Travel News Namibia Spring 2014

is published by Venture Publications in Windhoek, Namibia www.travelnewsnamibia.com 4 Herzinger Crescent, Klein Windhoek PO Box 21593, Windhoek, Namibia MANAGING EDITOR Riéth van Schalkwyk rieth@venture.com.na TEXT EDITOR Amy Schoeman TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Naude Muller LAYOUT Petra Tegethoff CUSTOMER SERVICE Bonn Nortjé bonn@venture.com.na ONLINE EDITOR Jana-Mari Smith jansmithventure@gmail.com COVER PHOTOGRAPH Piers L’Estrange

TEXT CONTRIBUTORS Annabelle Venter, Ron Swilling, Pompie Burger, Jana-Mari Smith, Elzanne Erasmus, Julian Fennessy, Christie Keulder, Conrad Brain, Guy Jennings, Amy Schoeman PHOTOGRAPHERS Paul van Schalkwyk, Will & Lianne Steenkamp_Into Nature Productions, Annabelle Venter, Francois Deacon, Pompie Burger, Christie Keulder, Julian Fennessy, Piers L’Estrange PRINTERS John Meinert Printing, Windhoek Travel News Namibia is published quarterly, distributed worldwide and produced solely on Apple Macintosh equipment. The editorial content of TNN is contributed by freelance writers and journalists. It is the sole responsibility of the publisher and no part of the magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

In its prime position above the ephemeral Swakop River overlooks a vast and sensuous apricot dune sea, offering you the ultimate desert experience. Although only a five minute drive from the town centre, its spectacular location provides peace and tranquility. Here you can relax and enjoy the privilege of savoring the ancient Namib Desert. Slabs of rough rock and large sculptures add power and raw energy to the setting, with large wooden beams accentuating the modern features of the lodge. The 12 bungalows and three-roomed villa have been creatively constructed with attention to shape and form, providing bursts of colour that bring the desert setting to life. Each bungalow has a balcony and sitting area, while a fireplace offers warmth and a cosy atmosphere on those cool west coast evenings overlooking the dunes. The Desert Breeze is where to experience Namib grandeur, while relaxing in comfort and style.

Class: 4 Star S22° 40’50” E 14° 33’10” Tel: +264 64 406 236 info@ desertbreezeswakopmund.com www.desertbreezeswakopmund.com

Nine Bungalows: three twins one honeymoon bungalow All bungalows accommodate two people each and one family bungalow which accommodates up to four people. We also have two luxury villas accommodating up to six people. All accommodation provides a balcony with views of the dunes, the lagoon and the ocean, en-suite bathrooms with shower and mini-bar.

Unique in every aspect, staying at the Stiltz offers the most spectacular views in Swakopmund overlooking either the Atlantic Ocean, the riverbed, the sand dunes and the bird rich lagoon at the river mouth. If that does not take your breath away, the architecture of these wooden bungalows built on stilts will. Each private bungalow has been attended to in the finest detail, interlinked by wooden walkways to the other and the main breakfast bungalow.

You will fall in a defiant space, yet you are only minutes away from the charming town centre with plentiful restaurants, loads of activities and all the amenities you could wish for...

That is if you really feel like leaving your bungalow!

16 comfortable furnished, all en-suite rooms, with a private terrace. Auas Safari Lodge is situated in the heart of Namibia’s unspoiled nature, 45 minutes by car from the Windhoek International Airport on the B1 turning onto the D1463, thus making it an ideal starting point to a tour of Namibia, or as last destination before your journey home.

Class: Lodge, 3 Star Location: 45km South to south east of Windhoek on the D1463.

S 22° 46’47 E 17° 19’1,9 Tel: +264 (0)61 240043 Fax: +264 (0)61 248 633 info@auas-safarilodge.com www.auas-safarilodge.com

The Stiltz is eco-friendly and has just received a two flower eco award for environmental awareness.

Class: B&B, 4 Star Location: Strand Str, Swakopmund S22° 41.18 E 014° 31.514 Tel: +264 64 400 771 info@thestiltz.com www.thestiltz.com

Unique Lodges

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VENTURE PUBLICATIONS Venture Publications is the pioneer of Namibia tourism promotion. We are the leader in spreading the tourism word around the world. We distribute accurate, credible, up-to-date and regular tourism-related information on paper, in social media, on the world-wide web, and on mobile apps.

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TRAVEL NEWS NAMIBIA Travel News Namibia is published in seven different editions per year. These include four English language editions, one German, one Italian and one French annually. Travel News Namibia is for sale in Namibia and South Africa.

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With information ready to reach millions, the Venture website places Namibia in a position to compete on the global market. We have become the leaders in Namibian information dissemination for the tourism industry. Travellers rely on information from Venture Publications and now they literally have it on their screens.

NEW FROM VENTURE PUBLICATIONS This latest book by Venture Publications, Indigenous PLANT PRODUCTS in Namibia, provides information on the harvesting and commercialisation of local plant products such as !nara fruit, hoodia resin, devil’s claw tubers, marama beans and ximenia seed kernels by rural people to improve their food security and livelihoods.

NAMIBIA HOLIDAY & TRAVEL The 200-plus-page Namibia Holiday & Travel tourism directory is published in print and online to promote Namibia as a tourist destination offering an abundance of national parks, magnificent wildlife and spectacular scenery.

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CONSERVATION 2013

and the Environment in Namibia

RHINO

SECURITY IN NAMIBIA

RAISING THE PROFILE OF NAMIBIA’S PARKS

PROTECTED INTERNATIONALAREAS TRENDS WITH A NAMIBIAN FLAVOR and climate change

PARKS AND PEOPLE INTEGRATED PARK MANAGEMENT

Conservation and the Environment in Namibia, an annual special edition of Travel News Namibia, is published in close cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and is available as a printed magazine and online.

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HUNTINAMIBIA This annual magazine has an English edition for distribution in the USA and a German edition for distribution in German-speaking European countries. It consists of a minimum of 60 pages and is available as a printed magazine and online. www.huntnamibia.com.na

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EDITOR’S LETTER

SPRINGTIME

IN NAMIBIA

“SPRINGTIME IN NAMIBIA IS SUBTLE”

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o visitors who have never been to our country before it may not be that obvious that it’s springtime, except if you drive straight to Windhoek from the airport and around the Christuskirche. It’s impossible to miss the delicate flowers in all shades of pink in the neatly tended flower boxes in front of this landmark church.

Other than these, and the early, brightly blooming bougainvilleas, spring in our country is subtle. I religiously follow my routes around town when the blossoms are in full bloom. Photographing them in passing has become easy and so much fun with an iPhone, which is always in my handbag. Over the years I have noticed how in some seasons the blossoms are sparse, and in others they are abundant. The worst is when I look for an old friend and find that it has been chopped down to make space for a building. Enjoy my iPhoto essay on this page and join us on our on-line magazine to share your images.

Pico Iyer writes in an essay that one of the subtler beauties of travel is that it enables you to bring new eyes to the people you encounter. Our aim is to bring new eyes to those who travel in Namibia during spring. If you’re not able to travel to or around Namibia at this time of year, we make sure that you’ll find pleasure in the beauty of the images and the words we take great care in selecting for our readers throughout the world. Julian Fennessy’s story will most certainly convince you to look at giraffes with different eyes. And if Pompie Burger hasn’t persuaded you to invest in binoculars yet, his stunning photographs of sunbirds certainly will; not to mention Annabelle Venter’s fresh look at Halali and her story on the behind-the-scenes effort that goes into stamp designing. And don’t skip the review on our latest book Indigenous Plant Products in Namibia. If you’ve ever wondered what the hype about hoodia is about, or what devil’s claw is, this is your opportunity to find out.

If you still need convincing to pack your Land Rover and head out of town, or to book your flight to Namibia, go to this link and become inspired: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QmVc0lqULs8

Riéth van Schalkwyk

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CONTENTS SPRING 2014 8 WHAT’S NEW(S)? New developments in the industry 13 FAST FACTS All you need to know about Namibia 14 GIRAFFE IN NAMIBIA So when is a giraffe a giraffe?

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18 HOANIB A place of extremes 22 WEATHER Spring at a glance 24 OPEN AFRICA ROUTES Into Namibia’s heartland 32 TNN SHOPPING Get multicoloured for spring

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34 BIRDING In search of sugarman 40 TRADITIONAL FOOD Battle bambara nuts 42 HALALI Springtime in Halali 48 FATBIKE ADVENTURE In a giant sandpit 54 SAVUTE Spring sojourn in Savute

CONTENTS

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32 40 60 STAMP ARTIST Anja Denker - A world in 3x4 cm 64 BOOKS on Namibia 66 DAVE COLE Mister Devil’s Claw

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GROSS-BARMEN Hot Springs Resort

A new and shiny home away from home

WHAT’S NEW(S)?

Compiled Jana-Mari Smith & Elzanne Erasmus

WHATSON WINDHOEK – revamped and relaunched

August celebrated the reintroduction of the newly renovated WhatsON Windhoek website with a bang at a launch party at the Warehouse Theatre. Delia Magg-Thesenvitz and her team have revamped Namibia’s popular event-promotion site and added great new features that will ensure Namibians and visitors alike remain well informed on what could be keeping them entertained in the capital as well as around the country.

Delia describes the site as ‘a platform for local initiatives to promote their events and free-time facilities’. The site is now accessible at both www.whatsonwindhoek.com and www.whatsonnamibia.com. The upgraded site also turns its focus towards a wider audience, as it now caters to local Namibians as well as to tourists and foreigners, making their stay in our beautiful country even more exciting. WhatsON Windhoek plays host to current events and has permanent facilities that offer recreational activities such as sport clubs, museums, playgrounds, sundowner spots and many more.

To put your event online, just visit the site and submit your event details so that the WhatsON team can add these to their calendar and spread the news. You can also find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/whatsonwindhoek or contact Delia at delia@whatsonwindhoek.com.

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Gross-Barmen has always been a popular getaway for people living in Windhoek, Okahandja and the surrounding areas to wind down after a long, hard week. For the past three years the resort has been undergoing major renovations aimed at putting it on par with the other Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) around the country.

