Travel News Namibia Autumn 2016

Namibia TRAVEL NEWS

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VOLUME 24 No 3 | AUTUMN 2016

MESOSAURUS

A fossil adventure

The Lone Men

OF KAOKOLAND

Wild wild N$40.00 incl. VAT R40.00 incl. VAT

western Etosha

Namibia TRAVEL NEWS

WWW.TRAVELNEWSNAMIBIA.COM TNN online has a brand-new look! The bigger, better, fresher website is home to more than 20 years worth of content. We’ve been online since 1995, keeping readers across the world up-to-date with what’s happening in Namibia, and we promise to keep changing and keep you informed! Visit us today for the most amazing photos, enticing stories and comprehensive information on all things Namibia!

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TRAVEL NEWS NAMIBIA INITIATIVES THE RMB NAMIBIA RIDE FOR RHINOS 2016

In celebration of the beauty and awe-inspiring moments that make any visit to Namibia an unforgettable experience, TNN produced a two-minute promotional video entitled This Is Namibia. With spectacular footage from acclaimed photographer and nature documentarian Paul van Schalkwyk as well as other TNN staff photographers, the two-minute clip encapsulates all the wonder and magic to be found in this land of magnificent views, spectacular people and animals, and endless horizons.

October last year saw the launch of a fantastic new initiative in aid of black rhino conservation in Namibia. The RMB Namibia Ride for Rhinos tour was a 4-day cycling safari that took place in the Torra Conservancy just north of Palmwag from October 24th to 28th, 2015. The tour brought together avid mountain-bikers and conservation enthusiasts to introduce them to the work of one of Namibia’s most acclaimed conservation organisations, the Save the Rhino Trust (SRT). The riders were able to explore the wonderful landscapes and vistas of Damaraland on saddleback, while gaining first-hand experience of the struggles that SRT has to endure on a daily basis in the face of an ever-growing poaching epidemic. This year’s RMB Namibia Ride for Rhinos will take place from August 31st to September 4th. For more information visit www.rideforrhinos.com.na or www.travelnewsnamibia.com.

THIS IS NAMIBIA REACHES 200 000 VIEWS!

This Is Namibia has been viewed more than 200,000 times on various platforms, including the TNN Vimeo channel, Facebook, www.travelnewsnamibia.com and embeds on partner websites.

HELP SAVE THE RHINO T-SHIRTS

As part of the RMB Namibia Ride for Rhinos initiative, T-shirts have been produced in further support of the cause. On last year’s tour each cyclist received a T-shirt as part of their gift package. Feedback and requests for the T-shirts from the general public, as well as tourists who met the cyclist on their adventure, was tremendous. Therefore the T-shirts are now available for sale to anyone who wishes to support the endeavours of the Save the Rhino Trust. Order your shirt at www.rideforrhinos.com.na.

Travel News Namibia has been at the forefront of Namibian tourism promotion for over 23 years, celebrating all things Namibian in print and online.

In 2015 Venture Publications launched “A Travel News Namibia Initiative”, a project that will strive to promote Namibia across different platforms beyond the boundaries of print and publishing. Follow us on our journey as we celebrate the beauty of Namibia, its conservation successes and new exciting adventures to come with our emerging Travel News Namibia initiatives!

TRAVEL NEWS NAMIBIA AUTUMN 2016

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We are a collective of Namibia’s most character-filled independent experiences. Owner-run and original is the way we like it. We are happy to differ on the elements that make each experience unique: Every guide has a secret spot to share, every room has a different character and each chef has an individual approach, yet we collectively agree on sharing a warm welcome, our unsurpassed local knowledge and our pride in every element of service.

www.naturallynamibia.com

info@naturallynamibia.com

is published by Venture Publications in Windhoek, Namibia www.travelnewsnamibia.com 4 Herzinger Crescent, Klein Windhoek PO Box 21593, Windhoek, Namibia MANAGING EDITOR Rièth van Schalkwyk TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Naude Muller PRODUCTION MANAGER Elzanne Erasmus elzanne@travelnewsnamibia.com PUBLIC RELATIONS Janine van der Merwe janine@travelnewsnamibia.com LAYOUT & DESIGN Viktoria Human CUSTOMER SERVICE Bonn Nortjé bonn@venture.com.na

TEXT CONTRIBUTORS Annabelle Venter, Ron Swilling, Pompie Burger, Elzanne Erasmus, Sanet van Zijl, Christie Keulder, Ginger Mauney PHOTOGRAPHERS Paul van Schalkwyk, Ron Swilling, Pompie Burger, Elzanne Erasmus, Sanet van Zijl, Annabelle Venter, Christie Keulder, Sean McCulloch, Ginger Mauney PRINTERS John Meinert Printing, Windhoek Travel News Namibia is published quarterly, distributed worldwide and produced solely on Apple Macintosh equipment. The editorial content of TNN is contributed by freelance writers and journalists. It is the sole property of the publisher and no part of the magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

ONLINE EDITOR Sanet van Zijl info@travelnewsnamibia.com COVER PHOTOGRAPH Harrold Page

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VENTURE PUBLICATIONS Venture Publications is the pioneer of Namibia tourism promotion. We are the leader in spreading the tourism word around the world. We distribute accurate, credible, up-to-date and regular tourism-related information on paper, in social media, on the World Wide Web, and on mobile apps.

We have reached hundreds of thousands over more than two decades. Be part of our community and let’s do it together.

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Travel News Namibia is a high-quality glossy Namibia travel and lifestyle magazine tasked with promoting Namibia to the world. Travel News Namibia is published in five different editions per year. These include four English-language editions and one German edition. Travel News Namibia is for sale in Namibia and South Africa.

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ANTOINETTE DOES IT AGAIN! Namibia’s famous chef and author of the award-winning cookbook My Hungry Heart, Antoinette de Chavonnes Vrugt, has completed her second book, Life on a table, which was launched at the end of October 2016. The book is available at selected bookshops throughout Namibia or can be ordered from Venture Publications at bonn@venture.com.na

CONSERVATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN NAMIBIA 2015

and the Environment in Namibia

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YEARS

Conservation and the Environment in Namibia, an annual special edition of Travel News Namibia, is published in close cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and is available as a printed magazine and online. The 2015 edition reflects NEDBANK's Go Green initiative.

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HUNTINAMIBIA This annual magazine has an English edition for distribution in the USA and a German edition for distribution in Germanspeaking European countries. It consists of a minimum of 60 pages and is available as a printed magazine and online. www.huntnamibia.com.na

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ON YOUR MOBILE Visit TNN online via your mobile and keep up to date with what's news in Namibia.

EDITOR’S LETTER

THE SEASON OF SURPRISES

J

ust when I thought that I have seen and heard everything there is to know about what there is to see and do in Namibia, someone surprises me. New developments happen all the time, as can be expected in a young, developing country. It makes my day, however, when I receive an email from long-time contributors to Travel News Namibia with a story that gives me goose bumps as I am transported to the place they write about, or when I read about something that I have truly not seen before or known about. What excites me is that you will be similarly intrigued when you read it.

AUTUMN

IN NAMIBIA

Every autumn edition is special because it is the first one of yet another year. The first edition in our new format appeared four years ago, in autumn. Normally we celebrate the rain and the clouds and the dramatic landscapes this time of year, but if you live in this subcontinent, you would know about the reality of the drought. Reading this edition in the northern hemisphere you may be unaware of it because you have more pressing problems and challenges. Namibians live close to nature even though many of us are city dwellers, which makes it impossible not to be touched by every piece of news regarding rainfall, the level of the dams, the flow of the rivers, water restrictions, wildlife dying and farmers suffering. To hear that it has rained 100mm in 24 hours in the far northwest and that the Kunene River has flooded Serra Cafema, yet again, was music to my ears after all the depressingly dry news of the recent past. In one burst, that part of the desert received the annual amount of rainfall which is typical for an entire normal to good rainy season.

We have often published photographs of the green sheen in the Namib, but never with so much joy as this time. Ginger Mauney flew north to make sure it was real and captured it for all of us to share. As I write, the green has probably changed to gold or silver by now, but the proof is here on our pages. Wouter van Zijl, the lodge owner of Epupa Camp, estimated that the amount of water that flooded past their lodge the day following the rainstorm, equalled four years of Windhoek’s water usage.

Ron Swilling is a storyteller who succeeds in finding new adventures and sights along well-travelled roads after more than a decade of writing for Venture Publications. Don’t miss her surprise on page 74.

If you smiled when you took this edition from the shelf, we know that all of us made the right choice: the TNN Facebook friends who chose Harrold Page’s photograph in our social media #getnatural photo competition and our team who decided that we needed a little colour and fun in autumn.

Enjoy autumn in Namibia and make sure not to miss the RMB Ride for Rhino entry deadline.

Until we meet again in winter, at the Namibia Tourism Expo in May, with yet another surprise, I wish you happy travels on foot, wheels or in the comfort of your armchair.

Rièth van Schalkwyk

TRAVEL NEWS NAMIBIA AUTUMN 2016

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CONTENTS AUTUMN 2016 10 WHAT’S NEW(S)? New, Newsworthy, Now 15 FAST FACTS All you need to know about Namibia 16 TAKE A BREAK between Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz 24 SERRA CAFEMA Another world right here on earth 30 PHOTOGRAPHIC FEATURE The Get Natural Competition 38 MESOSAURUS A fossil adventure 40 BIRDING 4 Non Blondes and the Carpenters 46 OKONJIMA A family affair 52 FATBIKES Floating over the Namib

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56 A DAY IN THE LIFE of a woodcarver

CONTENTS

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46 60 WILD WILD Western Etosha 66 FOODIES Cooking with elephants 68 SMALL MINERS at Hohenstein 73 BOOK REVIEW Africa Bites 74 LONE MEN of Kaokoland

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AFRICAN MONARCH LODGES partners with Legacy Lifestyle

Nambwa Tented Lodge, a member of African Monarch Lodges, is now a proud Travel Partner of Legacy Lifestyle. Guests who book their stay at Nambwa Tented Lodge therefore receive up to 20% off the best available rate and up to 12% in rewards back on accommodation. Legacy Lifestyle is the premium rewards programme in Africa, both in terms of Brand Partners and Membership Base. Situated in Namibia’s Zambezi Region, Nambwa Tented Lodge consists of 10 magnificent tented suites, built up in the trees, with stunning views of the Kwando River, floodplains and the wildlife below. The lodge provides unforgettable African experiences that bring you up close and personal with herds of elephants which travel across the largest conservation area in Africa. Superior standards and unmatched space are equally complemented by the detail and attention bestowed on guests. To access these benefits, bookings must be made through Lifestyle Travel. Visit www.lifestyletravel.travel for more information and contact travel@lifestyletravel.travel or call 0861 872835 for enquiries and bookings.

WHAT’S NEW(S)?

Compiled by Sanet van Zijl

BON HOTEL SWAKOPMUND

OPENS

The latest addition to the BON Hotels stable is a 4-star hotel in Swakopmund, located between the Atlantic and the Namib Desert.

The hotel caters for sport groups and the leisure, corporate and conference markets. It is situated alongside The Dome, a multi-functional indoor sports and conference centre that can host up to 2 000 delegates. A maximum of 130 guests can be accommodated in the 34 opulent rooms which face either The Dome or the sea.

The public areas encompass various novel meeting spaces seating up to 30 delegates.

For the fitness enthusiasts there is a health and wellness centre with a fully equipped gym - complete with a private section for women, sauna and a 25m heated indoor swimming pool.

There are many attractions nearby, excellent restaurants and plenty of activities to enjoy onsite and in the area.

