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The journey from Gondwana’s Delight hotel in Swakop up the famed Skeleton Coast to Palmwag and then northwards to Omarunga-Epupa Falls Camp provided a wealth of spectacular landscapes and fascinating stops, but - importantly - it also provided the opportunity to meet some of Namibia’s beautiful and colourful people. Sometimes, because of a lack of a common language, we had to use gestures and hand signals, but we still managed to communicate.

Namibia's Minister of Environment and Tourism, Pohamba Shifeta, visited a waterhole in the dried up Chobe River on the border with Botswana at the end of August 2019. 69 hippos were stranded in the waterhole that started to dry out. Next to it, the Ministry of the Environment had drilled a 29-metre borehole and pumped water into the waterhole for eight hours every day. The muddy pool once again turned into a large pond sheltering hippos from the scorching heat during the day.

Worker termites industriously carry dry plant material to a small hole in the ground. Others climb onto the few blades of grass and cut them into small pieces, ready to be taken into the subterranean nest of the colony. Two species of harvester termites occur in Namibia: a type of Microhodotermes is found only in the south, while Hodotermes mossambicus is spread across the rest of the country.

Climate change is a harsh reality particularly in southern Africa with extreme weather conditions as floods and droughts badly affect livelihoods. Natural resource management, bio-economy and climate smart agriculture have recently become popular buzzwords to build resilience. The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in Windhoek organised a one-day conference on Namibia’s sustainable natural resources management and its bio-economic potential.

On most of the country's farms there is currently not a single blade of grass left. Farmers have drastically reduced their livestock and moved the small number of remaining animals to the few grazing areas available for rent, or they feed their animals with shredded bush. The latter is a solution which sees the animals through until the next rainy season and at the same time solves the problem of bush encroachment.

Gondwana Collection Namibia is one of biggest tourism companies in the country and was founded on sustainable principles. Since its inception in 1996, Gondwana financed nature conservation with the proceeds from its eco-friendly hospitality business, which in turn creates jobs and career opportunities for the local communities.Gondwana's new CEO, Gys Joubert is 1000 days in office today and shared his vision of sustainability with Inke Stoldt.

Travelling via the Skeleton Coast from Swakopmund to Palmwag and Epupa Falls elicits a thrill of excitement. It ticks all the boxes for the adventurous at heart and adds a couple more. Heading on the salt and gravel roads to the more remote fence-free reaches of Namibia, home to desert elephant, rhino and lion, and further north to the semi-nomadic Himba people, must rate as one of the most exhilarating adventures in the country.

The government has introduced electronic visa application procedures at the Hosea Kutako International Airport for tourists from 47 countries. The latest Travel and Tourism Competiveness Index 2019 by the World Economic Forum, ranked Namibia 81 out of 140 countries. The inflation rate in Namibia stood at 3.7 percent in August. Namibia’s economy shrunk by 2.6 percent in the 2nd quarter this year, according to the NSA. 

The tiny, fragile shoot of the newly germinated seed pushes its way through weighty red Kalahari sand grains, determined to make it to the light. At the same time its small roots grip into the soil that it now calls home. Against all odds, the little seedling finds enough of what it needs to thrive – water supply, abundant sunlight as well as the right soil temperature and nutrients. Welcome to Gondwana’s Self-Sufficiency Centre (SSC) in the Kalahari, one of Namibia’s two deserts.

At Hakusembe River Lodge west of Rundu the creamy-yellow catkins of the Chobe candle-pod acacia (Acacia hebeclada subsp. Chobiensis) attract Grey Louries to the Kavango River’s riparian vegetation. Come spring and for many animals the food supply increases: buds, flowers and fresh shoots are a welcome change after the winter and the drought.