Major improvements to look forward to are the revamped restaurant, sprucedup dome-shaped and glass-enclosed thermal hall with its communal bath of steaming spring water (650C), the two freshly painted outside pools, updated conference centre, and upgraded bungalows. For those looking for a home away from home for this coming Christmas holiday season, the new Gross-Barmen will officially be open for visitors as from 1 December.

Log onto the NWR website for information relating to the amenities at www.nwr.com.na.

WHAT’S NEW(S)?

EVERY MOMENT IS A MEMORY at Nomad African Spa

Indulge yourself in ultimate relaxation in the middle of the bustling capital at Nomad African Spa, a newly opened dayspa in Luxury Hill in Windhoek.

Nomad offers purely Africanbased treatments, using calabashes and kieries (South African sticks of hard wood employed as walking-sticks or weapons) instead of Asian hot stones.

The spa offers a wide range of specialised treatments and packages, such as the Night Spa Experience, where you and a loved one can enjoy multiple treatments followed by a delicious dinner under the African sky.

Visit Nomad African Spa on the corner of Sanderburg Road and Jan Jonker Street or contact them at +264 83 336 6623/+264 81 494 5005 for bookings. You can also email them at relax@nomadspa.com and visit their Facebook page for further details: www.facebook.com/ NomadAfricanSpaWindhoek.

REVIVE AND RELAX AT BAMBU in Omaruru There is something brand new to be experienced in Omaruru with the opening of the Bambu Wellness Boutique at Omaruru Guesthouse. Be pampered at the wellness centre and choose from the wide range of treatments on offer, including full body, hair & scalp, neck, back & shoulder and hand & foot treatments. The new coffee shop offers fare ranging from coffee, herbal teas, smoothies and home-made muffins to fresh sandwiches, making Bambu the perfect place to detox, relax and become energised in Omaruru. Treat yourself and leave feeling revived and nourished: mind, body and soul. Visit Bambu Wellness Boutique in Dr Ian Scheepers Drive from Monday to Friday, 8:00–18:00.

Contact Bambu at +264 81 431 5383 or info@bambu-wellness.com for bookings and more information, or visit their website at www.bambu-wellness.com.

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A SOUTHERN HAVEN - Kanaan Desert Retreat One of the most scenic places in Namibia, if not in the world, recently opened its doors to the general public. Welcome to Kanaan N/a’an ku sê Desert Retreat – the latest offering from the Namibian rehabilitation and conservation enterprise, the N/a’an ku sê Foundation. Linking up their wildlife and landscape conservation work by offering visitors a glimpse of that world within comfortable surroundings is a strategy that is turning out to be a win-win situation for everyone.

Encompassing 33,000 hectares of some of Namibia’s most majestic landscape, Kanaan N/a’an ku sê Desert Retreat is situated close to the Namib-Naukluft Park and Sossusvlei.

Upon arrival the modern world slips away, leaving you free to enjoy the rustic, yet snug accommodation, home-cooked-style food and a landscape that has remained the same for millennia. Apart from the four double en-suite guestrooms at the farmhouse is the option to stay at Camp 707 for those looking to sleep under the most unpolluted sky in the southern hemisphere. The site is kitted out with modest conveniences such as hot water and a small kitchenette.

The Kanaan N/a’an ku sê Desert Retreat will play a key role in the conservation of Namibia’s wildlife and environment, including becoming the base for one of southern Namibia’s most exciting conservation research studies – that of the brown hyaena.

Activities include game-viewing, sunrise and sundown drives and hiking along the red dunes of the Kalahari Desert. Photographic opportunities are boundless and highly rewarding. For further information visit www.kanaanamibia.com or send an email to kanaan@naankuse.com

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WHAT’S NEW(S)?

BACK IN TIME at Duwisib Castle

In 1908, Baron Captain Hans-Heinrich von Wolf commissioned Namibia’s very own Taj Mahal – Duwisib Castle – as a monument of love for his American-born bride, Jayta Humphreys. A prominent architect at the time, Wilhelm Sander, designed the red sandstone fortress, importing most building materials from Germany and hiring stonemasons from Italy, Sweden and Ireland. Ever since, anyone travelling through the dusty region is momentarily startled when first spotting this incongruous desert fortress with its towers jutting out from the flat, never-ending desert surroundings.

As with many true love stories, this one ended in tragedy when the Baron was killed during the First World War at the infamous Battle of the Somme in 1916. His broken-hearted wife could not bring herself to return to the majestic castle, a symbol of the love she had lost so soon after her marriage. She spent the rest of her life in the south of England, never returning to Namibia.

Following years of neglect, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) has now dusted off the corners and polished the antiques, renovating the old castle to its former glory. The NWR-managed Duwisib Castle offers visitors five rooms and 10 camping sites. This national monument is situated as a convenient stopover for anyone travelling from the Sossusvlei and Sesriem areas in southern Namibia.

Your stay there will give you the opportunity to browse through the museum, which houses a collection of 18th and 19th century antiques, armour and paintings, all of which are doused with the love story of Baron von Wolf and his wife. Duwisib Castle is located south-west of Maltahöhe and can be reached by taking the D826 road from Sesriem to Helmeringshausen. For more information, visit the NWR website at www.nwr.com.na.

