The long drive to Bushmanland
Trip Start
Jul 29, 2009
1
16
24
Trip End
Aug 17, 2009
Tsumeb/Nhoma,
Namibia
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Patty:
Sorry we are writing so little about our daily travels. Each day seems to out-do the next in terms of pictures, adventures, camp luxury, food, history, nature, wildlife and family stories. We have not had phone or internet for 8 days and we are trying to download and update as quickly as we can on 8-14.
I am updating these next two days, because for each of us they were Unbelievable! As you know, I have travelled to many culturally facinating and exotic places around the world, but never have I / we experienced such immediate sense of community, family and joy as we have on these next two days. The San people of Namibia are truly unique. They immediately embraced us. We were not observers of their village, but rather distant kin joining in on their celebrations, dances, games and survival
Otjikoto Lake
.The pictures only begin to tell the story, but sorry that is all I have time for . . . .more to come, I promise.
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Day 11 (11th August 2009) Etosha National Park to Bushmanland
After an early breakfast you depart for Tsumkwe. Lunch is had en route. En route you visit Lake Otjikoto & Hoba meteorite. You arrive in late afternoon at the Tsumkwe Lodge, after which you make your way to the Nhoma
Camp. The afternoon is spent on a bushwalk with a San guide and the evening is enjoyed watching traditional San
healing dances.
Otjikoto Lake: This small lake became part of Namibia’s history in 1915 when, during the South West Africa
Campaign, retreating German forces dumped their military equipment into Lake Otjikoto, located about 24 km
northwest of Tsumeb
Tunes in the car . . .
. There the armaments lay, undisturbed, until members of the Windhoek Underwater Clubrecovered an ammunition carrier, now on display in Windhoek’s Alte Feste Museum. On subsequent forays a
number of cannons, machine-guns and other weapons were retrieved. Many legends surround the lake including the
favourite myth that Otjikoto and its sister lake Guinas are bottomless. A rare, mouth-breeding species of fish is
endemic to these two lakes.
Hoba Meteorite: The largest known meteorite in the world, the Hoba Meteorite, lies in a shallow depression on the
farm Hoba-West, about 20km west of Grootfontein. The 50-ton mass of nickel and iron, which is between 100
million and 300 million years old, crashed to earth some 30 000 to 80 000 years ago
7 hour drive . . . .Etosha to Bushmanland
. Discovered by JacobusHermanus Brits in the 1920s, it was periodically subjected to vandalism.
Measures to protect the meteorite were taken in the 1980 in a joint venture between Rossing Uranium Ltd and the
National Monuments Council. A stone amphitheatre was built around it to allow for convenient viewing, while a
museum wall giving information on the meteorite was built at the site, and an interesting variety of birds, such as
The San People: The earliest known inhabitants of Namibia are the San (Bushmen), who belong to the khoesan
peoples. Generally short in stature, they have light yellowish brown skins, while their language, which differs
among the different groups, is characterized by numerous clicking sounds
? Which way to go ?
. These hunter-gatherers – including theJu/hoansi,kxoe and !kung – roamed the vast plains of Southern Africa for thousands of years before migrants armed
with weapons and searching for new land on which to grace their animals and plant their grain, drove them further
and further east into the Kalahari desert. Most San people now live or work on farms in eastern Namibia or live in
remote communal areas in Otjozondjupa and Omusati. There are approximately 35 000 San people in Namibia. The
San are divided into three groups: the Hai//omn or Hai//omn in the northern districts of Otavi, Tsumeb and
Grootfontein, the Qgu (!Kung) and ju//huansi in Bushmanland and the Gobabis district and the Khoe or
Mbarakwengo in West Caprivi
Meteorite
. While a small number of these legendary people still manage to practice theirtraditional, nomadic lifestyle, the majority lead a settled existence in villages, having been strongly influenced in
their way of life by Western culture, economies and lifestyles.
Nhoma Camp: Nhoma Camp is a tented camp owned by the Ju/’hoan community of //Nhoq’ma village and
operated by Namibia Adventure Safaris which owns Tsumkwe Lodge. The camp can accommodate eight clients in
twin safari tents, each with an adjoining grass-enclosed bathroom under Zambesi Teak trees on top of a dune. The
cultural experience is a guided activity wherein tourists are shown how the Ju/’hoansi have lived in the past and
how they utilise the bush for food and medicine. Not only are ancient skills such as fire making, rope making and
setting of traps for birds and antelopes demonstrated, but also lesser known hunting skills with, for example, the
springhare probe, is demonstrated
Hoba Meteorite
. Because the Ju/’hoansi are still active as hunters and dependant on the bushfor meat, a demonstration can become an actual hunt. Honey is a favourite food, which is actively sought. There
is lots of interaction between the visitor and the hunters who try to teach visitors their skills. In the afternoon,
the community of //Nhoq’ma eagerly awaits the return of the hunters to see what they brought back. The entire
community then participates in traditional games, which is followed by the Giraffe or Elephant healing dances.
An “extreme cultural experience”, whereby visitors stay in the bush with Ju/’hoan hunters, actively hunting and
gathering with them and learning survival skills, can be arranged.
Overnight: Nhoma Camp Lunch, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast
