Welcome2Africa

WELCOME 2 AFRICA-NAMIBIA INFO!

Official name: Republic of Namibia
Area: 825,418 sq km
Capital: Windhoek
Population: 1,8 million, 86% African (50% Owambo, 9% Kavango, 7% Herero, 7% Damara, 5% Nama, 4% Caprivian, 3% San, 2% Baster, 0.5% Tswana), 7.4% mixed, 6.6% white
Language: English, Afrikaans, German, Herero
Religion: Christian, Lutheran, native religions
Government: Republic
President: Sam Nujoma

Holidays:
January 1st: New Year's Day
March 21st: Independance Day
May 1st: Workers' Day
May 4th: Cassinga Day
May 20th: Ascension
May 25th: Africa Day
August 26th: Heroes' Day
December 10th: International Human Rights Day
December 25th: Christmas Day
December 26th: Family Day

Climate:
The cold Benguela current keeps the coast of the Namib Desert cool, damp and free of rain for most of the year, with a thick coastal fog. Inland all the rain falls in summer (November to April). Summer temperatures are high while the altitude means that nights are cool. Winter nights can be fairly cold, but days are generally warm and pleasant.

Currency:
In Namibia the local currency is called Namibian Dollar. The exchange rate was as of the 1st of March 2004: NAD 100 = USD 15,38 and NAD 100 = EUR 12,36. Currency exchange is available in banks and at bureaux de change. A better rate of exchange can be obtained on travellers cheques than on cash. MasterCard, Diners Club, American Express and Visa are accepted. Check with your credit or debit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take travellers cheques in US Dollars or South African Rand.
Note that the South African Rand is also acceptable as currency in Namibia.

Tips:
A 10 percent tip is customary both at restaurants and to tourguides etc.

Time difference:
GMT/UTC +2 hours. In Namibia you do not go from wintertime to summertime.

Local specialities:
Restaurants and cafes reflect the German influence on Namibia, and most dining rooms offer a reasonable choice of local and continental cuisine. They are found mainly in the major cities. A speciality of Namibia is game, in all its variations; worth a try are biltong (air-dried meat) and Rauchfleisch (smoked meat).

Shopping:
Windhoek has a selection of fashionable shops. Local crafts can be bought in some specialised shops and at the Windhoek Street Market, held every second Saturday. Good buys include diamonds and semiprecious stones, Herero dolls, hand-carved wooden objects, jewellery, karosse rugs, liqueur chocolates made in Windhoek and Swakara garments. Shopping hours areMon-Fri 0900-1700, Sat 0900-1300. Some bigger supermarkets are also open Sun 1100-1300 and 1600-1900.