A CELEBRATION of speed and elegance

This year the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) held its annual fund-raising gala dinner under the banner A celebration of speed and elegance. This was the 16th CCF fund-raising gala event, and, as always, was a resounding success.

This year’s guest speakers were Jonathan and Angela Scott, the award-winning wildlife photographers, documentarians and authors renowned among others for the Big Cat Diary series.

The annual CCF gala highlights the dire urgency of working towards saving the vulnerable cheetah, of which only 10,000 individuals survive in Africa today. Namibia is still the stronghold of the world’s cheetah population, and CCF Founder and Executive Director Dr Laurie Marker emphasised the need to foster an economic system where humans can live within the natural scope of a healthy, intact and biodiverse landscape. Several CCF awards were handed out the night of the gala, including the 2014 Cheetah Conservationist of the Year award, which was presented to Jonathan and Angela Scott for their dedication to cheetah and big-cat conservation. Other winners included Namibia’s Professor Tjama Tjivikua, the founding rector of the Polytechnic of Namibia, who was awarded the 2014 Cheetah Conservation Educator award.

The CCF’s 2014 Conservation Business of the Year award was presented to the Erindi Private Game Reserve, in recognition of the owners’ dedication to transform the wildlife reserve into a unique, best-practice ecotourism and conservation venture. CCF noted that Erindi’s reinstatement of wildlife in the reserve has become a real-life success story.

CCF staff members, Johan and Tanya Britz, were recognised for their 10 years of service to the CCF. For further information, go to the Facebook page: Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) or visit the website: http://cheetah.org/.

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Photo courtesy of: Paul van Schalkwyk

FAST FACTS ON NAMIBIA GENERAL Surface area: 824 268 km2 Capital: Windhoek Independence: 21 March 1990 Current president: Hifikepunye Pohamba Multiparty Parliament Democratic Constitution Division of power between executive, legislature and judiciary Secular state—freedom of religion (90% Christian) Freedom of the press/media

ENVIRONMENT Nature reserves: 15% of surface area Highest mountain: Brandberg Other prominent mountains: Spitzkoppe, Moltkeblick, Gamsberg Perennial rivers: Orange, Kunene, Okavango, Zambezi and Kwando/ Linyanti/Chobe Ephemeral rivers: Numerous, including Fish, Kuiseb, Swakop and Ugab

FLORA 14 vegetation zones 120 species of trees 200 endemic plant species 100 plus species of lichen Living fossil plant: Welwitschia mirabilis

ECONOMY Main sectors: Mining, Fishing, Tourism & Agriculture Biggest employer: Agriculture (46%) Fastest-growing sector: Tourism Mining: Diamonds, uranium, copper, lead, zinc, magnesium, cadmium, arsenic, pyrites, silver and gold, lithium minerals, dimension stones (granite, marble, blue sodalite) and many semiprecious stones

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

FOREIGN REPRESENTATION

Roads: 5 450 km tarred, 37 000 km gravel Harbours: Walvis Bay, Lüderitz Main Airports: Hosea Kutako International Airport, Eros Airport, 46 airstrips Rail network: 2 382 km narrow gauge 6.2 telephone lines per 100 inhabitants Direct-dialling facilities to 221 countries Mobile communication system: GSM Agreements with 117 countries/255 networks Postal Service: affiliated to the Universal Postal Union

More than 50 countries have Namibian consular or embassy representation in Windhoek.

For information, contact Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Information and Broadcasting—Tel (+264 61) 282 9111

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

MONEY MATTERS

One medical doctor per 3 650 people Two privately run hospitals in Windhoek with intensive-care units Medical practitioners (world standard) 24-hour medical emergency services

POPULATION 2.1 million Density: 2.2 per km2 240 000 inhabitants in Windhoek (15% of total) Official language: English 13 regions, 13 ethnic cultures 16 languages and dialects Adult literacy rate: 85% Population growth rate: 2.6% Schools: 1 450

FAUNA Big game: Elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, cheetah, leopard, giraffe 20 antelope species 240 mammal species (14 endemic) 250 reptile species 50 frog species 676 bird species Endemic birds including Herero Chat, Rockrunner, Damara Tern, Monteiro’s Hornbill

TAX AND CUSTOMS All goods and services are priced to include value-added tax of 15%. Visitors may reclaim VAT. Enquiries: Ministry of Finance— Tel (+264 61) 23 0773 in Windhoek

Currency: The Namibia dollar (N$) is fixed to and equals the SA rand. The South African rand is also legal tender.

Traveller’s cheques, foreign currency, International Visa, Master Card, American Express and Diners Club credit cards are accepted

DRINKING WATER Most tap water is purified and safe to drink.

Visitors should exercise caution in rural areas

TRANSPORT Public transport is NOT available to all tourist destinations in Namibia.

There are bus services from Windhoek to Cape Town/Johannesburg/Vic Falls/ Swakopmund. Namibia’s main railway line runs from the South African border, connecting Windhoek to Swakopmund in the west and Tsumeb in the north.

