News Blog

Ondangwa - As flood waters in northern Namibia subside after nearly four months, residents are slowly repairing their homesteads, harvesting the few remaining crops and sending children back to school."At first it was nice not having to go to school, because the floods prevented classes," 12-year-old Tangeni Shivute told AFP. "But I missed my teachers and being with the other children."He lives in a small village tucked behind newly woven grass walls and in the shade of tall palm trees characteristic of the flat, white-sanded plains around Ondangwa, just 45 miles from the Angola border.Schools are supposed to be on holiday now, but after floods forced closures across the region, thousands of students now sit in class to catch up during the break.



These shallow pans have no real river beds. As unusually heavy seasonal rains hit Namibia and neighbouring Angola earlier this year, the waters silently filled the oshanas.Once they were full, even more rain connected the oshanas to form vast shallow lakes stretching for kilometres and taking months to dry up.At least 102 people have died since January in the worst flooding since 1972, which has affected 600,000 people across northern Namibia.

Creative Writing Blog

Namibia is one of the world’s last true wilderness areas. It is the fifth largest country in Africa, encompassing 826,680 square kilometres (larger than France and Great Britain combined) yet it supports a meagre population of around 1.8 million people. Consequently, it is famed for its vast landscapes that are devoid of people, limitless horizons, wonderful game parks, interesting fauna and flora, sunny weather and tranquil starry nights. Its staggering geology boasts the world’s highest sand dunes, one of the world’s oldest deserts, and the second largest canyon. Last but not least Namibia offers the adventurer a wide range of activities such as hiking, parachuting, micro-lighting, hot-air ballooning, dune skiing, wild river rafting, lake diving, horse riding, and abseiling to name a few.

Etosha’s silvery pan and surrounding plains in the north of the country teem with game, making EtoshaNational Park one of the world's greatest wildlife viewing venues. Damaraland’s desert-adapted elephant and endangered black rhino roam freely and can be tracked on foot and in open 4WDs. Flying along the Skeleton Coast you will find roaring dunes, hundred-thousand-strong seal colonies, mysterious shipwrecks, intriguing desert-adapted plants and animals, and flocks of pelicans and flamingos; whilst the enormous and empty Namib Desert and the giant sand dunes of Sossusvlei dominate the landscape to the south. Climbing a dune at Sossusvlei to watch the sunrise it’s easy to see why Namibia is a photographer’s dream. The dunes are enchanting, totally unspoilt, and best of all, you have them to yourself.