TravelStream™ news feed for member leinsterman on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/leinsterman en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:53:51 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1206771000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1206771000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1206771000/tpod.html Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:53:51 -0400 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Dublin, Ireland

I think the baggage handlers at Heathrow have been reading my blog ... half of my luggage hasn't arrived!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200913440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200913440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200913440/tpod.html Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:51:20 -0400 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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London, United Kingdom

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... London Heathrow is a horrible place ... avoid it like the plague it is ...There is no much good one can say about arriving off an overnight flight crammed into the back of a 747 ... you are tired and cranky ... having to contend with London Heathrow muppetry is a real issue after all of that ... but I managed to get through it ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200873420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200873420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200873420/tpod.html Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:02:58 -0400 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Cape Town, South Africa

So the 20th is my last day in Africa ... It is an unremarkable one except for one thing ... I head to the V&A waterfront to meet for lunch with Sarah, Christina, Dave and Carol ... this is to be my last meal with the group ... after lunch we split into three groups (Dave&Carol, Sarah&Christina, me) ... as we head our separate ways my final word to Christina and the rest ofthe gang are - "... and so it ends" .... As I turn my head away a great sadness came over me unexpectedly ... the trip is finally over ... something special for me has come to an end .. but the memories will live with me always ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200709080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200709080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200709080/tpod.html Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:57:43 -0400 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Cape Town, South Africa

It may seem a bit odd but the rest of the trip was more your standard holiday than any sort of adventure ... Sarah, Christina and I rented a car the next day and took a trip to Cape Point via Simonstown and Constantia ... AS we drive through teh leafy suburbs of Constantia I can't help but wonder how wierd it all looks ... how un-African ... we visit two of my favoritre vineyard - Groot and Klein Constantia for sampling of one of my favoritre wines ... these vineyards stand on the site of the original vineyard of South Africa ... started by the Governer of the Cape - Simon Van Der Stel ... they a resplendant in their architectural decandance and beautiful setting that is the slopes of Constantia ... all the time surround by Table mountain and its 12 apostles ... we sample some fine wines and sit in the sun taking it all in ... (indeed as I write this now on the 29th March 2 months later, it is fitting I am sipping on a very nice Pinotage I bought that day at Groot Constantia) ...We stop for Fish and Chips at a cafe in the Naval town of Simonstown ... it is a welcome simple meal which includes mushy peas served by a charming lady in a simple place ... after which we head for Cape Point national park and down to the tip of Cape Town (and not Africa as many sailors were fooled into believing in the past ... hend the bay - False Bay) ... it is another stunning and rugged national park ending in a lighthouse high on a rocky cliff face ... where you feel like you are at the end of Africa even if it really is is Cape Aghulas 100KM East of here ... As we take the coast road bakc toward the city the drive holds yet another wonder for us ... for me the last great wonder of the trip, but every bit the astounding inspirationsal beauty that the rest of the trip held ... the Cape Doctor is blowing strongly from off the sea ... lifting the water into a mist that crawl along the suface of the water in meandering lines of a vast scale  ... it is truely a breath taking sight ... the giant waves are crashing onto the shore and the wind lifts the sand so that the road is completely covered in it in some places ... the coast line itself is rugged and beautiful as the rusty red brown mountains rise high up above the water with their crowns of cloud capping off the beauty of this perfect place ... the road, a seeming perilous cliff top drive, is carved into the mountain like a scar as it meaners its way towards Hout Bay, the 12 Apostles, Camps Bay, Llandudno, Camps Bay, Bantry Bay, Seapoint and finally Cape Town's city bowl ... As if this is not enough the sun is sinking into the sea casting ever changing yellow, orange, red hues of light onto this wonderful scene ... taking your very last breath away as if it were the end of some spectacular movie ... you can but sit and wonder at it all ...Later that evening we meet for one last meal with Sarah, Christina, Hiske, Tessa, Nadia and I ... we eat Sushi and head to a strange bar called Cabana ... it really freaks me out to the point that I have to leave ... our group of 13 is now 6 ... and I forget to say my final farewell to Hiske and Tessa in the rush to get out of the pub ... which is the original scene fro Scary Monstors and Super Creeps ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1206755220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1206755220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1206755220/tpod.html Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:57:27 -0400 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Stellenbosch, South Africa