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WHAT’S NEW(S)?

LIFE ON A TABLE nominated for

GOURMAND WORLD COOKBOOK AWARD Namibia’s Antoinette de Chavonnes Vrugt has done it again!

Her second cookbook – Life on a Table – is a hit and has been nominated for the prestigious Gourmand Award. The book is on the Cookbooks and Food Culture shortlist in the African category for the finals in 2016. Her previous book, My Hungry Heart, was voted one of the two “Best Cookbooks in the World for African Cuisine” in 2009. It was the first Namibian book ever to receive an International Gourmand Award. The awards are sometimes described as the “Oscars of food awards”.

They celebrate global cookbook and wine book publishing and feature many world-renowned chefs each year. The winner from each country will compete against winners from other countries in the same category for “Best in the World”. The results will be announced on 28 May 2016 in China.

A CULINARY ADVENTURE Slow-poached blended guinea fowl, mini maize sprouts, rabbit stock and mustard gel, carrot oil crumble, pickled mustard seeds. Got your attention? Salivating yet?

JoJo’s Music and Arts Café has been a favourite among hip creatives in Namibia for the last year. The chilled-out atmosphere, music and eclectic ambiance make for a space for people to hang out, brainstorm and enjoy an artisan vibe in a city sorely missing such places. And now with new owners Christie Keulder, Mike Ott and Aleksandra Ørbeck-Nilssen plus a cool redesign, it is also Windhoek’s hippest creative culinary hotspot. With award winning chefs David Thomas, Jo-Andri Pretorius and Jeandre Basson at the helm, and with Christie’s Curious Kitchen genius, having a fine dining experience at JoJo’s is like going on a taste bud adventure. Interesting ingredients paired with even more interesting, often scientific methods result in dishes that surprise and delight all the senses.

Vaporized smells, powders, gels, hot, cold and sometimes even smoking things all on one plate means that a dish presented to you at JoJo’s is reminiscent of food theatre.

JoJo’s officially reopened on 4 March and serves lunch and dinner daily. The laid-back, chilled-out vibe hasn’t disappeared with the arrival of the new menu, so you’ll be sure to get your arty fix as you go on this new madscience-creative-twist-culinary-adventure!

at the new JoJo’s

SILVER SPOON HOSPITALITY ACADEMY

OPENS ITS DOORS

The Silver Spoon Hospitality Academy is the latest development on the Namibian hospitality front. It is situated at the Old Power Station in Windhoek. It is privately owned by well-known hotelier Tom Mutavdzic, who has 42 years’ experience in the hospitality business. The key focus of the academy is to enhance initial education and training in the tourism-related areas, upskill the existing tourism workforce and build more effective partnerships as set out in the Tourism Human Resources Strategy 2011. The aim of this educational institute is to train students for their future careers in the field of hospitality and tourism in Namibia. The institute offers training programs at all levels and is open for dedicated students, regardless of social background, race and religion.

Those who wish to receive training from the academy do not need a Grade 12 certificate in order to be accepted since Silver Spoon is looking for candidates with a passion for hospitality.

From 1 April a variety of courses will be presented at the new academy, including fun evening cooking classes for those looking to impress their loved-ones with some new skills.

HARDAP RESORT REOPENS After more than 5 years the Hardap Resort, situated at Hardap Dam outside Mariental, has opened its doors to the public once again.

The resort closed in June 2010 for some much needed repairs and upgrades. The swimming pool is ready for use and the first guests have enjoyed their stay at the revamped establishment. The rooms and restaurant have also been refurbished. The resort now boasts 5 VIP bungalows, 15 family chalets and 30 bush chalets. Many camping and caravan spots are available on site, each with its own electrical hook-up point. The family chalets are self-catering.

There are also 4 blocks with rooms, where 10 people can be accommodated per block. A national club championship and two international angling championships are arranged at Hardap Dam every year. Namibian, South African and Zimbabwean anglers come to take part in the competitions, and the reopening of the resort will make it a much more convenient experience for the competitors.

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WHAT’S NEW(S)?

DRUM CAFÉ

LAUNCHES IN NAMIBIA The local music group Ongoma is now trading as Drum Café Namibia, thereby exposing Namibia’s corporate and private sector to the vastly popular programs of one of the world’s leading teambuilding and corporate events companies: Drum Café. The official launch took place on Friday, 5 February at the Warehouse Theatre in Windhoek. Invited guests seemed to have loads of fun, witnessing a gumboot performance and participating in interactive boom whacking and drumming sessions that left everyone with sore hands but big smiles on their faces. Drum Café’s teambuilding programs have taken the corporate and entertainment world by storm since the company’s inception in 1996 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Today, over 30 independent offices on all five continents are proof of the immense success of an interactive drumming program that was initiated by South African djembe player Warren Lieberman. After Mauritius and Zimbabwe, Namibia is the third African country to join the Drum Café family that originated in Johannesburg two decades ago. The group also plans to start regular public drumming circles on a monthly basis at the Warehouse Theatre in Windhoek.

NAMIBIA TRADE DIRECTORY

turns 25

Namibia Trade Directory is at the forefront of the Namibian Government’s information campaign to market Namibia and its products to the potential investor. It is the pillar of information dissemination to the private sector. Shortly after Namibia’s independence in 1990 the new administration held the Investment Conference. The purpose was to instill a sense of comfort and confidence in the new dispensation. As a result of that conference the Namibia Trade Directory was born. It was a joint venture initiative by the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development and the late Paul van Schalkwyk. For a quarter of a century the Namibia Trade Directory has provided a service to the business sector and to potential investors worldwide, not only by supplying valuable information but also by helping to promote Namibia’s investment opportunities to the outside world. This celebration is a testament to Namibia Trade Directory’s progress over the years!

Meet Jacqueline Angula and Elmarie van Rensburg, the NTD team at Venture Publications.

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Nambwa Tented Lodge is located in the Eastern Zambezi Region of Namibia along the Kwando River. It is the only lodge uniquely situated inside the Bwatwata National Park, in the heart of the KAZA and is nestled high amongst majestic trees, honouring the elephants’ right of way below. An authentic walkway joins decadently spacious tented suites, which emanate a feeling of vastness and evoke a gentle balance of serenity.

Our unquenchable desire to create memorable African experiences takes you on foot, by boat or vehicle, up close and personal with some of the biggest herds of elephants that traverse the largest conservation area in Africa.

Soak up the breathtaking sunsets over the infamous Horseshoe Lagoon with animals silhouetted in purple hues over the water. An exclusive night drive takes you back home where a bubble bath awaits you.

Superior standards and unrivalled space are equally matched by the detail and attention bestowed on our guests by the staff who are carefully selected from the local communities for their passion for heartfelt personal service. This ensures that all our guests enjoy an extraordinary, unparalleled and true African experience.

As a joint Venture Lodge we honour Conservancies, Communities, Conservation and are custodians of some of the few remaining untouched wilderness areas and majestic game species in Africa.

+264 81 125 2122 / +264 61 400 510 marketing@africanmonarchlodges.com reservations@africanmonarchlodges.com

www.africanmonarchlodges.com

TAKE A BREAK on the road between Keetmanshoop and L端deritz Text and photographs Ron Swilling

Journeys are about exploring and discovering. They are crammed with surprises: interesting people, fascinating stories and intriguing places. Instead of racing to your destination, consider slowing down and spicing up your trip with some colourful stops.

F

rom Keetmanshoop, the capital of the Karas Region, the road to Lüderitz stretches westward towards the desert and the Atlantic Ocean. It’s one of those great drives for a number of reasons: the relatively short distance (335 km), the fascinating transformation of the landscape as you head into the desert and an intriguing choice of stops for farm stall fare, light meals, the famed wild horses of the Namib and the century-old history that incorporates the diamond rush and WWI. It is also a good route and halfway stop if you are on your way from the Fish River Canyon to the burnished dunes of Sossusvlei. So, don’t drive ‘tackie flat’, take your time and explore southern Namibia.

FLOWERING STONES & A SHORT-LIVED BROTHEL Tawny hills and a series of flat-topped mountains characterise the landscape on the first stretch of the B4. Several quiver trees are dotted about, poking their heads up from the landscape like friendly figures with bushy hairdos. A tapestry of earthy colours in the winter, the land becomes meadow-green, intersected by flowing rivers, after summer storms.

Just 45 km west of Keetmanshoop, Seeheim Hotel is the first interesting stop for ‘biltong, droëwors, salami and apple pie’ as the sign at the entrance informs you. Seeheim has a fascinating and unexpected history. It was a busy stopover point for train passengers in the early 1900s and had two hotels and several shops - and even boasted its own brothel. The brothel didn’t last long with its stringent specifications for employees although there were, apparently, ample customers. Today there’s no evidence of this once bustling hub except for some foundations and the old hotel bar, now adorned with mounted animal heads. No-one seems to know where the brothel once stood, not even hotel owner and taxidermist Marinda Kloppers.

Alte Kalköfen’s lithoparium houses a variety of ‘stone plants’ from south and central Namibia.

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Like much of history, the story has survived, while the ruins have turned into desert dust.

Alte Kalköfen is the next stop to look out for. A short drive on the D462 leads you past the old limestone oven, the lodge’s namesake, and to the entrance. The wide veranda is an ideal lunch spot for a game pie and salad, a farmer’s burger or a salad platter (with greens from the garden) and a slice of apple pie. It overlooks an ancient camelthorn forest where some trees are said to be more than a thousand years old. This fresh and clean lodge has its own lithoparium – or lithops nursery – housing a variety of ‘stone plants’ from south and central Namibia. They burst into bloom at certain times of the year with delicate flowers that belie their tough façade. Owners Hilde and Frikkie Mouton are lithops enthusiasts and Hilde is one of the few people authorised to propagate the species from seed. Ask the Moutons to take you for a short tour of their lithoparium – and to point out their euphorbias and stapelias along the way.

FARM FAVOURITES & CENTURY-OLD HISTORY Fifty kilometres before you reach Aus, Kuibis Restaurant on the right-hand side of the road is the place to purchase biltong. Kathleen and Japie Loots opened the restaurant on their sheep and cattle farm in 1992 and sell their own biltong (beef and game) and a selection of fresh meat.

Kuibis also sells toasted sandwiches and pies, and farmstall favourites: homemade cookies, koeksisters and ginger beer.

For those who believe that a graveyard reads like a book, don’t miss the Commonwealth war graves just before you reach Aus. Take the turnoff to the D705 and veer right.

After approximately 1.3 km you’ll reach the site. The small graveyard is the resting place of soldiers who died in WWI. Many of them were killed by the influenza epidemic that swept

The friendly team at Kuibis Restaurant, 50 km east of Aus.

TAKE A BREAK FROM THE ROAD

Animal caution signs dot the roadside between Aus and L端deritz.

through the area in 1918. The flu epidemic didn’t differentiate between prisoner and guard in Aus’s prisoner-of-war camp, and friend and foe are buried side by side.

A short detour from the main road leads to sleepy Seeheim, once a bustling railway siding

The sleepy and unassuming settlement of Aus has witnessed a century of history, booming during the 1908 diamond rush and the lucrative karakul market in the 1960s and then settling back quietly into the rocky hills that characterise the area. It’s a good place to fill up on fuel and to purchase supplies at the Namib Garage One Stop shop. The Bahnhof Hotel, marked by colourful flags, is on the site of the original hotel which was built in 1906 when the railway station, or ‘bahnhof’, on the Lüderitz line attracted trade and passers-by. The Bahnhof has an extensive menu and serves coffee and a selection of cake. Bernd Roemer offers history tours of the area for those with more time on their hands.

