Southern Africa, A Return

Hello! I’m writing this on my phone in Swakopmund, Namibia… a German-style colonial seaside town on the Atlantic Ocean. It’s just before sunrise, and the birds & sea are serenading me awake. Besides my South Africa memories shared in the last newsletter, I forgot to elaborate on how this area landed on our travel list.

Growing up in Nigeria, my father traveled the continent for work and brought back stories, trinkets & slideshows. I always knew Africa to be vast, varied & beautiful. I also had an early understanding that there were ongoing political struggles, especially in the south.

While in boarding school outside Lagos, occasionally Namibian students would enroll. They were SWAPO members, as their t-shirts proudly declared. SWAPO stands for South West Africa People’s Organisation - the Namibian resistance party equivalent to the ANC of South Africa. Sponsoring their secondary education in Nigeria was part of my country’s contribution to their fight. Though I’m sorry to say that I never talked to them — they were women, we were girls, I was always intrigued.

(I mentioned this story to our guide Enos in Sossusvlei a few days ago, and he shared that his sisters were similarly educated in Sierra Leone & Cuba. I’d like to learn more about the role of independent African nations in supporting freedom movements in southern Africa in the 1960s - 1980s.)

Namibia gained independence from South Africa on March 21, 1990. Formerly known as South West Africa, upon independence, the country named itself after their beautiful & famed Namib Desert, the oldest in the world. It was named by Mburumba Kerina, independence fighter & father of my friend Karina.

About 12-15 years ago, my friend Simone Leigh visited Namibia to learn from local artists. She returned with stories & arresting images of herself pushing a baby pram up & down the red dunes of the Namib. That sealed the deal, I had to visit one day & see this incredible place for myself. I came for the politics & the beauty.

As I’ve already shared, my trips to South Africa in 2000 & 2001 left an impression & I’ve always wanted to return. I’m especially curious how the Rainbow Nation will feel now. At the turn of the millennium, it felt hopeful & precarious, determined & cautious. Everyone I met - Black, white, Indian, Colored - wrote themselves into the resistance story & wanted a future at home. Has that held? Land reform & economic justice remain third-rail issues. Right now, I’m reading Yewande Omotoso’s novel “The Woman Next Door” which touches on this.

Meanwhile, Steve and I love road trips. We’ve driven in the US & Canada, of course, but also Mexico, Colombia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Portugal, Italy, France & many other European countries. (Well, to be clear, Steve drives & I ride shotgun. Lol.) In our gap year, we wanted to incorporate a couple of major self-drive road trips (rather than hiring a car & driver).

For our African Grand Tour portion, only southern Africa makes sense for self driving - so we have 5 weeks here in total, with extended car-less stays in Joburg & Cape Town. It’s been amazing so far!

Namibia so far!

As always, we’ve enjoyed incredible support, including our travel planner Esther Ruempol of Eco-travel Boutique & many friends, plus friends of friends, parents / siblings / cousins of friends, etc. Thanks to all!

For photos galore, please follow along via my Instagram (at kemi 70).