Namibia

 A land of wide open spaces and shimmering colors, of daily shows and changing lights, Namibia is the kingdom of animals, which evolve freely, as much as that of photographers, who have found paradise. Trek or safari, you can’t choose: from Etosha Park, domain of the Big Five and true heart of the country, huge tracks rush in and crisscross this vast wild territory to reach the sumptuous Namib Desert in the Spitzkoppe or Brandberg mountains, or further south to the impressive Fish River Canyon. And you can also walk the lush, water-filled Caprivi Strip, which meanders between Angola and Botswana, all
the way to Victoria Falls.

When to go to Namibia?

You can go all year round in Namibia, but there are three seasons

•  From January to March, the rainy season (hot and humid) is particularly marked in the north of the country. The safari side is the perfect time for bird watching.
• The most favorable period for safaris and trekking extends from May to September, a dry season during which temperatures are pleasant during the day (around 20-25°C) and cool at night.
•  From October to December, the temperatures are again very high and a break is necessary during the hottest hours of the day. Note: For Victoria Falls, the “high water” period continues through July

What to do and visit in Namibia?

 The Namib Desert fascinates above all with its immense ocher dunes, whose curved and perfectly drawn edges seem to have been drawn by an invisible brush.

 Etosha Park, a safari hotspot and kingdom of the Big Five, brings together species that move and evolve freely. Swakopmund, an island of civilization on the Atlantic coast, has an undeniable charm. Heritage of colonial Germany, the city invites you to stroll under its palm trees.

 Crossing the Caprivi Strip from the Okavango Delta to Victoria Falls allows a detour to Chobe National Park in Botswana and offers a radical change of scenery, with abundant vegetation fed by large rivers.

 The mountains of Spitzkoppe and Brandberg offer magnificent hiking trails: the first is perfectly named “Namibian Matterhorn” if we imagine Switzerland located in the American West. The second, the highest point in Namibia, is an eroded granite dome that has become a large luminous plateau. Both houses
contain cave paintings by the Bushmen.

 Fish River Canyon, a fascinating geological gash with vertiginous walls, winds 160 km through southern Namibia

 In the mountains of Tiras, little visited, arid and untouched by civilization, a trek has the taste of “first steps”.

 Through the mountains of Naukluft, the favorite territory of zebras, the river of the same name offers natural pools in which to cool off with happiness.

What kind of accommodation do you find in Namibia?

 There are essentially well-maintained campsites that offer a closer immersion in nature and comfortable lodges, reminiscent of southern Africa alone. Some trips are exclusive, others alternate between tent and lodge. For Liberty trips, which also offer a lodge formula, the camping version offers 4×4 equipped
with roof tents.

Immerse yourself in the wild world of southern Africa, where the presence of man remains humble and discreet. Nestled along the Atlantic coast, Namibia is a kind of no man’s land with breathtaking landscapes: incandescent dunes, deep canyons, gigantic monoliths, rugged coast, a desert country, but
populated by abundant wildlife.

 The ideal combination of safaris and explorations on foot, our trips offer you a cocktail of the most beautiful Namibian landscapes: from the arid Namib Desert to the Etosha Game Reserve, where wildlife abounds, the great dunes of Dead Vlei and Sossusvlei with the Atlantic freshness of Swakopmund, the
contrasts are striking! So, you who love wild spaces, what are you waiting for to discover these wonders.

LANDMARKS

Populations	2, 5 million persons.
Area	824 270 km2.
Capital City	Windhoek
Town	Rundu, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Rehoboth.
High Point	Königstein (massif of Brandberg, 2 573 m).
Desert	Namib and Kalahari Desert.
Rivers	Kunene and Orange Rivers.
Languages	English (official),oshivambo, afrikaans, nama/damara, otjiherero, allemand.
Religions	Christians and animists.
Weather	Compared to France, same time from January to December. UTC/GMT: + 1.

Geography

 Namibia’s neighbors are Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, the Republic of South Africa to the south and Zimbabwe in a narrow corridor. Its coastline on the Atlantic extends over 1,300 km. Due to its very small population, it offers wild and preserved territories. The country can be
divided into six distinct zones:

•  in the centre, a high mountain plateau, between 1500 and 2500 meters, covered with arid vegetation, gently descending towards the plains of Ovambo and Etosha in the northwest, Okavango in the east, and the desert of Kalahari to the south encompass Etosha National Park and Damaraland;
•  to the west, the Skeleton Coast, 1,500 km long and 80 to 120 km wide, is prohibited; only the great dunes of Sesriem can be visited, by day only;
•  to the east, the Kalahari Desert, “the land of thirst”, has arid areas and thorn bush;
•  to the northwest, Kaokoland, territory of the Himbas, is covered with beautiful wild mountains;
•  to the northeast, the narrow strip of Caprivi borders northern Botswana and joins Zambia and Zimbabwe to reach the legendary Victoria Falls;
•  to the south, the Sperrgebiet was banned due to the exploitation of diamonds which, according to legend, covered the ground. Even today, very strict
  regulations limit access.

