Day 1.

It is 6.45 on a brisk Namibian morning and 14 prospective, keen and slightly nervous tour guides-to-be, meet above the Bus terminal to depart on a 7-day training tour to the south of our country. Here we meet our tutors and evaluators for the week ahead. At that stage not all of us knew how fortunate we were in having the highly qualified, knowledgeable and humoristic Dr. Hu Berry and his wife Conny, a flora enthusiast and expert, as our Tour Leaders.

After introducing ourselves we stow away our reference books which we were told will definitely often be referred to. We are heading for Rehoboth and by the time we passed Aris the atmosphere became relaxed and we were busy making new friends. In Rehoboth be were taken on a conducted tour of the Museum which was an eye-opener. We learnt that this small town has 48 churches although many of them are very small and could rather be regarded as splinter groups gathering at designated localities. The next stop was at the Acacia forest just south of the town where Conny told us that some of these majestic Camelthorn trees date back to the year that Christ was born, making them about 2000 years old. We travelled up the Spreedshoogde Pass where we stopped for a lunch break with an amazing view. We learnt that we were actually standing on the western rim of the Kalahari basin. Our first overnight stop was at the luxurious Namib Naukluft Lodge. After a welcoming drink and a refreshing shower, we were off again in two game drive vehicles to a breathtaking marble ridge, for a sundowner. By now the ice was definitely broken and we were all chatting away, making jokes but nevertheless still attentively listening to all the interesting information which was given to us at random.

Day 2.

The second day was again approached with expectations. We were heading for Sossusvlei," the place where water collects". The younger of the group climbed a dune whilst we were looking out for the dune lark, an endemic bird of Namibia, which is only found in the western, central parts of the Namib. When they eventually came down with red faces and burning feet they were fed with thinly sliced English Cucumbers instead of water. Once they had cooled off and now also had their water, they thought this was a good idea for future dune-climbing outings. The last stretch to the vlei we did in hired 4x4 vehicles. There was of course no water in the vlei this year but the landscacpe was fascinating with all the many coppices covered by the famous !Nara plants, which Conny explained to us in detail. We now drove to the Sesriem Canyon and climbed down into it. Here one of the trainees had to deliver his prepared speech on the canyon with its interesting conglomerates. Very much to his surprise tourists from South Africa were present and Hu spontaneously invited them to listen in. All of us got two different topics which we had to prepare in advance and present them at relevant places - quite nerve racking if you are not used to speak infront of others - but good practice. Once qualified this will off course be one of the major skills a tour guide has to master. Wherever we went our attention was continually attracted to our surrounding and even the smallest insect, flower or plant was pointed out. We spent the night at the Hammerstein Rest Camp. Here we could watch a mountain Zebra from close and could familiarize us with the characteristic differences between them and the more well-known Hartmann’s Zebra.

Day 3

En route to Lüderitz we stopped at the well restorated Duwiseb castle where once again we could listen and learn from an assignment on this imposing castle built by the energetic and adventurous horse breeder Hansheinrich von Wolff. Today Schloss Duwiseb is declared a National Monument. Next stop the prisoners of war camp near the little town of Aus. We now had the privilege of staying in the Nest Hotel with its wonderful view over the ocean. My first steps on to my balcony were awarded with the sight of an African Black Oystercatcher, with its red beak hopping around on the cliffs below - what a rewarding sight.

Day 4.

The itinery for this day was packed with places of interest with a great diversity. It started with the departure to the ghost town Kolmannskop where we joined a conducted tour either in English or German Many of us tried to experience some of the activities that were part of the daily life and hub of the diamond industry in this once vibrant settlement. It was almost impossible to imagine a comfortable life in these by now sand-filled houses. Most impressive an ice making little factory, the ruins of a theatre-cum-recreation hall and a bakery, all bearing testimony of the hustle and bustle that once was part of Kolmannskop. Here we listened to the assignment on the diamond industry. Slowly but surely our brains began filling up with more and more interesting facts, that one day we will hopefully pass on to our tourist.

