Up for 7 am breakfast and 8 am departure in 3 safari vehicles. Headed out the driveway of the Lodge, past the watering hole where we again saw springbok, along with a number of oryx and kudu. They are semi-comfortable with the "traffic" so we can get excellent pics from about 20 feet away!
Down the steep incline of the driveway and then on the road heading for the Himba Tribe.
The Himba Tribe is one of the remaining traditional tribes of Africa now residing in Namibia that is protected by the government and is helped by the very lodge that we are staying at as part of a Conservancy for the area.
On the way, our vehicle was last in the convoy and our driver pulled off the road and drove into a schoolyard. This was an unexpected surprise! The children were just starting their recess and were pouring out of the school doors to see and look at us with curiosity. They looked on while their head teacher took us for a tour of the school and loved it when we took their pictures and then showed them to them on our cameras! Some of our group had chocolate bars, candy and even soccer balls and the kids were thrilled to receive them! After lots of handshakes, smiles and goodbyes, we left the school and continued on our way.
The Himba live in a remote area called Kaokoland (our Lodge is in Damaraland) and we had to go through an attended gate with a permit to gain entrance. There was no real road except for some suggested tire tracks on the ground so we drove over very rough, rocky terrain (actually making good use of the safari vehicle for the first time!) as well as deep sand and river beds. It took about 30 minutes to drive the remaining 6 km. to the village at the slow, bumpy pace we were going.
The village we visited was Village #1, which the guide described as the 30 and under village. Village #2 was for 30 - 50 year olds and Village #3 was for over 50 and was the "Elder" village from which the other villages took direction and approval.
I forgot to mention that our driver had prepped us along the way with the Himba greeting (Morro!) and response (Nawa) and "thank you" (Okuheba). When we arrived at the village, the lead guide told us to wait in the trucks until one of the guides had introduced us and the women in the village had come to greet us. It wasn't long before the villagers came out and began greeting us exactly how the guide had explained to us. The next thing you know, we are shaking hands with these very primitive people and they are friendly and smiling and happy to be sharing their culture with us.
The village population is small. There is maybe a total of 40 in the village with women and small children being the majority with one third being young men. There is a chief of the Village and,in his absence, his wife is in charge. All things must be approved through her.
The Himba women are distinctly dressed in fur and leather skirts with a leather belt, if they have a child, to help her support it so that her hands can be free to work. They wear ankle bracelets to cover their ankles as they are the most secret part of the body and in the anklets are a white one for each child they've had. They also wear necklaces of beads, and women who have not had a child wear an additional very thick one. Most distinctive is their hair which is done in thick braids with fur woven into the ends. On top of their heads as part of the headdress were two pieces of leather standing up almost like two small rhinoceros ears.
Their skin was the colour of a rich dark reddy brown and the colour of all their gear blended in as one. The most unique thing about the women is that they never bathe. That's right. Never! They take ochre and grind it with rocks into a very fine powder and then mix it with jelled cow fat and rub it all over their bodies. They then take small pieces of tree bark mixed with some cow fat and light it to create a scented smoke which they then waft all over their bodies as well as holding their clothing over the smoke to scent them, too. Every woman has her own distinct scent from the different bark they burn.
There is so much more I could write but it would go on forever. Again, sorry, but you will have to Google the rest or wait for the paperback!
At the end of our "lesson", they formed a circle and put all their crafts out for us to look at and bargain for (very important to bargain!) if we wished. All in all, it was a very different experience.
Once the group had done their "shopping", we loaded back into the trucks and back down the rocky, sandy riverbeds. Soon, the guides found a big shady tree for us to enjoy a bag lunch under and we were enjoying a cold drink and the birds overhead (except when they decided to "gift" us with their droppings!).
After lunch, I couldn't resist climbing into the driver's seat and asking him if I could try driving the vehicle. He thought I was joking but I assured him I wasn't and told him that I drove a standard at home and knew what I was doing. Well, he looked a bit trepidatious at first but I guess he figured I would either stall out or give up on my own, so relented.
Very excited and a little nervous, I checked I was in 1st, one foot full on the clutch, one on the brake and already in 4 wheel drive and then I turned the key. Nothing. What? I checked everything again and turned the key again and again, nothing. Ok, this was weird. He was sitting behind me and I just turned to him and asked if there was something I didn't know about the vehicle? He smiled, climbed down, reached in and turned the key. Again, nothing. Now he looked worried and played with his key chain and some buttons a bit and determined that he had some lock on it and fixed it. Thank heaven it wasn't me!
The vehicle started up fine, I shifted into reverse to get back up the little sandy incline before shifting into first and driving over a bumpy patch before heading through the dried- out river bed with sand on both banks. Well, I made it, much to everyone's surprise, I'm sure, and I was ready to keep on going but they all cried out, "Ok, that's great, Jo-Ann, but that's enough!" Well, of course, I was disappointed in their lack of faith in me but I think it had more to do with the insurance coverage being void if I was behind the wheel! Still, it was a blast to have had the experience!
We made our way back to the Lodge up that crazy driveway with the insane incline and all poured out of the vehicles for a cold beer on the patio.
Our next safari drive at 4 pm was supposed to be a drive by a river bed to see the river animals but, because it was bone dry, the guide took us up on one of the table mountains, instead. The next thing you know, we're driving along on what feels like the top of the world! And it wasn't long before we saw a small herd of zebras off in the distance that was perfectly silhouetted against the sky - perfect for clearly seeing them without background camouflage!
As we neared the edge, the drivers pulled into a little dip on the plateau and stopped for us to.get out and have some refreshments. There, before us, lay the entire valley of browny-green foliage uninhabited for miles and miles and stretching out until it blended into a soft mist in the horizon. The flat tabletop mountains were all exactly the same height as if some great laser had cut through them like a knife. The mountains and valleys rose and fell like a great scenic expanse and it took us a while to take it all in and try to comprehend once again this vast, amazing country.
As the sun started to fall on the horizon, we headed back in time for a delicious meal prepared by the staff and to catch the sunset as it left its twilight glow on the eastside of the mountain range below our chalets.
Tomorrow, elephant tracking!!! ........JT
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