When there is no respect for nature and history

The sight is painful. For minutes. It hits you in the eye, even from a distance, as you approach it on the gravel road: a bright, dark blue 'F3' spray-painted on the orange-brown granite of a prominent rocky outcrop.

The photos, which tour guide Anthony Dawids shared a few days ago in one of the WhatsApp groups for the Namibian travel industry, caused outrage. A new act of vandalism, likely committed in early March.

The ugly graffiti defaces a rocky outcrop that was exposed and shaped by erosion over millions of years. It lies along the C39 gravel road, Dawids explained when asked, and sent a marker link on Google Maps.

The spot is only about 50 km northwest of the Twyfelfontein (|Ui-ǁaes) World Heritage Site. Many Namibia tourists drive along the C39 from Khorixas to Palmwag and from there on to Kaokoland.

Graffiti at Garub, nude photos on 'Big Daddy'

Disrespectful daub on the walls of the historic Garub railway station in the Namib Desert west of Aus in March 2020.  Photo: Gondwana Collection Namibia

The incident immediately brought back unpleasant memories. Six years ago, in March 2020, shocking photos of defaced walls at the historic train station near Garub in southern Namibia circulated online. The perpetrators boasted about it on social media but quickly deleted the posts after facing a shitstorm.

A similar fate befell a disrespectful influencer who posed on a dead camel thorn tree in Dead Vlei in February 2022. The trees are part of the Namib Sand Sea World Heritage Site. They are estimated to be up to 900 years old. The influencer first deleted the post and then his Instagram account.

No damage was done, but tourists acted just as disrespectfully in April 2024 when they caused a storm of outrage. They stripped naked and took photos on 'Big Daddy,' the world's tallest dune. 'Big Daddy' is located in Dead Vlei, south of Sossusvlei.

Back to Garub in the Namib Desert, west of Aus. Young tourists, who boasted about travelling on a shoestring budget, recently spent a night in the historic building. Garub is located in the Tsau ǁKhaeb Sperrgebiet National Park, on the border with the Namib Naukluft Park, in the area of the 'Wild Horses'.

TikTok clip on 'F3' graffiti

And now back to the blue 'F3' on the rocky outcrop northwest of Twyfelfontein. Compared to the graffiti back then at Garub, it looks amateurish. Furthermore, tour guide Dawids has now come across an apparently related TikTok video.

With this clip someone calls for others to leave a similar sprayed 'F3' in other locations. A photo as proof must be sent to a Namibian (!) WhatsApp number to claim one's "share of 2000." There was also a warning not to spray graffiti on private property without permission...

Which raises the question of whether this Namibian (?) obtained permission from the landowner on whose property the outcrop is located. And whether, regardless, he will promptly remove this daub. So that one can once again drive past the outcrop on the C39 and enjoy the scenery without an eyesore.

A complete lack of respect for the geological formation created over millions of years: graffiti on a prominent rocky outcrop northwest of the Twyfelfontein World Heritage Site.  Photo: Anthony Dawids, Freelance National Tour Guide from Torra Conservancy