Archive for the ‘General’ Category
The salt sellers of Cape Cross
March 2nd, 2011 | 
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Posted in Head northwards from Swakopmund on the west coast of Namibia, travelling along the well known “Skeleton Coast”, and after 100 km or so, as you approach Cape Cross, (home to a wonderful seal colony), you may find an assortment of very basic, unmanned, tables set up at the side of the road. These rickety tables support a rather interesting-looking collection of crystals. If you stop and inspect these crystals – and you should! – you will find that they are crystals of rock salt that are harvested from the surrounding area.
These aggregates of salt crystals are for sale on an honesty system; if you take one you are honour bound to deposit the correct amount of money in the tin provided. The salt sellers return to the tables at the end of each day to collect the money and to replace any of the stock that has been sold.
Known as halite, or rock salt, these isometric crystals of sodium chloride may be colourless, white, light blue, pink, orange, yellow or gray depending on the type and quantity of impurities present. These variations in colour add to their charm.
The road north of Henties Bay (a small but rapidly expanding settlement north of Swakopmund) is known from its construction as a “salt road” and is as smooth as tar, but is, of course, devoid of road markings, being constructed of gravel and salt. When wet it can be very slippery and it carries a speed restriction as a result.
The global production of salt (sodium chloride – NaCl) is in excess of 210 million tons per annum, of which less than 6% is for human consumption. The rest is for industrial use. In the big picture, Namibia is a relatively small player in the global market, producing around 700 thousand tons per annum, or approximately 0.33% of the worldwide production. At the large salt-works not far from Cape Cross salt is mined on a commercial scale.
Salt is also produced in Namibia through the evaporation of water from sea water, for example in the large open pans near Walvis Bay. The climate of Walvis Bay being conducive to rapid evaporation, these salt pans are quite extensive, covering over 3,500 hectares and producing more than 400 thousand tons of high quality salt annually. At the time of our visit, the water in the pans from which the evaporation was taking place varied in colour from the expected pale blue to an eerie pink that looked totally unnatural.
Known as halite, or rock salt, these isometric crystals of sodium chloride may be colourless, white, light blue, pink, orange, yellow or gray depending on the type and quantity of impurities present. These variations in colour add to their charm.
The road north of Henties Bay (a small but rapidly expanding settlement north of Swakopmund) is known from its construction as a “salt road” and is as smooth as tar, but is, of course, devoid of road markings, being constructed of gravel and salt. When wet it can be very slippery and it carries a speed restriction as a result.
The global production of salt (sodium chloride – NaCl) is in excess of 210 million tons per annum, of which less than 6% is for human consumption. The rest is for industrial use. In the big picture, Namibia is a relatively small player in the global market, producing around 700 thousand tons per annum, or approximately 0.33% of the worldwide production. At the large salt-works not far from Cape Cross salt is mined on a commercial scale.
Salt is also produced in Namibia through the evaporation of water from sea water, for example in the large open pans near Walvis Bay. The climate of Walvis Bay being conducive to rapid evaporation, these salt pans are quite extensive, covering over 3,500 hectares and producing more than 400 thousand tons of high quality salt annually. At the time of our visit, the water in the pans from which the evaporation was taking place varied in colour from the expected pale blue to an eerie pink that looked totally unnatural.
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The Ju/’hoansi Bushmen of Tsumkwe
We came across the Ju/’hoansi Bushmen at Graskop quite by chance. We’d been traveling on the C44 towards Tsumkwe when we were stopped at a veterinary check point. After exchanging pleasantries with the official on duty for a few minutes, I asked where the best place was to see authentic Bushmen. He told us to turn off about 700 metres further on and follow the road until we reached a settlement. Six kilometres later, after negotiating a very sandy track lined with beautiful Mangetti trees and sparse bushveld, we arrived at the settlement, known as the Living Museum of the Ju/’Hoansi San.
This open-air museum was initiated by a Namibian tour guide called Werner Pfeifer in 2004 and was the first of its kind in Namibia. It is a sustainable way for the Bushmen to earn a living in their harsh and remote environment, whilst promoting tourism and teaching visitors about their hunter-gatherer way of life. A number of other similar museums have since been established throughout Namibia.
