Windhoek: Accessibility & Orientation

In 1928 Windhoek’s main street, Kaiser Street (now Independence Avenue), was the first road to be tarred. Ten years later the next one, Gobabis road (now Sam Nujoma Drive), was tarred. Today most of Windhoek’s total road network of over 500 km is tarred.


Windhoek’s three main access roads (from Rehoboth, Gobabis and Okahandja) are tarred according to ‘the all-weather high standard specification’. This means that such a road should be able to withstand the largest possible flood to be expected in fifty years. The road is designed to carry traffic moving at 120 km/h and should last for 20 years.

Namibia has an extensive network of tarred roads, which stretches from the Orange River in the South to the Kunene and Okavango Rivers in the North. These are supplemented by over 25 000 km of gravel, 1200 km dirt, and 283 km salt roads (the latter at the coast
Windhoek has two airports: Eros on its outskirts for smaller craft, and the Windhoek International Airport 42 km east of the city. A number of foreign airlines operate to and from Windhoek. Air charters and helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft rentals are also available.

http://www.windhoekcc.org.na/default.aspx?page=43

Namibia: Africa for Beginners

Some guide books refer to Namibia as "Africa for beginners." Indeed, it has all the wondrous attractions associated with Africa without many of its problems -- war, crime, pollution. It has generally clean water, is malaria-free through large parts of the country and has excellent choices of accommodations and camping sites.
Read more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/travel/Namibia+Africa/938242/story.html#ixzz0ps95MEqY

Namibia? Is that a country?

I am the marketing agent for African Extravaganza & I get a few calls every day from advertising agencies that would like to market us. The other day I got a call & listened to all the details of some new publication. It sounded great, but at the end, I asked if it’s going to be distributed in Namibia as well. The lady asked me to repeat the question twice, and then asked: “Namibia? Is that a country?”

So here's Namibia, the country:
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic coast. It shares borders with Angola, and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south. It gained independence from South Africa in 1990 and its capital city is Windhoek (German: Windhuk). Namibia is a member state of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU), and the Commonwealth of Nations. Nambia is at the sothern tip of africa. Ref:  http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_is_Namibia_located

Map from:  http://www.africa-adventure.com/map/southern_africa

I would like to promote Namibia through this blog, it’s such a great country, not just for us Namibians living here, but it has happened very often that visitors got so hooked that they never leave again!


From a visitor:

Namibia is awesome! It's a big country - four times the size of the UK, but with a population of less than 2 million. It's a place of arid deserts, jagged mountains and haunting beauty. Read more:  http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/blog-14449.html

Namibia's North:  Kaokoland

Namibia's South:  Namib Desert

Why do people live in Namibia?

Why do people live in Namibia? I found this translation of the Südwester Lied on WikiAnswers: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_do_people_live_in_namibia

There is a good German song about the place, 'Das Südwester Lied' (The Southwester Song). It says that it's a harsh place, with perennial rivers, the sun burning the rocks, and so on. Even although these happen, the people still love Namibia. This is because the sun also burns into the heart, and they can't go away.
The full song translated into English:
Harsh as Camelthorn wood is our country
And perennial are her rivers
The sun burns the rocks
And timid animals are in the bushes.

Chorus:
And should a man ask us:
What holds you here so firmly?
We would be allowed to merely say:
We love South West!

Though our love is dearly paid for
And for pride, we don't leave you
Because our caring nature shines above
The sun's bright, shining light.

Chorus:
And you seldom come to our country
And have seen very far -
And our sun has burnt you in the heart
Then you can't go any further again

And should a man ask you:
What holds you here so firmly?
You would be allowed to merely say:
I love South West!