STRIKING VISTAS & WILD HORSES Continuing westwards, Klein-Aus Vista is a few kilometres further on. With a choice of attractive accommodation and an appealing campsite, this lodge owned by the Swiegers family is an ideal overnight stop or base in the area. Piet Swiegers has created a series of walking and mountain bike trails that run through the granite-gneiss hills. Hire a bike for the afternoon or stretch legs on a trail to gaze at the spectacular vistas from the lofty viewpoints. Mountain bike fans may want to plan their trip around the Klein-Aus Vista Mountain Bike challenge, a popular mountain-biking event that takes place annually at the end of April/beginning of May. Hotel owner-taxidermist, Marinda Kloppers, on the entrance steps of the Seeheim Hotel

This old lime kiln, namesake of the Alte Kalköfen lodge, was built in the early 1900s

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Klein-Aus Vista is at the point where the Namib Desert meets the Pro-Namib and grassy plains merge with sand in striking bands of colour. The road stretches ahead through this extraordinary landscape, accentuated in the early hours and latter part of the day. Don’t miss the turnoff to the Garub viewpoint, 20 km after Klein-Aus, to visit the wild horses of the Namib. A short stony track leads to a hide overlooking the waterhole and stark plains, backed by mountains and an inselberg called Dikke Willem. This exceptional horse population has survived in the extremes of the desert for over a century. Watch family groups gallop to the waterhole with the wind whipping their manes and the dust exploding under their feet – and feel your soul sing to the tune of the desert.

Paul van Schalkwyk

TAKE A BREAK FROM THE ROAD

Windswept Diaz Point marks the spot where Bartolomeu Diaz planted his cross in 1488

GHOST TOWNS & DIAMOND DREAMS As you make your way towards the coast, the expanse of sand dotted with bleached grass transforms into gravel plains and the rocky desert landscape. Keep a lookout for animals along the road, especially around dusk and dawn (and avoid driving at night!). Soon the road signs caution drivers that they have entered brown hyena territory.

On the outskirts of Lüderitz, the old diamond town of Kolmanskop appears like a mirage in the desert. It’s worth a visit to the ghost town to hear the incredible story of the diamond rush and the opulence that once touched the desert. Kolmanskop is open until 1pm, with guided tours at 9.30 and 11.00. Stretch your imagination to visualise how people flocked to the diamond mining towns, bringing their European finery to the Namib Desert. It is said that at the height of the diamond rush champagne was cheaper than water. Kolmanskop is also a photographer’s paradise and playground. Peeling wallpaper, dappled light and mounds of sand gathered in abandoned corners provide spectacular photographic material and hours of fun.

Finally, the desert town of Lüderitz appears, held in the wizened hands of the rocky hills. Here lie promontories to explore, Diaz Cross, an oyster factory and many a diamond dream.

Mooi ry! TNN

NAMIBIA

Check out the all new Lüderitz visitor book Welcome to Lüderitz online at www.travelnewsnamibia.com/luderitz

TRAVEL NEWS NAMIBIA AUTUMN 2016

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go places with your tourism business.

Our team of industry experts is ready to help grow your tourism business.

Terms and conditions apply. www.fnbnamibia.com.na Call the Tourism Division of FNB Business today on 061 411 211

Cradled amongst Camelthorn trees and vistas of undulating Kalahari sands crusted in golden grass, Otjimbondona offers those seeking exclusivity, luxury and tranquility the ideal African retreat.

Four Villas, decorated with attention to detail, each depicting a different theme, offer complete privacy to complement the romantic setting.

www.otjimbondona.com

otjimbondona@profilesafaris.com | Cell: +264 81 243 5478 Location: 120 km from Windhoek and 80 km south-east of Hosea Kutako Airport

ANOTHER WORLD right here on earth Text and photographs Ginger Mauney

For as long as anyone can remember, the Himba have maintained the same daily routine – rising early, milking the cows and watching as the men and the herds disappear towards the horizon in search of grazing. Day after day, year after year, a pattern that has been repeated for thousands of years until something happens to disrupt it.

“

During the night, when the birds fly west to the sea it means that someone in the family will die”, said Karitiano Tjipoza, a Himba elder from Otapi village, a collection of dome-shaped wooden huts and kraals perched high on the hills above Hartmann’s Valley.

“We know that this is true because after hearing the big black birds in the night, a man from our village who was out with the cattle was struck by lightning and died.”

“But”, she paused, “if the birds fly from the east, it means that the rains will come.”

Was there something else in the birds’ flight on the evening of February 1st that foretold of what was to come?

The next day it started to rain. Gently and persistently, harder at times but with breaks in the downpour as if nature was catching her breath.

In a place where rainfall is patchy and sparse, 100 mm of rain fell in less than 24 hours – the equivalent of the average annual rainfall in one night.

After heavy localised rain the Kunene River surges.

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Water flowed down the rocky walls that flank parts of the Kunene River, poured into the river, raised its level and the

The Hartmann's Valley has been transformed by rain.

intensity of its flow. Logs bounced down the river, and the Himba were concerned for their cattle and goats grazing nearby, as it isn’t easy to spot crocodiles in the muddy waters.

In the Hartmann’s Valley, which incises this part of the desert, the normal range of colours is red, gold and grey, but the rains transformed the land.

Nature put on a show, in an eruption of green.

Across the plains fairy circles were rimmed by green grass, making this natural phenomenon even more pronounced.

Lines of green ran up and down the hillside, and pools of green grass accumulated in dense patches at the base of the mountains.

Some areas had a light dusting of green, a 5 o’clock shadow of grass cover that had yet to be shaved by grazing animals or yellowed by the sun.

A strong relationship exists between Wilderness Safaris and various Himba communities.

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Other parts of the valley had a full beard of lush green grass cover, broken by yellow patches of tribulus flowers and flecks of purple peeking out from flower petals among the grass.

“This area is beautiful and it is good for our cattle and goats”, said Tjipoza. “When there is no grazing on the plains we send them up into the mountains to graze. This year there is plenty.”

One hundred millimetres of rain created another world right here on earth.

Plenty for now, for what comes with the rains dies by the sun.

Hartmann’s Valley has always been a special place for the Himba. Mount Ondau, part of the Hartmann mountain range, is sacred to them. Villages dot the landscape: some are active, some completely abandoned and others dormant, waiting for groups of semi-nomadic Himba to pass through again.

Already the tops of the grasses have begun to turn silver, with feathers of seed waiting to be dispersed by the wind.

They wait, patiently like the Himba, for a new cycle of rebirth in the desert that begins when the birds fly in from the east. TNN

THE HEAVENS OPEN AT SERRA CAFEMA It isn’t often that Serra Cafema, Wilderness Safaris’ stunning and remote joint venture lodge with the Marienfluss Conservancy, is quiet, but on February 2nd all the guests had checked out and no one was expected to arrive until the following day.

4 Feb 2016 – Around 3 am water levels begin to drop.

By 14h00, the camp was clean and the staff was looking forward to a relaxed evening.

5 Feb 2016 – First emergency flight into camp. Pregnant staff and others who were going on leave are the first to fly out.

The quiet lasted for approximately 4 hours.

Camp Manager Ulrike Jacob kept a record of what followed: 2 Feb 2016 – It hasn’t stopped raining all afternoon.

Evacuate all staff from the staff village into the main lodge. Power issues. Email HQ to move all bookings.

Lost satellite phone signal. Flood watch team up until 4:30 am to check the water levels.

3 Feb 2016 – No let-up in the rain, water rising from the river and falling from above. The sheer weight of water on thatched roofs is bringing down years of red dust into the guest rooms. Second large flood started around 16:00 pm. Back area and staff village completely flooded.

Airstrip under water.

7 Feb 2016 – All guides leave camp in game viewers.

Rest of the team keeps on cleaning and repairing.

11 Feb 2016 – Staff from the Windhoek office arrive to help with the clean-up.

12 Feb 2016 – First truck arrives in camp with bulk of supplies. Second truck has broken down.

14 Feb 2016 – Another truck arrives with items needed to refurbish the rooms.

For the next few days we clean, oil, rebuild walkways and put the final touches on the camp.

19 Feb 2016 – Serra Cafema reopens to guests.

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION Get Natural, the ultimate Namibian photography competition, was launched in October 2015. Travel News Namibia teamed up with Naturally Namibia in this social media driven contest that inspired over 500 adventurous, beautiful, creative, cultural and wild entries.

PHOTOGRAPHY FEATURE

Marika Ribas #GetBeautiful

1st Place

Harrold Page #GetBeautiful

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he #getnatural competition ran for four months and officially ended on February 12th, 2016. Participants from Namibia and abroad entered over 500 individual photographs in five specified categories on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Each week a finalist was chosen for each category, i.e. Get Beautiful, Get Adventurous, Get Wild, Get Creative and Get Cultural. The selection of photographs was then put to the vote (i.e. “likes”) on the TNN Facebook page. After thousands of votes on the 63 finalist images, two winners were announced.

The first prize, a seven night stay at any Naturally Namibia premier destination, was awarded to Harrold Page. He can choose between the Olive Exclusive in Windhoek, The Mushara Collection or Little Ongava at Etosha and Okonjima, the home of AfriCat. Harrold shared with TNN how he got started and how he captured his amazing quiver tree shot: “I started taking photos for the first time on June 7th, 2015. During the early morning of October 10th my cousin and I drove to Blutkopje, still hidden in the mist. The sun broke through when we were about 2km from there. The colours were beautiful, the whole area was glowing in gold.

I posted the photo to a photography group called “Nature Photography Namibia” and one of the group administrators suggested that I enter the Naturally Namibia competition.

After the photo was chosen as a top entry in the week that it was entered I sent in more of my photos regularly and I was

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surprised that so many of them made it to the final round of the competition.”

The second prize, a seven night stay at either Etendeka Mountain Camp, Erongo Wilderness Lodge or Villa Margherita was awarded to Anja Denker for her amazing close-up of a Namibian favourite, the black rhinoceros.

“This photo was taken in mid-November last year in Etosha.

Just past the Nebrowni waterhole we spotted this black rhino ambling along the side of the road, and stopped for photographs. He came straight towards our car from the lefthand side and proceeded to stop in the middle of the road, about 3m away from the car just looking at us! We were quite puzzled about the conspicuous streak of green paint which ran down the length of his prominent horn and our immediate thought was: Did he have a close encounter with another car?”

Thank you to all participants in the first ever Get Natural Photography Competition, for sharing your special naturally Namibian moments with us. Keep sharing by using the TNN hashtag #thisismynamibia, and who knows - you might end up gracing our website, social media or even featuring in print…

See our editor’s choice from the group of finalists on the next page.

The Get Natural Photography Competition is a Travel News Namibia initiative. TNN

2nd Place

Anja Denker #GetWild

Shawn van Eeden #GetBeautiful Marc Pagani Photography #GetCreative

Jessica Saunders #GetWild Johan n van Niekerk #GetCultural

Xenia Ivanoff-Erb #GetAdventurous

Xenia Ivanoff-Erb #GetCultural

Adventure awaits

JOIN SCENIC AIR FOR FLEXIBLE, PERSONAL CHARTERS CATERED TO YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS!

Windhoek Office: Tel: +264 61 249 268 Email: windhoek@scenic-air.com

www.scenic-air.com

Swakopmund Office: Tel: +264 64 403 575 Email: swakopmund@scenic-air.com

How do you make it impossible for the world to ignore you?

You give your absolute best. And then you give more. You push.

You question. You set ridiculous goals. You never settle.

If you’re lucky and if you do these things, you just may create something great. And then you just make it better.

w w w.nederburg.com

Enjoy Responsibly. Not for Sale to Persons Under the Age of 18.

