Last but not least, Namibia’s finest sunsets

Quite often people here in Germany ask me what I miss most about Namibia. Sometimes I answer with the excellent game meat you can get at pretty much any decent restaurant, or Omajova, a mushroom that grows on termite hills during the rainy season. Those who have tried it know that it is a real delicacy.

But what I continually miss most of all is the peace and quiet that you just do not find in Europe. At least not in close proximity. You would have to travel very far to find a spot where you will not encounter any sort of civilization for miles.

On the last weekend of my stay, we drove out to a farm, which is located near Kalkfeld – about 300 kilometres from Windhoek. It is run by Swiss psychologists, who offer a German drug rehabilitation program for former addicts from Germany, Switzerland and Austria. And might I add, they have a very high success rate. Not because the shrinks there are better, but because there is nowhere else to go for the addicts. It is 50 kilometres to the next town and you need quite a bit of water and shape to get there by foot. Up to now, none of the desperate participants has ever managed to reach it. They all gave up before they even reached half-way.

But let’s get back to the trip. First of all, driving off-road and on gravel streets is the one of the most dangerous things to do, as fatal accident statistics underline. But they are also one of the greatest driving experiences you could ever enjoy. You just can’t compare this to the Autobahn, even though we enjoy unlimited speeds in Germany. Still, driving through a flowing river during the rainy season, your adrenaline levels get just as high as with 250 km/h on the A1, as water is running into the car and you try just about everything not to get stuck in the mud. Oh, and wildlife alongside the roads, like herds of giraffes for example, watching your every move, is a plus too.

Fortunately, we did not get stuck in any river, but the back axle of our vehicle got damaged somehow, so we had to stop for the day and in the end, let the car get towed back to Windhoek the next morning. Luckily, we went with two cars, so it got a little crowded, but we still managed to get to the farm.

But before we got there, we had no choice but to spend the night in the bush. We tried to fix the car before realizing that it was pretty much hopeless, as we did not have the correct spare parts along.

Still, it was a night to remember, as the tender oryx steaks were delicious, the South African Nederburg made the taste-buds on your tongue go wild and you found yourself on a wildlife concert, as we listened to the crickets chirping, the jackals howling and the water in the nearby river rushing by. Of course, we had a few luxuries along, but you should always bring some decent camping equipment when on an off-road trip in Africa.

And while waiting for dinner to get ready, I took the chance to record a gorgeous sunset, surrounded by nothing but nature. Enjoy your eye-candy 😉

Asia buys up Africa

It has been two and a half years, since I have last been to Windhoek. And boy this city is growing and changing. And with local estimates, Windhoek’s population is going to double in ten to fifteen years, from 450.000 to about a million inhabitants.

That is, if there will not be another big drought period, like in the early nineties. If such a long-term drought occurs again, water prices will rise exponentially and therefore eliminate urbanization and rural depopulation. Of course, the latter can contribute greatly to the development of rural regions in Namibia, but growth in Namibia’s most important industries and services supply, nearly all located in larger cities like Windhoek, will stall tremendously, which might even pull the country into a recession one day.

Nevertheless, the population of Namibia is becoming more diverse, as China and other South-Asian countries “export” their people to Africa, mostly to work for even less money than the local work force is being paid. The main reason for this is the abundance of resources in Africa. With low developed industries in many countries in Africa, plenty of resources are still up for grabs. And China knows how to buy it’s way into African governments.

Allow me to elaborate. A few years ago, about 600 Chinese entered Namibia with one and the same passport. That means, 600 Chinese nationals had the exact same identity. It took the Namibian ministry of home affairs, also known as ministry of magic around here, about half a year to notice the discrepancy. Nowadays, an estimated 50.000 Chinese live in Namibia, having surpassed the number of indigenous San people in 2006 already. We only have to keep in mind that Namibia only has a total population of approximately 2,1 million people.

As you are reading this, they are still busy completing the new state palace, which cost around N$ 600 million, round about € 60 million. The estimated price was about a fifth at first. A North Korean company designed the new presidential residency and also paid for a part of the costs. But with literacy rates still at 88,5 % and tertiary education only available to 12% of pupils graduating from secondary school, one might wonder if there were more important things for the state to invest into.