Climate

 The climate is typical of desert countries, with a large thermal amplitude between day and night. The seasons in this southern hemisphere country are reversed from the northern hemisphere, so northern summer is southern winter. The average annual rainfall varies from 5 mm to 600 mm depending
on the region. Namibia (and Zambezi Falls, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe) can be visited all year round.

•  Hot and humid season (January to February, December). February is generally the wettest month. Clouds at the end of the day. Beautiful lights. The days are long.
• Cold and dry season (May to August). In May, some rain is possible. The sky is often blue. Temperatures are ideal for hiking (warmer in Kaokoland). On the other hand, it gets cold as soon as the sun goes down. The days are short.
•  Hot and dry season (March to April and September to November). Temperatures are warmer and the hike starts earlier in the morning.

 The cold front is a cold wind that comes from Antarctica and can blow at any time of the year

Month

Dec

Jan

Fev

Mar

Apr

May

June

July

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Climate

Hot and Wet

Hot and dry

Cold and Dry

Hot and dry

Day °C

25 to 32 °C

17 to 30 °C

22 to 25 °C

20 to 32 °C

Night °C

17 to 21 °C

15 to 20 °C

8 to 10 °C

18 to 21 °C

Economy

 Due to the lack of water, agriculture, which employs about 30% of the workforce, is not easy. A legacy of the segregation policy, half of the cultivable land – around 4,000 farms – is still owned by a minority of European origin; the state buys land to redistribute it to some 250,000 landless people.

 The Karakul sheep, which had made the fortune of the colonists, no longer count much in the economy, while breeding is very prosperous. The Namibian coast is very rich in fish, marketing is facilitated by a rail network linking the Namibian ports to South Africa.

 Namibia has no real industrial sector. It derives most of its prosperity from the resources of its subsoil: minerals that are rare or in great demand by high tech industries (diamonds, gold, silver, tungsten, zinc, vanadium, lead, tin, copper, uranium, one of the largest mines in the world). Tourism is a major
contributor to foreign exchange and an important driver of the economy.

Society

 The population is concentrated in the rural areas of the north, the best watered areas, but urban growth is rapid – the country has a third of the city dwellers. While most Namibians are Christians and belong to the Lutheran Church, Catholics are significant. Non-crystallized Namibians, especially the Herero, San and Himba, remain true to animist traditions. These beliefs are characterized by the worship of ancestors who, considered to be still alive but in another form, continue to concern themselves with the affairs of mortals
and serve as messengers between their descendants and the gods.

 Several ethnic groups are notable and can be seen on different trips. Spontaneously, the locals do not have a process of welcoming the white man because he belongs to a local ethnic group.

•  The Ovambo people are the majority ethnic group; they are more than 700,000, divided into 12 different tribes. They live throughout the territory, but are the majority in the north.
•  The kavango, they are 120,000, divided into 5 tribes. They live in the northeast towards the Caprivi Strip and Botswana. The Caprivian people are also present in this region.
• The Herero people: they are 100,000. Their population has been decimated at 75% during history. The women proudly wear bovine-inspired hairstyles and colorful Victorian dresses; they sell dolls in their likeness to tourists;
• The Damara people, they are 100,000. Among the first inhabitants of Namibia, they are of Bantu origin. The Damaras speak a language “with” clicks. “A quarter of them live in the poor lands of Damaraland, others work on commercial farms, in mines or as laborers in cities.
• The Nama, there are 60,000 of them and live in the south of the country, near the Sesriem dunes and the Naukluft mountains.
•  The Bushmen (San), approximately 25,000, are the original inhabitants of Namibia; their lands are to the east in the Kalahari Desert.
• The Himba people are the emblematic “red people”, but the most minority. About 13,000 live in camps scattered around Kaokoland with their herds of cows and goats. Originally from the Nile region in Egypt, they are distant cousins of the Masai. The conical Himba houses are made of palm leaves, loam and cow dung. In a family, it is the children of the sister who inherit the cattle, while the children receive the cattle of the maternal uncle. Only the “sacred herd” and the responsibility for the sacred fire are left to the son. Fire must never be extinguished, as it maintains the relationship between the living and the dead.
• The whites are 100,000. Heirs of the Afrikaners who arrived from the south, of German colonization and of the membership of Namibia in South Africa between 1915 and 1990, they were born on the spot and have the same rights as the others ethnicities. They are farmers and can be bosses or mere
  employees.

The country’s history

The country was gradually populated by immigrants from Central Africa. Thus, at the beginning of the 9th century, Namas and Damaras also inhabited the territory. The Namas, divided into clans, are herders; the Damara are huntergatherers living in the mountains. Around 1550, from the Great Lakes region or East Africa, Bantu peoples (Ovambos, Kavangos and Herero) settled in the north; first subdued by the Sans, they will put an end to this domination, thanks to their growing number, the Sans will be dispersed or enslaved. In the 18th century, the Ovambo tribes were constituted kingdoms which were to be torn
apart in incessant wars for economic reasons.