MESOSAURUS A fossil adventure Text and photographs Ron Swilling

Plan for a fossil adventure 40 km from Keetmanshoop, where you can join a short tour to view the ancient Mesosaurus fossils, overnight in the peaceful Namibian countryside and wander through a quirky quiver tree forest.

“

Twenty-five years ago I built this road here”, Giel Steenkamp told me. We had driven through several farm gates, passing a herd of goats that eyed me inquisitively, before reaching an arrow-shaped hill and a mountain dotted with broccoli-shaped quiver trees. He continued: “While I was working on the tractor, my ten-year-old son noticed a rock with marks on it and brought it over to me. I hit it on a crack and it fell open, revealing a piece of fossil.”

Initially Giel thought it was a salamander fossil. He showed it to his brother-in-law, a zoology professor at Stellenbosch University, who took the sample with him back to the university.

There, Dr Oelofson, who had studied the fossils extensively for his PhD thesis, identified it as an animal from the genus Mesosaurus, a small creature that resembled a crocodile with a long snout and long, needle-like teeth.

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ANCIENT HISTORY Giel briefly condensed millions of years of geological history into a few short minutes and explained that 320 million years ago southern Africa, then part of the supercontinent of Gondwana, was covered with a thick layer of ice. As the weather warmed, the ice started to melt and formed a shallow inland sea covering what is southern Africa and South America today. According to Giel, Mesosaurus lived in this shallow sea 270 million years ago and is considered to be one of the oldest reptile fossils found in southern Africa. It died out approximately 250 million years ago – long before the dinosaurs disappeared around 65 million years ago.

I marvelled at this infinite Earth journey as the wind blew the bleached grass around us into a butter-coloured sea. Standing next to the grave of a German colonial soldier buried on the farm in 1904 after altercations with the Nama in the area

(relatively recent history), Giel showed me a rock that had cracked open exactly along a fissure - like a crystal geode - to reveal two perfect parts of a fossil. “You are welcome to take photos”, he told me and laughed. “It’s not often that you see two fossils in a fossil’s hand,” he said, referring light-heartedly to his advanced age.

He also pointed out coprolite, fossilised excrement, which under a microscope reveals what these creatures had eaten for breakfast so many millennia ago.

Before we moved on, Giel added some fascinating information about the Mesosaurus fossils that have been found both in southern Africa and South America. They are evidence that the two continents were once joined as one landmass and thus support Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift.

QUIVER TREES & ROCK MUSIC The fun-filled tour was by no means over yet. We carried on along the farm road until we reached a quiver tree forest where the trees grow abundantly among dark dolerite boulders. The sun generously coated the landscape in a wash of gold as we wandered through the hardy aloe trees. Giel continued to educate me by telling me about the dolerite that had bubbled up as magma below the surface of the earth, before cooling off - and the quiver trees, their hollow branches once used by the early hunter-gatherers to make quivers for their arrows. Small pockets of trees grace southern Namibia and the arid Northern Cape in South Africa.

“I want to play you some music on the rocks.” Giel stood in front of two large slabs of dolerite, surrounded by quiver trees, black rocks and a vast blue sky that was quickly turning into a pastel masterpiece. While I gawked incredulously from a short distance away, he picked up a small stone and began to play the popular tune of Frère Jacques, followed by Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica. I stood in awe as the hollow sound rang clearly through the quiet afternoon and I hummed the words to myself. Yes, God bless Africa.

He broke my reverie, turning around with his blue eyes shining.

I applauded. “You know, I’m not a very good musician,” he said humbly. “I’ve played these rocks for ten years now and can only play two songs!”

The sun dipped and the colours deepened around us. The short stop at the Mesosaurus Fossil Site had been a highlight of my trip to southern Namibia, a mix of exciting discovery, like unearthing an old treasure-chest full of gold doubloons, and a celebration of this unusual arboreal arena - with an amusing guide to add to the experience.

I had yet to overnight in the rustic and charming chalets under a star-studded sky and to wake to the melodic call of Namaqua sandgrouse on their way to the waterhole. Yet, I wanted to keep the experience somewhere safe in the recesses of my memory.

I wouldn’t be able to preserve it for 250 million years, but I wanted some of the simple, natural magic to linger with me for a while longer. TNN

WHO TO CONTACT: Mesosaurus Fossil Site & Quiver Tree Dolerite Park www.mesosaurus.com mesosaurus.camp@gmail.com +264 (0)63 683641

WHERE TO STAY: The Camp has 4 self-catering chalets: 3 twin-bed and 1 family, a basic campsite and a bush camp 3 km away from the main camp among the quiver trees.

Book ahead for a boerebraai, a farm barbeque of lamb chops, boerewors, homemade bread and salads.

WHAT TO DO: • •

• •

Drive the 16 km scenic 4x4 route.

Join the one-hour guided tour with Giel to see the Mesosaurus fossils, quiver tree forest and dolerite formations, and the two Schutztruppe graves.

Take a hike on the 3 & 10 km trails.

Spend sunrise, or sunset, amid the quiver trees.

DIRECTIONS: From the B1 just south of Keetmanshoop, turn onto the gravel C17 towards Koës. The Mesosaurus Fossil Site is 39 km along the C17 (suitable for all vehicles).

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A male and a female Golden-tailed Woodpecker sharing responsibilities at the buiding site

4 NON BLONDES

AND THE CARPENTERS Text and photographs Pompie Burger

Red hair, Sir, in my opinion is dangerous.

- P.G.Woodhouse

T

he fact that only two percent of people have red hair is already an indication that in our avian population it might not be that common either. The fact that most of the redheads in Namibia are Woodpeckers and Barbets is no surprise. Redheads are known to be hardkoppig (headstrong) and fiery with a sharp tongue (sounds familiar?). The only other red-headed birds in Namibia are two vulture species (Lappet-faced and Hooded) and two very small birds, the Red-headed Weaver and the Red-headed Finch. As with blondes, we are talking natural red and not red as a result of (vain) human intervention.

Interestingly, human redheads are often called carrot tops or ginger kids, which will be a bit of a misnomer with regard to the aforementioned birds because we are talking red as in crimson red. In ancient Greece redheads where killed due to suspicions that there were witches among them. To what extent this is happening in the current day and age, we

do not know. If red-headed birds are still killed because of alleged witchcraft, who would know? What we do know is that birds are often killed unnecessarily, not only red-headed birds. Fortunately there is also some good news for the redheads: there is an annual festival called Roodharigendag in the Netherlands, in the town of Bred. I am not sure if any of these red-headed birds are invited but I can imagine that they will definitely revitalize and enhance the level of fun and games at the festivities. Especially considering the fact that most of the red-headed birds are “common” in Namibia, they will not disappoint their human counterparts, as we know most Namibian humans are a bit “common“.

If you wonder why woodpeckers are fiery you just have to watch them hammering on a tree trunk, either building a nest or looking for food. The great advantage they have over other birds, apart from their strong bill to build and hunt for food in tree trunks, is the fact that they also have a much thicker

*If you’re under 40 you probably didn’t know that the 4 Non Blondes is a 90s pop group famous for songs such as “What’s Up?” and “Mary’s House”

A Crested Barbet inspecting a tree trunk for food

skull to prevent any brain damage (concussion) during their hammering and drilling activities. Although the barbets also have a strong - but much shorter - bill, they build their nests only in dead trees where the wood is much softer. Thus they do not need a bill as strong as that of the woodpeckers, which can hammer into basically any wood (dead or alive, hard or soft). The bill of the barbets is serrated whereas the bill of the woodpeckers is smooth. The strong serrated bill is for grip and cutting into fruit, as well as tearing wood when making nesting holes. In addition, the barbets have bristles around the bill, apparently to prevent flying bits of timber getting into their eyes. The woodpeckers missed out on that.

Doing their hammering and drilling, the woodpeckers have a very strong stiff tail (hardegat) to support them when hanging onto a tree trunk, whereas the barbets have a relatively soft tail, obviously not necessary for that much support when doing the odd hammering in softer wood. Another addition to the oral anatomy of the woodpeckers is their very long tongue which can reach as far as around the head to the opposite eye. Imagine what this can do for them at the Redhead Festival as a party trick. Apart from reaching around its head, the tongue is used for reaching deep into a hole in a tree to collect worms and insects.

The diet of the woodpeckers consists mainly of insects and fruit. They feed their chicks only insects (sounds pretty Namibian to me, not so much the insects but the protein). The

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barbets on the other hand are fruitarians, eating only fruit.

The Black-collared Barbets can do the synchronized duetsinging-thing and compared to the woodpeckers the other barbets are also quite vocal. One wonders if this musical talent and being so vocal is the result of their fruitarian diet.

The nests of barbets are very neat and clean compared to the woodpeckers, which are not so high on hygiene.

If you think I am favouring the barbets you can’t really blame me, taking into account that they are neat, vocal (see women) fruitarians (see Noakes), not in the building industry (see Rehoboth) and not hardegat (see men). The only redheaded barbets occurring in Namibia are the Black-collared (Lybius torquatus), Acacia Pied (Tricholaema leucomelas) and Crested Barbet (Trachyphonus vaillanti). The Acacia Pied Barbets’ distribution is quite wide-spread throughout Namibia, while the Black-collared and Crested Barbets only occur in the far northeast.

The most famous and well-known redheads, to my mind, are Father Christmas and Rooikappietjie. Other less famous redheads are Woody Allen, Queen Elizabeth I of England, Vincent van Gogh, Jesse James, Vlam and Woody Woodpecker. Whether Woody Woodpecker is related to our woodpeckers I do not know, but I think Woody Allen could be related to our woodpeckers, even if only for his small stature, which according to him is the reason why he can’t play chess.

BIRDING WITH POMPIE

A male Red-headed Weaver on the job

The Bennett’s Woodpecker (Campethera bennettii), which occurs in Namibia, differs from those occurring in the RSA in that it has a plain pale yellow rump with no markings. In fact it is classified as a subspecies (capricorni) of the RSA Bennett’s because of the lack of markings on its chest.

Differentiating between the other woodpeckers is not that easy, although Mister Brain has a different view on this point.

The Bearded Woodpecker (Dendropicos namaquus) is the only woodpecker with a barred belly and white markings on the face. The Cardinal Woodpecker (Dendropicos fuscescens) is the only one with a completely brown forehead between the bill and the red cap (no spots). The Cardinal Woodpecker is also the smallest of the local woodpeckers (I always wonder how one can compare the sizes because I have never

seen two different woodpeckers sitting next to each other).

The Golden-tailed Woodpecker (Campethera abingoni) has a golden tail (all the woodpeckers have golden tails!) but it is the only one that has a spotted instead of barred back.

Obviously there is, as always, one complicating factor and contradiction in all these wonderful theories. Some of the female woodpeckers do not have red heads!

As far as the red-headed vultures (Lappet-faced and Hooded Vultures) are concerned, they are larger than the barbets and the woodpeckers, while the Red-headed Weavers and Red-headed Finches are much smaller. If you cannot distinguish between these - I also have some difficulty. So don’t worry, be happy.

The next edition will not carry a story on blonde birds. TNN

A male Bearded Woodpecker with it's barred belly looking for food

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BIRDING WITH POMPIE

A male Red-headed Finch looking smaller than a vulture

Two Lappet-faced Vultures discussing the quality of the meat

The Acacia Pied Barbet occurs all over Namibia

A male Cardinal Woodpecker with a conspicuously barred back

A female Golden-tailed Woodpecker with streaked underpants and a golden tail

A Black-collared Barbet with it's strong serrated bill and bristles

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A FAMILY VISION Okonjima: Where tourism supports conservation Text and photographs Annabelle Venter

Shortly after my arrival at Plains Camp on a hot midsummer’s noon I’m drifting in a cool, round pool with corrugated iron sides. A Stewarts & Lloyds windmill clinks hypnotically overhead, slowly grinding to a halt as the breeze subsides.