A friendly young lady greeted us and said that she would be our guide once we had chosen the tour that we wanted. I was keen to see the Ju/’hoansi singing and dancing around a campfire, which incorporated a demonstration of how they go into a trance and contact their ancestors for healing and advice. We were then taken to a nearby area with grass huts, where we were joined by six other Ju/’hoansi, wearing only animal skins and deep wrinkles.
Our guide spoke perfect English and Afrikaans, and translated for us when we asked questions of the medicine man who clicked away in his native tongue. What an emotional and exciting time this was for Rob and me.
The tour started with a demonstration of how they start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. Fires are always lit prior to any ceremonies that are held. Whilst the sticks were being vigorously rubbed together, the Ju/’hoansi sang and spoke to their ancestors, asking for help with the process. After an amazingly short time the dry grass was smoking and by blowing softly they coaxed a fire to life.
We were then shown how arrows are made, and how a spear can be shaped using an axe that doubles up as a pipe when the axe-head is removed. (Apparently rabbit droppings are used as part of the tobacco mixture for their pipes.) The lightweight arrows are not strong enough to kill the larger animals, so the Ju/’hoansi paint their arrow shafts with poison derived from the larva and pupae of chrysomelid beetles. Up to ten larvae are applied to the arrow. The poison is not put on the arrowhead itself in case the arrow maker accidentally poisons himself.
The Ju/’hoansi then showed us their trance dance where they go into an altered state of consciousness and sing and dance around the fire, all the while calling upon their ancestors. I found the healing part of the dance very similar to Reiki in the way that the medicine man used his hands. Participation in their activities is encouraged and we were delighted when they asked us if we wanted to come up for healing. I went first and after placing his hand on my head, the medicine man then took my head between his hands and blew onto my forehead and both cheeks. He then gathered the bad energy in my body and flung it away into the air, clearing me and my aura. He did the same for Rob. What a privilege to be part of such a special ceremony with such a lovely group of indigenous people.
At the end of the proceedings, the medicine man astounded me by picking up a hot coal from the fire and rubbing it in his armpits. Later I could have kicked myself for not asking why he did this – was it a means of deodorizing his body on a hot day? And how come he didn’t burn himself?
We purchased a handmade bead necklace that was on sale before bidding these amazing people farewell. Our biggest regret was that we had such a short time there. They have a basic campsite under large Mangetti trees (no water available) and offer tours where one can spend time with them tracking animals, gathering food and making snares and crafts – in other words getting to experience their way of life. We have to go back sometime as we would dearly love to spend time out in the bush with them – but it will have to be in winter as the summer months are unbearably hot.
TO SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THE JU/’HOANSI SAN click here.
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The Bizarre Welwitschia
In June 2009 the Daily Telegraph in the UK ran a competition in their gardening section to find the “World’s Ugliest Plant”. The competition was won by the Corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) (no surprise there!) and coming in in fourth position with 12% of the votes was the Tree Tumbo (Welwitschia mirabilis). For me there were two surprises in that result. Firstly, in Namibia I have never heard the Welwitschia referred to as a Tree Tumbo, although this is apparently quite common in Angola, and secondly, I really hadn’t thought of it as an “ugly” plant. Bizarre, perhaps. Weird, perhaps. Certainly fascinating. But not really ugly.
So, just what is a Welwitschia mirabilis? Well, the Welwitschia was discovered by the Austrian botanist Friedrich Welwitsch, in 1859 in the Namib Desert of southern Angola. Thomas Baines, the well known artist and traveller, seems to have been the first European to take note of the plants in what is now Namibia, finding his first example of the plant in the dry bed of the Swakop River in1861. Welwitsch sent the first material of Welwitschia to Kew Gardens in 1862, and it was eventually named in his honour. The species name mirabilis means extraordinary, marvellous or wonderful in Latin.
