News

It is the year 1969. Man sets foot on the moon for the very first time. The whole world is mesmerized by the Apollo 11 mission. Archaeologist Dr Wolfgang Wendt from Cologne in Germany embarks on a similar mission, albeit in the opposite direction. He starts his excavations in a cave in the Huns Mountains northeast of Rosh Pinah in southern Namibia, which he names Apollo 11, and discovers a small fine-grained slab of sandstone with traces of an animal drawn on it. The result of age determination causes a sensation. At around 27,000 years old, this slab is so far the oldest work of art found in Africa. 

Ruins of century-old lime kilns, once essential for construction, lie hidden on farms in the Namibian countryside. I went searching... I found them, one by one, in different areas of the country standing like proud old monuments, testifying to a time when life ticked at a slower pace. The conical clay-brick or stone chimneys – kilns or ovens – used to produce quicklime for mortar, are prized relics of the past, housing memories and holding rich stories of both hardship and hope.

Namibia’s economy experiences new growth after the dip in 2016. The good rains this past summer season filled central dams: Windhoek has sufficient water reserves until 2020, the water committee of the Cabinet announced this month. Agricultural production has improved, live cattle fetch good prices.”

Exactly five years ago, after an exciting night and crashed computers, Hitradio Namibia was on the go on 1 August 2012 at 6 o’clock in the morning. At the microphone, a tad resolved with butterflies in his belly, sits Wilfried Hähner. With co-owner Sybille Rothkegel, and a handful of energetic employees he has realized his dream: his own German radio station in Namibia. Congratulations to Hitradio Namibia on your 5th anniversary! We are celebrating with you by launching your new CD with some of the best Namibian artists and songs and with a surprise video. 

The Kalahari Anib Lodge is the first of the Gondwana properties to introduce E-bikes as an activity. Guests can now rent electric fat-bikes to pedal through the Gondwana Kalahari Park on selected routes. 

History does not repeat itself. But every now and again it provides a déjà vu of some kind or other. One example is the debate about the legalization of prostitution. An application with similar content was submitted back in 1908...

Have you ever shared a shower with an elephant? No? Well then, this unique experience awaits you at the Etosha Safari Camp! The guest rooms now have brand new designs and renovations have finally come to an end. They have been redecorated with new, fresh colours. The Etosha Safari Camp is and will remain a touch of luxury with a touch of African zest for life.

The new-born Burchell´s zebra stands next his mother on wobbly, thin legs. Slowly a stallion approaches. Suddenly he tries to bite the new-born. The mother attacks the stallion, an uneven fight begins. Two hours later, the mare stands alone with her dead foal. So far, no scientist has been able to interpret the behaviour. Few people have ever seen such an attack.

Talk about snail mail! That’s putting it mildly. Are the loved ones back home all right? Will head office send the urgently needed bibles or not? German missionaries in Namibia used to have to wait two years before they received an answer to letters sent to the home country. Every now and then they waited in vain. Around 1840 the mail route was not only very long but was also dangerous.

“This has become more beautiful than I imagined. The first bungalows were constructed exactly where I recorded them on the floor. The swimming pool should be where the Braai (barbecue) is today. But the current pool location is much nicer.” Roland Vincent visited the Canyon Lodge at the beginning of 2017 with much enthusiasm. He had discovered this idyllic spot from a plane 23 years ago, and Manni Goldbeck was very certain that that was the right place to build a lodge. Near the second largest canyon in the world.