Home

South West Africa SWA-Namibia in the 1980's

Sparsely populated South West Africa, much of it desert, was colonized by Germany in 1884, at the time of the Berlin Conference, when European powers demarcated borders in Africa and pledged to put an end to the 1000-year Islamic slave trade (and its recurrence!), and help develop African commerce. Its main inhabitants were Bushmen who had fled the Bantu descent into Southern Africa the previous centuries. Their life is respectfully in the comedy and its sequel 'The gods must be crazy'. The South Africans defeated the Germans during WW1 in South West Africa in 1915 and it became a South African protectorate for 75 years. During this period, thousands of prosperous Protestant Afrikaner Boers were edged out of Southern Angola into South West Africa by the Catholic Portuguese government, who even impounded their transport wagons in WW1 without any restitution. South West Africa gained independence in 1989, and was renamed Namibia, after the hostile Namib desert on the skeleton coast (where many ships foundered).

CNTL +/_ larger /smaller

SWA, Jose and Teresa, early 80's

Jose and Teresa at Hoba Meteorite, good acoustics, early 80's

Hoba Meteorite, old picture

1980, SWA Jose and Teresa at Walvisbaai, early 80's

SWA Jose and Teresa to Swakopmund, early 80's

Schiphol to Windhoek

1896, lake in arid Southern Africa

Joburg by air

1986, Jan Smuts airport

1986, KLM via Nairobi to Jan Smuts airport

Windhoek SWA suburb

downtown Windhoek, 1986

Windhoek Kudu statue

Windhoek, left hand drive

1986, Windhoek shopping center

VW from air cooling to heating up

Windhoek Lutheran Church

Windhoek, Kaiser Bill (defeated by the South Africans in 1915)

Windhoek, Kaiser Wilhelm II

Windhoek, Kaiser Wilhelm II

Windhoek

Windhoek Parliament buildings 1986

Windhoek Kalahari Sands hotel

Windhoek, house Manuel

700 km due north

Aloe in flower

fine roads and landscapes

1987, S. von Bach dam & lake

promising skies

dry hills

golden grasses

flatlands

Otjivarongo

Otjivarongo

Otjivarongo

Otjivarongo

94 to Grootfontein

distant rains

Magadadi palms of SWA

Windhoek road, 62 from Otavi

Farm land

Omataku mountains

the elusive rains of Africa

a short walk or a long one

Grootfontein entrance

African flame trees

Grootfontein Stadtverwaltung

1986, Checkpoint to stop Swapo terrorists

termite hill

bottomless lake Ochikoto

looking for sunken WW1 material

guardians of the deep

Welkom in Tsumeb

Tsumeb church

Tsumeb mining facility

Tsumeb Herero's at Co-op

Tsumeb greened with mining water

looking for Swapo: those on the left please stop

read about the Soviet insurgency from Angola

land mine, or asleep at the wheel?

Kavango native villages

Kavango weaver nests

weaver bird

Grandpa's tree

Sunflowers near Grootfontein

even here (1987)

roadside village

creative colors

African craftmanship

an Ovambo 747, ready for takeoff

1987, Hoba meteorite, dropped on or by a mining town?

Hoba contains 97% iron

Jose and Teresa's abode in Grootfontein

Grootfontein early 80's

Portuguese church Grootfontein early 80's

Portuguese church Grootfontein early 80's

Kavango river, looking at Calai in Angola

Rundu, home on the Wildebeestlaan

Christmas 1986 in Rundu

African church

African church, early 1980s

SWA Rundu Waterwese 1980's

Rundu sportsday 1980s

Rundu Rugby match 1980's

beluister "Uit die blou van onse hemel"