One could be forgiven for thinking one is on an African farm, but of course that’s exactly what the Hanssen family wants you to experience.

O

konjima is very much a family affair and originally started out as a Brahman cattle farm, before evolving into the conservation success story of today, with an array of luxury accommodation to ensure you enjoy your stay.

Three siblings – Wayne, Donna and Roselea – run Okonjima and AfriCat, while their older sister Tammy heads up AfriCat North near Kamanjab. The first family member I meet is Donna,who emphasises that she is just one of the strong family team who have elevated Okonjima to the legendary status it enjoys today. Donna is my educator and guide for the duration of my stay, and when she speaks it is on behalf of the family who share a united vision. To understand the Okonjima story, one needs two things: time to absorb the enormity of what this family has achieved, and a glimpse into the family background to put things into perspective. Follow this up with world-class accommodation and twice daily activities and this will complete your experience of Namibia.

THE FARMING YEARS The Hanssen’s mother, Rose,was born in Northern Rhodesia where her English father managed Stuarts & Lloyds, selling new revolutionary Lister engines to farmers before moving to a farm in Namibia. Rose’s husband Val, of Danish descent, pioneered Brahman cattle farming in Namibia and bought Okonjima in 1970.

An English-speaking farming family in Namibia is rather unique, even today. But in the seventies the Hanssen family seldom socialized, finding their entertainment with each other and the farm. The children were raised differently to other kids at the time.

They were encouraged to examine and question their world in a kind, yet fun sort of way. Being weekly boarders at school in Otjiwarongo meant weekends were happy, exploratory times. Orphaned wild animals found homes with the Hanssens and life was always entertaining with an emphasis on learning about their natural world.

Just who is watching who... Cheetah tracking on foot at Okonjima

The Brahman cattle they farmed are ideal for Namibian conditions. They sweat through their skin, have long legs and are aggressive mothers that challenge danger instead of running away. But predators have always been a challenge to farmers, and on Okonjima the leopard population threatened to destroy farming. They soon realized that

Sultry Lila, one of the collared wild leopards on Okonjima the more leopards they shot, the more leopards they had. These early years were extremely difficult as poor soil nutrition also affected the calving rate negatively. Rose was good friends with vet Dr Rina Grant who conducted studies on the farm’s grazing quality.

Rina discovered a severe phosphate deficiency in the soil and had special supplements formulated for the herds. Improving the calving rate to 98% didn’t, however, prevent the continued loss of 20-30 calves a year to leopards.

When Wayne was 18, his father asked him to take a hunter out to shoot a leopard. He took the hunter to the other side of the farm to avoid a cat he had become fond of, but sadly the hunter killed ‘his’ leopard before he could warn him. This was a turning point for him and he resolved to find a way to live alongside nature. His father agreed on condition that he pay for each calf that was lost. Quite an incentive for a young man with no money!

Establishing that up to 12 leopards lived on their farm, Val realized that a solution had to be found. He started synchronising breeding times and keeping the calves in predator-proof kraals at night when leopards usually hunt. These were just two factors in a long quest to find a solution. Calf losses immediately dropped to 2 or 3 a year.

Thus began the start of learning to farm alongside predators.

OPENING HOME AND HEARTS TO TOURISTS In 1986, Dennis Rundle of Wilderness Safaris was looking for a place to take his guests bird-watching and Donna recommended her mother’s skills! Soon the first safari group arrived. The children cleared out their bedrooms, painted the walls and camped in the garden. Rose was the perfect hostess and a superb cook, and she also was an excellent birding guide. Okonjima became a regular stop for tourists. Wayne shared his Bushman skills with guests, learnt from a childhood San friend and mentor. Extra rooms were built in the garden and Okonjima became a guest farm with Rose, Wayne and his wife Lise guiding and hosting guests. The farmhouse was a lush and welcoming oasis for visitors.

Around this time Lise started rescuing cheetahs from surrounding farms as farmers wanted to shoot them due to livestock losses.

Cheetahs were also being hunted in order to protect the prey, as game farming increased in importance.

Soon they had 30 young and healthy cheetahs in captivity, and they began releasing them far away from the farms they were rescued from, onto land that was predator friendly. But they realized that the stress for the cheetah actually began once it was ‘released’ into a strange environment. It often couldn’t find water or prey and came into contact with other resident predators.

This was not the answer and AfriCat (derived from ‘a free cat’) Foundation was established as a registered charity in 1993 to raise funds for further carnivore research and rehabilitation. Roughly 5% of the rescued cheetahs died, 85% were released and about 10% couldn’t be released. Funding was needed to support the 10% and to find new solutions. Welcoming guests to the farm was part of this solution, but they needed larger donors.

Sadly Rose passed away in 1992 and Val realized he couldn’t continue on his own. He needed to sell and offered the farm to Wayne.

AFRICAT IS BORN Wayne already had a vision to return the land to its natural state of 200 years ago, but needed help to implement it. He invited his sisters to take up the challenge with him. It required a strong team and Roselea and Donna decided to give up their careers and return to the farm to put their energy into the family business.

Starting on a shoestring budget, they borrowed money from the bank to settle their debts and do urgent accommodation upgrades. In 1993 the cattle herds were finally sold off and the focus shifted to conservation.

AfriCat became an entity separate from the Okonjima farm and the objectives were clear: • To educate the next generation about carnivores and their role in maintaining the environmental equilibrium • To foster tolerance among famers and educate them in farming practices to live alongside predators • To do carnivore research and monitoring in order to broaden

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•

the understanding of living with predators To provide humane care for injured and orphaned animals and facilitate the rehabilitation and release of large carnivores

The oldest sister, Tammy, and her husband lived on a farm near Kamanjab where she founded Afri-Leo in 1997. Due to everincreasing demands of carnivore conservation, the family mutually agreed to merge this group with AfriCat, and Afri-Leo became AfriCat-North.

Her foundation’s work involves assisting in resolving the community’s conflict with larger predators, specifically lions that have moved out of Etosha. AfriCat-North supports the communities, helping them to live alongside predators by erecting cattle kraals. Four lions which were rescued as cubs in Tammy’s area and cannot be reintroduced to the wild, now reside at AfriCat on Okonjima – they are the ‘welfare lions’.

YOUR STAY AT OKONJIMA Eventually the Main Camp at the farmhouse could no longer cope with increasing numbers of visitors and in 2001 the first luxurious Bush Camp was opened. Recently renovated, I find the atmosphere here extremely relaxing and, with good spacing between chalets for maximum privacy, silence reigns. Warthogs bring their babies to frolic in the birdbath while I enjoy afternoon coffee in my private sala. With the emphasis on eco-friendly living, nothing goes to waste here and after dinner we head up the mountain to watch two porcupines and a small-spotted genet devour the left-over food of the day.

On a tour of the farm, the stunning Luxury Bush Villa catches my eye. This is the only camp inside the Nature Reserve and the only unfenced one. Game and predators drink at the waterhole viewed from the deck. Small and intimate, it can accommodate eight to twelve people and is the ideal family retreat.

All the other camps are inside the 2000 ha ‘rehabilitated-predatorfree’ land where antelope and small mammals including loads of warthog roam freely, making it safe for children, walking and cycling activities, yet still remaining wild.

The intimate Bush Suite resembles a private cottage in the bush, accommodating just up to four people. The mokoro-shaped pool is a magnet on a hot summer day. This camp could be the ultimate honeymoon destination.

extending to either side of the main Barn area, each of them with a sweeping view over the Okonjima plains. Warthogs roll in the mud and birds swoop around inside the Barn which houses the restaurant, reception and shop.

AN EDUCATIONAL HOLIDAY From these luxury lodgings, visitors are encouraged to partake in the activities offered twice-daily. The funds generated from the activities and the accommodation go a long way to help cover costs, as Okonjima and every visitor to the farm supports the AfriCat HQ programme. Senior guide Gideon takes me leopard tracking on the first afternoon of my stay. The leopards in the Nature Reserve are wild, but many have been collared for research and monitoring and VHF telemetry is used to track them. We find two (with some difficulty) but the big male, Mafana, is not in the mood for visitors and sulks in a gulley. Lila is more accommodating and finally jumps down from a shepherd’s tree after her impala meal.

The next morning we go cheetah tracking on foot. While watching the cheetahs the value of having two guides becomes apparent.

Tracker Martin quietly asks me to get up, then points to a puff adder advancing from about one and a half metres away.

A highlight was tracking wild dogs the following day. Rescued from near Okakarara, we find the pack of four sleeping in the gorge after feasting on three baby warthogs. We spend a quiet hour and a half sitting under a tree near them, just talking and watching.

Of course no visit is complete without a visit to the AfriCat Carnivore Care Centre, where you will also get to meet some of the carnivore ambassadors up close.

LOOKING AHEAD TO THE FUTURE Donna explains that their success is built on the complete trust in one another that only a strong and close-knit family upbringing can produce. As with any team, there needed to be a leader from the beginning and Wayne was allowed by his strong-willed sisters to make the final decisions! Each sibling has clear-cut responsibilities.

For the first 10 years, says Donna, they never had salaries, their own cars or even bank accounts! Undoubtedly this type of commitment came at a price, as do most worthwhile things in life.

Four beautiful campsites have been established with openfronted bathrooms to take in the view while lathering! Okonjima really caters for every budget and this campsite is spacious and peaceful, with sites set far apart. They all share a beautiful swimming pool with stunning views over the plains.

Donna and Wayne don’t have children but Roselea and her husband Luigi are currently raising the next generation! Tammy’s son Janek Hoth is already part of the team and passed his helicopter pilot exams while I was visiting. His sister Tyla now manages the social media side of the business from her home in South Africa. Tristan Boehme is the family’s right-hand man and with his skilful marketing holds the key to reaching the tourism sector, without which Okonjima would not be so successful!

The new Plains Camp was completed in June 2014, and that is where I find myself floating in the pool at the start of my visit. In a style that honours the farming tradition of the Hanssen family, a lot of the decor is recycled and tells stories about the farm. Old photographs as well as stunning big cat images adorn the walls, and old windmill-heads now serve as lampshades in the high barn-like ceiling. The camp is large and spacious, with rooms

The Hanssen family’s vision is to provide the definitive guide to island-bound conservation, i.e. an area surrounded by conventional farmers and methods. Their dream is to return the land to the condition it was before humans appeared. Slowly but surely the Hanssens are proving that it is possible to live with predators. The next step is to re-introduce cattle to the park. They will put their hard-won research to good use to test new predator-

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friendly farming methods, thus ensuring the preservation of the land as well as the safety of the animals.

Donna says they have learnt over the years that the key to the future of conservation are children and education. The aim is to assist the farmer and they have found that the farmer’s children play a vital role in changing the mindsets of their parents. Namibia remains one of very few places in the world where farmers and wildlife live side by side.

However, nothing is as simple as it seems when there is humanwildlife conflict and the farmer fears the loss of his livelihood.

Organisations such as AfriCat cannot simply remove predators but are there to support and offer solutions through research.

Okonjima wants to encourage local Namibians to visit the farm and learn about conservation first-hand. This is made easy by the variety of accommodation to choose from, including special offers for Namibians. Okonjima caters for people from all walks of life.

