Marv on safari in Namibia and Tanzania
I highly recommend a safari to Namibia! In the midst of the Pandemic, with Paul’s exceptional advance planning, I started a 2-Country Safari to Namibia and Tanzania. This was my first safari to Namibia and my second to Tanzania with Paul and Kusini Safaris. I wanted to share a little about Namibia with you. It is a remarkable place, one of the least populated and one of the driest countries on Earth. I was in areas that have not seen rain in 10 years! People, wildlife and flora are all desert-adapted to this unique environment.
Adaptation
Elephants are slightly smaller and herds are 10 or fewer members. Unlike areas with more rainfall, like Tanzania, where Elephants often eat entire trees, in Namibia, they graze and leave the sparse trees intact so they can continue to grow and be a source of food for the next time they pass through.
Environment
The Benguela Current brings cold water north from Antarctica along the Namibian coast, which then collides with the hot air coming off the Namib desert, which creates fog nearly every morning. South-westerly winds send the fog inland, which provides nearly all of the moisture the western part of the country receives!
People
Some of the Himba people of the Kunene Region in the northwest live out on the desert floor, and are among the happiest people I have ever met. No technology, no utilities, no schedule, no worries! I stayed at the Serra Cafema Camp on the Kunene River, which is one of the most remote camps in southern Africa. The Kunene constitutes the border between Namibia and Angola. The Himba were very welcoming in their desert village. The women, children and headman were there on the day I visited, while the men and livestock were out finding grazing opportunities near the river.
Conservation
Namibia is remarkable in another way and that is its historic and advanced conservation efforts. Namibia was the first African country to incorporate the protection of the environment into its constitution. Since 1998, Namibia has created 86 Communal Conservancies, which are community-based institutions that have obtained conditional rights to the wildlife occurring within a self-defined area. They are self-governed, democratic entities managed by committees that are elected by their members. It is through the work of the Namibian Communal Conservancies that a vast array of iconic African species has been protected and are flourishing, including the largest population of free-roaming Black Rhinos in the world..
Safety and the Pandemic
With all of the logistics handled by Paul, in-country flights, lodging, guides and the requisite Covid tests we are all handled with ease. I felt safer in Africa than back home in Colorado, it was easier to get tested in Africa than in the US, plus I was outside most of the time.
Talk with Paul and Go to Namibia!
Here is a link to the Itinerary Paul and I created for the safari to both countries