Angola, it's not like they said.

One of the best RRs yet. I look forward to seeing more

awsome

Wow, great thread. Is there a reason some are in national dress and traditional hair and others are westernized?

Most Himba's and Herero's are strong on tradition and culture, only some girls think it's okay, but luckily the majority still stick to their tradition, but the western influence is creeping in every where. Especially the younger generation will try the rapper style look.

There's no TV there, where they get the info from and why it makes them feel good dressing like that is a mystery, we could not ask because we could not understand each other.

The girl you see dressed in the western clothes, had a boyfriend in Namibia and he told her to loose the Himba dress and get western clothes. Well that's what we could gather anyway.

Things don't happen fast this side of the world, TV's, Shopping Mall's and Starbucks are not part of the daily progress. The moment it's open for big tourism it's done for Angola, then you will only see western influence. But that said tourism is big in Namibia and they Himba Herero tradition are still strong there.

Generally the ones in western clothes is portuguese speaking. Angola was colonised and missionerised since the 1500's.

The Himba are nomads that never allowed themselves to be influenced and to this day they have strict rules regarding culture. They only speak Herero.

The girl in the pink pants however is Herero and is actually from Namibia, she has spent some time in Opuwo, a frontier like town in Kaokoland. She was just visiting. You will notice that like the Himba, she also had the bottom front teeth removed for cosmetic reasons.

Well done guys!! Great trip and awsome report and photos! ... keep it coming, I am really enjoying it!

great, great stuff, boys. well done so far, and looking forward to the rest.

Visit this thread on our local site, we posted some additional pics there for the local South African folks, just ignore the Afrikaans language.

http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=10359.0

welcome home bliksems... a befokte report...

You boys just have the attitude! Amazing story, thanks, keep going!

Excellent stuff. Keep it coming!!!

This is what makes this site so great. Guys like you doing what we all wish we could do. What a great thing to be able to enjoy after a tough day at work. Thanks and keep it coming please.

Welcome back Metaljockey.

I've always enjoyed your reports. (and thanks for the additional comments Michnus)

Graet post and pics.

Very cool report, thanks.

Can you explain (if you know) the popularity of a Canadian discount beer label in Angola?

ps. Black Label is Molson Canadians' bottom of the barrel/hasn't passed quality standards brew.

:intrigued

John

Aaaaah, a beer discussion. One of my favourite topics.

The Black Label beer you see here is a South African Breweries (SAB) brand. It is in fact distributed in Namibia and not in Angola. Monte Negro is on the Kunene however (the Namibian border) and consequently the beer you see are illegal imports. Monte Negro is so inaccesible from the Angolan side that I doubt any distribution takes place there.

Black Label as a brand owes it's current day popularity largely to me. I have been consuming large quantities since that day in 1989 when I had my first one. In the last two years Black Label has been outselling Castle Lager which is SAB's premier flagship brand.

I doubt it is related to your Canadian version. It won the Grand Champion award at the Brewing Industry International Awards in 1990. It won the Grand Champion award at the Australian International Beer Awards in 1996. It was a gold medal winner at the Brewing Industry International Awards in 1996 and in 1998. It was a gold medal winner at the Australian International Beer Awards in 1997 and in 2001.

I do have an issue with SAB which is relevant to this trip report though. The quarts (750ml) that you see here have a return policy in South Africa. You return your empty bottle and get something like 90 cents in return. The quarts sold in Namibia however has no returns policy, as can be seen on this pic.





Because there is no monetary value to the empty bottles they are strewn around these wilderness areas. This goes for Kaokoland also. It is an incredible eyesore and it is horrendous to think that a company of SAB's stature (they are a dominant international player in the brewing industry) is sending large quantities of beer into areas where there are no waste disposal ability.

Places start to look like this.









To prove my point we stopped at a shop (selling N'gola beer) on the main road between Namibia and Angola some days later. Not one single empty bottle was to be seen. They would also not let us take our beer away. We had to drink there and return the bottles. Nardus says they have a policy that if the shop does not produce an empty, they are not allowed to buy beer. They have to pay a penalty. It certainly works like a charm.



continued here

BrillianT!!! I have a standing invite from Nic of Kaoko products to visit Africa and take a ride with him... This certainly wets the appetite!!

I'm on the 640.

yep, you mentionned it in the text. cheers anyway.

For your ride reports, some things are obvious....
you like motorobikes, beers and ladies
I'm afraid I've the same illness
cheers to you
/thierry