There is an extensive network of international and regional flights from Windhoek. Domestic charters to all destinations.

www.namibiatourism.com.na

SO WHEN IS A GIRAFFE A GIRAFFE? Maybe it is a giraffe, but not the giraffe you thought it was...

Confused? Well, join the club!

Text Julian Fennessy Photograph Francois Deacon

F

or the last decade we have been trying to unravel the mystery of giraffe taxonomy and their conservation status. Although I have a wildlife ecology background, the thought of taxonomy brings up images of elderly gentlemen in white lab coats bent over sterile benchtops in a silent lab teasing their way through bones and measuring the minutiae with callipers. But times have changed and luckily I have been able to join the new wave of modern-day scientists in helping to solve a modern-day wildlife mystery.

Fortunately it takes all sorts of people to make things happen.

We at the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) have been at the forefront of giraffe conservation efforts across the African

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continent for the past five years, and for ten years before that I was working towards this goal in my individual capacity. In partnership with BiK-F Loewe at the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, we are currently slowly unravelling giraffe taxonomy to provide information for conservation, management and policy decisions for giraffe conservation across Africa.

Giraffe taxonomy has been confusing and sometimes contradictory for nearly 250 years. Currently one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, and nine subspecies are recognised.

Over the last few years some researchers have proposed that as many as eight of these subspecies should be recognised as distinct species, but most of these suggestions have been dismissed as ‘folklore science’. However, our recent efforts are providing valuable insight into the evolutionary history of the species and may soon settle the debate – so stay tuned!

GIRAFFE IN NAMIBIA The giraffe is currently classified on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as a species of ‘least concern’. Several subspecies are at greater risk than the species as a whole, but it is unusual for subspecies to achieve a higher conservation status than the species itself. In 2008 and 2010, GCF facilitated the listing of two giraffe subspecies as ‘endangered’: the West African giraffe (G. c. peralta) and Rothschild’s giraffe (G. c. rothschildi).

Since then, the Government of Niger, home to the last remaining West African giraffe, developed the first-ever national giraffe conservation strategy of any African country. Most recently, GCF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Uganda Wildlife Authority to provide conservation advice and support to Uganda’s Rothschild’s giraffe populations.

If our findings conclude that giraffe are indeed one species, the challenges facing different subspecies may continue to be masked. However, even as a single species, giraffe are obviously in trouble. In comparison with another charismatic mega-herbivores, the 500,000 remaining African elephants vastly outnumber the less than 80,000 remaining giraffe. Yet

the elephant’s Red List designation as ‘vulnerable’ garners it massive global attention, while giraffe conservation remains largely underfunded and unknown.

Much remains to be done to safeguard a future for wild giraffe in Africa. Our limited knowledge regarding the current status of the species and its various subspecies poses a threat to their long-term sustainability. At the continental level, GCF’s Africa-wide assessment project works to evaluate the status of all giraffe populations throughout Africa so as to inform giraffe conservation and management.

The GCF collaborates with African governments, NGOs, universities, and researchers to gather demographic data across the range of the species. The end goal with the project is to publish a comprehensive analysis of census and anecdotal data on the giraffe, including individual country profiles, conservation recommendations, and recommendations for future research.

To find out more about giraffe conservation in Africa, visit the GCF website www.giraffeconservation.org TNN

If each or some of the current giraffe subspecies were to be recognised as separate species, it would result in many of them being regarded as vulnerable and hopefully afford them stronger protection, as some would be the most endangered large mammals in Africa.

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HOW MANY SUBSPECIES ARE THERE IN NAMIBIA? So… this begs the question: are all giraffe in Namibia the same? Over the last few years we have sampled giraffe across the country – from far north-western Kaokoland through Etosha to among the buffalo and elephant in the Bwabwata National Park in the Zambezi Region.

The preliminary results from ‘mitochondrial DNA’ or ‘maternal line from the females’ indicate that Namibia is home to two giraffe subspecies – how exciting is that! The Angolan giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis) is most prominent across the country, while the South African giraffe (G. c. giraffa) frequents the far north-east. And we are not just talking about a small difference – they could be separated by half a million years!

Nonetheless, we are doing further analysis on what is called the ‘nuclear DNA’ or ‘paternal line from the males’, and who knows? Maybe we’ll find that males are promiscuous and shared their genes more widely.

As for whether we have one or two species… well, you’ll just have to stay tuned!

JP Suraud

At the beginning of the 20th century, the West African giraffe was widely distributed from Nigeria to Senegal, but by the late 1990s, only 50 individuals remained in the whole of West Africa. Now formally protected by the government of Niger, their number has risen to approximately 350.

Today there are fewer than 1,050 individuals of the Rothschild’s giraffe in the wild. In 2010 the subspecies was red-listed by the IUCN as Endangered and of High Conservation Importance.

Julian Fennessy

Megan Strauss Marjolein Schoe

The range of the Kordofan giraffe includes some of Africa’s more hostile areas: southern Chad, Central African Republic, northern Cameroon and the northern Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is estimated that fewer than 1,900 individuals survive in these war-ravaged countries.

The Reticulated giraffe has brown-orange patches clearly defined by a network of thick and striking white lines. It has been estimated that about 4,700 individuals remain in the wild.