Visit www.okonjima.com for more information, to become a donor and to book your visit! But remember that you will need at least two nights, preferably three, to take it all in. A visit to this special place leaves you with new respect for our endangered predators. TNN

The Barn at Plains Camp

A warthog relaxing in the waterhole at Plains Camp

WHY YOUR VISIT IS IMPORTANT •

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Wildlife conservation and tourism naturally go hand in hand, and tourism remains the cornerstone of success and funding at Okonjima.

All visitors to Okonjima contribute indirectly to the AfriCat Foundation by staying in the lodges and partaking in activities.

Many visitors become donors who contribute directly to the different AfriCat research projects.

Tourism uplifts communities by providing jobs to relatively unskilled people who otherwise may not find work due to lack of skills.

Hospitality comes naturally to African people and is a forgiving industry, one where people can learn on the job.

In remote areas tourism provides income to those who otherwise have no opportunities, and a place of work within their own environment and close to home.

Tourism provides opportunities for upliftment and we often hear heart-warming stories of the general assistant who worked his or her way up to management level.

Did you know that one tourist in Namibia supports 6 to 7 people?*

Senior guide Gideon Lisara explains the finer details of cheetah tracking to guests

The 'farm dam' pool at Plains Camp

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FLOATING OVER THE NAMIB SWAKOPMUND FAT BIKE TOURS Text and photographs Elzanne Erasmus

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here is a magical place on the south-western coast of Africa where tall, towering structures of windswept sand glide in graceful curves to meet a cold and mighty ocean. This place, where a desert meets the sea, is ancient and relentlessly beautiful and has been explored by the ever-curious human spirit for many years.

If you grew up in Namibia you are sure to have many memories of clambering up a dune side, barefoot and excited. The soft sand between your toes propelling you upward to a crest that holds the promise of spectacular views over a magnificent landscape. Maybe you have been lucky enough to explore the dunes in some other way as well. In a 4x4 or on a quadbike?

Maybe you have soared down the face of an especially tall one on a dune board, or perhaps you are even one of those ardent adventurers that has taken off from a dune on a paraglider.

If you have ever visited Namibia and made your way to the quaint coastal towns of Walvis Bay or Swakopmund you may have hopped on the back of a camel and sauntered over this magical sandy landscape, or perhaps you went on a sundowner quadbike drive and watched the sun sink beyond the Atlantic’s far western horizon. If you have not yet been to our special corner of the world you clearly have a lot to look forward to.

Whatever your previous dune experiences may entail, as spectacular as they may have been, whether you climbed or ran

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or motored or cruised up a dune, I have one question for you…

Have you ever floated over one?

In the coastal town of Swakopmund, Mark De Wet and his sister Danielle, both of them mountain biking enthusiasts, discovered the wonders of taking to the dunes in a brand new and exciting way. They made the acquaintance of the fat bike and recognised its ability to effortlessly glide over the soft sand of the Namib. They soon realized that this is an adventure worth sharing and in July 2015 they opened the doors of Swakopmund Fat Bike Tours and set up the bike racks outside the historic Altona House in Daniel Tjongarero Avenue, keen to show locals and tourists alike the marvels of taking to the dunes on these newly acquired wheels.

I mounted my first fat bike on a sunny Tuesday morning this January. Along with a group of family and friends, with Mark as our guide, we set off on a two-hour desert tour. Our little convoy of “fatties” navigated Swakop’s quiet picturesque streets as we made our way to the Swakop River, our gateway to the dune belt that starts on the southern bank. As you cross the relatively hard ground of the dry riverbed, with the soft dunes looming ahead, it is hard to imagine how it would be possible to climb such a mighty heap of sand on a bicycle. Won’t we just sink in? The two hours ahead will surely be spent dragging a heavy bicycle behind you as you laboriously climb a mountain of sand, you figure. Yet, the second my big fat wheels tread the side of the first dune I instantly

FATBIKE ADVENTURES

Fat bikes afford adventurers and mountain biking enthusiasts a new opportunity to explore terrains previously inaccessible. understood why this new cycling fad has become so extremely popular of late. It’s Physics 101 disguised as magic because the wide tread of the tyre allows you to glide effortlessly over the sand.

Mark led us up along the ridges of the Namib dunes and down into the beautiful valleys that lay beneath.

After each stretch of pedalling up the side of another dune we were quite out of breath, only to be left even more breathless by the view of the desert to the south, the ocean to the west and the lovely town to the north.

After we had climbed our first dune, Mark taught us how to float, which we quickly learnt was by far the best way to descend any giant heap of sand. Floating entailed lifting our bums off our seats and heading straight down the face of a tall dune. The speed and the lightness makes it feel as if you are flying. It’s effortless fun and pure joy to float down a dune face. Just be sure to keep your wheels straight and remember the allimportant rule: don’t brake! A little slip won’t send you to the ER though… a fall is quite soft and sandy.

Exhilarating, breathtaking and unbelievably fun.

I am surely spoilt for all future dune adventures, because few things come close to floating across the Namib. TNN

Fat bike touring is the most ecological way to explore the desert’s delicate habitat because there is no noise or air pollution and the tyres’ wider contact area means that the tracks are far shallower than even footprints.

An intermediate fitness level is recommended for this tour, although the guides structure each trip around the physical capabilities of their guests so that even the not-so-fit can be dune adventurers for a day.

Tours depart daily from 8 Altona House, Daniel Tjongarero Avenue, in the town centre, at 8h30, 11h00 and 14h30. You can choose between three different adventures: the Scenic Desert Tour, the “Old city” Swakopmund Tour or the Low-tide Beach Cruise, or you can rent a fat bike or city cruiser for the whole day! For bookings and more information visit www.swakopfatbiketours.com or keep an eye on StayToday for special deals at www.staytoday.com.na.

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www.staytoday.com.na +264 61 420 509 info@staytoday.com.na

discovering namibia starts here accommodation | events | experiences

A day in the life of

A WOODCARVER

Ndjimbu (hand axe) amongst woodshavings

Text and photographs Annabelle Venter

Wooden carvings have been a take-home souvenir from Namibia for as long as I can remember. I was thrilled back in 1988 to f ind just the right drum for my boyfriend (now hubby) in Rundu, and yes, we still have it! Giraffes of all shapes and sizes fly on Air Namibia all the time, albeit often rather large for cabin luggage. But space is always found because you simply can’t go home without one bubble-wrapped!

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o who are the people who make this seemingly endless supply of giraffes and other wooden delights? I decided to stop in nearby Okahandja, where there are two markets, to find out. After briefly perusing them both, I see carvers at only the southern one, having a tea break under a tree. I ask if I may join them and they produce a beautiful round chunk of wood, inviting me to sit down.

Titus, Johannes and Paulus gather round and tell me that they are from the Kavango Region up north and their home language is Chokwe. All of them speak excellent English which makes for smooth communication. They live in the nearby locations just outside Okahandja with their families and try to visit extended family in the Kavango whenever the sales have been good. Clearly they miss their homes up north, a sub-tropical area of big trees and a permanent river where they can fish and enjoy village life.

Titus explains that they source the wood that they use from local businesses and residences. When a tree is felled in town they are

notified and must make their own arrangements to get it to their carving workshop here. Back home in Kavango their families still use the Kiaat, or wild teak, and Rosewood, both of them local hardwood trees. The sustainability of using these slow-growing trees for an ever-growing market has often been questioned, and now the carvers in Okahandja have switched to the Prosopis tree. This originally Mexican tree has many uses and is an alien invasive species in Namibia.

Paulus explains that Prosopis is used by choice these days as it is easier to carve, heavier, stronger and readily available.

Occasionally they find a gum tree, but they point out that the wood cracks too easily and is only good for making large stools.

In the mornings they examine pieces of wood and decide what needs to be made from it. If a tall giraffe is to be made that day, they choose a piece with the right proportions. Paulus is busy carving a three metre giraffe for a client. It will take two weeks to complete and sell for N$ 1500. Some days they choose to make

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Breadboards

Johannes Frans demonstrates how to carve a wooden ladle

Mokoros remind the carvers of home in the Kavango

Johannes Paulus and his 3 meter giraffe

Goatskin stool or Chakakuka

Titus Tjisepo carves an elephant from prosopis wood

smaller giraffes or elephants which are the most popular items, and they are able to complete about five in one day! Hippos are also very popular and bowls remain a firm favourite.

this is how the art of wood carving started. Out of necessity came the creation of objects used in daily life, eventually turning into a business.

Titus says his father taught him to carve when he was little, and the first thing he made was the handle of an axe, called ndjimbu.

Undoubtedly this is the most important skill to learn, since this is the tool they use for their craft. Extremely sharp, I notice, they are all laid carefully under a tree, covered with cloth and weighted down while they have tea. Paulus explains that they do this so that the children don’t see them! These hand axes are a traditional design, used for carving as well as tree felling, depending on which way you insert the blade. With an expert flick of the wrist the blade comes loose and falls out, but it will not come loose while working.

But business is slow today and they tell me that January to March is a quiet time, since it is the low season for visitors. When it isn’t too hot they work from around 7am until 5pm. The site is government property and they can purchase water on-site with a meter-card.

Paulus goes off to find an example of the very first piece he ever carved – a small square stool covered in goatskin, called chakakuka. Johannes is quick to show me the first style he learnt: a wooden spoon and ladle. All essential and useful items,

When I ask Paulus if the prices for various pieces are set, he shakes his head. The price of every single item has to be negotiated and often tourists underestimate the effort and time required to create a piece. He says that they have no choice but to accept the price they are offered. For this reason the men are keen to seek other outlets for their work.

Visit the Namibia Woodcarvers Market on the southern side of Okahandja for your Namibian souvenir. TNN

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WILD WILD

WESTERN ETOSHA Text Elzanne Erasmus Photographs Elzanne Erasmus & Sean McCulloch

To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part.

– Aldo Leopold

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tosha National Park has always been this magical place that surrounds a great white spot on the map, sparkling like a jewel in the crown of Namibia. Visits to the park have for years been spent watching plains game, lions, rhinos, elephants and more on the immense pan and the surrounding savannah. Intermittent paths that veer off the main circuit around the pan are lined with a little more foliage, but the most iconic images of one of Africa’s most popular parks are the stark open landscapes or animals covered in tell-tale white mud that roam the land like ghosts. In fact, until very recently there was no popularised notion or name for the blank edges on the map of Etosha National Park that lie to the west of the pan. No one ever really spoke of that part. It was rarely mentioned in stories or in National Geographic’s

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Attenborough-esque documentaries, probably due to the fact that Western Etosha had for the most part been closed to the public. Like a blank space on the map, Western Etosha is one of the country’s best-kept secrets. Its wilderness waiting to be explored.

JUST LEFT OF THE GREAT WHITE PLACE Since the opening of NWR’s Dolomite Resort in 2010, guests of the lodge pass through this part of the park en route to the resort. In February 2014, Olifantsrus Camp and the road leading to it were opened to the public, along with the new Galton Gate on the western border of Etosha. Today the gates of Western Etosha are thrown wide open for all to enjoy its wild and wonderful landscapes. Etosha, “the great

white place� in the Ndonga language, gets its name from the characteristic pan which is so large that it can even be seen from space. If you venture a few kilometres west of Okaukuejo, however, The Great White Place trades its iconic salty white expanse for mopane woodland, lots of grass and largely undiscovered wilderness.

