Category: Namibian Attractions

We here at Nature Travel Namibia love our country and its stunning landscapes. One of our favourite areas to visit is the pristine and remote Kunene region.

Kunene is one of the fourteen official regions of Namibia and is located in the far northwestern corner of the country. It is roughly 115 260 square kilometres (44 500 square miles) big, with a population density of only 0.75 people per square kilometre (2 per square mile)!

Kunene’s western edge is the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. In the north, it borders Angola’s Namibe Province, and in the far eastern part of its northern edge, it borders Cunene Province. Compared to the rest of Namibia, it is relatively underdeveloped. This is due to the mountainous inaccessible geography and the dryness that significantly hinders agriculture.

It is home to an abundance of wildlife. A wealth of African Elephant, Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Spotted Hyaena, Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra, Springbok and Gemsbok roam here. This is also home to the largest population of free-ranging Black Rhinoceros in the world.

The region’s name comes from the 1050 kilometre (650 miles) long perennial Kunene River, which forms the northern border with Angola. It flows from the Angola highlands south to the border with Namibia, and then west along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. The dramatic and beautiful Epupa Falls lies on the river and is a popular tourist attraction. There are all sorts of exciting activities to enjoy on and along the river, from boat cruises and canoeing to white-water rafting and fishing.
It is also a birdwatching hotspot, with many localised and highly prized species occurring here.

The largest town and capital of the region is Opuwo. It is the only bigger town to be found in the Kunene region and is an ideal stopover when travelling north to the Epupa Falls. The only airport in the region is found here, offering the option of fly-in safaris.

The Kunene region is home to the Himba tribe who seem to thrive in this stark desert landscape. The Himba people, one of the last true nomadic tribes on Earth, is a highlight on any visit to the area, with their intricate customs, ochre-covered bodies, jewellery and skins.

There are many other attractions in this fascinating region to enjoy, from dedicated wildlife conservancies to informative cultural museums and thrilling 4×4 adventure trails. We offer trips to the dramatic Kunene region as part of our self-drive or guided Namibia safaris.

For more information on these trips or to customise your itinerary, get in touch at info@naturetravelnamibia.com

A visit to the Namibian Coastline includes a bit of everything, from the Cape Cross Seal Reserve, visits to Henties Bay & Swakopmund and birding in Walvis Bay.

“You need to lose yourself and disappear in the depths of the repetitions? Find a coast and watch the repetitive waves! Soon your mind vanishes away and when your mind disappears you disappear!” (Mehmet Murat ildan).

But waves are not only what the Namibian coastline can offer. On some of our Nature Travel Namibia safaris, we visit the Cape Cross Seal Reserve, stop over in Henties Bay, see shipwrecks, stay over in Swakopmund and watch birds in Walvis Bay.

The Cape Cross is the largest Seal Colony in the world and there are 24 colonies on the Namibian and South African coastline. When one gets here, some visitors find the smell not so pleasant hence wear mouth covers whereas some like myself have become immune to it! Very interesting is the remoteness of the area and thousands of Seals. Their vocals range from goat-like bleating, high pitched cackles to half human and braying laughs. Males have these deep voices sort of a bass developed from years of a combination of smoking, drinking whisky and yelling! However, it creates quite an awesome experience as one gets pretty close to them. A couple of times I have seen guests laughing at the vocals and its best to take a video for memories!

Swakopmund gives one the real beach Three Rs (Rest, Relax and Reflect) feeling. It’s best to spend 2 nights here and get time to go for a morning jogging along the beach and explore the area on foot in the afternoon. The Strand Hotel and Swakopmund Sands Hotel are normally our preferred accommodations, which gives one the town feeling after some time in the real African wilderness offered by Namibia’s remote areas.
Walvis Bay has a lagoon that is a must for enthusiastic birders. Here one could see thousands of Flamingoes showing off their beautiful and contrasting pink, black and white feathers in flight or doing their dance while feeding in shallow waters. Great White Pelicans can be seen resembling an amphibious aircraft taking off and landing both on conventional runways and water. Various other species of water birds can be observed as well depending on the season.

