Out of Africa
 Namibia - Gobabis & Waterberg Plateau After a long drive from Botswana we arrived at the Namibian border in the afternoon. Zelda’s Lodge near Gobabis was one of the nicest campsites – grassy, clean and with a lovely pool. Unfortunately some other elements of this stay I was less enthusiastic about. In the afternoon I went for a walk with some traditional San Bushmen. The Bushmen have led a nomadic life for centuries, but unfortunately as land is being bought up their traditional way of life is fast dying out. In the case of these particular individuals the area where they were born was bought up in the 1940s and the land-owner said that they could stay but only on condition that they worked on the farm. It is a situation not dissimilar to that faced by the Aborigines, but it doesn`t appear that there is any compensation in sight for the San people. The bushmen that came out with us were delightful - they speak in clicks, so we had a translator with us - but they showed us how they use the plants for food and medication. I found it very sad to think that this is one of the last generations that will understand these traditions - their children all go to school and are leading a more modern lifestyle nowadays. I also felt that the walk was a bit of a circus - the San people work on the farm in overalls all day and then get dressed up in traditional clothes at 4pm to pretend that they have their nomadic lifestyle for the benefit of the tourists. I`m very glad I went as it gave me a first hand view of the way that these people`s lives have been affected, but it wasn`t a comfortable experience. I didn`t enjoy the next part of Zelda`s any better. They have cheetahs and a leopard on the farm in enclosures, and we went to watch them being fed. Whilst the guide tried to put a conservation `spin` on the experience, I was far from convinced. The animals seemed stressed and the farm had no plans to return them to the wild. The guide claimed that they were saving them from farmers` shotguns, but I couldn`t help thinking that death might have been a better option for them than spending their days in captivity. I think it`s fine to trap cheetah to re-release them into the national parks, and I don`t have too much problem with well managed zoos if the animals have plenty of space and they are born in captivity, but to take wild animals and then shove them in cages for tourists to gawp at seems wrong. I heard later that the barman even used the cats to chat up the girls later that night.... "Come and stroke my leopard...". We actually did have a good evening, the dinner was superb and we celebrated Sarah`s birthday with drinks, cake and a few games of pool. But Zelda`s was not my happiest experience. Lovely campsite, lovely food, but a very fucked up attitude towards the cats and the bushmen in my view. The next day we drove to the Waterberg Plateau - a sandstone plateau very reminiscent of Table Mountain. We arrived at camp and the rest of the crew decided to hike up the plateau. By this point I was boiling hot and dehydrated so Belinda and I decided that sitting by the lovely pool was a better option. I was pleased that we did as we were visited by all kinds of wildlife including some very cute banded mongooses. The sunset that night was the best I have ever seen - we were all breathless as the sky turned from tangerine, to mango and then to blood-orange against the silhouetted trees. We didn`t get too much sleep after 4am thanks to the very noisy (nutty) francolins roosting over our heads. Belinda, Mark, James and I had already decided to get up at dawn to hike up towards the plateau. It was a hard enough climb in the cool dawn air - swimming the previous day was definately the right option. We timed our arrival to the just as the sun broke over the horizon - Perfect! On the way back down we bumped into some Dik-diks - tiny antelopes (about the size of a dog) that look exactly like Bambi. I really enjoyed the Waterberg Plateau - definately one of the highlights of the whole trip. It was wonderful to get back to nature after the bizarre circus at Zelda`s. The next stop promised even more wildlife though - we were off to the National game park of Etosha.
|
Diary Photos
|
San Bushman - Namibia |
 Sunset - Waterberg Plateau - Namibia |
 Hike to Waterberg Plateau |
| 860 Words | This page has been read 217 times | View Printable Version |