On our way to the ever windy Diaz point we stopped at the oyster farm and could watch the sorting process and find out more about this young, but highly remunerative industry in our country. We were served some of these delicacies straight from the sea (fortunately many of our crowd did not dare to put their lips to them and the few connoisseurs amongst us had a double helping).

The afternoon was taken up by visits to the Goerke House,Shark Island the Felsen Kirche and the new Waterfront.

Day 5.

We reached the turning point and were heading for Bethany. Before we left the coastal town we bought some freshly smoked Angle fish and fresh Brötchen for lunch later that day. We stopped at Garub and as we were approaching we already saw the feral horses coming to the water point. Hu added to the interesting assignment that we heard, that the two strongest instincts in any animal are survival and mating and this, these horses definitely perfected.The little settlement of Bethany boasts the oldest building in Namibia, the Schmelenhaus. Here we were pleasantly surprised by the well maintained and looked after toilets and shortly came across an old Nama that was responsible for this neat appearance. Whilst raking the ground with a grasbroom he told us that he was employed by the church but his meagre reward was last paid to him three months ago. He actually lived off the little tips and food he received from visitors. A heart-sore story that makes you think. Here we unpacked our delicious smoked fish and Brötchens and together with our new Nama friend spend some precious time listening to his stories of the "good old days" as he called it. Of course we were also joined by happy children galore that impromtu gave us a show of singing and dancing.

Further on we passed through Seeheim, where a taxidermist is running a neat and impressive accommodation cum restaurant establishment.

Lunch was once again at an incredible viewpoint, none other than the majestic Fish River Canyon. We listened to an assignment, valuable information on Geology, Flora and more and more.

The next overnight stop was at the Canon Lodge which is situated amongst huge granite rocks and exquisite settings. The Canon Lodge is part of the Gondwana Canon Park which comprises 100,000 ha. Altogether 4 establishments belong to the Canon Collection namely the Lodge, The Canon Village, The Canon Mountain Lodge and the Canon Road House. Very impressive at these establishments is the fact that they have their own little butchery, backery and even their own vegetable and fruit garden.

Day 6.

The youngsters start the day with a enjoyable horse-ride.

On our way we first stopped at the neighboring Canon Village where we were told that the luggage of the guests is transported by donkey cart to the different rooms. I can well imagine what an impact this can make on unexpecting visitors. The main building and the chalets are decorated with murals painted by locals. The scenes all depict daily life and transform the place into a living history book. Next stop the Canon Road house - often quoted "Best restaurant south of the equator".

Our wonderful tour is nearing its end. Before we reached the Naute Dam we passed the Date plantations and the abattoir for ostriches and other small stock animals. Continually new and ever so interesting facts are revealed about our wonderful country and its people. We stopped at the Naute Dam. Here Hu got hold of the horns of a Kudu and showed us that if you look from the tip of the horn towards the skull you can look right thought the turns into the hollow of the eye. What a surprise! We arrived in Keetmannshoop at lunchtime and after a short break we embarked the bus on a city tour. From here our trip took us to the Quivertree forest at the farm Garas which is a good example of the granite boulders (Giant’s playground) as well as the Quivertrees. A little Nama hut also on the premises was the ideal location for the assignment on the Namas and we heard everything about this great tree of the south which belongs to the Big Five Trees of Namibia. (the other 4 are the Camelthorn, the Baobab, the Kiaat and the Star Chestnut). We also got some information on the mesosaurus imprints that are found on the farm Spitzkoppe some 40 km east of the tar road. The latter is a dinosaur resembling a leguan with a long snout, webbed feet and about 2 meters long.

The last night we spent at the Canyon Hotel in the capital of the south. We truly had reason to celebrate that night with our new friends together with whom we learnt and experienced such an incredible lot.

Day 7.

We passed the ostrich farm near Mariental - learnt about the ostrich - and the Kalahari sand dunes. Our last official stop was the Hardap Dam which we approached via the irrigation scheme with its cotton wool, lucerne and grape plantations.

An incredible tour of information, experiences and camaraderie not to missed.