The Welwitschia is limited in distribution to a narrow strip of the Namib Desert, stretching about 1 000 km northwards from the Kuiseb River in central Namibia into southern Angola. They are seldom found more than 150 km from the coast, and their distribution coincides with the fog belt, on which they are heavily dependant for their survival.
This extraordinary plant produces only two leaves that continue to grow throughout the life of the plant, reaching a length of up to four metres. Over time these leaves become split along their lengths and as they lie around the plant in a seemingly disorganized jumble, the fact that there are only two leaves is often not obvious. Although the age of the plants is difficult to assess, they live a long time and some of the older examples are thought to be in the vicinity of 2,000 years old. The largest recorded plants are to be found in the Messum Crater and on the Welwitschia Plains in Namibia. Strangely, the largest plants are found in the drier southern part of the range, with the plants in the wetter north being significantly smaller.
Welwitschias are dioecious, which means that there are separate male and female plants, and fertilization takes place through the transfer of pollen from the male to the female by insects that are attracted to the plants. They are classified as gymnosperms, although they differ quite considerably from other gymnosperms and have been placed in their own family, and are perhaps the last survivors of the plants from the Jurassic period when gymnosperms were dominant amongst the world’s flora.
Welwitschias are highly adapted to grow under the arid conditions of the Namib Desert in those areas receiving regular fog. Fog is formed along the west coast of southern Africa when the cold Benguela Current, making its way northwards along the coast, meets the hot air coming off the desert. The fog builds up during the night and dissipates by mid-morning. During this time, the fog condenses on the broad leaves of the Welwitschia and trickles downwards; thus each plant waters its own root system. In addition, the leaves are able to absorb some of the water directly, courtesy of the stomata located on the leaves. Rainfall along the stretch of coast favoured by the Welwitschia is very low and somewhat erratic, with no rain at all falling some years, and “good” years receiving up to 100 mm. The plants are equipped with very long taproots, reaching down up to 30 metres, to take maximum advantage of what little water is available.
These fascinating plants are featured on the coat-of-arms of the Republic of Namibia.
WORLD CUP SOCCER 2010 – PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN
Soccer fever has hit South Africa with a vengeance and any description of the happy spirit prevailing in the country at the moment would be a gross understatement! It is absolutely staggering to see how this has drawn the people together in an atmosphere of co-operation and national pride. If nothing else, it will prove to be one of the loudest and most colourful World Cups ever.
South Africa has been waiting in joyful anticipation for June 11 2010, the start of the first World Cup Soccer event hosted on the African continent. This is a truly auspicious occasion for a third world country and our nation can be justifiably proud of being given the honour of leading the way in this regard.
As South Africans who can only watch from afar, we at Wilkinson’s World wish our national team, Bafana Bafana, all the very best as they take on the heavyweights in the world soccer arena. All eyes will be on them as they represent our beautiful country and, like the rest of South Africa, Namibia and the neighbouring countries, we will be blowing our vuvuzelas and waving our flags for them.
We wish the visiting teams and supporters a wonderful trip to South Africa and hope that the many happy memories that they take back home with them afterwards will draw them back to this amazing part of the world sometime again in the future.
GO BAFANA ! GO! GO! GO!
Only in Africa
There are some pretty elaborate irrigation schemes out in the world today, but we came across a rather ingenious and typically African one on a visit to a farm in Namibia recently.
Namibians never take rain or water for granted, so when it comes to watering their vegetables without any wastage, they ‘make a plan.’
Check out this system of canals using wine bottles.
The wine bottles are removed or placed to restrict the flow to a given area. Not only can the side channels be blocked by a wine bottle, but the centre makes provision for that as well, allowing the water to go only as far as they want it to.
And of course the best part of all is that they get to polish off all those bottles of wine. How’s that for smart!!!
Talking of wine – the whole world knows that the soccer World Cup will be held in South Africa this year. To commemorate this Nederberg have brought out a special gift pack – Rob was fortunate enough to be given one by a colleague visiting him from South Africa.
And now the big dilemma …. do we drink the wine or save it as a collector’s item? Decisions, decisions!!!
Cheers!
