Namibia

Travels in Namibia:

Southwest Explorer (24 days)
Capetown - Victoria Falls - Johannesburg

Namibia Overland Safari (12 days)
from Windhoek to Windhoek

Quick Facts:

Official Name:	Republic of Namibia
Capital:	Windhoek
Area:	825,418 sq km
Languages:	English, more than 11 languages indigenous
Currency:	Namibian Dollar (NAD) on par with the South African Rand
Population figure:	1,830,330
Ethnology:	Black African 84%; "Coloureds" 8%; Whites about 8%
Religions:	Christianity is the major religion, with the Lutheran Church being the largest.
National holiday:	March 21 (Independence Day)
Government type:	Parliamentary democracy

Climate

The Namibian climate varies from arid and semi-arid to subtropical with the generally temperate desert coast offering sometimes fog-ridden days with temperatures between 5? C and 20?C. The central, southern and coastal areas constitute some of the most arid landscapes south of the Sahara. The hottest months are January and February, with average day temperatures varying between 9?C to 30?C. During the winter months that stretch from May to September minimum temperatures can fluctuate between ?6?C and 10?C at night to recover to 20?C after 11:00 in the day.

History

The first Europeans to set foot in modern day Namibia was the Portuguese explorers Diego Cao who landed at today?s Cape Cross in 1486 and Bartholomew Diaz who erected a cross at today?s Luderitz. Further European explorations were kept at bay by the forbidding desert coast until the 18th century. In 1878 Britain annexed the Walvis Bay enclave and administrative authority was transferred to the Cape Colony in 1884. Also in 1884, at the urging of German trader Adolf Luderitz, the present day Luderitz was declared a German protectorate. By 1886 the boundaries of what was to be known as German South West Africa were confirmed by treaties between Germany and Portugal in 1886 and Britain and Germany in 1890. In 1915 German colonial rule came to an end when troops of the Union of South Africa attacked the territory and annexed the country as enemy property. In 1919 Germany renounced all colonial rights at Versailles. By 1920 the League of Nations nominated the Union of South Africa the holder of a C-class Mandate over South West Africa (SWA). In 1966 the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 2145 revoking the SA Mandate and in 1968 the territory?s name was changed to Namibia. On 21 June 1971 South Africa?s continued presence in Namibia was declared illegal. Elections took place in November 1989 and the country finally gained independence on 21 March 1990.

Nature

The Namibian landscape varies from vast expanses of desert and sand dunes to rock formations in the south, contrasting starkly to the savannah and woodlands of the central regions and the lush and forested scenery of the northeast. The Brandberg with a height of 2,579 meters in the southern Kunene region is Namibia?s highest mountain. In the south the Fish River Canyon is one of the wonders of Africa. The 161 km long, 27 km wide ravine with a maximum depth of 550 m is surrounded by high, forbidding cliffs, and is gashed into the plateau with startling abruptness. The awesome grandeur of the canyon is surpassed only by the Grand Canyon in the United States of America.

This article is partly based on a free article of the encyclopaedia Wikipedia and is subject to GNU-licence for free documentation. A list of authors is available on Wikipedia