Regular visitors to Etosha National Park have most likely become accustomed to the way in which plains game have claimed the park as their own. You have no right of way on the gravel roads traversing the park. This is their kingdom, their territory, and you in your measly metal machine can sit and wait for them to cross in their hundreds and at their leisure. This is not the case in western Etosha. Unaccustomed

to the regular throng of motor vehicles, antelope stick to the dense bush and grasslands, making themselves visible only in scattered bursts of activity as the rare oncoming traffic spooks them out of their reverie. Glimpses of herds of wildebeest, red hartebeest, zebra and a few kudu were all we saw of the game that inhabit or meander along the gravel road through this side of Namibia’s most famous national park.

RARE, ENDANGERED AND THE ODD SPOTTED FRIENDS Olifantsrus Camp was officially opened in February 2014.

Situated 130km from Okaukuejo and just 60km from Galton Gate it serves as the perfect stopover for nature and camping lovers who travel through this part of the park. Olifantsrus

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A wooden boardwalk leads to the state-of-the-art hide

A spotted hyena - always a curious critter

European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

From its unruly vegetation, to the boisterous herds of animals unaccustomed to people, the wildness of this part of the park lends a special charisma to the experience.

is the only establishment in the park that caters solely to campers. On the road to the camp we were treated to amazing sightings despite the wild nature of the critters in the bush. One special wild friend made quite a few appearances along the way… the spotted hyena. Peeking out from between the branches of young mopane trees or leisurely napping in the shade of a bush, we saw these speckled carnivores a few times during our journey.

Another pair of oddballs that you don’t see every day crossed in front of our car just a few kilometres from the camp. Bright and early in the morning, two honey badgers darted across the road, short on each other’s tails as they made headway into the bush.

Not a common site on a safari, especially not in broad daylight.

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Our day at Olifantsrus was both relaxed and riveting. The camp has 10 beautifully laid out campsites, each equipped with power points, clean running water, a braai and a mopane tree or two.

The ablutions are close-by and still new and shiny and the reception area and kiosk provide you with all the necessities, including snacks, drinks and even breakfast and small meals.

There are also shaded wooden picnic spots for day visitors on their way to their next destination. The camp is fenced-in to keep the carnivores at a safe distance from your evening braai.

DESERTIFICATION, OVER-POPULATION AND OTHER BIG WORDS The history of the camp is blemished by the controversial topic of elephant culling. In the 80s, during the period of

ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK

South African military presence in what was then South West Africa, an increase in elephant poaching in the north-western regions caused elephants to flee to the south and east, into Etosha National Park. This resulted in the compression of the elephant population. After much deliberation the decision was made to follow the example of the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Culling took place in an attempt to decelerate desertification brought on by an over-population of elephants, which threatened the survival of other species, including the endangered black rhinoceros.

OUR IVORY TOWER‌ NO PUN INTENDED One aspect of the camp far outshines the rest, however. The hero of the story. The real MVP. The Olifantsrus hide and waterhole. The tower-like structure is situated just outside the boundary line. A boardwalk leads from inside the camp and over the fence to the second storey of the hide. The manmade waterhole forms a half-moon around the base of the

tower. When perched in your seat like royalty you are treated to an unobstructed view of animals quenching their thirst right below you. We must have spent at least eight to ten hours lazing in our castle on the western plains. Oryx, red hartebeest, secretary birds and jackals came and went. At dusk, as the setting sun painted the sky with one of the most dramatic displays of colour I have ever seen, three large silhouettes appeared on the northern horizon. Trunks pointed towards the sky picking up the smell of aqua in the air. For more than half an hour we watched the group of elephant bulls make their long journey to the waterhole, which just goes to show the extent of the view one is afforded from up there. The bulls spent an hour drinking at the waterhole, occasionally lifting their trunks to take a sniff in our direction. Red floodlights lit the site without deterring the animals. When the sun had set completely, another very welcome guest joined the party. A black rhinoceros bull sauntered up to the waterhole from the west. He had a scrape along the side of his body, a battle scar

from a fight, probably with a lion, on a day past long since. It branded him a winner, a fighter, a survivor, which is something rhinos in Namibia really have to work at these days. The scar tissue built up along the wound showed its age, though his skittish nature made us wonder if the scare was still fresh. He kept raising his head to peer into the darkness above where we hid in the shadows, and even though he couldn’t see us he smelt us and knew we were there. We spent what felt like ages staring in stunned disbelief at the ivory-bearers. We felt so lucky. They were so close. The experience so unreal.

Had I been inclined to stretch out my arm and had one of the elephants been in the mood to stretch out his trunk we could have touched in a very Sistine Chapel/ET-like moment of connection.

BE A TRAVELLER, NOT A TOURIST John Muir was once quoted as saying: “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest of wilderness”. I have been to Etosha many times before, seen many great things and experienced moments that will never leave me. But now there is a very special place in my heart for the mopane woodland and grasslands that are stretched out west of the pan. From its unruly vegetation to the boisterous herds of animals unaccustomed to people, the wildness of this part of the park lends a special charisma to the experience. For years we have been spoilt for choice, now the beauty lies in the fleeting glimpses, the priceless moments that disappear as quickly as they came. Take the left turn and embrace the adventure that is the wild side of Etosha National Park. TNN

DID YOU KNOW? Like a monument the Olifantsrus Field Abattoir rises from the plains as a historic landmark, towering over the camp. Between 1983 and 1985, 525 elephants were culled here. The carcasses were processed at the field abattoir, an enormous metal structure. The process was not carried out lightly and three conditions had been set: 1. Entire elephant herds (family units) had to be disposed of rapidly, so that there would be as little disturbance and trauma as possible 2. Optimum utilization of the entire animal was essential 3. As much scientific data as possible was to be be obtained from the culling.

“Taking the life of an animal, let alone entire herds of a species regarded as highly intelligent, is a decision made only after careful analysis and circumspection. No wildlife manager or game ranger enjoys such a task that is only undertaken on the basis of a holistic assessment” – from the Olifantsrus Information Centre.

Red floodlights provide illumination without deterring animals

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A black rhino bull sneaks a few sips

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COOKING among Elephants Text and photographs Christie Keulder

Anyone who’s ever travelled through the north-western part of our country will know that it is extremely barren and harsh. This world is old, very old. About two billion years old.

Gneiss and granite in truly spectacular formations seem to be the only things that have managed to survive centuries of nature’s stubborn forces.

B

ut take a closer look. “N’tumbo” is what locals called it.

Welwitschia Mirabilis is how it is known today.

It seems to have no real natural enemies (other than humans), which explains why it lives for a thousand years or more. Then there are the various types of Commiphora and the Moringa. The list goes on.

Animals have adapted equally well. Nature’s biggest land mammals - elephant and rhinoceros – live here and most plains game are found in huge numbers.

When you travel through this odd old world make sure you have the right companion. Especially if you’re a photographer who demands frequent, unscheduled stops along the way. Then, returning to the vehicle 30 minutes later claiming that all the good light is gone, can only make things worse.

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Just like life itself, this is no casual journey and no amount of synthetic companionship will do. Someone who cannot appreciate personal and natural space and requires continuous verbal communication to avoid the embedded silence of this part of the world stands a good chance of being murdered along the way. By me personally, that is.

Someone who thinks the essence of life is about demanding and taking will go the same route. For in this old world you are a mere visitor, a temporary presence caught in an ancient rhythm.

It requires patience and selflessness, for here only the humble can be free.

Human impositions often fail. Hillsides are dotted with halfcompleted lodges inspired by dreams of grandeur and wealth.

Over there is a newly-built, already abandoned clinic, rejected by its foreign sponsors because it was built with crooked walls.

FOODIES Access to health care and crooked walls are incompatible in the eyes of foreign aid, or so at least it seems.

It was early afternoon when we arrived at a campsite. Looking for some shade and cover, we spotted him. A man truly at home in this old world. A prospector and poet. Sitting on a canvass chair with his back to the river and, as always, surrounded by rocks.

It had been awhile since I’d last seen him. His hair and beard had grown, covering most of what was once a young man’s proud torso. It was no longer black but grey. “I have tried making your olive bread several times, but each time it was a fuck-up”.

Such is the manner of his greeting. Handshakes are deemed superfluous…

concluded the meal were a special concession to us.

Later when she turned the car around so that the open back was no longer facing the river, our friend explained that she’s scared of elephants, too. As it turned out, her fear stems from past experience when a few of these majestic giants paid this very campsite a surprise visit.

Back home I thought a lot about our little reunion. I am sure that Nom with her fear of mosquitoes and elephants will be fine in the old world, for she understands that she cannot impose herself on it. Minor precautions are the limit of what we can achieve. TNN

“She does not like mosquitoes”, and with a nod to the side he introduced his companion. She’s from a faraway land with no real command of English. Let us call her Nom. At sunset our friend quietly took an electric rice cooker and headed for the camp office. Dinner was approaching.

I watched Nom as she collected a large box from the car. In no time she’d unpacked a vast array of ingredients and containers.

In a blur of chopping and mixing, and over a single gas flame, she produced a number of dishes from her exotic land: stir-fried noodles with prawns, deep-fried omelets with marinated sweet cucumbers, rice with small, pea-like aubergines and a fragrant chilli sauce called nam prik. The crackers and cream cheese that

Thai Green Curry with chicken, baby corn, runner beans and pea-eggplant

Female Welwitschia mirabilis

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L

ying before us and filling our view is the mighty Hohenstein Mountain, translated as ‘highest stone’, or highest peak of the Erongo range. It’s lunchtime and even the birds are taking a siesta, so we take their cue for a nap after greeting the staff and checking into our comfortable room.

Our hosts for the next 24 hours are Karin and Ralph who manage the lodge at present. Hohenstein Lodge, part of the Ondili group, lies on the western side of the Erongo range and is just 25km north of Usakos. The lodge offers several activities including bird watching (it’s a birding hotspot for Namibian endemics), fat biking and walking trails, but the special attraction is the guided trip to visit the small miners of the Erongo Mountains.

After tea at 3pm, our guide Jansen takes us on an interesting half hour’s drive in an open Landrover to the base of the mountain to start our ascent, armed with sunhats and water.

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Up through the ‘Boulder Forest‘ we go, taking in the expansive scenery that unfolds behind and below us. It’s a gentle climb but one should wear closed shoes. Beautiful trees abound and we identify at least three species of commiphoras. Above us little green parrots rush past, filling the air with loud shrieks - it’s nesting time! These rosy-faced lovebirds are an endemic Namibian species and their home range is the Erongo area. We also spot another endemic, a pair of mating Rüppell’s parrots, during our stay.

An hour later we stop and Jansen makes a phone call to let the miners know that we are on our way. He points to a specific rock up the mountain where we would see the men waving. Searching the mountain side with our eyes we have no idea how far or near we should look. But suddenly they snap into view – still a way to go, but Jansen assures us it’s just a short stroll now! Several boulders further on we finally meet the small group of men plus two dogs and a cat, waiting together on a flat rock in the fading

SMALL MINING IN THE ERONGO MOUNTAINS Text and photographs Annabelle Venter

Just 3 hours after leaving Windhoek, and several years since we last visited the Erongo mountains, my husband ’s f irst words on arrival are how he ‘feels the silence and peace washing over him’.

light. I take in the view. Spectacular and vast, to the far west the Spitzkoppe mountain is just visible in the sinking sun.

We follow Jansen between the boulders and suddenly we are amidst the miners – each sitting quietly beside his display of gemstones. It’s like entering a sacred spot and momentarily we feel like intruders, although this is where they usually receive tourists. Understandably they are a little hesitant at first, but when we start speaking our common language, Afrikaans, the ice is broken.

Arnold Somaeb is the spokesperson and we are in his cave. He is from Khorixas and says he has worked in several other areas before coming to this spot in the Erongo in 2011.

