News

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.

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.

Namibia has received widespread good rains in the second half of February, which also improved water levels of several dams. The high-level economic panel presented its final report to President Hage Geingob with recommendations for an improved economy. Namibia has started exporting beef to the USA. The Ministry of Environment and Tourism has started erecting a fence around Etosha National Park with its own staff members after bids of companies were regarded as too costly.

The clear night sky over Namibia is always fascinating for tourists and locals. One can also see some shooting stars. Falling stars are celestial bodies from space that burn up when they often enter the earth's atmosphere and become visible. This brings us to the subject - shooting stars are meteorites. The Hoba meteorite near Grootfontein hit the earth's surface almost 80,000 years ago, and a shower of falling stars (pardon - meteorites) 'rained' down on the area around Gibeon in the south of Namibia around 30,000 years ago.

On 1 May 2019, Gondwana Collection Namibia added Palmwag Lodge to its repertoire of outstanding lodges. This was very exciting news for those who have a love for the red ruggedness that is Damaraland. 2020 brought about even better news – Gondwana is upgrading the lodge to match the Gondwana brand. 

Get out of the daily grind, just experience something different... What about having a spontaneous break in the relaxing wide open spaces of Namibia? Our February bargain is just right for you.