Namibia Travel Guide: Overview

Introduction to Namibia

What can explain the harmony that prevails in Namibia today, given that the population consists of at least 11 major ethnic groupings and an even greater variety of languages? The reason may be that – despite a century of ruthless colonialism, decades of apartheid and a bitter struggle for independence – the majority of ordinary people always stood together, working and suffering as one, mingling on farms and in small towns, sharing the bitter and the sweet.

The Europeans conquered Africa with their languages, religions, education, technology and agricultural know-how, but a barrier of deep mistrust remained between the indigenous inhabitants and their conquerors. As one might expect, 23 years of occupation by apartheid South Africa singularly failed to resolve the situation – yet the independence struggles of the 1970s and 1980s somehow managed to bring white and black Namibians together. 

The Namibians

Namibia’s population is as varied as its landscape: colourful and rich in different languages and lifestyles. The peoples of this thinly populated expanse of land – which ranges from the river landscapes of the Caprivi Strip, through dry forests and savannahs, to the deserts along the Atlantic – have been compared to a colourful carpet, with fringes that reach deep into the countries around it. This young country combines a palette of peoples and tribes in a geographical area whose borders were drawn through tribal lands between 1884 and 1890 to suit the interests of colonial powers. As a result, many peoples were thrown together in what was to develop into the modern state of Namibia.

Today the country possesses a political system based on sound democratic principles, with great regard for the origins, language, culture, religion and political convictions of all its peoples. And the bonhomie that has taken root among the people of Namibia is readily communicated to visitors, too. 

Namibia's landscape

Shimmering expanses of white at Etosha Pan, apricot and coral dunes in the Namib desert, verdant waterways of the Caprivi, empty, bleached beaches along the Skeleton Coast, barren terracotta mountains in Damaraland, ochre rock faces of the Fish River Canyon and cloudless azure skies all paint vivid, lasting impressions of the Namibian landscape. The country is big, raw, wild and often bleak. There’s an overwhelming feeling of space, timelessness and distant horizons. It’s a desert land of extremes, where even during the winter months, between April and October, temperatures are known to regularly soar to 30°C (86°F) during the middle of the day, dropping to near freezing at night.

Wildlife viewing against this backdrop is a very different experience from other safari destinations in Africa. What makes Namibia particularly special is the number of large mammals found in a desert environment, and the fact that the animals are not restricted to designated parks.