The Incredible Le Riche Family and their Kgalagadi Journey

Even though I have written Die Leeuvanger van Nossob, Elias le Riche and History of the Kgalagadi National Park I still marvel in wondrous amazement at the extraordinary tale of the establishment of the little rest camp we know as Nossob by the man himself, 60 years ago exactly

When one wanders through Nossob today it is hard to appreciate all the hard work and suffering that went into the creation of this veritable Kalahari oasis.

Elias was born and raised in the Park. His father Joep was the Chief Warden of the Park. When Elias matriculated he enrolled at the University of Pretoria and obtained a degree in zoology. He then applied to the National Parks Board for a position as game ranger in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park.After his appointment he reported to his boss, his father

At that stage in 1963 there were only two camps in the Park, Mata Mata andTwee Rivieren. Joep was stationed atTwee Rivieren and his elder son, Stoffel, was the game ranger at Mata Mata.The Nossob region had no ranger As a result poaching on that side was rampant.

It was an easy decision for Joep to make. Elias would have to set up a post somewhere up north along the Nossob river bed. From there he would be able to fight the lawlessness that reigned supreme in the Nossob. Years before Joep sank a number of boreholes and erected windpumps in the Nossob. Joep knew one of them had sweet water and named it Lekkerwater. It was to this windpump that he sent his 23year old son with the task of building a new camp. The young Elias leftTwee Rivieren with his assistant, the legendary Vetpiet Kruiper. On the back of his bakkie was his tent and provisions.They drove the 170 kilometers north and set up camp underneath the Lekkerwater windpump.There was literally not a single man made item around or near them. Elias started working. He first built a house for himself. He followed this by building an office and research laboratory. He and Doempie got married on 4 December 1965 and she moved into his house.At the same time she was also employed by the Parks board. Elias then built an office and store room for Doempie.This was later expanded to accommodate a shop.Then Elias started building tourist accommodation.

During the early months the camp was simply called Lekkerwater but it was soon changed to Nossob.

At one stage Doempie made the decision to do something to decorate the entrance to the camp. She invited all the workers to help and to write messages for the future generations. She had the idea to build esthetic gate pillars.The messages were sealed in bottles and embedded in the foundations of the gate pillars. In later years the entrance to the camp was changed and the gate pillars became superfluous.Yet they remain and long may it be so. All these buildings and structures are still standing and functioning today, as evidence of, and a monument to, the fortitude and determination of a young man and his wife. Sadly the Lekkerwater windpump was demolished long ago but if one walks south along the fence from the gate pillars, near to the present hide, one can still see some metal spikes protruding from the ground where this old windpump had been standing.

The couple spent the next 16 years growing the camp as well as raising a family Their children were born when they were still in Nossob.The eldest two, Kabols and Susan, had to go to school in Upington, five hundred kilometers of dirt track away, causing incredible hardship to parents and children.

In 1980 Elias followed in the footsteps of his father Joep and brother Stoffel when the latter suddenly passed away. He, Elias, became the new Chief Warden and they moved toTwee Rivieren where he held sway for the next 15 years.

Elias and Doempie live in Upington today. I will see them next week.

I want to credit and thank Pieter duToit for the photograph of Nossob in the sixties.

The two books can be bought in the Park’s shops, Kgalagadi Lodge and DiamondTcoffe shop inAskham or ordered from me. Die Leeuvanger van Nossob, Elias le Riche costs R350 and History of the Kgalagadi National Park R250. Courier costs to anywhere in SouthAfrica are R100. Send an email to kosiemarais@gmail.com for banking details.

Nossob in the sixties. Note the Lekkerwater windpump and the abscence of the gate pillars. Behind the windpump is the administration and reception block, still performing the same function.To the right is Elias and Doempie’s first house.Today it serves as tourist accommodation. Note the camel thorn tree behind the bakkie. It is the same tree that offers shade to today’s tourists checking up on their WhatsApps, emails and Facebook status. I

Apicture that evokes memories and engenders respect. Elias and Doempie le Riche in front of the old gate pillars.At the back the administrative and reception building is visible. Nossob camp is part of the legacy of these two people, yet they are the first to honour and pay tribute to all who worked with him: Vetpiet Kruiper, Willem de Waal, Hendrik Bezuidenhout, Kotie Herholdt, the Van Wyks, Vilanders, Jagers, and countless others.