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Published: March 27th 2007
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Kalahari Road Kill
The shot we love to take - on a dusty road in the Kalahari on a sunset game drive Hi All,
Well, we have now returned from our first proper adventure in Botswana (not that randomly moving to Botswana isn't an adventure in itself). WUSC treated us to a long 4 day weekend of our cultural orientation for the country. We took the Land Cruiser about 700km West through the Kalahari and up to Ghanzi, to meet, live with and learn from the San Bushmen of the Kalahari.
Most people visiting Botswana never get to see this. They tend to pop in, go see the Okavango Delta and the Chobe Reserve and spend big bucks for the experience, but miss the Kalahari entirely. In fact, it seems as though most of the bottom 2/3 of the country are completely avoided by tourists entirely. Gaborone is the first city I have ever visited in the world that doesn't sell a single post card about itself.
Back to the Kalahari. We actually stayed close to this San village called D'Kar in the Dqae Qare (or something similar to that) game reserve. The spelling of the name of the reserve in English actually comes to "D'Kar, but in the San language, there are numerous clicks and clocks that I
Sunset
Taking a break while we fix our overheated engine. Not a bad break could never pronounce.
Along for the ride were 9 university students doing 3 month stints in BW, but as it goes for Anj and I, while they camped, we were treated to a full stay at the guesthouse, with breakfast and dinner included. I would have liked to rough it, but you don't turn down a free room when you know that the rest of your travels will all include a tent!
The reserve is actually owned and operated by the San, whose culture and traditions are tens of thousands (if not more) of years old. It is managed by an Afrikaner, but all profits go to the local people. This is good and bad as though the manager is trying to increase business by bringing more visitors to the park, oftentimes the San do not understand why he spends money improving the place (by improvements I mean chairs to sit on and regular food to eat - which we luckily had).
The experience was unique. It was as much of a special outing for the 50+ San who came from nearby villages to camp, teach their children their traditions and impart some wisdom on the westerners.
Anj & Bry at Sunset
Taken by one of our travel mates on the game drive Each night we were treated to campfire dances by the village elders, as well as some very talented children. Women chose the dance, sang, and when the mood took them, got up and danced as well. Each dance was a story, usually about an animal and often ended up with one of the men or women, falling into a trance. When one of the women fell into a trance, the lead male dancer rubbed hot embers on his hand and had her inhale them. After the dances they had a storytelling session and we shared some western fables with them as well. One of the highlights of the evening was teaching the kids how to roast marshmallows on the fire.
During the days, we went on bushwalks with the San, learning how to forage for food in a harsh desert and bush environment. A dried twig of a plant was dug 3 feet down to its root to reveal a grapefruit sized bulb, filled with sweet, radish tasting water. We also found dry berries that taste exactly like raisins. Anj spent time with the women, learning to make traditional jewellery using ostrich egg shells. I went with the men
Dusk in the Kalahari
Just as the sun's setting on our game drive - a nice view of the brush. to forage for reeds, which we pounded the pulp out of and created our own rope out of the fibres. We then used the rope to create a snare for wild birds (which we caught none of).
Apart from some harrowing experiences with various hand sized insects, it was an amazing time. The reserve is 7500 hectares (don;t ask me how big a hectare is - it's bigger than an acre) and on a sundown game drive we saw several Kudus, Zebras, Warthogs and other antelope like animals. The best part was the feeling that the San were not putting on a show, but that this was a special weekend getaway for them as well. They brought their children with, who learned the stories, dances and traditions for the first time, much like us. Unfortunately, most San have moved out of their traditional villages and live very poorly in "modern" shacks. But they still speak much of the old language and endeavours such as this reserve have been created just so the people can earn an income and buy back more land. Their crafts also help build income, but for the amount of time and effort they put into
A pain in the Os
This ostrich wouldn't leave us alone. At one point, he stole someone's book, tucked it under his wing and tried to run away. Can't a man enjoy a cold drink without being accosted by flightless birds?! Note, the guy on the right is not Bryan - he has not built a gut like that, yet! each piece, the return is quite small.
That's it. So many more little experiences to think about, but just playing with the kids, and learning some unique skills were definitely the highlights. Of course, the sky, landscape and stars did not hurt either.
I have posted some photos, but it takes about 5 minutes (not exaggerating) to load each, so as soon as we have our place and internet, I will add more. But this is a good cross section of our experience.
Missing all of our friends and family as we head into this our fourth week. Happy Passover and Easter to all celebrating in the coming weeks. We will be getting our house on April 5, making us nomads living out of our bags no longer. I plan to celebrate by not moving houses again for at least a year!
Love to all,
Bry & Anj
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Ben Smith
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Thanks for Sharing
Angela and Bryan, Sitting here with the snow falling outside and then reading your stories and pictures makes for quite a contrast. I'm enjoying the chance to share in your latest adventure. Thanks /Ben