1987: the 'besoekers' are losing in SWA

Banking on Toyota

a tall order

Namibia 1986/87, land of plenty

Kavango Pharmacy 1980's

SWA Rundu Hospital

1987, Well designed Koevoet

read about the Soviet insurgency from Angola

Grandma baking cakes

Brunido, retired Benguela railway engineer from Angola

Brunido family with Ozzie

African hunters Orlando, Osvaldo & Jeannette

Grandpa's Christmas day birthday

fine dining in the bush

Orlando Roque and family

Christmas piglet staying warm

Christmas piglet joining the table

A man and his dog

Vungu-Vungu Melkerij

white man's diary cattle

African beef cattle

have bow & arrows, will travel

African village

African goats

African mealies

Kavango Kaisosie church

Kaisosie church

Kaisosie church

Kavango river baptism

Kavango river baptism

1986, Kavango river life

Kavango river bands of color

Kavango river laundry day

more colors

teak trees at nightfall

Kavango Kingfisher

South Aricans boating on the Kavango

Angola beloved

Christmas in Rundu

Caprivi immer gerade aus nach Osten

Caprivi trip, 500km east to Katima

east to Katima, south to Botswana

Caprivi fuel station

Caprivi 1980's dirt roads

Caprivi road to progress

251km to Katima

1987, Caprivi, wild elephant

Caprivi, Quando river

Caprivi at 45'C in the shade

stop following us

Road to nowhere (Katima)

Egrets

Caprivi snake bird

another kind of fuel

the great Zambezi

Caprivi, Katima house

Caprivi, Katima golf club

trying to drown out the hippo belches

wailing all night across the Zambezi: a child eaten by crocs

unaware of lurking dangers

1987, border patrol between SWA/Zambia/Zimbabwe

pet crocodiles

Katima, at cousin Esmeralda's house

modern amenities in the heart of Africa

SAAF city

1987, Katima, cousin Esmeralda

Bagani Falls, before the delta

Bagani falls, Okavango river's last stand

Caprivi, Chingue village

1987, Caprivi, at Umbukushu, Erasmus family

Caprivi, steenbok

Caprivi, Baobab 'upside-down' tree

1987 Etosha Wildtuin, one of the oldest nature parks in the world

Ostrich

Trap

Etosha bull elephant

a certain curve of horn

the famed unicorn

Namibia identity: Black with white stripes, or white with black?

gazelles

jackal finishing off a bully elephant

giraffe in Etosha salt pan

wildebeest

hartebeest

juffer cranes

Nein, nein, I say 'all togezzer'!