Julian Fennessy

The most populous of the subspecies is the Masai giraffe, numbering an estimated 37,000 in the wild. It ranges across central and southern Kenya and south through Tanzania.

It is time to stand tall for giraffe conservation - as we have for elephant - and save a symbol of wild Africa.

Joe Dodson

Relatively light in colour, the Angolan giraffe has large, uneven and notched spots that cover the whole leg. Thought to be extinct in Angola, the range of this subspecies is believed to include Namibia and central Botswana.

Julian Fennessy

An entirely isolated population of Thornicroft’s giraffe survives in a small area of north-eastern Zambia, geographically separated from all other giraffe populations by at least 400 km.

The South African or Cape giraffe ranges from west to east across northern South Africa, southern Botswana, northern Botswana and southern Zimbabwe.

ALARMING GIRAFFE FACTS •

Giraffe numbers in Africa have plummeted from approximately 140,000 to less than 80,000 in the last 15 years – a decline of almost 40%.

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Giraffe have already become extinct in seven African countries.

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Namibia is one of the only countries in Africa with an increasing giraffe population – obviously we are doing something right!

Ludwig Siege

Francois Deacon

The estimated number of Nubian giraffe is below 650, of which fewer than 200 are believed to occur in western Ethiopia, and an estimated 450 or less in South Sudan.

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A place of E X T R E M E S Text Conrad Brain Main photograph Paul van Schalkwyk

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ETOSHA HOANIB

North-western Namibia is characterised by westward-flowing ephemeral rivers.

Each mostly dry linear watercourse has its own character, spirit and diversity of unusual life. It is the deep subsurface waters of these confined oases that maintain a plant life that is the critical base of all other life here.

The rivers transect some of the most spectacular and exposed geology to be seen anywhere, the extreme contrast of rock, barren plains and riparian forest defining the harshness, subtlety and blatant brutality of this north-western section of the Namib Desert.

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he rivers all terminate at the cold Atlantic. Here another feature of the unusual Namib Desert adds to the extremes, as a cold coastal fog smothers the desert more often than not. Often snaking up the canyons and floodplains of the rivers, the haunting silence of the fog surrounds the ancient tree trunks and is the only moisture the coastal lichens are ever likely to imbibe. All life, both microscopic and enormous, has adapted over millennia to take advantage of this life-bringing fog.

The largest of all, the desert-adapted elephants, take full advantage of the fog, not for imbibing, but as a passport for movement to those areas that can support the huge needs of these giants. Smaller invertebrates, some of the most adaptive animals on the earth, use the fog directly to maintain water balance, while some of the cold-blooded reptiles defy their body temperature regulations to expose themselves to this coastal fog and then suck condensation off their bodies.

Lifeless rocks too, over millions of years, have been cracked and forged by the extreme temperature changes the fog and subsequent searing heat as the moisture is burnt off by the advancing day.

LINEAR OASES The rivers also, some more than others, speak of the formation of our world as we know it. The volcanism that is our common link with Brazil through the Etendeka Group lavas remains spectacularly visible between the Huab and Hoanib rivers. This pile of lava and volcanic ash can be up to 1.8 km thick. Over time it has eroded, cracked, washed and decayed into a rugged natural fortress for our wildlife. Black rhino now inhabit this daunting area as their home, and this population remains the largest and most critical group of free-ranging black rhino on planet Earth. Other wildlife too has learnt to live on these lava terraces, sometimes eating highly toxic plants and sniffing out sub-surface waters, drinking it mouthful by precious mouthful.

The rivers too, over their westward paths, experience an extreme climatic gradient of unique proportions. From catchments of relatively high rainfall to mouths and deltas of near zero rainfall, the coinciding vegetation changes are dramatic, and so too is the periodic flooding of the rivers. Rain in the upper catchments occasionally sends a chocolate-brown wall of debris-filled water into the desert. In the desert areas, the flash floods can be totally unexpected, and if substantial enough, will push through the desert and empty into the Atlantic in spectacular fashion.

The Hoanib is one of the rivers forming a large inland floodplain that offers special conditions for an abundance of life and, more recently, has seen the re-development of a healthy predator-prey system with lion, cheetah, leopard and hyaena occupying the top of the pyramid.

Big cats are amongst the iconic species that symbolise Africa Just north of the floodplain and surrounded by dunes is an anomaly as unusual as the isolated dunes of the northern Namib sand sea themselves; a small oasis of fresh water that elephants reach by sliding down dune slipfaces. Filmed for the first time by legendary filmmakers Des and Jen Bartlett, the footage of this unusual and unexpected behaviour catapulted the Hoanib area to international fame.

NEW EXCLUSIVE LODGE It seems appropriate, now that this area of extremes in all aspects forms part of a new and private exclusive concession, that a new and understated luxury camp operated 100% on solar power and designed to be part of and not separate to this land of extremes, has just opened – an opening to an environment where conditions of such extremes have forged you a glimpse into an ecosystem so unique you might just walk away feeling rather insignificant. TNN

Photographs Will & Lianne Steenkamp_Into Nature Productions TRAVEL NEWS NAMIBIA SPRING 2014

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SPRING WEATHER AT A GLANCE Will you need a raincoat?

