Original subtitles

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

the land of unlimited freedom and vastness this is how the kings of avambo once

described their country and they named one of the largest and

most impressive planes etosha meaning big place of the dry white waters

animal herds wander for hours in this glowing

landscape in search of something that is as

valuable as gold in this region water

and some cooling shade too

[Music]

hmm

they are followed by predators and driven by hunger

[Music]

the water holes what a blessing for those able to reach them

but what a curse for those who are not fast enough to escape their dangers

now

all those who live in the steppe congregate here constantly wary of the lurking dangers

this is the only water hole for miles otherwise

there is nothing but salt and sand and so the animals

drink and rest here for as long as [Music]

possible [Music]

[Music] oh

[Music]

oh

[Music] my [Music]

but what was that sound the sound of an impala's warning cry

the animals try to escape as quickly as possible

it was only elephants thank goodness so this time it was just a false alarm

it is a huge herd of elephants but they too only want to drink

and bathe

[Music] hello

the elephant is the largest and heaviest surviving land

mammal on earth it is with great difficulty that these

giants find up to 400 kilos of food and it can be a threat to others that

they can suck up to 200 liters of water out of the waterhole in five minutes

there is strong rivalry here but there are no serious fights

it is quite a miracle that it remains so peaceful at this oasis day after day

so the heat and the vastness is practically

visible on these lions their heavy gate tells the story of

energy consuming hunts and days of hunger

they seldom live alone as to hunt alone would be quite a hopeless task

but what to do when one of the largest animals

on the planet suddenly crosses your path

unrest spreads should they seize this opportunity

attack as a pack

the elephant is alone and old

but still too dangerous and too tough

and so they move on unsuccessful and with no other prospect of catching

any prey

[Music] to journey through this land is to travel on a safari through the animal

kingdom for those who love adventure traveling through namibia is a must

because this small area of our planet is packed

with an incredible amount of natural wonders

[Music]

so

[Music]

[Music]

yes listen as the birds sing

melodies of freedom

while i'm traveling through time and space

i learned to trust

i begin to dream

in the wisdom of my soul

[Music] i remember [Music]

which way to go

the caprivi strip this area gives an entirely different impression of namibia

this green oasis that is crossed by large rivers such

as the ocavango the quando and the zambisi is the

habitat of the mafwee people

here there is water as far as the eye can reach as well

as sunrises that are so beautiful as in the most romantic

stories of africa

[Music]

this is the kingdom of the water birds and hippos

the proper falls of the okavango are caused by a massive

rock barrier that blocks off the entire river making

it impassable

a large marshland extends from here which is home to an incredible biodiversity

making it very difficult to access the area where the map we live

[Music]

[Music]

wow

oh

[Music]

so

Led by the oldest and most experienced females the

elephants roam through the high grass safe in their herds

when the young are born in the spring the empathy and

the ability to care for the common good of the herd

is practically tangible

[Music]

go

[Music]

foreign [Music]

monkeys live here in the cool grass of the savannah south of the sahara too

a recently overturned old baobab is a good food source

normally they would eat fruits and leaves but today's menu offers worms and

other insects that were feeding off the

tree a very welcome protein-rich alternative

[Music]

the maf we people have always lived off fishing they are among the first natives of

namibia and are one of the five caprivian tribes that live on the caprivi strip

[Music]

[Music]

like so many african nations the mafwee people

have unique knowledge about animals and plant life

they have been able to preserve many traditions to

this day passing them on to the next generations

[Music]

[Music]

many traditional healing methods and the preparation

of traditional recipes are still practiced today

even though modern life has found its way here too there are

still some traditional villages to be found on the caprivi

strip

a part of their craftsmanship involves making jewelry and perfume

even if it's not all too obvious at first glance the local game of kanamundame

does bear quite a resemblance to our western game of chess

handmade baskets mats and clothing could carry the

organic seal if it were of any importance to these

manufacturers they are definitely natural

as is the majango mush made of millet and the fruit of the baobab tree which

is probably a little less tasty to the unaccustomed palate

[Music]

[Music]

my name is ben my name is kevin when i become big i want to

come and help to help people just like we've been

helped here around 40 children between the ages of 1

and 16 years of age live in the orphanage in

gatuvetere translated from herrera this means we

want to help

[Music] it's something that's on my heart i

want to do i want to study to be a social worker

but for now i'll be working with the kids

we have 38 children there and i like to stay with

children i like to stay to and work with orphans

and vulnerable children to help him out to be a better person in his life in the

[Music] future i'm studying for a teacher montessori

teacher but if i'm here i'm also volunteering i'm helping where i can

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

is a quiet little town on the atlantic coast

and there is plenty of atlantic coast in

namibia 1 572 kilometers to be precise

rough and rugged waves crashing

the locals like to call their town the southernmost

north sea resort the palm trees and the

constant blowing of sand from the nearby namib

desert though are a reminder that this is namibia

after all

the sea has always held a great lure for

people behind soft beaches and rippling waves a

whole new world opens up

[Music]

