Damaraland Namibia

 

Spectacular rock formations

Ancient petroglyphs

Desert adapted elephants and vibrant hornbill birds

 

Damaraland, Namibia was the destination I was most eager to see; and it turned out to be my favorite. The first thing I noticed was the scenery. It looked like giants had lifted enormous granite boulders and placed them in random arrangements. Damaraland is home to ancient petroglyphs and desert-adapted wildlife. The climate is very different than the Skeleton Coast – time to put away the jackets and grab the bathing suits and sunscreen.

 

 

Travel Day: Skeleton Coast to Damaraland

Ok, let’s continue where we left off in the previous post… We boarded the Cessna 210 at the Skeleton Coast air strip and waved goodbye to the jackal. Rosie powered up the plane, and we took off for the one-hour flight to Damaraland. When we landed Niekie from Mowani Mountain Camp was waiting with cold towels and water. We said farewell to Rosie, loaded up the car and drove 15 minutes to the hotel.

 

Mowani Mountain Camp

Marco led us through the lounge, dining area and private path to the mountain suite. I was distracted by colorful lizards and geckos popping out and scurrying around the boulders. He showed us around the suite: living room, fridge, snacks, bedroom, outdoor deck, pool, outdoor tub and shower, and air horn for baboons.

Air horn for baboons? Yeah, sometimes the baboons come by to swim in the pool. The airhorn scares them away and alerts the staff in case they don’t get the hint. A door from the bedroom opened to the deck and detached bathroom. Marco advised us to keep the doors locked due to the baboons. They figured out the door handles, but not the locks – yet. Ok – no arguments there.

 

 

 

 

 

We freshened up, went to the lounge for cocktails and found a great spot to birdwatch. There are several areas where the birds hang out: a small pond to drink and bathe, a hearty tree to build nests, and a giant boulder to view the surroundings. With so much to see we almost missed the rainbow (a brief rain created a beautiful, short-lived rainbow).

 

 

 

Then I saw him – a cute black dog named Samson with Gerda, the hotel manager, and Niekie’s wife. I chatted with Gerda and she told me about the sunset gathering spot on top of the boulders. Of course I wanted to check it out! We made our way up a narrow passageway between giant boulders to the top of the mountain and saw an incredible valley view.

 

 

 

At sundowner time, the staff sets up cushions and chairs, opens the bar, and serves snacks. Sipping cocktails and munching snacks, we watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

 

 

Self-Guided Hike & Chill Day

After a huge breakfast on our deck, we headed out for a self-guided hike around the hotel. Gerda said that Samson liked to hike, so I hoped he would join us, but nope, he was not in the mood. Following the marked trail, we took our time to enjoy nature and look at the bushes, flowers, and amazing rock formations. The trail was longer than we anticipated and it got very hot. Michael felt dizzy, so we quickly made our way back to the room. Lesson learned: don’t go on a midday hike in Africa after a night of cocktailing.

 

 

Michael cooled off in the outdoor tub, then took a nap. I grabbed the air horn and sat in the pool. (Are you wondering if I needed to use it?)

 

 

Check out the beautiful view from our deck.

 

In the afternoon various birds came by the room to entertain me. A hornbill couple relaxed on a boulder and then wandered around on the deck. One snacked on the cactus plant then peered into our window.

 

 

 

Later, while relaxing in the living room I heard small thuds in the bedroom and went to check it out. I found two small birds sitting on the outdoor shower near the window. One flew to the window, tapped a few times, then went back its perch. This escalated to body slams on the window for over an hour while Michael napped. Not familiar with bird behavior, I looked online and learned that the bird was telling Michael: Hey, this is my territory – go away!

 

Morning Game Drive to See Desert-Adapted Elephants

I didn’t mind getting up early the next day for the first Namibia game drive. We joined our guide Ziki, a Herrero, and two couples on a quest to find the elephants. After an hour we located a small family: grandma, mom, 1 ½ year old baby they named Olivia, and a bull. We followed them for a while watching them stroll, snack, and occasionally glance at us. They were familiar with the vehicles and even came close to check us out. Ziki explained that the trees elephants eat are also used by locals for medicinal purposes. They can be boiled and ingested to help with stomachaches as well as turned into a paste for cuts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a break for coffee and snacks Ziki took us to see a homestead with goats. We said hi to the owner and a baboon she adopted as baby, Lexi. Lexi jumped onto the hood and Ziki gave her a snack.

Before the trip, Michael researched the local fauna to see if there was anything to avoid and learned about the poisonous Damara milk bush (Euphorbia damarana). He asked Ziki to stop if we passed one so he could see it close up. We did.

We ran into two other small elephant groups and watched them for a while. On the way back to the hotel, we saw steenbok and hornbills.

 

 

Back at the hotel, we headed to the restaurant for a nourishing lunch and beautiful view. In the afternoon we cooled off in the pool and watched the birds on our deck.

 

 

 

Excursion to Organ Pipes & Twyfelfontein

The next day was another early start to visit Organ Pipes and Twyfelfontein with Ziki and a young couple.

Organ Pipes

Organ Pipes are vertical dolerite rock formations that were formed millions of years ago from volcanic eruptions. A short walk from the car park led to a small gorge lined with the towering rectangular rocks. The shapes of the rocks reminded us of Ganung Padang in Indonesia.

 

 

 

 

Twyfelfontein

Thousands of years ago, the original inhabitants of Namibia, the San, created rock carvings and paintings of animals, handprints, and footprints in Twyfelfontein, a Unesco world heritage site.

We stopped at the visitor center and then walked for a few minutes on a flat path to the mountains. Then the hike began. The ancients created their art in various locations throughout the mountains. Some parts were easy to reach, and others took some climbing on uneven surfaces. The other couple bounced up the paths, snapped a photo, and then moved on. It took us longer to get around, which left less time to view the petroglyphs. I felt a bit rushed and would have liked to explore at a more relaxed pace.

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Damaraland

On the final afternoon, we asked the hotel staff about our departure time the next day. They said we could check with our driver – he had already arrived. Guess who it was – Charles – what a cool surprise! We talked about the best route to take and agreed on the departure time. Then we made our way to the viewpoint for our final Damaraland sunset.

The next morning, as we said goodbye and headed to the car, I saw a lovely note on the office door: May every sunrise hold more promises and every sunset more peace!

 

 

Join us at the final Namibia destination…

Onguma Nature Reserve post coming soon.