Filter Coffee #162

Guest Edition - On Travels Through Namibia

FC #161, Misery Loves Company, elicited a few interesting comments that I’d like to share:

• S G Murali says: “I am reminded of the discussion between Lord Krishna and Karnan: ‘Look, Vasudeva, is it my fault that my parents deserted me after my birth, and I was denied Kingdom?  I was trained by Parasuram, but he cursed me that I will forget the art of arrow when I need it most? Is it my fault?  Draupathi insulted me at her swayamvar and said I am not a king - is it my fault? Life is very unfair to me.’  Krishna replied ‘Karna, look at me - I was born in a jail, Kansa killed my brothers as soon as they were born, I was separated on day one from my parents, my uncle tried to kill me several times and as a boy I had to slay him. I did not marry the girl I loved - is life fair to me or unfair to me?’  When good thing happens we never ask God ‘Why me ?’  But the moment something bad happens, we do. It is difficult to accept what happens to us.”

• Tarun Kunzru shares his perspective: “Misery is a reactive state... It's a response (in the mind) to something negative. While it's natural to flock together with birds in the same state to get some solace, it's important to get hold of yourself sooner rather than later and to move on to rebuild. The last thing you want is wallowing in misery with the logic - ‘what matters never mind because what is in my mind is all that matters.’”

Readers, I’m excited to say that this week’s FC is another guest contribution, this time from Ms. Vidya Rajarao. Ms. Rajarao is the founder and CEO of Fraudopedia. Fraudopedia aims to equip young professionals in accounting, law and management and stakeholders like Independent Directors, Executive Directors and Company Secretaries with tools to prevent, detect and combat fraud in India. She holds substantial investigative, forensic and risk consulting experience in the USA and India and is the first Indian to be elected to the Board of Regents of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), the world’s largest anti-fraud organization.

Ms. Rajarao recently served as the Vice Chair of the Board of Regents. She is also the only Indian expert witness to appear continuously in the International Who's Who of Arbitration Expert Witnesses since 2014. You can find her 🔗here, on LinkedIn.

In this piece, she shares a rich account of her exciting trip to Namibia. Thank you Vidya.

🏜🌊 Through Deserts & Oceans

by Vidya Rajarao

Namibia is famous for miles of sand dunes crashing into the Atlantic Ocean. Namibia is the second least densely populated country in the world after Mongolia – the country’s total population is around 25 lakhs. Yes, that is right!

The Republic of Namibia shares a border with Zambia and Angola to its North, Botswana in the East and South Africa in the South/East. It was colonized by Germany until World War II, and later by South Africa until 1994.

We toured Namibia over 15 days in July/August and highlights of our trip are set forth below:

Windhoek

Our first port of entry was Windhoek, the capital. Like other capital cities, there isn’t much to see other than the town centre, Parliament, gardens, and malls. Our car for the next two weeks was delivered to our hotel by Swakopmund Car Hire (SCH). We hired a 4 x 4 Ford Explorer since some of the roads in Namibia are gravel roads. The SCH  agents briefed us on tyre pressure, driving on sand/gravel and general precautions while driving in Namibia. Roads there are quite safe, and they drive on the left side (like in India). However, given the distances and low population, we were encouraged to fill petrol whenever we see a petrol station esp. while driving outside the larger cities.

We made a quick trip to a local Spar and loaded up on water, snacks, chocolates, etc. for the road trip!

Sossusvelei  

Sossusvelei is the gateway to the Namib-Naukluft Park. 'Vlei' is the Afrikaans word for a shallow depression that might sometimes be filled with water.

We chose the scenic route via the Spreetshoogte pass where the landscape changed from shrub savannah to desert savannah and gave us endless vistas of the desert. The Spreetshoogte Pass is a showpiece of the region where, from certain viewpoints, one can see for many kilometres down the mountain, looking out over wide-open vistas before driving slowly down a winding pass to the desert floor.

We entered the Namib-Naukluft Park at sunrise via the Sesreiem gate and were rewarded with a sighting of the Oryx, Namibia’s national animal.

