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The region in Namibia

Sand storms, daytime temperatures of over 50 degrees before the mercury falls below freezing point at night, extreme drought: the Namib is one of the most inhospitable places on earth. The unique foggy desert lines the Atlantic coast of Namibia over a length of 2000 kilometers, from east to west the Namib measures around 150 kilometers. In the north a desert tip protrudes into Angola, in the south to South Africa.

The Namib owes its sandy character to the River Orange, which forms Namibia’s border with South Africa. The river, which is over 2000 kilometers long, carries large amounts of sediment, which is transported further north by the Benguela Current in the Oranjemund estuary and deposited on the coast. The stranded granules of sediment are seized by strong winds that model them into spectacular sandy landscapes.

The Namibian Sand Sea has been part of the Unesco World Heritage since 2013, but with around 30,000 square kilometers it covers only around a third of the entire Namib. Only a few animal species get along in this desert – including the rare black rhinoceros, desert elephants and the oryx, Namibia’s heraldic animal. Practically, she almost never has to drink, the water in the food is sufficient for the resilient animal as a moisture supplier for a long time.

The ghost town of Kolmanskop in the desert

The first diamond in Namibia was found in 1908 on the Lüderitz – Seeheim railway line by an African worker. But it was his superior, a German in what was then the colony of German South West Africa, who staked out the first claim at Kolmannskuppe near Lüderitz together with a friend. The two became millionaires.

Within a short period of time, a diamond camp grew into a German colonial-style mining town with a hospital, power station and even a saltwater swimming pool. The diamond-rich area in southern Namibia was declared a restricted area by the Imperial Colonial Office up to the South African border, and the local population got nothing.

The injustice that the Germans exercised as a colonial power from 1884 to 1915 in what is now Namibia, however, extended far beyond exploitation and land grabbing when German troops brutally put down local uprisings between 1904 and 1908. About 65,000 of the 80,000 Herero died, and at least 10,000 of the 20,000 Nama were killed.

Germany now recognizes a historical responsibility, but so far no official apology has been issued, nor has any money been paid to make amends. Kolmanskop, as the diamond settlement is called in Afrikaans, has been an abandoned ghost town for decades, gradually being blown away by the desert sand.

Himba – the last nomads in the Namib

It has a similar bad reputation as the Bermuda Triangle: the Skeleton Coast in northern Namibia. Here the fog is often so dense and the current so strong that ships run aground or crash against the rocks. Hundreds of wrecks are rusting on the bank.

Even today, the stretch of coast, which the Portuguese sailors called the gateway to hell, is feared by seafarers. Also because shipwrecked people who were able to save themselves on land have died of thirst in the dry desert.

The coast is almost deserted, the Himba only live in the border area with Angola. This last nomadic people of Namibia keeps cattle, sheep and goats in the desert. Instead of western clothing, the Himba only wear a kind of loincloth made of leather or fur – even the women who do not cover their breasts. One vice is equally popular with both sexes: pipe smoking.

The snake in the sand

The Namib Viper is a sophisticated blender: it buries itself in the sand, stands still and hopes for prey. Only the tip of the tail peeps out. As soon as a gecko or a small rodent comes along, the snake wriggles with its rear end – with it it fools the four-legged friends into a quick insect meal. But before the gecko or mouse can bite, they become prey themselves and are devoured by the viper at lightning speed.

This plant miraculously survives

The Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch discovered it in 1859, and the plant has been called Welwitschia mirabilis ever since. The Herero have known it for a long time – under the name Onyanga (desert onion). It looks like a wilting heap, but it is extremely vital and amazes the botanists.

If the meter-long tap root cannot tap into the groundwater, the Welwitschia forms hair roots that it wraps around itself like a fine network. These absorb moisture from the fog that trade winds regularly blow in from the coast.

The Welwitschia only exists in the Namib Desert. The survivor is Namibia’s national plant and adorns the national coat of arms; the national rugby team is called “The Welwitschias”. The oldest known specimen is around 1500 years old and around eight meters in circumference. The tourist road “Welwitschia Drive” leads from Swakopmund to this giant and past a number of conspecifics.

300 meter high dunes in the oldest desert in the world

The Namib is estimated to be at least 55 million years old, making it the oldest desert in the world. However, since a desert does not arise from now on, scientists are divided as to when exactly the geological development of the Namib began. Some geologists believe that this happened 80 million years ago or even earlier.

Some of the highest dunes in the world tower in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. They are called Big Daddy or Big Mama and some measure over 300 meters. Some of the sand hills can be climbed – for example the 80 meter high Dune 7 in the Sossusvlei area, on the crest of which early risers can experience particularly beautiful sunrises.

The quote

“Gurgling water rushed under gray, fluttering clouds”

Henno Martin (1910–1998) describes a dry river in “When there is war, we go into the desert” that suddenly filled up after a downpour. The geologist was doing research in the Naukluft Mountains when the Second World War broke out. Fearing that he would be interned as a German, he fled to the desert with a colleague and fought there for over two years for bare survival. He was then arrested, but was quickly released and was able to do further research.

Quirky, record-breaking, typical: You can find more parts of our regional geography series here.

This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG. We are happy to deliver them to your home on a regular basis.