Visiting Namibia Before Angelina Jolie and Meerkat Manor
Namibia wasn't exactly up there on the general public's travel radar before Angelina Jolie decided this country was the perfect place to give birth and those cute little Meerkats appeared on television but it was on mine. I had noticed the many Namibia trips offered by Explore U.K., through Adventure Center (one of my favorite lower-priced tour operators), and the unusual itinerary interested me. Seal Colonies, the world's high sand dunes, and Etosha National Park (the third largest in Africa) for game viewing, plus there was no camping. All accommodation would be in well-appointed lodges, hotels and rest-camp bungalows. That always makes ex-Marine (husband, Steve) very happy.
Other tour operators who also run trips to Namibia are: Mountain Travel Sobek; Wilderness Travel; Geographic Expeditions; and Exodus.
Namibia lies in Southwest Africa and borders the South Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola to the north, Zambia in the northeast, Botswana in Southeast and South Africa to the South. This country has broad geographical variations and can be divided into four regions: the dunes and desert coastal plains of Namib; the Skeleton Coast; the Kalahari Basin; and the wooded bushveld of Kavango and Caprivi. The barren coastline of Namibia caused it to be one of the last African countries colonized by Europeans, and it was Adolf Luederitz from Germany who bought the first piece of land from a Nama Chief. In the late 1800's, the German Empire took over the country and Namibia became a "German Protectorate." German settlers rushed in to buy land, establish arms and subjugate the indigenous populatin, Nama and Hereor. To this day, Namiba is very German.
There were a few areas not included in this trip that I would have liked to have visited, e.g. the Kalahari and remote portions of the Skeleton Coast but you can't have everything. We committed to the trip and started planning the best way to get there, should we extend the trip by visiting other places, etc. The Namib Lodge Safari was only a 11-day trip and this was quite a distance to go for 10 days. Hmm...what to do....
