After traveling across Asia – my favorite continent – I had to give in to Ale’s choice of visiting Africa. While he already visited South Africa, I had no experience at all in this continent and did not hide my initial skepticism because I kept wondering whether a trip through parks and savannas would have been a bit monotonous.
Then, as always, we began reading and get information about the places to see and, as we studied our possible path, I started changing my mind.
Obviously, our itinerary had nothing to do with the classic tour that is usually suggested for this country. We had decided to skip the southern part with the Sossusvlei desert or the west coast of Swakopmund in favor of the unknown Kaokoveld, in the north of Namibia.
Before leaving, all stories and guides we read advised us against visiting this area for several reasons, such as the isolation and the complexity of the route. To date, we are still happy to not have listened to anyone but our instinct.
Kaokoveld is a beautiful region located northwest of Namibia. To describe the extraordinary landscapes that can be admired would be an oversimplification and would not make the idea of their magnificence. Just us, in the middle of nature, surrounded by immense spaces as far as the eye could see. Every now and then, some villages.
This is the land of the Himba, or Ovahimba, an ethnic group of about 12,000 people. They are a population of nomadic shepherds, closely related to the Herero people, who speak the herero language. They mainly breed cows and goats. Women usually cover their bodies with a red mixture of butter, ocher and herbs – it is said – to protect themselves from the sun, but actually the reasons are purely aesthetic.
Very few tourists travel along these roads because of their difficulty. Truth be told, you only need to organize the journey. You need to start with the right equipment, the right supplies of water and food and, above all, with the right amount of common sense. Regarding driving, just keep your car within the appropriate speed, depending on the road conditions. For further information, see the practical guide.
Following these paths in total solitude, admiring the beautiful views and occasionally meeting local people living their lives, and maybe even stopping to chat with them, is an incredible experience: people’s simplicity and smiles, the sudden appearance of children shouting and laughing approaching you in places where you least expect.
One of the most beautiful memories we keep was seeing the giraffes free for the very first time in our lives. They were there, in the middle of the fields: no reserves, just their land. I still remember the harsh braking sound when we saw them from afar. They looked very tall and… beautiful.
Along the road that brought us from Kaokoveld to the Etosha park, we passed through the Damaraland area. The region boasts of many natural attractions including the Brandberg mountain, culminating in the highest peak of Namibia and Twyfelfontein, where some of the finest rock paintings of all Africa are located. If you are in transit, the trip to the Petrified Forest is also nice: you can see 260 million years old trunk trees. You must necessarily hire a guide, at our time the was was about $4. You can have fun while listening to them speaking in their language, which is rich in sounds that are typical of the damara language, and found in no other language on such such a tongue pop.
