Himbas, sleeping under stars and Swakopmund, Namibia

The following frosty morning, we had a warm cooked breakfast, bid the lonely cheetah farewell with a rub & packed up, ready to hit the road again. Our next stop - the ancient Himba village followed by the vast rock formations of Spitzkoppe where we were to spend the night. The himba village was only about half an hour down the road and we were welcomed by a man who was to be our guide. 

Most of the himba tribe live in more remote areas, however this community was created when a man took a woman from the tribe to seek medical care as she had cancer. She survived thanks to treatment and they married, however she was unable to have children so they started adopting orphaned or poor children from the Himba village. It grew from there with more of the traditional ladies coming to visit and staying on to help. 
Like a lot of other African countries the men seek multiple wives, however the cost is 5 cows which is a pretty hefty sum. As soon as we walked through the gates we were greeted by many smiling children, one of which was a little lady who was dressed in traditional women’s afire. The women are usually topless and wear a little skirt surrounded by heavy metal and leather belts. Lots of chokers and body jewellery is worn, as well as thick anklets showing the number of children by how many lines it has. 

Girls wear their hair plaited forward, until they are old enough to coat their head in fat and have fluffy extensions at the bottom. Their beauty was captivating and they definitely had a particular smell about them. We were taken into a small round hut which sleeps 5 people, and shown how the women clean themselves. She used smoke from the stenchy fire and lifted it to her arm pits and breasts, then rubed animal fat on her body. To do the whole process of the body it is said to take an hour and a half every day.. It was a very pungent smokey fat smell that they wore. 
We then had a chance with the assistance of a translator to ask some questions, as having read that 1 in 4 people in Namibia and South Africa have HIV I asked what precautions were put in place and if they did practice safe sex. He answered that they are educated about the virus but no one ever gets checked, like other cultures men don’t like wearing protection even through its available to them and women don’t generally object. Then when someone dies of malaria they call it just that, instead of delving further to work out in a lot of cases they were infact HIV possitive which is why their immune system was so vulnerable to other diseases. 

Running short of time and eager to get out and breath in fresh air we browsed their local markets before jumping back on the truck. The road was dusty, bumpy and unsealed, besides a quick lunch at a petrol station, browsing some semi precious stones, the entire day was spent in the truck. The further we travelled the more the desert rolled in and wildlife rolled out. The ground was sparse, homing few shrubs and pricked bushes, which contrasted the merging massive rock formations which scraped the sky. 
We finally arrived at Spitzkoppe at around half 4.. Just enough time to explore the massive rocks and climb to find an area to sleep under the stars. Sean and I ventured to the highest one and found a flat at the top to lay our mats amongst the rock hyrax.. (Who looks like a large rat but in fact its closest relative is the elephant)! 

After a cold beer in view of a gorgeous sunset we descended back down to the truck to cook a delicious gamey feed of oryx (very tender and tasty) with salad! Quick to climb back up and get cosy in our sleeping bags, we fell to a deep sleep gazing at the shine of the moon and wishing upon shooting stars. 

We woke early the next morning with the stars still scattered across the newly dark navy blue sky. We jumped out of our makeshift bed and climbed to a higher rock to watch the sun rise over the pastel sky before heading back down to the truck for breaky. Back on the dirt road we hesitantly farewelled Spitzcoppe and all its mighty to delve further into the desert until we reached the west coast. 

The air became salty and water lurked the horizon, until finally we reached the Atlantic Ocean. Our first stop on the coast was the Cape Cross fur seal colony. We pulled up & were immediately taken aback by the smell! There were hundreds of thousands of seals on shore, & more splashing around in the freezing sea. Once you got past the unappealing scent of seal, they were actually quite entertaining. They made cries that you’d swear were sheep, whilst males sat proudly perched on the highest rocks and  many jealously tried to get them off. We came across a tiny pup, separated from it’s mother. Our hearts broke as we watched it unsuccessfully call out & search around. Our time soon came to an end & we were all back on the truck. 

Rushing on we drove another hour south, following the sea until we reached our destination; Swakopmund, which was to be our home for 3 nights. Excited to be sleeping in real beds we all checked into ‘Grüner Kranz Hotel,’ white linen ticked a box but the mould that crawled the ceilings didn’t. Craving a real coffee on this sleepy Sunday, Sean and I headed in to explore the German Settlement city. Wide clean streets mapped the town, coffee shops, beer houses and overpriced trinket shops chased the streets and the lack of people made it feel eerie and a little unwelcoming. What’s more, we soon learnt that this town virtually goes to sleep on Sunday, & we found a minuscule amount open for business.
The next few days in Swakop - as it is affectionately known - were as uneventful as the town itself on Sundays. We went out a few times, found a fantastic coffee shop ‘Cordes & Co,’ which also had decent WiFi (not to mention the only real friendly staff!) as a bonus. The last night was spent with the group over a delicious pizza dinner, followed by a instantly regretted free strawberry milk & tequila shot at their dive next door. Needless to say, we didn’t hang around long, & were in bed was soon as we reached the hotel.