Just when I though I couldn’t get any more remote than Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, we arrived at Serra Cafema Camp.
The camp is surrounded by hundreds of miles of mountains and rolling sand dunes; no roads lead into this endless and isolated area. This may be the most remote and surreal destination in Africa, and the three hour charter flight from Windhoek is worth every minute.
Situated in the extreme northwest, at the end of the vast Hartmann Valley, this luxurious lodge overlooks the Kunene River and Angola.
Small, secluded and personal, the staff made me feel like I was arriving home.
The sounds of running rapids downstream from camp lulled me to sleep at night. By day, we enjoyed boating on the Kunene River in search of the largest Nile crocodiles I’ve ever seen, and navigated towering sand dunes on quad bikes . . . the wind quickly erasing our tracks and any sign that we were ever there.
Before my departure from the US, I was especially excited about my two night stay here, because I was eager to visit the Himba people – one of the last truly nomadic people on the planet.
I was surprised to see that there were no men in the village, but soon learned that the women do most of the labor-intensive work around the home, while the men tend to the farming and herding, keeping them away for extended periods.
The women cover themselves with a mixture made from butter fat, ochre and herbs. It acts as a sunscreen and insect repellent, and gives their skin a reddish color.
I couldn’t resist asking one of the women if I could touch her elaborate braded dreadlocks, which are woven with bits of hay, goat hair and then covered in ochre. They take several hours every day tending to their hair and complexion, and actually sleep on wooden pillows so they don’t ruin their dreadlocks. It amazed me how striking they are, and couldn’t imagine how they manage to survive in the middle of the desert, let alone look so exotically beautiful.
As I sat among them melting in the heat, I envisioned myself wearing the large, ornate metal jewelry decorating their necks, wrists and ankles. It didn’t take me more than a few minutes to realize that I’d never be able to survive out here in such a harsh environment.
Himba women are fiercely proud of their traditional lifestyle and seem resistant to change, but the Himba men are becoming increasingly westernized.
I spent an amazing hour with these lovely people, a day I’ll never forget. When you see the struggle for basics in life, but at the same time the joy in their faces from the simple things in life, it makes me wonder who is happier.