|
In this time, when borders are guarded so
vigorously, and travel means getting from place to place as quickly as
possible, what could be a better getaway destination than the Kalahari?
There are open spaces to be discovered and space to let ones thoughts
wander. For millenium this land was home to the San and Khoisan peoples -
nomads and hunter-gatherers who followed the seasons and the herds, a life
without borders as we know them. In the spirit of wandering, traveling
beyond borders, I said good bye to New York and cross first border on this
journey, the security check point at JFK airport.
The southernmost tip of the Kalahari region
which lies in the Northern Cape province in South Africa, but before
arriving am spending a week in Soweto. At
Johannesburg airport I am overjoyed to see the face of a friend
Caroline with her Mom, niece Ashley, and nephew Sibusizo. I have
never received such a welcome! For a few moments
I don't feel like the wanderer that is passing
through their lives but a member of the family. It is hard to leave them
later in the week and wonder if San and Khoisan were ever as
reluctant to move on. Have to remember that if I were not a wanderer
I wouldn't have met them in the first place.
|
|
 |
The vast
Northern Cape bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Free State, North West, Western
Cape and the Atlantic Ocean, less than an hour by air from Johannesburg.
It is the largest and least populated province in South Africa.
On the
flight from Johannesburg to Upington in the Northern Cape, the sun was
rising casting long shadows on the hills below. |
|
The flight from
Johannesburg to Upington takes little more than an hour.
The sun is rising behind us. The first light touching the East
facing faces of knobby, rounded hills and casting
long shadows over vast amounts of space. As the
shadows recede, a landscape of muted earthtones unmarred by
human activity is revealed.
On the ground, I meet Jaco Powell of
Jacelstours. He has gathered fellow wanderers from around the globe and we
will travel together for the next few days before
heading on to other destinations. It is a crisp, clear May morning, early
winter, the desert temperatures are very comfortable. We stop at Le Must
manor for breakfast. Our host, Niel came here on a visit and has been here
since. |
|
 |
The Orange
River, which winds through the desert and semi-desert of the Northern Cape.
The green belt surrounding the river contrast with the earth tones of the
desert. Upington is on the banks of the Orange River in an area known
as the Green Kalahari. |
|
Upington is a tidy, hard working town, an
agricultural center thriving on the banks of the Orange river. It lies in
the center of the province the Northern Cape, the largest, least populated
province in the country. The Kalahari region stretches northward from here
through Botswana, Namibia, up to the southern Congo.
The landscape as we drive due north is open
flatlands, bleached grasses, scrubby bush. The air is crystal clear. Am
reminded of a summer I spent as a boy visiting the
village in New Mexico where my mother grew up. I learned
there that what at first seems like empty endless space is filled
with life and incredible beauty, once your eyes
become accustomed. My first impulse was to find
similarities to the American west, which didn't hold up under
closer scrutiny. |
|
 |
The nest
of the sociable weaver in a Camelthorn tree,
Acacia Erioloba,
a common sight along roadsides in trees and on telephone poles in the
Kalahari. |
|
Just outside Kgaligadi Transfrontier Park we
stop to observe dunes of broken down rock
formations rich in iron oxide. Botswana is on the right
side, South Africa on the left. Kgaligadi united national parks in
the two countries to form one park of 953,000 hectares, large enough to
accommodate the free migration of large herds of game. It is one of the
largest untouched ecosystems remaining on earth. Jaco tells us that although
the spring rains are several months off, the land is particularly green
because of three years of good rainfall. Game-gemsbok, springbok and
wildebeest- is plentiful grazing in the dry river bed that winds through the
park. We also observe a number of bird species-pygmy falcon, rock kestral
and the sociable weaver whose vast communal nests house up to 200 birds in
150 chambers. |
|
 |
The
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, 3.7 million hectares of truly unspoilt
ecosystem. It was formed in 1999 with the unification of South
Africa's Kalahari Gemsbok Park and Botswana's Gemsbok National Park.
Antelope, including Gemsbock or Oryx, are plentiful and graze on the dry river bed of the Auob River.
|
 |
Red Hartbeest in the
foreground and a big Camelthorn tree in the background |
|
The Klipkolk guest house is a 100 year old
farmhouse that sits on a vast prairie just 13km from the Namibian border, so
remote that a cell phone will not operate here. We stop here after our game
drive. It has been magnificently restored by the owner Hendrik Bott. Bott a
former builder and farmer now is semi-retired "the kids are gone, they're on
their own. My wife and i are starting starting new." |
|
|
|
Hendrik
Bott, builder, farmer and proprietor of Klipkolk Guest House, a 100 year old
farmhouse situated 13 km from the Namibian border, which he restored and
runs with his wife, Gertuida. We spent the evening after a game
drive in Kgalagadi. |
|
It's clear he enjoys hosting visitors. Mr.
