News

Are you among the bargain hunters who bought some of our Black Friday vouchers on 29 November 2019? Then we have some good news for you in these trying times. Gondwana Collection Namibia decided to extend the validity date of all vouchers purchased during Black Friday 2019 until 31 March 2021.

In February, Farmer Volker Dickhoff was taken by surprise when he came across a European Roller that upon inspection, had travelled all the way from its nesting box in Serbia where it had been ringed, to the vast landscapes of Namibia.

Good rains fell in many parts of Namibia in March, increasing the water levels of the dams, especially in the central parts of the country. The global Covid-19 crisis recently also hit Namibia. Despite a small number of confirmed cases to date (as of March 31, 2020: 11 cases), the government imposed a lockdown. On 20 March, the Namibian central bank cut the repo interest rate in order to support the local economy during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Only a few kilometres from Ondangwa in north-central Namibia lies a hidden historic treasure: the first mission station in the area at Olukonda, founded in 1870 and now a museum together with the house of the Lutheran pastor. This was 150 years ago and the fact that the first missionary there, Martti Rautanen hailed from Finland, is the reason for a significant anniversary later this year near Olukonda. Preparations to celebrate 150 years of Finland-Namibia relations are on the way. 

The black weevil (Brachycerus ornatus), is a fascinating weevil species that occurs in large parts of southern Africa. On the farm Sandhof near Mariental in the south of Namibia, the almost 60 millimetre long beetles recently made its appearance, following the heavy rains that gave way to a beautiful sea of rose-coloured lilies.

At this trying time, when the world is changing rapidly and is faced with the extreme social and economic challenges that are being experienced globally, we feel it essential to communicate with our faithful followers, Gondwana card holders and the general public. We would like to assure you that we stand firmly positioned and able to weather the storm. We are using this period constructively to be able to come out afterwards - together with Namibia - stronger than before.

Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change as heavy rainfalls and floods in Mozambique and Zimbabwe during 2019 among others have shown, affecting thousands of people, who lost their homes, crops and livestock. Other countries in southern Africa, including Namibia endured the other extreme, namely drought over the past years. Climate change adaptation and mitigation is very costly and requires mobilisation of funds and a good oversight during implementation.

As soon as it rains and the earth is wet, the Damara Mole Rat (Fukomys damarensis) starts digging its tunnels. They do this with their long front teeth and back legs. They also use their teeth to defend themselves against enemies. They feed mainly on roots, tubers, and plants. Moles on the other hand eat earthworms and insects.  

Have you ever tried eating dinner completely blindfolded? If your answer is no then prepare to have your senses heightened as you partake in an evening of ‘Dinner in the Dark’ in support of a good cause. Gondwana Collection Namibia is organising a fundraising dinner on the 20th March 2020 to support visually impaired athletes representing Namibia at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The ‘Dinner in the Dark’ is organised in cooperation with the Gondwana Care Trust and the Capricorn Group. 

Namibia celebrates thirty years of independence on 21 March 2020 and looks back on three decades of democracy, peace, stability and economic development. After the First World War the former German colony (1884-1915) became a British mandated territory in 1920 and remained under South African administration until 1 April 1989, the start of a transitional year under UN supervision. In 1990, at midnight on March 20 to March 21, the national flag of independent Namibia, now a sovereign state, was hoisted at a big ceremony in a sports stadium in Windhoek.