Gondwanaland – Namibia (2022)

2000 kms, 14 days, 4×4 Self-drive

The Namib desert is the oldest desert on the planet. It takes its name from the Nama people who originally inhabited this land. Three or four major ethnic groups and many minor ones are native to Namibia – Ovambo, San, Nama and Herero. GondwanalandNamib desert is deceptive in its barrenness. It conceals treasures invaluable to humanity in a climate-stressed planet. Namibia is the biggest exporter of ‘yellow cake’. As much as 10% of global uranium supplies come from Namibia, the other big supplier being Kazakhstan. With King coal dethroned and sunshine lasting only 8 hours a day, nuclear power has assumed enormous salience and with it, Namibian uranium. Erongo region of which Swakopmund is the jewel has most of the radioactive mineral, making it easy to export from Walvis Bay and other ports. In any case, unlike coal which has to be shovelled in millions of tonnes into the furnace to generate power, the quantity of yellow cake used even in big nuclear power plants (3000 MW) is so miniscule, it can even be couriered through Bluedart or DHL! The road to Swakopmund is lined with uranium mines, some like Rossing operated by multinational mining companies like Rio Tinto, others, small wildcatters. Sea water from the Atlantic is desalinated and ferried through pipelines to the mines. As you drive towards Swakopmund, you see pipelines snaking along side the highway.The other big export from Namibia is diamonds. Neighbouring Angola is infamous for blood diamonds, but Namibia seems to have managed its diamond mining better. Home to some 80 million carats, diamonds are found in Luderitz (where we didn’t go) and mines are operated by, who else, but the venal De Beers?Of course, Namibia also has cobalt, nickel, lithium all of which go into batteries to store electricity and supply when the sun is not shining. But these are not the mainstay of this country which, like Australia, depends on divesting the earth of its riches for its survival.

What hits you about Namibia is its sun-bleached vastness bereft of people, only occasional vehicles that drive according to rules even when the roads are empty. Like Delhi, Windhoek is perched on the edge of the desert, but unlike Delhi, there’s no alluvial river to fertilize it, nor is there abundant vegetation to clothe it. To me, Windhoek appeared like a disrobed town, fair, clean and orderly in its nakedness. Legoland of box-like prefab houses ensconced in unpostered compounds, all looking minted afresh (how do they manage the dust-storms?). Construction is entirely concrete and zinc sheets for roofing. Trees are usually camelthorn or acacia, no grass unless deliberately raised and maintained. Palm trees grow everywhere and add a touch of glamour to an otherwise arid landscape. Germans do seem to have a penchant for all things old. Decorations in most of the lodges we stayed in comprised old typewriters, sewing machines, biscuit tins, car parts, tyres, ancient advertisement hoardings and boards, notices, discarded junk deliberately placed to catch your eye. Moonraker lodge where we stayed in Windhoek was truly located in a moonscape with stunning views all around. A well-curated museum of the history of Namibia chronicles the bloody battles – when South African (white) defence forces air and ground bombed innocent black civilians in an attempt to capture parts of southern africa (not South Africa) vacated by Germans after the first world war. Did you know that Namibia finally won its independence from the South Africans as late as 1990? Sam Nujoma, the crusader became the first president and the museum pays him homage. His statue adorns the front of this glass and chrome structure that rises discordantly among colonial buildings that house the parliament and other institutions. A lovely church built by the Germans stands opposite the museum.

Walvis Bay, an hour away from Swakopmund and a few islands collectively called Penguin Islands, were retained by the Afrikaaners as part of the Colony of Cape of Good Hope even after the rest of Namibia had wrested independence from them. Four years later, in 1994, a reluctant South Africa handed over Walvis Bay to Namibia. Now Namibia has two major ports – Walvis Bay and Luderitz. If you drive for about a 1000 km from Walvis Bay, you will reach the South African border. Even as you leave Swakopmund, dramatic red Sand dunes rise on the left while the frilly waves of the Atlantic lap the shores on the right. We spent a day at Walvis Bay whale watching in a fancy boat. The boat had a box full of fish in anticipation of the routine visitors – seals, pelicans and few terns – which unfortunately, seem to have got used to begging, for the benefit of selfie-clickers on the boat! They land proprietorily on the boat, to be hand-fed by the selfie-bratpack. There are a few fur seal colonies in the islands. We saw a huge humpback with a calf. Just like in safari parks, the boats radio each other and nine other boats congregated to watch the show put up by mum humpback. The coast is also dotted with half-sunk junks. Some oil rigs and platforms too darken the horizon. I learn these belong to neighbouring Angola where docking charges are astronomical. Mercifully, Namibia does not seem to have black gold, only the shiny variety.The next day, we drove 450 km from Swakopmund to Sossusvlei, the jewel of Namibia. The first couple of hours, the Atlantic accompanied us on our right while the left was dotted with seductive red sand dunes and sexy palm trees.Sossusvlei is the quintessence of Namibia, immortalised in screen savers on TV and phone. Located in the heart of the Namib desert, it is a continuum of red sand dunes on both sides of the gravel road, all of them wearing wavy patterns wrought by the wind. It is the land of iridescent sunrises and unforgettable African sunsets. If you step out of your chalet at night, Milky Way hangs at touching distance, a star-studded cosmic spectacle unlike any other.

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