The following day Nadia, Sarah, Christina and I drive to Stellenbosch ... It is here as our group gradually disintegrates that I arrange to meet one of an earlier group with whom I travelled 15000KM through South America ... the Patagonia High Road ... the trip that sparked my interest in photography ... Oddly enough we meet Jaco Van Der Linde in a pub in his home town called Dros ... and place I've been before on a previous golfing holiday ... this time there is great excitment as a protest takes place at the entrance ... for fair treatment of employees ... Stellenbosch has become a much more corwded and noisy place since I've last been here ...We head to Spier where we purchace some nice wines and a picnic ... which we eat sitting on the grass being harassed by the ducks ... we are quite tired so not much is said ... Jaco and I do some reminissing and we talk about his sister Maz who was our guide on the trip through South America ... she is now married to one of my fellow passenger on that trip Oli ... Back in Cape Town Sarah, Nadia, Cristina and I head to Lion head to watch yet another breath taking sunset ... in the freezing cold wind of the Cape Doctor ... we head to the Africa Cafe for my last evening dinner ... it is a colourful place with wonderful foor ... it may be touristy ... but for me the wonderful staff and the bright colours embody much of the charm of my trip ... now I say my last farewell to Nadia ... and our group dwindles a little bit more ... it is the death of 1000 cuts ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200529560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200529560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200529560/tpod.html Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:16:15 -0400 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Cape Town, South Africa

The following morning as we sit down to breakfast Jacques is not being very forthcoming with details as to what is to happen next ... except that at some point Jeremy will arrive in a rented mini bus to pick all 14 of us up ... maybe today ... maybe tomorrow ...I have to admit that I am not altogether thrilled at the prospect of speding another night in this place ... so as I start to once again try to enlist others to rent a car Jeremy arrives ... it is a this point that AIF starts to let people down ... there is little or no communication ... no apology ... and a rather bedrudging puny little refund which is not really in line with what should have been done ... indeed I am to this day amazed at the attitude of Jeremy ... I try to keep this blog away from matters of personal feeling... so I'll refrain from commenting further. It is decided that Wil and Joe will stay with Benji as the rest of us pack all our gear in a tiny little tow trailer and the pile into the van ... so the end of our trip began ... we departed from two of our company and the inevidtable dissolution of our group began in earnest ... I was sad to say good bye from the two guys ... they had looked after us very well ... I was also sad to say goodbye to Benji our home for the preceeding weeks ... but life moves on ... and so do we ... We hit the N7 for our 7 hour drive to Cape Town ... there are a few sore heads from the night before so the mood is quiet and sober (ish) ... As we head south it is really like landing on another planet ... we head out of barren arid lands north of the Cederberg mountains to the greadual onset of rich fertile farmlands that make up much of the Western Cape ... it is a stunningly beautiful drive ... interrupted only by the occasional single line traffic road works which causes obvious frustration to Jeremy our gruff driver ... As we go further south evidence of human presence also increases ... first with more and more vehicles on the road, then we drive through an irrigated valley near citrusdal ... finally we are hit with bigger and bigger settlements ... until we reach a dirty great motorway and the city itself ... my first city since London really (Luska is technically a city but I never really saw much of it) ... It looks almost like we are landing on mars after all we have been through ... I have vivid memory of the sight of table mountain gradually resolving itself in front of us out of the horizion... with its afternoon blanket of cloud resting neatly atop of it ... it is quite a sight as it towers above the city commanding all to take note of its presence ... giving Cape Town its own natural monument to the force of nature as it makes a contrast the surrouding city. We pass by the townships on the edge of the city ... where rusty corrugated iron makes up the primary source of building materials of the tiny living quarters to the thousands of poor souls who live three ... onwards into the city where colonial splendour and the decadance of the V& A waterfront shopping mall make a stark contrast to the just about everything else I have seen in Africa on this trip ... Finally Jeremy brings us to the St John's Waterfront Hostel ... where only 3 of the 11 passengers he has let down will be staying ... leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves and carry our heavy luggage and two months of Africrap to our accomodation for the evening ... Fortunately Dave, Carol, Sarah and I are not a far walk from here ... so after a short struggle with heavy luggage we arrive at the Dale Court guest house ... which will be my home until I leave Africa in a few days ... a real contrast to the campsites and outdoor sleeping arrangement of the preceeding weeks ... and to be honest a welcome bit of luxury after the trip ... ... and thus our road trip with Africa in Focus ended ... sadly in poor fashion ... but not so poor as to take away from the amazing experiences of Southern Africa that the rest of the trip had for me ... Later that evening the remainder of our crew met at a fancy restaurant on the V&A waterfront (Baia) ... where the group (without Joe and Wil) spent its last meal together ... as I sit and eat a wonderful meal with my travel companions the Sun sets on Table Mountain in full view now towering above our dinner table like some mighty giant ... the cape doctor is in full force as it blows in from off the sea ... I'm going to miss this little group ... for what it was ... it meant something to me ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200527220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200527220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200527220/tpod.html Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:23:44 -0400 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Springbok / Goegap Nature Reserve, South Africa

