Dimwits Millennium Trip 1999

[Richprins]

A few km south of Etosha, on the dirt road, we encountered the first of a range of swollen rivers in what is meant to be a desert...

A Pajero was stuck!

The Dimwits went into full Camel-Man Mode...and the Witrenoster was going to show its true colours!

We effortlessly crossed the river and then winched the Pajero out! (Auslanders)

VERY full of ourselves we had a few rounds of tea and self-congratulation, when lo and behold a tiny hatchback came down the road and straight through the river without even slowing (Local toekarretjie)...


Anyway, it was standard procedure to first check the footing by foot every time we encountered a river, and we slowly made progress Southward!

[Richprins]

The weather was pleasant, and we entered different landscapes as we went through the 1000km stretch for the day to Henties Bay:

The rivers are quite grand, and it is funny seeing elephant dung come floating past on a public highway!

Some had proper bridges!

A detour to a tourist rock!

[Alf]

Good work Dimwits

Strange looking rock

[Richprins]

Some of the local population, Herero ladies!

More rivers!

The day was dragging on and we had the bright idea to take a backroad shortcut via a mining hamlet called Sorris Sorris!


We duly reached it, but this time there was no getting through the next river!

Sorry sorry indeed!

I remember feeling very isolated in this spot...we turned around and added 200km to our trip, eventually limping into Henties after dark.


There was no way we were pitching camp, so we pooled our meager remaining money and rented a chalet somewhere and went to a pub/restaurant for some strange beer and tons of seafood...it was very nice after all!

[Lisbeth]

Too much driving But you saw some lovely rivers in the desert

The ladies are wearing some funny hats and a lot of clothes It does not look cold at all

[Richprins]

It is traditional dress there, Lis!

And it is never cold!

[Lisbeth]

It must be traditional, but traditional from where? It does not look like a traditional African dress at all. More like Portuguese, Spanish or similar, but Namibia was German

[Lisbeth]

The clothes that Herero women choose to wear is a permanent reminder of the tribe’s unsettling past and history, when the Germans almost exterminated the entire tribe. The genocide nearly wiped out the once prosperous people of Namibia. Their cultural dress is a continued protest against the Germans who butchered them, making it a subversion of their former rulers’ fashion.

The ‘Ohorokova’, the traditional Herero dress, is A-lined, with colourful, vibrant patterns and several petticoats. This creates a wide, structured skirt. The attire is topped off by a cow horn-shaped hat. The Herero people, who are historically cattle breeders, measure their wealth in cattle, and are paying homage to that part of their identity through this traditional fashion staple.The style of dress was introduced by the German wives of missionaries and colonialists who first came to the country in the early 1900s. Before their arrival, most Herero were bare-breasted and wore front and back leather aprons, made from sheep, goat or game skins. They were known for their ostrich shell-embellished overskirts and metal beadwork, as well as the brass, copper and carved-horn cuffs worn at their wrists and ankles.

Strange way of remembering those who almost exterminated them

[Flutterby]

Very interesting RP and Lis.

[Richprins]

Lis!