A Malaysian textile company also caused furore, as it was involved in a joint-venture with the municipality of Windhoek as well as the ministry of trade and commerce of Namibia. The government bodies provided the Malaysian company called Ramatex with a production facility on a terrain of 7,6 ha for a rental agreement over 99 years. In return, Ramatex was supposed to create and hold 4.000 jobs. However, Ramatex did not obtain the rights for the property at any point, but later violated the agreement by divesting the property to a third party. There were also claims for inhumane working conditions. The company went bankrupt in 2006. And the money invested into the company remains lost forever.

If there is one thing people should know first of all about Africa, before asking whether there are streets and cars available, it is that corruption is spelled with a capital C on the second largest continent on Earth.

Drinks of the Unknown: Rock Shandy

“Hi, have you met «Rock Shandy»?” Let me introduce you to a local alcoholic beverage, that is well-known and consumed quite often here in southern Africa: the Rock Shandy. I was quite shocked that it is not really known in Europe, not even in Germany, as the most important ingredient is made in a little town called Erding in Bavaria, most infamous for it’s “Erdinger Weißbier”, a German beer.

The drink consists of a mixture of 50% soda water and 50% lemonade on ice, but not any homemade American lemonade, I mean Sprite, SevenUp or similar. Afterwards you add a bit of “Angostura Bitter”, a herbal spirit with 48% vol. in concentrated form. In a 500 ml glass, a good 20-30 drops would suffice, depending how strong you like it. Don’t forget to stir. Putting a slice of lemon in as well certainly does not impair the incredible taste.

And for perfectionists: it does not matter if you put Angostura in first, or at the end – the taste is the same. I recommend this drink to anyone who enjoys refreshing drinks with a tasty mix of spices. If you know and enjoy Jägermeister, chances are you’ll love this too 😉

Rock Shandy without a slice of lemon, not stirred yet

Bottle of Angostura Bitter

Green…greener…Windhoek

I flew back to Namibia to spend the holidays with my family on February 3rd, as the semester break has started for many students in Germany. I was welcomed by a surplus of sun rays, as temperatures were already at an astounding 22° C when I arrived with Air Namibia at Hosea Kutako International Airport at  round about 07:00 the next morning.

Of course I remembered from geography classes that the main rainfall period is between January and March, so I expected quite a lot of rain during my stay. Now in Namibia people react to rain like people in Europe react to a sunny day – it makes them happy. And they have every reason to, as annual precipitation only adds up to 362 mm in and around Windhoek, which is located in the centre of the country. The south of Namibia is much drier, with Mariental only receiving 194 mm a year for example. Certain northern regions of Namibia however are evergreen, with rainfall adding up to 600 mm and more.

The last time I was in Windhoek was more than two years ago. And it was in winter, when most of Namibia’s landscape is as yellow and dry as deceasing saffron pistils. Keeping that in mind, I was overjoyed when seeing the entire countryside between the airport and the city centre, as it reminded me of all the summers and rainy seasons I grew up with as a child.

Another advantage of rain in Africa is the spectacular view of the sky, once it is coloured with the darkest clouds you could dream of. Since I am a huge fan of “end-of-the-world” scenarios, my imagination has a chance to drift of with an imaginary deluge.

Unfortunately, heavy rainfalls can also have devastating effects on man-built areas. The northern plains in Namibia have a potential to get flooded, ending up with destroyed crops and inundated cattle. In cities like Windhoek, entire streets can collapse once rivers start to flow with large masses of water. This was the case in the nineties, when parts of concrete sewer canals were laying next to street signs. But luckily, no such horrible events have unfolded this time.

Many people that moved onto the African continent seem to end up saying: Africa is all about survival of the fittest – to eat, or to be eaten. This is quite difficult to understand for people living in developed countries, but by simply looking at the mortality or crime rates of African countries, one might get the impression that things are quite a bit different here. But this does not only apply to anthropogenic aspects, as you can see the difference between life and death in the photos above.

Extreme places on our globe can change people’s foundations. I can only encourage everyone to travel as much as they can. Get out of your everyday life once in a while and see how different places on Earth are going to influence you…for better, or for worse. You decide!