My Holiday Family Trip to Namibia
I always enjoy traveling with my family, especially now that my grandchildren are older and can help decide our destinations and plan our itineraries.
Over the holidays, my daughter, Alexis, her children, Jude and Truman, our friend Ari Katz, and I spent a very interesting seven days in the Republic of Namibia, a country located in Southern Africa that shares borders with Angola, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. We toured the area with Micato safaris. We traveled through Etosha National Park and the Ongava Game Reserve. We journeyed through the Kaokoveld Desert which stretches into the Skeleton Coast from the northwestern part of Namibia. During the trip, we saw a host of different animals including elephants, zebras, antelopes, impalas, giraffes, white rhinos, and so many more. We learned about the diverse vegetation and the alabaster salt pans. And we spent time with a local Himba tribe in their small village to understand how they've adapted to life in the desert for generations.
You may have seen some of my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. Here are a few more, enjoy.
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- In December when my grandchildren are on holiday break from school, my family and I often travel somewhere exotic and interesting. Last month, we went to the Republic of Namibia in Southern Africa. The name of the country is derived from the Namib desert, believed to be the oldest desert in the world. The word Namib means “vast place”. Flying to our destination, we were able to capture many stunning desert photos.
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- Namibia is the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The general climate of Namibia is arid with an average of more than 300 days of sunshine per year.
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- The first wild animals we saw were in the Ongava Private Game Reserve. Ongava is home to more than 300 species of mammal and 340 species of bird, and an abundance of amphibians, reptiles, and insects. The white rhino is the largest and most social species of rhino.
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- The springbok or springbuck is an antelope found in south and southwest Africa. These animals are active mainly at dawn and dusk and found in harems, or mixed-sex herds.
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- The springbok is characterized by a white face, a light brown coat marked by a reddish-brown stripe that runs from the upper foreleg to its rear, and a white rump flap. It is a slender, long-legged antelope and weighs between 60 and 93 pounds when mature. Both males and females have long black horns that curve backwards.
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- This is a plains zebra, the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra.
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- These zebras are also very social, forming harems often with a single stallion, several mares and their recent offspring. All members of the group keep watch for predators, alerting each other through various barks and snorts.
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- Weaver birds are named for their artistically woven nests. The nests come in various sizes and shapes, with different material used to build them. The most intricate nests are built by the males. The males build many nests until the female accepts one and agrees to breed.
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- We were lucky to see many giraffes. In Namibia, giraffes are widely spread across the dry savannah habitats, including open grassland, and woodland. The two subspecies of giraffe found in Namibia are the southern giraffe and the Angolan giraffe.
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- Namibia giraffes can grow to more than 18-feet tall, but despite their characteristic long necks, giraffes actually have the same number of neck vertebrae as humans – seven.
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- And, like fingerprints, no two giraffes share the same pattern. Giraffes also have excellent vision. They can see in color and over great distances frontally, and their peripheral vision is so wide-angled they can almost see behind them.
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- The Baobab tree, Adansonia digitata, is a tree species found in Africa. Baobabs are long-lived deciduous trees with broad trunks and compact crowns that can live to be thousands of years old.
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- Desert elephants or desert-adapted elephants are African bush elephants that have made their homes in the Namib and Sahara deserts in Africa. They have have broader feet, longer legs and smaller bodies than other elephants, and their diet varies with the change of the seasons.
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- Elephants use their trunks for drinking, eating, cleaning, navigation, playing, and more. Their trunks are incredibly strong and can lift objects that weigh more than 550 pounds as well as store up to three gallons of water. Both males and females have tusks.
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- This is called a dassie rat, a medium-sized rodent that has adapted to life in the rocky outcrops of the desert hills and plateaus of southwestern Africa. Its fur ranges from pale gray to dark brown. The dassie’s head is broad and flat and its body is extremely flexible making it easy to squeeze into tight places.
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- On this day, we went to visit the Himba people, semi-nomadic tribe of hunter-gatherers.
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- The Himba people are predominantly livestock farmers who breed fat-tailed sheep and goats. They also grow and farm rain-fed crops such as maize and millet.
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- Members of a single extended family typically dwell in a small village, consisting of a circular hamlet of huts and work shelters.
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- Women and girls tend to perform more labor-intensive work than the men, They are busy carrying water to the village, collecting firewood, cooking and serving meals, caring for the children as well as making handicrafts, clothing and jewelry.
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- The men are mainly responsible for tending the livestock and farming.
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- Both the Himba men and women wear traditional clothing that works best in the hot semi-arid climate. Women wear skirt-like pieces made from calfskins and sheep skin and occasionally sandals for footwear.
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- The women are known to cover themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment that cleanses the skin over long periods and protect it from heat and insects.
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- This tribe of Himba people also makes lots of crafts that they are able to sell for money. My family bought several handmade ornaments from them. Here is one man standing by his woven bowls and trays and other pieces.
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- This woman made vessels and handmade dolls. Some pottery is made using mud, and sometimes clay. Himba people also use metal for bracelets, necklaces & other jewelry. They are very innovative and entrepreneurial.
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- Here I am standing with members of the Himba tribe. They are dignified, friendly, and willing to take photos.
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- If you ever want to treat yourself and your family to an interesting trip and safari, consider Micato Safaries and go to Namibia. It is definitely a journey of a lifetime.
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