arch. 1000,2000,3000,4000,5000 - check parachute. Total Malefaction: Look, Grab, Right Pull, Left Pull. Arch. (Just practicing my sequence in the jumps:)
I went Shark Fishing today. I had bad luck - but at the end I caught a 40 K"G shark (Bronze Whaler- Carcharhinus Brachyurus). We went to the beach shore (about 15 K"M from swakupmond) and threw the line in, about 3-5 meters to the sea, and waited a few hours. After a few hours the line pulled and I started the struggle. After another hard half a hour I got the shark out. I took a picture with him and then put him back in. Surprisingly - it was great fun.
I also met in the hostel a guy from Germany called Roger that took me up in an Micro-light plane over the dunes and the sea. Not as good as skydiving - but great fun.
� 1999 Lonely Planet Publications