Compiled Annabelle Venter Photograph RiĂŠth van Schalkwyk

In Namibia we are delighted when we receive a little rain between October and December. We call this the short rainy season, although it’s usually somewhat unpredictable and erratic. It can be very hot during this period, as the build-up of clouds keeps the temperature quite warm at night. But as our storms never last very long, serious rain gear is not really necessary.

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WEATHER IN SPRING

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES IN DEGREES CELSIUS September

October

November

Windhoek

11-29

15-29

15-30

Swakopmund

9-18

11-19

112-22

Zambezi Region

14-33

17-35

19-33

SUNRISE/ SUNSET Sunrise

Sunset

15 September 2015

Windhoek

06:48

18:46

15 October 2015

Windhoek

06:20

18:56

15 November 2015

Windhoek

06:00

19:13

MOON PHASES FOR SPRING 2015, NAMIBIA FULL MOON

NEW MOON

SPRING EQUINOX

9 September

24 September

23 September, 04:29

8 October

23 October

7 November

22 November

WHAT TO PACK •

Before the big summer rains come, the mosquitoes are generally less pesky. Nevertheless, it’s still a good idea to wear long trousers and closed shoes for the evenings around the campfire, as most mosquito bites occur on the ankles and lower legs.

•

Even though it’s warming up nicely now and can be quite hot in October, it’s wise to pack a jacket for game drives and after sunset, when it sometimes cools down considerably.

•

Summer clothes, swimming costumes, hats, sunglasses and sunblock should be included any time of the year when visiting Namibia, since we have so many sunny days. Spring is short and soon turns into summer!

HEALTH TIPS •

Be sure to keep yourself well hydrated, as this is a very hot time of the year.

•

Consider taking malaria prophylaxis even at this time of year if you’re travelling up north, as the short rainy season brings the mosquitoes out.

Average INLAND rainfall is September 1 mm; October 12 mm; and November 33 mm.

CHANGE YOUR CLOCKS AND WATCHES ON 7 SEPTEMBER Twice a year in Namibia we change our clocks and watches to capitalise on daylight hours. As summer approaches, you need to set your timepieces one hour forward on the first Sunday of September.

PLEASE NOTE: The Zambezi Region remains on GMT +2 hours throughout the year, as daylight saving is not practised here.

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INTO NAMIBIA’S HEARTLAND Text Ron Swilling

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OPEN AFRICA ROUTES Have you ever thought with trepidation about the northern reaches of Namibia? Those areas where gravel roads lead away from towns and cities into the unknown interior and reach to the far extremities of the country?

You may have wondered which are the most exciting roads to take to reach Epupa Falls where the Kunene River tumbles down the craggy rock face bursting into rainbows between tenacious baobabs; how to travel through Owambo ­– the north-central regions of the country – new territory to most and an explosion of colour, culture and life; and which way to best explore the rich Zambezi world of wildlife and waterways. I know I have.

Deliberate no more. A team of experts spent time poring over maps and researching the best options, and has drawn up three routes to make travelling through Namibia’s heartland easier and more accessible. Are you up for the adventure?

It’s waiting for you.

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ARID EDEN ROUTE

Free-roaming animals, ancient geological formations, hunter-gatherer engravings, the intriguing Himba culture, wild land and the wonders of Etosha National Park.

There are many treasures to garner in Namibia’s north-western regions. Open Africa’s Arid Eden Route incorporates four optional routes and encompasses a large section of the country, giving travellers a wide choice of routes, attractions and adventures to experience in this fascinating area.

The routes begin conveniently in Windhoek and Swakopmund, and radiate northwards. The route from Windhoek deviates away from the well-travelled tar road at Outjo and veers in a north-westerly direction towards Kamanjab and Etosha’s Galton Gate. As you enter Himba territory, you will begin to notice people dressed in traditional attire and feel the tug of this more remote area. The city bustle slips away and you find yourself in new and exciting territory.

Previously closed to the public, Etosha’s western gate is a new experience for most, locals and foreigners alike. Explore this quieter section of the park and exit at the popular Okaukuejo Camp. Before you leave, make a last stop at the camp waterhole, which attracts a wide variety of game, large and small.

The Welwitschia Route from Swakopmund links with this route at Kamanjab, but not before you’ve had your fill of ancient rock art. You may also want to make a detour en route to Usakos for a sojourn in the granite enclave of Spitzkoppe. This Tolkienlike massif is popular with campers and mountain-climbers escaping into the great outdoors. Further north, hunter-gatherer communication can be glimpsed at Brandberg where the White Lady rock painting depicts a shaman of old, and at Twyfelfontein

where thousands-of-years-old prayers to the gods have been etched into the rock. Guided walks reveal the rock riches and give you the opportunity to stretch your legs and lap up the strange and mysterious energy of the land.

As you head northwards, you enter the more remote areas of the Kunene Region, or Kaokoland as it was previously known.