[Music] this is the great white pelican now

that you get the fish from me but in nature they chase their fish in a group to the

shallow parts of the water and scoop the fish up with

their beaks so the eyes don't get damaged from the

salt water they can see much longer and then

they can live much longer because they can

eat

here we go and one more because then bobby had enough fish today

there we go so thank you

[Music]

[Music]

so the townships are the slums of africa

but here there is always hope for a better life near the cities

and that is why we use this word the idea of penduka when it was

established is because is to empower women in namibia in order

to bring food for themselves on the table [Music]

panduka encourages women to use their skills

what they are best at and what they were

trained in for example manufacturing the typical namibian products

that the countless tourists like to take back home the souvenirs

[Music]

do

[Music]

do [Music]

so [Music]

[Music] in my workshop i teach kids

after they come from school and they unemployed people you see most of my

artworks is animals nature inspired me to make

to create like this is the frame and i'm going to put beads now

they give me a job that is quite good because usually if you get money for

free you don't use it wisely but if you work for your money obviously you

know that money doesn't come easy and you have to save and invest and use it wisely

right the shape of the legs now we are done it's only

for the guys if they take it they wrap a paper here which is everything i had is

a folk story from german it's a popular one [Music]

[Music]

[Music]

ah that's for mission action huh

the sensation that this sandy beach might never

end is not that far-fetched considering the

vastness of the sand dunes actually it is the

namib desert that reaches all the way down to the

atlantic ocean fast 49er dune what can we say

what do you think lives in the desert in dunes

micro elephants micro drops fog micro elephants

and both of them live here both are endemic

what else spiders every three meters on a dune

every three meters there's a spider they get

this big as big as your hand it's called white

lady dancing white lady endemic it is poisonous but not deadly beneath

earthly

just a photograph of her eyes she's got little claws so that's how she

can stay here firmly

almost

this animal is endemic you won't find this little guy anywhere

else in the world it's the palmato gecko take a look at

him and have a look at his duck feet it's the only gecko with webbed feet

and you know why in switzerland you have snowshoes and in namibia we have sand shoes

they run on the sand

[Music]

me

Um

[Music]

yes

the orongo region farmland and fascinating landscape all rolled into one

[Music] there is no stress it's not hectic and

you can see the horizon in the distance our star-studded skies at night

are unbelievable it's peaceful here there's nothing but nature we live with

nature in nature

we call this the torch bearers boulder the torch

bearer stone the reason is that when you look up here

you can see the ladies dancing in a circle way

back when they probably took elephant grass

or napier grass and bundled it then they would have set it a light and danced

that would have given a beautiful lighting effect

so about 20 000 years ago the sand people

came to namibia and left messages that we still have

not understood not a lot has changed since that time in

regards to their lifestyle and traditions to this day they live as

[Music] hunter-gatherers

[Music]

this

[Music]

such as this quiver here all come from nature

these are hollowed out branches of the quiver

tree and these spears are dipped in a poison

from a root the tips of the spears are the quills of porcupines

there are not many of us left but we live a quiet

life here in omandumba we have the chance to

show guests a little of our way of life [Music]

we make the jewelry for ourselves nice isn't it

for thousands of years the sand people have been proving

how to live with and from nature without destroying any

part of it they have preserved their traditions and live a reclusive life

deep in the steps of the kalahari one of the largest sand covered surfaces

on the face of the earth [Music]

from [Music]

oh

[Music]

oh [Music] oh my gosh

[Music]

to this day the sand people still hunt with traditional spears and bows and arrows

they know which plants to eat to keep hydrated

and they make use of over 80 different

edible plants nuts and fruits for nutrition

okay

oh

At the end of the day the sand people gather around a

warming campfire and talk enthusiastically about the

magical colors of their surroundings and their wind

sculpt dunes which are the largest in the world

a world heritage site is a constantly changing

system that developed over millions of years

[Music]

every morning when the sun comes up over the

horizon nature offers up a truly breathtaking

spectacle

of course everyone wants to climb up on top

of there it's quite a trick to get up the 380

meters having to take every step twice in the sand to move forward

[Music]

[Music]

dead vlay a white clay area embedded in sand and dryness

once lined with camel thorne trees this region was a

green oasis full of life around a thousand years ago

now it has been preserved for all eternity

until it gets completely covered by the sand

only the oryx antelope has acclimatized to this

dryness it is an elegant and graceful animal

that has a likeness with the dunes [Music]

[Music]

the further south you travel the more barren and stony the landscape becomes

the plateau rises until it falls into the second largest canyon on the planet

[Music]

[Music] the fish river canyon originated

millions of years ago and is incredibly deep

through it flows the longest river in namibia

cutting a massive gorge into the plateau

this is a place that continues to reveal our

my son was playing here he was 10 years old he called me and he showed me a piece of

sediment when i opened it i found a piece of fossil inside

for children these are the mesosaurus from 270 million years ago

so this is the oldest reptile fossil in south africa

god bless africa

[Music]

the setting sun the glowing sky the sensation of

endlessness and the unique colors of this landscape

make namibia truly unforgettable a region of a

natural beauty unlike anywhere else on the african

[Music]

continent

[Music]

[Music]