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We left Ugabu Camp
at 8 am this morning, on route to see the rock engravings at
Twyfelfontein. Our route took us through some tremendous rock
scenery. In addition to the backdrop of some lofty mountains,
the area was littered with numerous rocky outcrops, each of them
a huge collection of boulders. A little over an hour later we
stopped at a roadside hut, where there were two women, one in
traditional Herero costume, derived from the dress of 19th.
century missionary wives, whilst the younger girl wore the
traditional Himba dress of leather goatskin, with leather
and shell jewellery. Her skin was smeared with what is known
locally as "otjize," a mixture of butter, ash and ochre,
intended to keep the skin youthful, and giving those who wear it
a reddish-brown |
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matt
appearance. Their hair is heavily plaited and given the same "otjize"
treatment. The Himba people are descendants of the Herero
herders, displaced in the 19th. century, after which they took
up their semi-nomadic lifestyle, and still resist the western
influences on modern Africa. We pressed on towards
Twyfelfontein, where we met our guide Bernadette, who was to
conduct us on our tour of the rock engravings. During this one
hour tour we would only see 7 of the 2,500 drawings that adorn
the rocks in this area. A quarter of the drawings actually
depict unidentified antelope, whilst the remainder consist of
more-readily identifiable mammals - giraffe, rhino, gemsbok and
ostrich. It is thought that the paintings were an identification
aid to the bushmen that had inscribed them around 5,000 |
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years
earlier. After leaving
Twyfelfontein, our next stop, was a brief opportunity to see
Burnt Mountain, an extinct volcano which last erupted in 1935,
which takes its name from the accumulation of blackened
limestone around its slopes, and nearby, the "Organ Pipes" an
area of eroded rocky columns similar to in appearance to the
basalt columns of The Giant's Causeway back in UK. Our stop for
that night was at Camp Xaragu, where we arrived at 4.30.
Yellow-billed hornbill were flitting around the camp, always
very photogenic, and whilst I was searching one of the trees
came across a pair of birds that none of us, including Max,
Gecko or Jonas was able to identify. Nancy started delving into
the books and eventually identified the pair as Bare-cheeked
babblers. Described as |
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"uncommon" it is endemic to Namibia and Angola. The pair
gave a very obvious display of affection, constantly preening
each other, and none of the guys had seen one before, so it was
quite pleasing to have sighted this relative rarity. Today I
found to be one of the "quieter" days of the holiday. Perhaps it
was in the wake of the excitement of the dolphin cruise, and in
anticipation of what lay ahead, with the journey to Etosha. Here
we were to spend four nights. This was where we were likely to
see more big game, and with the benefit of floodlit waterholes
everybody was really looking forward to it. That evening, Jonas
prepared us something that was more traditionally African, with
a springbok stew, served with pasta and veg, and a delicious
colelslaw-like mix of shredded carrot and pineapple.
And now for tomorrow - Etosha!! |
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