Africa Safari Blog

By Louise Redvers, BBC News, Luanda

In the past, most people who went to Angola were searching for oil, diamonds or landmines. Now, the country is also proving a big draw for fossil hunters – known in the scientific community as palaeontologists – who have described Angola as a “museum in the ground”. Angola was closed off for many years because of its three-decade long civil war, which only ended in 2002, so few scientists have had the chance to visit. Those getting the chance now are not leaving disappointed. Louis Jacobs, of the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, says:  “Angola is the final frontier for palaeontology. Due to the war, there has been little research carried out… but now we are getting in finally and there is so much to find.  “In some areas there are literally fossils sticking out of the rocks, it is like a museum in the ground.”
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Nicola travelled with Jenman Safaris from the 19th May to the 30th May 2009 on our Angolan 4×4 Expedition which included Iona National Park, Ruacana Falls, Ova-Himba’s, Baobab Forest, Ancient Welwitchia’s, Lake Arco, Leba Pass, Lubango, Tunda Vala Escarpment. Nicola was referred to Jenman Safaris from one of her friends who had recently travelled with us. Below you will find some comments that Nicola sent us about her Angola safari:

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With stability returning after a protracted civil war, and a few pioneering safari operators entering the mix, Angola is once again a destination of choice for those intrepid souls seeking unique cultural experiences. Here, Mark Stratton rubs shoulders with the people of the Namib Desert in the nations southwest.

Our Toyota Land Cruiser ground to a sudden halt. On the sandy track we had followed through the western Namib Desert stood a group of lean men, each naked from the waist upwards and carrying a heavy wooden staff…

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Angola has officially started its plans to repopulate Angola’s Kissama National Park. This park in Angola is HUGE… measuring an area of 990,000 hectares. Kissama National Park is one of the largest in the world and was once a hunting reserve. But this was declared a National Park on the 11th December 1957 – which was and areas of 960km2! Have you heard about the Noah’s Art project? Not quite sure what is about? Well plainly put the Noah’s Art project is the Angola Kissama National Park repopulation project – which is a well needed and important project!

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Packing list – Head torch, GPS, Sense of adventure – Yip – got them all. What else did I need other than a few clothes, a map & some business cards?

Setting off horribly early for a Sunday morning, Garth Jenman & I (Rebecca) flew from Cape Town to Ondangwa, via Windhoek in order to reach Angola for a much discussed educational…

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