At Walvis Bay, the Catamaran tour is definitely worth it. On one of my safaris with Nature Travel Namibia, we were taken out by a local guide, Peter, who is well versed in the history of Walvis Bay and marine life. We had uninvited guests on the catamaran as well: Seals and Great White Pelicans. We made a turn to the Oil Rig before enjoying our lunch on the boat, which comprised mainly of sea food. What an experience!
Join Nature Travel Namibia on safari to experience the beautiful coastline and so much more! Visit www.naturetravelnamibia.com for more information.  (Written by Previous Tsvigu (Nature Travel guide))

When one drives in Namibia, especially areas from the north and central parts of the country, you will encounter towering hard compacted soil structures sprouting across the landscape mostly pointing north. These usually attract our guests’ attention consequently with a question, “What is that?” They are termite mounds, better known as anthills!

Biology of the termites have been thoroughly studied and well documented, of particular interest is the significance of the termite mounds and the social organisation of termites that can be related to real human lifetime events!

Termite mounds are huge thermostats. Temperature and humidity is regulated by opening and closing of openings, which is done by the worker termites during night time, which is why every morning one sees wet patches of repairs done. Climatic change is a global concern, hence some studies in the Otjozondjupa Region reveal that structure of the mounds could contribute to knowledge on building energy efficient houses. This is one of the strategies that could help minimise and protect against the increasing impacts of climate change.   The human equivalent of termite mounds would be buildings that meet all energy, waste management and other needs on site. No other organism on the earth is known to engineer the environment to this level, definitely not humans!

For years, the term “true democracy” has remained arbitrarious or non-existent in the human race. Amazingly it’s real in a termite colony! The king, queen, workers and soldiers are at the same level, there is no superiority, but it is just division of labour, where each has different roles to play. The queen and king have their royal palace underground, mating and managing 2000 eggs per day. The army consists of soldier termites that are strongly built and armed (strong mouth parts), implying a  good ground force to fight other insects. However, termites have a poorly managed air force department for attacking bigger giants e.g. Aardvark, Aardwolf, Bat-eared Fox, insectivorous birds, and hence these prey heavily on them.

Once either workers or soldiers die during the course of carrying their duties, they send a stress chemical signal to the queen, who in turn produces more eggs to meet the daily labour and army requirements. Differentiation into either worker or termite is determined by the population in each group. The workers assignments include being undertakers (remove dead bodies to avoid disease spread) or architects (designing and construction of the colony structure). More importantly they are also mycologist (develop fungi) to feed everyone in the colony. Fungus spores grow into mushrooms which are a local Namibian delicacy known by their Herero name: Omajova. Omajova grow after good rains, offering a convenient food delicacy plus ensuring an income to local sellers who usually stand on the sides of the main roads between cities.

Termite mounds can actually be compared to Windhoek! Streets are in the form of channels underground. The population size is half a million to a million individuals. How do they counter the problems of overpopulation and spread the genes to other areas? Workers and soldiers change into flying forms which appear during the rainy season and attempt to establish their own colonies. 99 % of these do not make it as they suffer predation by a range of animals, more important eaten by humans as well.

The combination of the mineral-rich soils and saliva, and the organic wastes from the fungus colony make termite mounds a very fertile place in an often otherwise infertile environment. Thus termites are actually farmers too, as trees often grow on termite mounds, even inactive ones. In wetlands like the Okavango Delta termites are also very important long-term landscapers. Over the years, termite mounds rearrange the flows of streams and form fertile islands.

They really are incredible insects and as you can see, can be described as anything from builders, engineers, architects, soldiers, farmers and more. To come and see a termite mound and its inhabitants close up, join us on a Namibian safari!

Have a look at the options on www.naturetravelnamibia.com or enquire directly as info@naturetravelnamibia.com