Ricardo Awaseb arrived here in 2000 from Angola and works with his son Ronnie. They explain that the men work in teams of three to four, because co-operation is the key to success and

survival on the mountain. Ronnie says he has tried lots of other jobs in Windhoek but doesn’t like the city life. Besides, he says, the money is better on the mountain and he has a girlfriend in Usakos. Two others make up the group today. Josef Kalembila first worked the Kleine Spitzkoppe and Brandberg, and Kaaro Tjambiru joined the digs from Opuwo.

Ricardo is the longest resident here and explains that most of their excavation work takes place at an altitude of 1800m, which is a lot higher than where we are sitting! The summit is 2319m above sea level, which is a dangerous altitude with smooth granite sides and slippery slopes. Visitors are not generally taken there. The small miners work mostly in the early and late hours of the day when it is not too hot. Often they continue at night when the temperatures drop, using headlamps and torches to negotiate the slopes.

Small miners are defined by the fact that they use hand tools and occasionally a drill and generator, but no heavy machinery.

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Arnold shows the vein where they insert a metal rod to determine the direction it runs

Rosy-faced lovebirds

A vein of black tourmaline

Erongo fluorite

Kaaro Tjambiru and 'Aqua' share a quiet moment

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This determines how deep they can excavate. Arnold explains that they start by looking for a black tourmaline vein on the granite surface. If it has a little hole next to it, they will insert a metal probe to see in what direction it runs. Alongside this vein lie the sought-after pockets of aquamarine, quartz crystals, tourmaline and fluorite. If they feel that there is potential, excavation will start and they’ll create a hole or tunnel just a bit wider than the human body, following the vein along its course.

Four or five times a year they might be lucky to strike a pocket with collectors’ quality gemstones. Big pockets are rare and the last time they found one was in 2010.

It is dangerous work and the oxygen diminishes the deeper they dig. Sometimes their excavations go down to 20 or 30 metres where it is also extremely humid. There is the added risk of faulty ropes and several miners have fallen to their deaths in these mountains.

But the men remain philosophical about their lifestyle and say they wouldn’t change it for anything. When I ask them why, the unanimous reply is that there is no rush or pressure and they work for themselves. When it is too hot they rest, but they can also work all night if they like. They love the silence and solitude up here.

Once or twice a year they go home but always look forward to returning. It is a hard slog but they feel that it is well worth it and that only a very special type of person chooses this lifestyle.

Arnold says the toughest part of their work is drawing water out of old excavations in buckets on ropes, collecting firewood down on the plain below and carrying all their food and supplies up from the road about 6kms away.

The specimens that we see are souvenir quality. So how do they sell their collectors pieces? Ricardo explains that in the nearby towns they have ‘agents’ who lend them equipment for drilling but take the pockets to sell. Hence the miners have little control over the selling price and must accept what the agent gives them.

The guided tours from the lodge, however, are now bringing potential clients to them and with smart phones and Whatsapp the miners have direct access to clients locally and even overseas. Therefore it is in their interest to own their equipment and exclude the middleman. Arnold has already bought a generator and is saving for a jackhammer. Ronnie says that a hammer which they can service themselves costs about N$ 12 000 to N$ 16 000 and is out of their reach at the moment.

During our conversations with the miners we are aware of a sense of calm camaraderie. They help each other in times of crisis but respect each other’s spaces. Even the dogs and the charming cat called Aqua sleep contentedly through our visit, occasionally stretching among sparkling stones.

Arnold takes a long look into the distance and says he is happy here but he has a dream. He shows us an image of goats on his phone and says that is his dream – to farm with goats back home.

We are reluctant to leave but the light is fading. Bidding us farewell, Arnold tells us how much he enjoyed our visit and being able to speak with us in Afrikaans! As we clamber over the first boulders I turn to wave goodbye but the mountain has already swallowed them and silence fills the air.

Later that evening, after a delicious dinner at the lodge, I sit outside our room and gaze at the mountain. I can just make out tiny lights flickering on the slopes and I feel a special respect for the people up there. I would love to return and explore their fascinating world with them. TNN

Gifts to take along for the men on your guided tour, if you can: Clothes, tinned food and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Watch this amazing movie about the miners’ lives, made by the son of the current owners. www.hohensteinlodge.com/english/gallery/videos.

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BOOK REVIEW

AFRICA BITES Review by Ginger Mauney

Africa bites. It also charges, spits venom in your face, roars so deeply that the ground shakes, and it draws people from around the world who long to be touched by its magic.

Lloyd Camp’s Africa Bites – Scrapes and escapes in the African Bush brings all of this to life in an engaging compilation of stories that take the reader to the heart of multiple African safaris.

Africa Bites is a book of joy found in three concurrent parts – the natural world, the people who live and work in these wild places, and the people who travel to share them if only for a brief time.

The pleasure of reading Africa Bites is that Camp treats all three elements with respect, humour and a touch of awe.

From Botswana’s watery wilds to vast stretches of Namibian deserts and deep into the heart of central Africa’s forest, Camp writes with knowledge and a passion for the natural world that defines these extraordinary places.

With more than 20 years’ experience as a safari guide, Camp also takes readers behind the scenes of safari operations where laughter, hard work and even the occasional doctor prevail. This is the “back of house”, a place that few tourists see, but Camp’s stories make the reader feel right at home there.

The “front of house” is what guests experience. This is where the beauty of the African bush is reflected through the décor, the food and the long, thoughtful nights spent around the campfire. This is part of the allusion that draws people to Africa, but in Africa Bites, Camp sees past the surface to understand why guests are really drawn to Africa, and then, as the best guides do, he does his best to make sure that his guests have experiences that meet this longing and thus creates safaris that will be remembered for a lifetime.

My favourite short story in the book is Touched. It’s Jake’s story. Camp writes about Jake, this charming 79-year-old client who dreams of seeing Mountain Gorillas. While I don’t want to give the story away, the last line is: “I have been waiting all my life to meet you.” It rang deep and true to my own experiences and I imagine it will have the same effect on others who truly long to connect with nature.

Africa Bites reminds us that the adventure, the fun and the awe that Africa inspires are ours if we open our eyes and dare to explore.

Purchase Africa Bites online at www.amazon.com. TNN

THE MYSTERIOUS LONE MEN

of Kaokoland

Text and photographs Ron Swilling

Namibia’s far north-western reaches have always held mysteries and marvels. A new mystery has recently emerged, leaving all spectators intrigued - and curious.

A

s one of the last remaining wilderness areas in Africa, it attracts hard-core travellers and explorers. It appeals to those who have already travelled the main tarmac arteries through the country and the myriad gravel tracks that branch off them like fibrous roots. Kaokoland, as this remote and inhospitable region (now part of the Kunene Region) is known historically, has always been the Wild West of Namibia. And for those self-sufficient and experienced 4x4 travellers who venture further afield, it’s a desert Eden of mysteries and marvels.

This pocket of wonders includes the strikingly beautiful Himba people, wizened desert elephants, robust rhinos and elusive desert lions. It is home to the remarkable life forms

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that have developed ingenious survival mechanisms over time to live with a minimal supply of water, like the intriguing and hardy welwitschia (considered a living fossil) and the handsome gemsbok. It also includes extraordinary sights like Epupa Falls where the crocodile-infested Kunene River roars over rugged rocks lined by a bevy of baobabs, the enigmatic fairy circles that look as if they could have been created by aliens, magnetic fields, poisonous euphorbias, termites, fungi – or fairies, the wild expanses of the Marienfluss and Hartmann’s Valley as well as a section of the ancient Namib Desert, the Skeleton Coast, where many a ship came to grief.

That’s quite a list, and I could go on... But, a new mystery has recently emerged, one that adds to the atmosphere of this fascinating desert wilderness: the Lone Men of Kaokoland.

In the last year there have been more and more sightings of these nearly life-size rock sculptures, created with masterful artistry and a deep sense of place, giving the appearance that they have sprung from the earth. Made from the rock prevailing in the area, they blend in perfectly with their surroundings and take on different poses, catching you by surprise with their lifelike gait or posture. One figure sits on a hill top, surveying the arid landscape, another one – referred to as the Dapper Stapper – strolls across the stony plains carrying a bundle on the end of a stick like an old-time traveller, another appears to be deep in thought, while yet another strides across the rugged land with a strong sense of purpose. Each figure has an aluminium disc attached to it, with a number and a message as to where it is going.

Although a sculpture numbered 27 has been seen (and I won’t divulge its whereabouts), only nine Lone Men have been found so far. One person claims to have found another five, but won’t say anything else. The sculptures have been spotted along the road on the routes between Puros in the south, Van Zyl’s Pass in the east, Otjinungua in the north and the Skeleton Coast Park in the west.

Several questions immediately spring to mind: who made these stone figures and why, how many are there and where are the others? But as with any good mystery, no-one knows.

Or, if someone does, they aren’t saying. Meanwhile, the Lone Men are gaining cult or celebrity status (well, by Kaokoland standards, that is). For some it’s become an exciting treasure

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hunt (a bit like geocaching without the GPS, which would obviously spoil all the fun!), while others want to include them in their trip around western Kaokoland or plan their itinerary around them. I recently overheard a conversation among a group of bikers who are planning a bike ride to visit all the stone men. The mysterious Lone Men have also surreptitiously sneaked their way into the list of highlights and ‘must-do’s’ for travellers visiting the Kaokoland and even the top 11 things to do in Namibia, according to 99FM. Exploring the country to find the Lone Men has found its way onto their list along with climbing Big Daddy at Sossusvlei and taking a drive through Etosha! OK, the adventure of seeking the Lone Men stands eleventh on the list, but, surprisingly, it is there.

People are calling the mysterious Lone Men, Art (with a capital A). A blog article entitled Forgotten Art Fuels Curiosity in an Unforgiving Desert refers to them as pieces of art in an open-air art gallery where the visitor has to alight from his vehicle and enter the gallery to experience them properly. One sculpture, in particular, is gaining appreciative attention in art circles. There is no doubt that the creator of the Lone Men is an artist, and a sensitive one at that. He (or she) has created form and character with scant material, keeping the sculptures natural and authentic. The artist also appears to be environmentally aware and has not littered the landscape with sculptural clutter. The Lone Men are rather unobtrusively dotted through a vast area, simply-made and subtly placed.

As far as the locals are concerned, it is said that the Himba are completely unperturbed by the appearance or presence of the stone figures.

Legends and tales are now being generated, as happens with all great secrets, and are starting to float on the breeze. Rumour has it that the stone sculptures were once men whose love for the land was so great that they were transformed to stone and destined to be part of the unforgettable landscape forever.

Maybe...

Several blogs, websites and Facebook pages mention the Lone Men and some ask travellers to send their images, so that all of them can be found in a common effort. Perhaps they will.

Or, perhaps they won’t. After all, the delight, intrigue and allure of a good mystery is that it is never solved. Not so? TNN

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Photo © Paul van Schalkwyk

Namibia. Wild at heart.

An untamed wilderness that will always leave you spoilt for choice.

Mother Nature is waiting for you.

NAMIBIA – Head office C/O Haddy & Sam Nujoma Drive Private Bag 13244, Windhoek Tel: +264 61 290 6000 Fax: +264 61 25 4848 Email: info@namibiatourism.com.na www.namibiatourism.com.na

GERMANY Schillerstrasse 42 – 44, D – 60313 Frankfurt am Main, Tel: +49 69 1337 360 Fax: +49 69 1337 3615 Email: info@namibia-tourism.com www.namibia-tourism.com

SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Ground floor, The Pinnacle Burg Street, P O. Box 739 Tel: +27 21 422 3298 Fax: +27 21 422 5132 Email: namibia@saol.com

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