It was just like any other day's beginning when we set out from Fidders Creek ... It was hot as hell and we were looking forward to getting to our next stop - the springs at Citrusdal for a few days R&R before heading to our final destination on this trip ... Cape Town ... As it turned out we never made it to Citrusdal ... As I sat in a world of my own listening to the walkman Benji pulled up by the side of the road ... I sat there for another 20 minutes in blisfull ignorance of the unfolding mini drama ... then one of the girls asked me if my mobile phone had coverage ... as the cab of the truck started to tilt forward in front of me ... I realised something was not quite right ... Benji was dying ... having taken everyone all the way from Nairobi to just over the border with South Africa and Namibia it is an odd thing that Benji would pick our last proper leg in probably the easiest driving conditions of the entire journey to fall apart ... it is as if some unseen force had held it to the point where we were safe only to let go suddenly ... It is still early in the day so it is comfortable 25-30C ... but you can tell it is going to get hotter than hell soon enough ... and there is no coverage here to call for help ... we make the most of it sitting by the side of the road reading and chatting as Wil and Joe try to patch Benji back together ... after about an hour, countless attempts to get Benji going and another 10C of heat Benji starts and we limp our way at less than 60KMH towards the next town ... We arrive at a roadside garage run by a greek family ... a friendly bunch ... they feed us and agonise with us about our plight ... but the local mechanic is not likely to be able to help so we limp a little further before reaching the town of Springbok ... it is now hotter than hell ... at least 45C ... we stop at the supermarket and Sarah, Christina and I go in search of stuff to do, internet access ... etc ... After discovering that there is really very little to do in Springbok indeed except visit the local Spar for cakes from the bakery or the mining museum we meet at the truck only to be taken around the local garages in search of salvation for Benji ... but it is not to be ... nobody can fix our truck ... at least not today ... so we (well in fact Jacques) decides to bring us to a national park camp site to stay over night ... I'd was ready for the local B&B ... and tried unsucessfully to enlist partners in crime to rent a car and drive it all the way to Cape Town ... I also manage to change my flight and but an extra few days ... The Goegap Nature reserve ... on the way Benji falters again for another hour ... but we eventually limp into an empty nation park in the searing heat of the afternoon ... if this place is hot as hell it is as beautiful as heaven ... as the rocky crags of the surrounding valley give it a remote charachter all of its own ...It is the day from hell for Will ... but it is also his birthday ... and Nadia and Melissa have made sure we have the necessery supplies to mark it well ... the party girls have all the trimmings even a cake with candles ... Everyone sets up their tent while Joe begins to cook what is to be our last dinner one the road ... we don't know what will happen next and Jacques is not being forthcoming with information .. we do know that the owner of Africa in Focus ... Jeremy ... is coming to the rescue ... when is not clear ... I find a hut with bed in it ... so I decide this is to be my billet for the evening ... After packing my bag in conditions I can't even begin to describe we all sit around watching Joe putting the finishing touches on our dinner ... then the party begins in earnest as the mood of the group lifts and we celebrate Wils 29th brithday in style ... it ends up being one of the most fun nights of the trip ... I DJ while the girls dance ... and I do mean dance ... Benji spends his last hours with us as a night club dance floor as the girle hop on his roof to dance away ... at one point Wills privacy is invaded... but I won't tell more about that ...It was only when the gang start insisting on hearing Meatloaf songs that I step away from the music and discreetly pop off to bed ... happy with a very nice evenings fun and frolicks ... but vaguely sad that this may be the last with this group ...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1202107620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1202107620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1202107620/tpod.html Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:47:07 -0400 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Oranje River / Fiddler's Creek, South Africa

15th January - Fiddlers Creek Campsite, Orange River, South Africa, 28.6904S 17.5833E Alt 193m   After a short morning drive we reach the border for our final crossing into South Africa ... it is not without incident as one of the border officials get a bit not so "Civil" servant on us ... but for the most part we are welcomed into the country ... and after a short delay we are on our way ...   Now I am deposited at the camp site surrounded by my travel companions with mixed feelings about the impending end of the trip ... I skip the Orange river kayak in favour of writing this blog.   On one hand I will be saddened to say good bye to my companions and the truck ... and I´ll miss this basic carefree existence ... on the other I can´t wait to see my home and meet my friends again ... and there is the exciting matter of a new job too ... all in all the feelings are unsettling ... but I´ll make the most of the little time remaining ... and enjoy the rest of the trip.  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200331920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200331920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200331920/tpod.html Mon, 04 Feb 2008 01:36:09 -0500 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Fish River Canyon, Namibia

