For my first trip to Africa, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better introduction than the Namibia Expedition. Namibians have made the preservation of their culture, wildlife, and environment a cornerstone of their development, so there is an incredible amount of protected diversity to explore. We visited a Himba settlement deep in the otherworldly landscape of Damaraland, where precariously stacked boulders form unbelievable monuments in an otherwise barren desert. We spent two nights on the Tok Tokkie Trail, sleeping under the Milky Way in an official “Dark Sky” site, where I counted shooting stars, instead of sheep, to fall asleep. In the middle of the Namib Desert, I made sustained eye contact with an oryx while taking my morning outdoor shower at Desert Homestead Lodge. And I felt the thrill of safari, of sharing space with massive, wild animals, which was even more incredible when we were on foot. Hearing the roar of a lion is nothing like what I expected, more like a sound from a Star Wars movie than the MGM Studios intro. It’s something I will never forget.
Here’s a highlight reel of my adventure in Namibia, just a small sampling of what we experienced. I hope you enjoy!
-Video and text by WT Europe Manager, Mackenzie O’Connell, Namibia Expedition