The park is a photographer’s delight, especially in the early morning light when the shadows magnify the sharp edges of the sand dunes. We drove to the largest dune in the park, affectionately called Big Daddy, towering at around 325 feet. It took us about 30–40 minutes to climb Big Daddy, but a mere 5 minutes to roll down the dune! The child in each one of was awakened when, irrespective of age, gender, or nationality, everyone either zipped or rolled in the sand!

The next day we savoured a hot air balloon ride over the Namib Desert – again at sunrise. We assembled before the sun and watched our balloon being prepped for the ride. After our safety briefing, we were off at daybreak to witness the sun weave its magic over the dunes! The hot air balloon ride was about an hour, and it was followed by a champagne breakfast in the desert!

Swakopmund   

After the breathtaking scenery and experiences at the Namib Desert, we drove to Swakopmund on the coast. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, a popular Instagram moment!  

Swakopmund, a quaint town situated at the mouth of the Swakop River, is the activity centre of Namibia. Needless to say, we took the plunge and went on a kayak tour with seals in the morning followed by a drive to sandwich harbour in the afternoon.

Kayaking with seals was exhilarating and fun! After receiving the mandatory safety briefing and tips to engage with seals, we donned the wetsuit and glided in to the Pelican Point. The seals are quite friendly and surrounded our kayak playfully, and we lost track of time, the cold waters and water splashes on our wetsuits.

The sandwich harbour tour in the afternoon led us to massive sand dunes crossing into the Atlantic Ocean. The drive requires dexterity and skill in manoeuvring the dunes and is only possible with an experienced tour operator.

We concluded our time in Swakopmund with a visit to the moon landscape and Welwitschia drive. The Welwitschia Mirabilis is Namibia’s national flower.

Skeleton Coast    

The Skeleton Coast National Park, a vast, bleak, and impenetrable national park, is one of the most inhospitable places in the world. Cold water and an expanse of dunes, this is the driest place in sub-Saharan Africa and the final resting place of more than a thousand rusting shipwrecks. The turbulent Benguela Current causes strong winds, shifting sandbanks and powerful undertows that have led to many a sailor's demise.

Interestingly, the roads in the Skeleton coast are made of gypsum and black salt washed from the sea, and these roads are smoother than the regular tarred roads!

We drove the eerie and fog covered landscape in the park’s south through gravel roads from the Springbokwasser and Ugab entrance gates to the Torra Bay and Terrace Bay outposts. We stayed one night at the Cape Cross lodge, situated on the seafront of the Skeleton Coast, just out of nose-shot of the largest seal colony in the world. There are over 100,000 seals and the stench (and noise) of these seals is quite over-powering.

Damaraland    

We left the Skeleton Coast and drove inland to Damaraland – the land of the Damara tribes. The Damara language is characterised by clicks and fun to learn but hard to master!

Damaraland featured plains, rocky mountains and incredible desert-adapted wildlife. We spotted a herd of elephants.

We visited the Twyfelfontein rock engravings, Burnt Mountain and Organ Pipes. The rock engravings illustrate in pictures the animals and livelihood of the nomadic tribes. These engravings were used to communicate and convey the animals witnessed by the tribes in their travels. Some of the  engravings are well-preserved and our guide (a young civil engineer!) explained the various drawings and the history of the rock engravings. 

The Damara Living Museum allows visitors to experience traditional Damara culture as it existed thousands of years ago. Each day, the Damara tribesmen and women (who now live in a village with relative modern day comforts) gather at the Museum to re-create their traditional way of life – from their clothes, language, dance, food, jewellery making and more!

Closing thoughts

Namibia is a wonderful off beat destination and easily accessible from India.  Driving is fairly easy even on gravel roads as there is no traffic at all. One can zip quite comfortably at 140 kilometres per hour and the main highways are well maintained. The lodges and resorts are constructed with natural materials and blend in with the desert or plains landscape. Most lodges and resorts are online.

Thank you, Vidya, for this wonderful travelogue. Dear readers, do leave your thoughts in the comments. Take care and see you all next week. Ciao!