14th January - Fish River Campsite, Namib Desert, 27.6195S 17.7176E Alt 724m   The next day is one of the longest drives of the trip ... I don't really complain though, since the landscape provides its usual beautiful visual distraction as it switched between Mesa like landmasses and flat desert with the occasional Quiver tree ... accompanied by the aural distraction of my walkman.   We suffer here more than anywhere else as it is exceptionally hot ... and we cannot even open a window as the hot wind blowing through it makes it difficult to breathe... we have the comfort of our spray bottles and squirt guns ... where being wet is a welcome comfort ...   We pull into the village of Bethany for lunch in the shade of a tree ... some children gather and sit on the other side of the tree watching hungrily as we eat ... their slightly yellow complexion reveals them to be former bush people ... they are an attractive people with small facial features and slim bodies ... but this not a comfortable environment ... Joe gathers up the leftovers in a bag after and hands them to the children ...   Later that evening we arrive at our campsite ... after a quick dip in the pool we are off to view the Fish River Canyon ... apparently the second largest canyon in the world second only to the Grand of Arizona ... it is an amazing sight ... covering an impressively large area in two layers ... the first a drop caused by landmass movement to reveal a line of cliffs ... the next a meandering gorge cut out of the base by the Fish river ... not easy to capture on film as the light was hazy and the viewpoints faced into the sun ... but we sit and sip a beer as the sun drops behind the canyon ... it is yet another awesome sight ... a massive scar on the landscape made by nature ...   That night I pull two park benches together to sleep out under the stars ... Orion protects me as I drift off with dreams of wonders beheld and yet to come ... This is my last night in Namibia ... sadly!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200244800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200244800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/leinsterman/africa_2007_08/1200244800/tpod.html Mon, 04 Feb 2008 01:23:25 -0500 My overland adventure through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa ..One man, one back pack, every portable gadget known to man and 7000KG of Camera kit!!! Now, where's me adaptor?