Bott arranged a donkey cart tour through town, while his wife, Gertruida and
her staff prepared dinner for us. We watched the sky turned colors and
gradually grow dark as the sun set from a sand dune overlooking a vast
salt flat. We arrived 'home' after dark to a magnificent feast of lamb from
the farm, fresh baked bread, chicken, and winter vegetables |
|
 |
The pan
(large salt flat) near Klipkolk Guesthouse is called Haakskeen Pan. The rainbow a lucky omen in the desert, even though it
did not rain. We saw a great sunset from the dunes above this flat.
|
|
From here its hard to imagine the life
of the nomadic tribes that inhabited this vast land over the millenniums up
until just a few generations ago. The only traces of their existence
surviving are shards of pottery and magnificent artwork etched into stones.
Even their languages are nearly extinct. The art work, dating back up to
10,000 years at places is the expression of a deeply spiritual people. We
observed the rock engravings at the Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Center near
Kimberly and were also treated to a performance of traditional San dance and
learned the history of the people. |
|
 |
Augrabies
Falls, the name is derived from a Khoi word meaning 'place of great noise'
the sixth largest falls on earth plummets 56 meters from the Orange River
into a ravine. It is now part of Augrabies Falls National Park.
|
 |
Jaco
Powell explaining how this giant pothole was formed - over a million of
years of sand swirling in a circular motion dug this excavation. A
rare occurrence, it is situated in the shadow of Augrabies Falls.
|
| Many people in this region
trace their roots to the Khoisan past. The Bantu speaking peoples began
migrating southward nearly a thousand years ago. Herders and farmers they
co-existed peacefully with the nomadic inhabitants. The Nama people, for
one, trace their roots to the Khoisan. |
|
 |
A woman
collecting wood walking along the roadside, allowed her picture to be taken.
|
| Michael Boysen, an elder,
spoke of his peoples recent past, on the side of the road as we were about
to trek into Nama land at Riemvasmaak. Mr. Boysen explained how the
Apartheid government had deported his people to Namibia where they
originally migrated from generations ago. The exile lasted 25 years until
the present government returned their land to them. From here their was no
clue of the dramatic landscape we were about to witness. A little
Richtersveld that was born out of volcanic activities millions of years ago.
It's rock strewn surfaces has an otherworldly appearance. It is through
this awesome country that we travel to reach the community's
ecotourism project. Deep in the heart of the 74,000 hectare reserve,
we find hot spring baths at the foot of cliffs 80 meters in height. Lodging
consists of two 8 bed and two 4 bed chalets- ours faced a canyon wall where
black eagles were nesting. |
|
 |
Riemvasmaak Hot Springs - to the North of the mighty Augrabies Falls,
between the Orange and dry Molopo Rivers, lies 75,000 hectares of mountain
wilderness, formed a little Richtersveld, it was born out of volcanic
activities millions of years ago. The otherworldly, almost lunar
landscape resembles nothing you have ever seen.
|
| While bathing in the springs
we watched as the sun shadows crept up the west facing cliff, and overhead
hundreds of birds, pale wing starlings twittered. that night around the
campfire we were treated to traditional Nama dancing and singing. |
|
 |
The Nama
people of this area were relocated to Namibia by the Apartheid government.
After 25 years, their land was returned and the Nama people have returned,
explained Michael Boysen, a community leader. |
| Henry Basson, who grew up in
exile in Namibia tells us about his passion for the project, how he loves
guiding visitors from around the world particularly showing them the Bushman
art and the unique geological formations. "Thats our main point" Henry and
John Damara explain "exchanging our tradition and cultural experience." "We
would like to establish a Namastaad, simply a place where Nama people do
their religous and cultural things." adds Henry. |
|
 |
A
community based tourism initiative brings guests in by 4x4 truck to a
completely remote setting where where guests can relax in hot springs and in
the evening dance and sing traditional Nama music |
 |
Waltz-like
dancing accompanying guitar playing by firelight, the sounds echoing off
canyon walls. |
|
A first time visitor to the Northern Cape
would find it quite easy to get around by car, but would miss the insights
gained by traveling with a guide. Jaco, a Zoologist, before long had
sharpened our vision so that we were soon able to see the game he pointed
out as Frank, his partner barreled down the long ,straight roads. Herds of
black and white goats, merchants with their goods layed out at crossroads,
and occasionally women gracefully balancing loads of firewood atop their
heads appear and disappear. We pass through
a lot of open spaces between stops and according to the map we've
barely scratched the surface of the province. My thoughts keep coming back
to how, in my daily life I fill every conscious moment with activity.
Contrasted with the past few days, experienced under the large open skies,
in the immense and mysterious landscapes, powerful enough to turn a seeker
into a finder if what one seeks is a simple lifestyle and a sense of
peaceful emptiness.
Witsand Nature Reserve is our last stop and here again
we are following in the footsteps of the ancients.
