Wilkinson's World

Posts Tagged ‘San Bushmen’

We’ve written before about how our love of birds has taken us all over the country.  We’ve just returned from yet another trip that was moulded around seeing breeding colonies of the strikingly beautiful Carmine bee-eaters and rare African Skimmers.  It all started in June when we attended a travel exposition in Windhoek and discovered a company offering greatly reduced prices if one purchased accommodation at any of their country lodges.   We promptly bought six nights and then looked at where to go to cover previously unchartered territory and new birding experiences.

We were excited to see that they had a lodge at Tsumkwe, on the far north-eastern side of Namibia, in an area that is totally off the beaten track.   They had a second lodge, Namushasha, in that direction, in the Caprivi region, where we have wanted to see the Carmine bee-eaters, so it seemed logical to plot our trip with these two lodges in mind.  Having mentioned our plans to some folks we met at a dinner party, we learned that from Tsumkwe, one could go straight into Botswana through a small and relatively unknown border post at Dobe, and then cut up north to Namushasha, instead of backtracking to the main road and driving all the way across the Caprivi.  This valuable information saved us hundreds of kilometers of traveling and shortened our journey considerably.

Tsumkwe is a remote and tiny village just south of the Khaudum National Park.  It only has one general dealer store and a garage that restocks its fuel supplies once a week, so you have to be careful to carry enough fuel in case they have run out on your arrival.  It is also an area well-known for the few remaining San Bushmen (Ju/’hoansi tribe) who live there, and a number of living museums where Bushmen, dressed traditionally, give the public a glimpse into their lives, ancient spiritual beliefs and how they survive off the land.  These Bushmen will be the subject of an entire blog as we spent a delightful time with them on a very hot Saturday afternoon.

The lodge at Tsumkwe is quite basic but comfortable, and the food is excellent.  We were amused to see, on entering our chalet that the washbasin, cupboards and dressing table were all made from 44 gallon drums.  How innovative is that!  They also have a campsite.

With a whole day to explore the area before we left on the next leg of our trip, we decided to visit the Nyae Nyae Pans which are about twenty kilometers from the village.  After rains these pans are filled with birds and animals of every description, but unfortunately for us we were too early to see water so had to content ourselves with photographing Grey-backed sparrowlarks, squirrels and the beautiful scenery.

From the pans we drove to another landmark of the area, the largest Baobab tree in the region, known as Holboom (hollow tree in Afrikaans).  This tree is absolutely mind-blowing in size – it is difficult to wrap your mind around how old it must be and how it could have a girth like it has.  We had a picnic lunch in its shade and reluctantly dragged ourselves away after having climbed up and into its midst.  It was home to a number of birds and tree squirrels.

A few meters from Holboom there is another enormous Baobab under which one can camp if arrangements are made with the headman at the village.  An awesome spot to visit, but one needs a 4×4 as the track is very sandy in patches.

We entered Botswana the following day at the Dobe border post.  Short of actually conducting the border formalities on the bonnet of our car, it was probably the smallest and most informal customs and immigration set up we’ve come across.

No cash changed hands so there were no cross border charges, and after a quick spray of the car wheels to prevent us spreading foot and mouth disease we were on our way along a very sandy and indistinct track to  Nokaneng and then up north to Namushasha on the Kwando River.

Geologists would tell you that the Erongo Mountains are rich with minerals and gemstones like aquamarine, schorl, jeremejevite, quartz, fluorite and garnets (amongst others), but I have news for you, these mesmerizing mountains are full of magnetic rocks.  They must be magnetic because they are so awesome they draw us back to them time and again.  We have visited the Erongo region often during our stay in Namibia and for the sheer beauty and majesty of the dramatic granite boulders, valleys and incredible landscapes it cannot be beaten.

Our latest weekend getaway was to the farm ‘Omandumba’ in the Erongo Mountain Nature Conservancy.  The Conservancy lies in a flat basin surrounded by the imposing walls of the remnants of an enormous volcano that collapsed millions of years ago.  The name ‘Omandumba’ means ‘place of bitter bushes’ which obviously doesn’t deter the animals, because the farm abounds with wildlife and birds.

The appeal to us, of this particular farm, is its remote bush campsite, where we were the only campers and had the entire area to ourselves.  What price can one put on solitude like that – not another human being around, just us, the wild animals and the soothing presence of the silent looming boulders.   At night the silence enveloped us and we often just sat quietly straining to hear something – anything, even if it was just a cricket, but there was nothing.

Our walks were very productive as we found a waterhole in the rocks where we positioned ourselves for hours to photograph the birds that came to drink.

Admittedly there wasn’t a very large variety, it being winter, but the ones that came were very colourful and varied (acacia pied barbets, grey go-way birds, red-headed finches, waxbills – both violet-eared and common, bulbuls, larks, buntings, rosy-faced lovebirds, doves and canaries to name a few).  We even had the pleasure of an enormous black-chested snake eagle.  On a previous visit we saw the resident pair of Verreaux’s eagles and caught a glimpse of their chick in a nest high up on a cliff.

Animals we saw included kudu, warthogs, Damara dik-diks, baboons and the usual dassies that live on the rocks.

Our special treat was a black mongoose that we saw for a few seconds.  We were saddened to hear that leopards had been preying on the farmer’s cattle and had to be hunted down.  It’s awful to imagine these magnificent animals being shot for being a nuisance.

The mountains were once home to the San Bushmen and there is a good collection of their rock art on one of the walks.  We didn’t linger too long there as the overhanging rocks were covered in hornet’s nests and we didn’t fancy being casualties of their nasty stings!  Folks who would like to learn more about the Bushmen can visit a living museum in the area and meet with a local community of them, who demonstrate their survival skills and way of life.

One has to be totally self-sufficient at this campsite as there is nothing but bush.  There are a couple of long-drop toilets (for the very brave), but no showers or water.  This is part of the charm of the place though and it is a privilege to be in such pristine untouched surroundings.