Lion' in wait

the desert bites, sticks, or stings

Dankie

South West Africa first-issue Stamps

the Dorsland Trek shown on a SWA stamp

South-West Africa - 1989 Stamps 4.1 Mines & Minerals

South-West Africa - 1980 Stamps Animals

South-West Africa Stamps- History - Towns

South-West Africa Stamps - Flora & Fauna

South-West Africa Stamps - Native and European Cultures

South-West Africa Stamps - Tourism & Exports

South-West Africa Stamps- Windhoek Luderitz Hentiesbaai

SWA, Jose and Teresa, early 80's	Jose and Teresa at Hoba Meteorite, good acoustics, early 80's	Hoba Meteorite, old picture	1980, SWA Jose and Teresa at Walvisbaai, early 80's
SWA Jose and Teresa to Swakopmund, early 80's	Schiphol to Windhoek	1896, lake in arid Southern Africa	Joburg by air
1986, Jan Smuts airport	1986, KLM via Nairobi to Jan Smuts airport	Windhoek SWA suburb	downtown Windhoek, 1986
Windhoek Kudu statue	Windhoek, left hand drive	1986, Windhoek shopping center	VW from air cooling to heating up
Windhoek Lutheran Church	Windhoek, Kaiser Bill (defeated by the South Africans in 1915)	Windhoek, Kaiser Wilhelm II	Windhoek, Kaiser Wilhelm II
Windhoek	Windhoek Parliament buildings 1986	Windhoek Kalahari Sands hotel	Windhoek, house Manuel
700 km due north	Aloe in flower	fine roads and landscapes	1987, S. von Bach dam & lake
promising skies	dry hills	golden grasses	flatlands
Otjivarongo	Otjivarongo	Otjivarongo	Otjivarongo
94 to Grootfontein	distant rains	Magadadi palms of SWA	Windhoek road, 62 from Otavi
Farm land	Omataku mountains	the elusive rains of Africa	a short walk or a long one
Grootfontein entrance	African flame trees	Grootfontein Stadtverwaltung	1986, Checkpoint to stop Swapo terrorists
termite hill	bottomless lake Ochikoto	looking for sunken WW1 material	guardians of the deep
Welkom in Tsumeb	Tsumeb church	Tsumeb mining facility	Tsumeb Herero's at Co-op
Tsumeb greened with mining water	looking for Swapo: those on the left please stop read about the Soviet insurgency from Angola	land mine, or asleep at the wheel?	Kavango native villages
Kavango weaver nests	weaver bird	Grandpa's tree	Sunflowers near Grootfontein
even here (1987)	roadside village	creative colors	African craftmanship
an Ovambo 747, ready for takeoff	1987, Hoba meteorite, dropped on or by a mining town?	Hoba contains 97% iron	Jose and Teresa's abode in Grootfontein
Grootfontein early 80's	Portuguese church Grootfontein early 80's	Portuguese church Grootfontein early 80's	Kavango river, looking at Calai in Angola
Rundu, home on the Wildebeestlaan	Christmas 1986 in Rundu	African church	African church, early 1980s
SWA Rundu Waterwese 1980's	Rundu sportsday 1980s	Rundu Rugby match 1980's	beluister "Uit die blou van onse hemel"
1987: the 'besoekers' are losing in SWA	Banking on Toyota	a tall order	Namibia 1986/87, land of plenty
Kavango Pharmacy 1980's	SWA Rundu Hospital	1987, Well designed Koevoet read about the Soviet insurgency from Angola	Grandma baking cakes
Brunido, retired Benguela railway engineer from Angola	Brunido family with Ozzie	African hunters Orlando, Osvaldo & Jeannette	Grandpa's Christmas day birthday
fine dining in the bush	Orlando Roque and family	Christmas piglet staying warm	Christmas piglet joining the table
A man and his dog	Vungu-Vungu Melkerij	white man's diary cattle	African beef cattle
have bow & arrows, will travel	African village	African goats	African mealies
Kavango Kaisosie church	Kaisosie church	Kaisosie church	Kavango river baptism
Kavango river baptism	1986, Kavango river life	Kavango river bands of color	Kavango river laundry day
more colors	teak trees at nightfall	Kavango Kingfisher	South Aricans boating on the Kavango
Angola beloved	Christmas in Rundu	Caprivi immer gerade aus nach Osten	Caprivi trip, 500km east to Katima
east to Katima, south to Botswana	Caprivi fuel station	Caprivi 1980's dirt roads	Caprivi road to progress
251km to Katima	1987, Caprivi, wild elephant	Caprivi, Quando river	Caprivi at 45'C in the shade
stop following us	Road to nowhere (Katima)	Egrets	Caprivi snake bird
another kind of fuel	the great Zambezi	Caprivi, Katima house	Caprivi, Katima golf club
trying to drown out the hippo belches	wailing all night across the Zambezi: a child eaten by crocs	unaware of lurking dangers	1987, border patrol between SWA/Zambia/Zimbabwe
pet crocodiles	Katima, at cousin Esmeralda's house	modern amenities in the heart of Africa	SAAF city
1987, Katima, cousin Esmeralda	Bagani Falls, before the delta	Bagani falls, Okavango river's last stand	Caprivi, Chingue village
1987, Caprivi, at Umbukushu, Erasmus family	Caprivi, steenbok	Caprivi, Baobab 'upside-down' tree	1987 Etosha Wildtuin, one of the oldest nature parks in the world
Ostrich	Trap	Etosha bull elephant	a certain curve of horn
the famed unicorn	Namibia identity: Black with white stripes, or white with black?	gazelles	jackal finishing off a bully elephant
giraffe in Etosha salt pan	wildebeest	hartebeest	juffer cranes
Nein, nein, I say 'all togezzer'!	Lion' in wait	the desert bites, sticks, or stings	Dankie

More online background reading on South West Africa

South West Africa first-issue Stamps