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When the Rain does not Rain
Summer has arrived in Namibia and with it, soaring temperatures. The days here are excruciatingly hot and the sun shines with such ferocity that it seems to drain every ounce of my energy. When I walk around, I am perpetually dripping in sweat, my eyes are blinded by the brilliant sun that reflects light off of the endless sea of white sand and the swarms of flies and mosquitoes have found their way back into my bedroom. You see, in Namibia, summer brings fierce sun, pesky insects and debilitating heat.…
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Traveling in Damaraland: Home of the Herero
Throughout history, humans have used the land to plant crops, chiseled it away at it to make homes and extracted its resources to fill their greatest desires. By using Earth’s resources to construct man-made realities, they have achieved great feats of engineering and controlled empires that expand the borders of many modern nations. It is these great feats and architectural masterpieces that have left many tourists awestruck and intrigued by the incredible craftsmanship and ingenuity of their forefathers. And it is sites like these that tourists flock to year after year…
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Etosha National Park Self-Drive Safari in Namibia
Etosha National Park reigns supreme as Namibia’s top safari destination. Covering a large and dusty floodplain in the country’s northern reaches, it is among the top wildlife-viewing destinations in Africa. The park is an enchanting place to visit. While its scenery may be stark and inhospitable, it comes to life with dazzling wildlife displays that are among the best on the planet. The sheer number of animals that wander the floodplains of Etosha is astounding. Along the park’s dusty roads, giraffes move gracefully through the trees, oryx stand regally before…
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Visiting a Himba Village from Opuwo
Of all the incredible places to visit in Namibia, the Kunene Region is among my favorite. The area is wild. It is remote. And it is seemingly untouched by the influences of the West. During my year-long stay in Namibia, I traveled to the country’s untouched northwest corner on two occasions. On my first trip to the area, I joined a group of friends on a memorable weekend getaway to Epupa Falls–an impressive patchwork of hundreds of small rivulets that cascade into the river separating Namibia from Angola. On my…
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Why We Are Here
We came to Namibia for adventure. We wanted to challenge ourselves, to stretch ourselves, to step out of our comfort zones. We came for the personal journey of self-discovery and we came in hope that this year abroad would help us uncover a bit more about ourselves and the path we would like to follow in life. Ultimately though, we came to Namibia to make an impact. Though my fellow volunteers and I have different backgrounds, we were drawn together by a similar purpose–the purpose of making a difference, however large…
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Things to do in Swakopmund: Three Day Itinerary
Described by my trusty lonely planet guidebook as being “more German than Germany,” the town of Swakopmund is a quaint mixture of Los Angeles and Bavaria that sits on the border between the vast, Namib Desert and the mighty Atlantic Ocean. It is quite a peculiar town, where modern buildings, fancy restaurants and multi-million dollar houses seem to wipe away any sense of being in Africa. My WorldTeach friends and I traveled to Swakopmund for a long weekend at the end of our first semester of teaching in Namibia. After…