It is also another marvel of nature. Arriving late in the afternoon, the air
is still, the dunes, up to 60 meters high are impressive and each moment the
colors in the sky and in the sands are changing. One of the first things I
notice is a great pool of water, the perfectly still surface both the sky
and the orange hills on the horizon. |
|
| Our host Bertus Bester is
ready for our questions. The pool is actually
above the water table. Beneath us lies over a million cubic meters of water.
A layer of clay beneath the sands absorbs the water and allows very little
evaporation. |
|
 |
Witsands,
an oasis of peace and quiet, the white sands bleached of its high iron
content over centuries, is a unique destination whose best known feature is
the sound of roaring sands. The roaring occurs when the sand is dry
and warm. Friction caused by the sand's grains expels the air trapped
between, creating a roaring sound. The original inhabitants of this
area compared it to a lion's roar. |
| This reliable source of
permanent water in this arid environment has made the white sands an oasis
since the stone age, stone tools and pottery chards evidence found in the
dunes documents this. Why are the sands white? the dunes here are kept in
place by opposite prevailing winds and the iron oxide responsible for the
reddish hue the Kalahari sands are known for has
leeched out over the centuries. |
|
 |
Traditional San dance and song being performed at the Wildebeest Kuil Rock
Art Center near Kimberly. |
| That night we sit around a
roaring fire enjoying drinks as the chefs prepare a marvelous meal. Before
leaving the Northern Cape from Kimberly there is time for a whirlwind tour
of the province's largest city. |
|
 |
One of the
premier sites to view the art in its context and natural setting of the
Khoisan people or bushman, a nomadic people who have populated this
region for millennium, leaving few traces of their existence and history.
|
| Born as a diamond mining boom
town in the 1870's, over 50,000 fortune seekers pitched tents and shacks
after the precious stones were discovered here. It's relatively young
history is well documented at the Kimberly Mine Museum adjacent to the 'big
hole' as the Kimberly mine is known. |
|
 |
This art
depicts animals, humans and geometric forms is spiritually based.
|
| Klipkolt
Guest House in Northern Cape -
Gertruida and Hendrik Bott - Telephone #011-27-72-159-6726 |
Seven
rooms for 12 people, truly an oasis with family style home cooked meals
featuring lamb butchered from the farm in a big and comfortable 100-year
old, completely renovated farm house. |
| Uppington
- Le Must Guest Manor and Le Must
Residence - Telephone #011-27-54-332-3971 |
An oasis
on the bank of the Orange River, hotel and restaurant with a creative menu
and artistically designed interior. |
|
|
A
guest relaxing in the hot springs |
|
Riemvasmaak Community Tourism
- Telephone # 011-27-54-431-0945
|
Unforgettable wilderness destination, hot springs and rustic cabins or
camping. 4x4 trails and hiking, accomodations is two comfortable 8 bed
and 2 four bed chalets perched on the edge of a cliff wall with a fantastic
viewpoint of the vast Riemvasmaak Granite Canyon. On the
canyon wall, across from our chalet, was a nesting pair of black eagles.
|
| Witsand
Nature Reserve at Kalahari-
Contact Bertus Bester, Tourism Manager, Tel #011-27-053-313-1061 Fax
#011-27-53-313-1061. |
Ten
lodges, each sleeps six and three bedrooms with fully equipped kitchen and
open air brai. |
| |
|
|
Augrabies Falls National Park
Tel #011-27-544-529200 Elsah@parks-sa.co.za |
For
lodging within the National Park |
|
Kgalagadi TransFrontier Park
- Tel #011-27-54-561-2000
Faniev@parks-sa.co.za |
For
lodging within the National Park |
| Didimalang
Luxury Guest House - Sobantu, Galeshewe, Kimberly
Tel #011-27-53-871-1442 |
In
historic Galeshewe Township, specializing in traditional African cuisine |
 |
Jacels
Tours was born out of my passion for nature and the privilege of sharing it
with others. I completed a B.Sc. degree in Zoology and became a SATOUR
guide in the following year, as well as PADI Divemaster and SA National
Parks Honorary Ranger. I've been doing guiding for the past 9 years,
starting my own company (Jacels Tours) two years ago. Jacels Tours
specialize in Eco and Safari Tours, as well as 4x4 trails, adventure tours,
diamond tours, battlefield tours and visits to any of the National Parks in
South Africa. Travelling is done by luxury Microbus, 4x4's or
26-seater buses from Newton Tours. |
|
Khamkirri Tours - Tel #011-27-54451-0325
khamkirri@mweb.co.za |
Rafting
and kayaking on the Orange River |
| |
I now invite you to continue with me
on my visit through South Africa, viewing each region, its people, culture
and music, through my photographic lens. I have also included
additional
features on World AIDS Day and a Travel Information Section which provides
information on tour
organizations and lodging. Please click on the specific feature that you wish
to access below:
|
|
