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Read about places of interest in Namibia for sightseeing, game
viewing and other holiday activities - select a region to
see details:
Namibia's 13 Regions - in
alphabetical order:
Caprivi
- Katima Mulilo, Kwando River, Mudumu, Ngoma
Erongo
- Erongo, Omaruru, Skeleton Coast,
Swakopmund
Hardap -
Kalahari, Maltahöhe, Namib Desert, Sossusvlei
Karas -
Fish River Canyon, Kalahari, Keetmanshoop, Lüderitz
Kavango -
Bushmanland, Divundu, Kaudom Game Park,
Mahango, Okavango River,
Popa Falls, Rundu
Khomas -
Khomas Highlands, Windhoek
Kunene -
Damaraland, Kaokoland, Kunene, Twyfelfontein
Omaheke -
Buitepos, Gobabis, Trans-Kalahari-Highway
Ohangwena -
Oshikango
Omusati -
Ombalantu
Oshana -
Ondangwa, Oshakati, Nakambale
Oshikoto -
Etosha National Park, Tsumeb
Otjozondjupa -
Bushmanland, Otjiwarongo, Waterberg
Here you'll find essential
Namibia Travel Info
Where to stay for overnights in Namibia and at travel
destinations around neighbouring countries is listed under
Recommended
Accommodations. |
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Buitepos Border Post / Trans Kalahari Highway
Buitepos is a small constituency of the Omaheke Region of Namibia.
It contains the Buitepos border crossing between Namibia and
Botswana, which is the border post closest to Windhoek and open
between 06h00 and 16h00 daily. Since 1998, Buitepos became an
important border post with the completion of the Trans Kalahari
Highway that runs through Namibia and Botswana all the way to Zambia
or South Africa. With the opening of this highway, parts of Botswana
which had been difficult to reach before became accessible even with
sedan vehicles. Crossing the border to/from Botswana, travellers
need to prove ownership of their vehicles, which makes it necessary
for tourists with hired vehicles to carry an appropriate letter of
their respective car rental company.
Gobabis
Gobabis is situated 200 kilometres east of Windhoek, on road B6, in
the centre of the Omaheke Region. The region borders the Kalahari
and covers a huge area of 80 000 km². Omaheke is also called the "Sandveld"
and is traditionally Herero country. Many of the survivors of the
battle at the Waterberg Plateau in 1904, have settled here after
their desperate flight through the dry Omaheke desert. Most of the
land is used by big cattle-breeding farms and offers monotonous
landscape and endless grassy savannah with acacia bushes and
camel-thorn trees.
The roots of Gobabis extend back to the year 1856, when the Rhenish
Mission Society established a station, which was destroyed and
abandoned in 1880. In those days, the region was known to be
"restless" as the Herero and the Nama, who lived in the south, often
fought against each other. The district capital of Gobabis today has
15 000 citizens and provides mainly for the 800 farms in the
surrounding areas. Gobabis is also an important stop-over for the
traffic to/from Botswana. The border post Buitepos lies 110
kilometres east of Gobabis. Just a few years ago, a trip from
Windhoek to Johannesburg through Botswana was a real adventure. On
the tarred "Trans Kalahari Highway” one can manage the 1300
kilometres in just two days.
Herero
People
The Herero, in their own language Ovaherero, are a people belonging
to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today. The
majority live in Namibia, with the remainder living in Botswana and
Angola. Most are employed as workers on large farms or earn their
living as merchants or tradesman in the cities. The Herero entered
the country from the north, with their big herds of cattle, in the
1500s. After almost two centuries in the Kaokoveld, the majority of
them migrated southward in search of better pastures, which they
found in the central highlands. Only the Himba stayed behind. the
most traditional of the Herero tribes were bound to ancient ways and
beliefs. They still inhabit Namibia's Kaokoveld, in the Kunene
Region.
The Ovaherero comprise several subgroups, which during the colonial
period, Europeans wrongly attempted to define as separate ethnic
groups. The Ovaherero speak Otjiherero, some also Portuguese,
English, Afrikaans or German. Otjiherero is the main unifying
language amongst the Herero groups and used in the Namibian media
and as well as a school subject throughout the country.
Traditionally, the Herero are cattle-herding pastoralists who rate
status by the number of cattle owned.
Despite a common language and pastoral traditions, the Herero are
not a homogeneous people. The main Herero group in central Namibia
was heavily influenced by Western culture during the colonial
period, creating a whole new identity. The Herero proper and their
southern counterparts, the Mbanderu, wear garments at official
occasions similar to those worn by colonial Europeans in the early
1900's. Traditional leather garments are worn by north-western
groups, such as the Himba, Kuvale, and Tjimba, who are also more
conservative in other aspects. The Ovaherero in Namibia's Kaokoland
and those living in neighbouring Angola have remained isolated and
are still pastoral nomads, practicing limited horticulture.
Kalahari
to be updated
Omaheke Desert
The Omaheke Desert, part of the Kalahari, is one of the most
historic deserts Namibia has to offer. After a bloody fight at
Waterberg the german troops chassed the surviving Herero which fled
into the Omaheke desert in order to stay alive. Since the desert is
as harsh as any other desert, most of them died of thirst and
exhaustion during their trek through the desert. Their leader as
well as 1000 men managed to reach Bechuanaland and the protection of
Britain. |
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P. O. Box 1301