• Namibia—Vast, Lonely, Inviting
    Awake!—1987 | September 8

    • Of course, preaching in such a land presents problems. When working from house to house​—or hut to hut—​we must normally carry Bible literature in a variety of languages: English, Afrikaans, Kwanyama, Nama, Ndonga, German, Herero, Portuguese, and Kwangali. That is no light load, especially when the temperature is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38° C.)! And almost inevitably, someone will ask: “Don’t you have anything in Chimbundu?”

  • Namibia—Vast, Lonely, Inviting
    Awake!—1987 | September 8

    • Namibia​—Vast, Lonely, Inviting

      By Awake! correspondent in South-West Africa

      “LION! There’s a lion in the camp!”

      As the cry rings out, I look through the window of our mobile home and see workers scrambling in all directions. Excitedly, I call my family, and carefully​—very carefully—​we step outside. Yes, there he is. A large, black-maned lion pads alongside the security fence​—but on the wrong side! However, game rangers soon come and corner him in a section where they have cut a hole in the fence. Off he goes, probably as relieved to get away as we are to see him go!

      We are in the rest camp at Namutoni in the Etosha National Park, a large game park of Namibia (South-West Africa). But it is not a desire to feast our eyes on nature that has brought us to this at times unsettling place. Really, it is the people that have drawn us here.

      Although Namibia is more than three times the size of the Federal Republic of Germany, it has one of the lowest population densities in the world​—less than four persons per square mile. Yet, it is dotted here and there with little islands of habitation.

  • Namibia—Vast, Lonely, Inviting
    Awake!—1987 | September 8

    • Thus, we found ourselves in this vast and lonely land. We soon learned, though, that Namibia has a beauty of its own. Why, here in Etosha, for example, one can see an amazing variety of wildlife: prides of 12 or more lions, flocks of hundreds of thousands of flamingos, herds of 50 to 100 wildebeests (gnu), and innumerable zebras, springbok, and impalas. Why, at one water hole, we see 3 “families” of elephants​—mothers and young ones—​numbering all together 51!

      Look! High above the camel-thorn tree appears the long, graceful neck of a giraffe. Over there a cheetah streaks over the plain, chasing its selected prey. A huge kudu bull with its handsome spiraled horns peers out of a thicket with large, limpid eyes. A gemsbok, or oryx, with its straight, needlelike horns, stands like a heraldic image. Here, too, dwells the magnificent eland, the largest antelope on earth. What a contrast he is to the nearby Damara dik-dik, which stands like a tiny toy just over 12 inches (30 cm) in height! Etosha even hosts the rare but beautiful black-faced impalas.

      Natural Treasures

      The name Namibia is taken from the Namib Desert, which runs some 800 miles (1,300 km) down the west coast of Africa. Here once-spacious company houses, now sand-filled shells, stand in ghost towns as relics of a short-lived diamond rush. Bleached bones and stranded ships adorn its rugged shores. Sand dunes​—the highest in the world—​shift into ever-changing patterns. They are a photographer’s dream come true.

      Namibia is full of natural treasures. Large quantities of diamonds are still gathered from beneath coastal sands. Inland, on a farm called Hoba, is the largest meteorite known to man, over 60 tons of iron and nickel. Tsumeb houses a mine where over 184 different minerals have been recorded​—some of which are found nowhere else on earth!

      In the south, a stony plain suddenly drops into the spectacular Fish River Canyon, second in size only to the Grand Canyon (U.S.A.). Huge pink rocks jut out from the canyon walls. These are outcrops of rose quartz, and one entire hilltop is composed of this beautiful crystal. South of the canyon lie other treasures, but the region is unbearably hot and dry. “Bushmen and prospectors,” says the Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa, “are the only humans who, undaunted even by such hostile conditions, have found their way into this area.”

      Namibia has treasures of many different kinds, one of which is its “black diamonds,” a nickname for Karakul sheep. The Atlantic Ocean also yields many treasures. Silvery pilchards and anchovies are netted and brought into the fishing harbor of Walvis Bay. Crayfish (rock lobster) is processed at Lüderitz, and thousands of pounds are exported annually to all parts of the world. Along the coast are “islands” (wooden platforms) where seabirds roost and valuable guano (manure) is collected for use as fertilizer.

      There are many other natural wonders and treasures: towering rock formations and beautiful gemstones, such as amethysts, aquamarines, diamonds, tourmalines, jaspers, and tigereyes. Yes, these and other plentiful minerals, such as uranium and copper, make Namibia a vast storehouse of natural treasures.