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Sesriem, Namibia

  12-13 January - Sesriem Campsite, Sousevlei, Namib Desert, Namibia, 24.4844S 15.7999E Alt 817.5m   We set off from Swakopmund and back into the Namib desert in another early rise ... as we drive along the coast I notice some strange looking trees ... Jacques calls them (the tree of the day) Communicatia Metallica ... also known as GSM antennae ... they are supposed to blend with the landscape but they are so tall they in fact stick out like a diseased limb ...   We start to climb up a winding uncovered road through what can only be described as the world's largest slate quarry ... though this one is carved in such as way as to give the eye a visual feast of beauty ... which distracts from the rather dangerous looking mountain road .. which Will, our driver, is negotiating with skill and apparent ease ... A pee stop revels that everything is covered with a layer of glistening crystal ... Gypsum ... it looks as if the landscape is made of diamond ... it is horribly twisted and contorted into many broken shapes ... which call to mind the famous words - a terrible beauty ... even if a little out of context.   After we emerge from the long and winding road into a multicolour sand and rock filled landscape of the Namib desert ... again we are treated to the wonderful colour palate that is Namibia ... it has to be a land that inspired many an artist ... not least our own - Tessa ... who has been here a few times ... We pause for a photo at a large sign reading "Tropic of Capricorn" (according to my GPS it is 23.5002S 15.7721E Alt 852m ... hmmnnn ... I thought it should read 25S ... but hey, I'm no expert) ... I take a pee along the line of the tropic ... and we're back in the truck ... Will, our driver wants some Strudel ... and the best in the whole of Africa is not far away ...   We pull into a dusty roadside stop in a place called Solitaire ... to find Moose ... Moose is the guy behind the counter in what looks like a general store from some Western movie ... one half expects some strange figure to be sitting in the corner ... feet on the table ... hat down over the face ... poncho disguising the two six shooters in their holsters ... but this one sells the best Strudel in Africa ... and Moose's home cooked seed bread ... both of which are excellent ... and I'm told very famous ... Moose himself is a character of note ... half Scot / Half Irish ... all smiles and joy ... flirting with Nadia ...   I notice that Will seems to navigate by Cake shops ... Cheesecake at the mall in Livingstone, the Cheesecake of Outjo bakery, The many cake shops of Swakopmund, Moose's Strudel to name a few ...   We arrive at the campsite in the blistering desert heat ... its straight to the pool to cool off ... and it is in this pool that I encounter my first fellow countrymen since that faithful night of delays in London Heathrow what seems like a lifetime ago. It feels a bit strange to hear a familiar accent of a Meathman ...   As the air around me cools enough to allow some freedom of motion ... I head off into the desert on my own to shoot the sunset ... pictures will say more than words here ... so I'll let them do their work ...   We rise before dawn at 5am to drive through the darkness to the ominous sounding dune 45 ... it sounds more like some Nazi extermination camp than a dune in the desert ... but it certainly does weed out the weak from the strong ... We hike up the 200m slope to catch the dawn ... it is a real tough hike in the soft powdery red sand ... but when I reach the top the rather disappointing dawn does nothing to dull the sense of awe at the incredible vista that reveals itself to me from the gradual emergence of daylight ... these landscape is straight out of the Martian Chronicles ... it is red and gold and white and brown and orange and ....... Truly I cannot put into the words the wonder of it all ... I am sad to report that my photography has failed to do it justice also ... you'll just have to make a point of seeing it for yourself ..  and shame on you if you don't!!   We drive even further through the Martian landscape towards Sousesvlei ... site of an ancient river which has been progressively dammed off from sea over thousands of years by dune after dune until today where it is 55KM from the sea ... and a new dune is damming it further ... this leaves an area of fertile land where a rich ecosystem exists ... I am somewhat lazy now and I don't want to be climbing any more dunes ... we have a hike ahead of us to a place called Deadvlei. I opt out only to be told by Jacques our guide that this would be a big mistake ... he was later proven to be absolutely correct ... and I'm glad I listened to him and ignored my complaining unfit body's protest. It is here that a former life assurance salesman is to be our guide .... He is called Buisman (or Bushman) after the long dispersed indigenous population ... and he has found his calling in life ... a desert guide who makes the dead landscape come alive for us ... I can only describe him as a kind of Namibian Steve Erwin (of the Croc Hunter fame) ... his dept of knowledge is surpassed only by his passion for the desert ... he is a tourist attraction in his own right.   As we set out he briefs us on the hike saying he walks very fast and not to try to keep up ... he was not lying ... he moves like a gazelle over the soft sand ... as if it posed no challenge at all ... every now and again he pauses to tell us of the desert -   He tells us how to find the sea by looking at the direction of the dunes, he tells us how to find water in the bushes squeezing droplets from the leaves of one, how to find food in the lizards but not to use more energy capturing one that its tiny body would give us ... he demonstrated this by tossing a hat in the air over a lizard moving half way up a dune, its shape in the air makes the lizard think there is a bird in the area and it buries itself in the sand ... at which point Buisman scurries with ease up the dune to capture the lizard ... he jokes that it will not feed all of us (it is 10cm long) ... so desert survival is better with a smaller group. When asked if he had ever eaten a lizard he smile and says something like you can survive on this stuff ... but only if you have to!!   He then tells us the story of the Bushmen who lived in this desolate landscape they were only 1M20 tall and would use blow pipes and poison darts to kill their food. The range of these blowpipes is not much so this is how they got their name ... they would sneak up behind a bush and ambush their prey from close range ... they never cooked any of their food (Oryx or Bok) as this would dry it out and remove precious liquid.   Their hinting skills was very disconcerting for both the other tribes of the region and the early Dutch settlers ... who would regularly fall victim ... to our shame the hunting of bushmen for sport was legal right up to 1920!!   He also explains how bushmen would rub the grease from their food into their skin as a kind of early sunscreen ... or how when food was scarce they would leave their weaker brethren to die in the desert ... even children would be left behind in this edge of existence place ...     He showed us two different types of beetle .. first the one with smooth skin who gets water from the mist in the air ... which rolls down its back and into its mouth ... the other a rough skin one which used plants to get water ...   He showed us how spiders would create nests in the sand with a little flap door on top ... he opens one for us ... scatter some sand in the air ... and the spider leaps up to slam the door shut as if to say ... shag off!!! ... these spiders can live for 50 years!!! .. so I guess they can be grumpy old men too!!!   In short Buisman makes the desert come alive ... an incredible man ... for an insurance salesman!!   But the highlight of this day was not the wonders of the many living creatures of the desert ... it was a lifeless place ... aptly named Deadvlei ... this is the former Sousesvlei ... cut off from the river by an advancing dune it is now almost completely dead ... with only a few lifeless Camelthorn trees, their black twisted trunks scattered amongst the white dry vlei (Vlei is Afrikaans for bog by the way) surrounded on all sides by red dunes ... it is so stunningly beautiful here ... I'll again refer you to photos to give it life. But you must see this place for yourself to truly understand the wonder of it all.   That night ... tired from the exertions of the morning and heat of the day ... I go to bed happy as the Jackals surround our camp in their evening forage for food.
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