Away from the major towns, a degree of self-sufficiency is required. Take note of the location of fuel stations, keep your tank topped up, and carry sufficient water and supplies. En route to Opuwo, travellers with four-wheel-drive vehicles (and experience in driving in soft sand) can head for Purros to camp on the banks of the ephemeral Hoarusib River – a well-used elephant highway – and experience a taste of desert finery while visiting a lively Himba village.

Although the Kunene River in this remote corner of Namibia can be reached from here along rugged tracks, it’s not advisable unless driving in convoy, and being totally self-sufficient and well-equipped, as it’s a journey that’s best undertaken with a knowledgeable and responsible tour operator. The road to the mighty crocodile-infested Kunene on the border of Angola can be more easily negotiated from Opuwo, a route that provides ample adventure. As you near Epupa Falls, baobab sentries and a band of makalani palms usher you into a place that exudes African character and charm. Watch the water plummet down the craggy rock cliffs as women hang a collection of multicoloured clothing on the trees and birdsong fills the air with life-affirming exuberance.

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2

OMULUNGA PALM ROUTE

Named after the distinctive makalani palm trees (omulunga in Oshiwambo) that punctuate the landscape, the Omulunga Palm Route leads through an area north of the Etosha National Park, home to the Owambo people who form more than half of the Namibian population.

The main roads (all tarred) pass through towns that are a hive of activity with modern shopping centres interspersed with bustling African open-air markets and colourful shebeens, while the quieter roads pass the traditional homesteads, mahangu fields, makalani palms and oshanas (seasonal ponds), which give this region its distinctive character. Take time to visit a traditional homestead, taste the indigenous food (including mopane worms – an Owambo delicacy), stroll through an old royal ‘palace’, sit in the middle of a gargantuan baobab, pop into the old Nakambale Finnish Mission and Church and, if you have a bent for recent history, pay your respects at the shrines and museums commemorating the Namibian liberation struggle.

museum, or take a short drive south to Tsandi to walk through the Uukwaluudhi Royal Homestead, former home of King Taapopi. The Uukwaluudhi are one of four Owambo groups that still enjoy royal representation. The main route to Ondangwa via Oshakati is slow going as you pass through the bustling centres and have to reduce speed when travelling in the more populated areas. The drive reveals the colourful Owambo culture where old traditions merge with the 21st century. Look out for people fishing in the oshanas using traditional woven traps, fish sellers on the roadside, women wearing the brightpink puff-sleeved Owambo dresses and the quirky names of the many shebeens. Wherever you stop, you’ll be greeted with wide smiles and friendliness.

The Omulunga Palm Route can be traversed from east to west or vice versa, either across the northern reaches of the country or through the hub of Owamboland. The upper route, referred to as the ‘Roof of Namibia Experience’ stretches from the Ruacana Falls in the west to Nkurenkuru in the east, passing through a rural African landscape. It’s best to visit the Falls in the summer when the water gushes down the rock face. In the winter it may be barely a trickle. The waters of the Kunene River are harnessed at Ruacana by Nampower’s hydroelectric plant, which generates renewable energy for the country.

Just south of Ondangwa, make a detour to visit Nakambale at Olukonda to appreciate the work of the early Finnish missionaries in the north. Partake in a walk through a homestead and sample a traditional meal here or at Ongula Homestead Lodge to gain a sense of this interesting culture.

Watch the age-old craft of basket-weaving and the pounding of millet in wooden pestles.

Pause in Outapi as you travel eastwards to feel the arboreal spirit of the baobab at the Ombalantu Baobab Tree Heritage Centre & Campsite behind the open-air market and visit the war

King Nehale Gate is next. This northern gate of Etosha adds an extra loop of wildlife majesty to the trip, and is an optional route for reaching the northern areas of Namibia and Owamboland, instead of travelling along the main roads. Pop out of the park at Von Lindequist Gate, before continuing up to Nkurenkuru and Rundu, and the rich waterworlds of the east.

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3

FOUR RIVERS ROUTE

The journey into the rich river worlds in the north-eastern corner of the country is a perfect balance to the routes in the arid north-west, giving travellers a taste of the character and beauty of both.

Four Rivers refers to the four river systems that flow through the Kavango and Zambezi (formerly Caprivi) regions: the Okavango, Kwando, Zambezi and Chobe rivers. The water ecosystems are home to a plethora of bird species, a host of animals and fascinating cultures whose existence is dependent on these remarkable lifelines. The Four Rivers Route incorporates three of Open Africa’s routes to provide a full experience of this bountiful area. Wildlife, water, birds and the strong rhythm of Africa’s people are the attractions in this section of the country. Listen to melodic bird calls, the chiming of frogs and the contented grunting of hippos lounging between the water lilies. A fish-eagle’s piercing cry or an elephant’s trumpeting call are additional sounds that resonate with African spirit and epitomise the region.

The Kavango Open Africa Route extends from Nkurenkuru to Divundu, hugging the northern extremities of the country.

Lodges around Rundu provide rest and comfort, and opportunities to experience the peaceful river life on the Okavango River. It also gives you the opportunity to experience Kavango culture. Don’t miss the Mbunza Living Museum for a fun-filled taste of Kavango culture. Rundu is also a convenient centre to fill up with fuel and supplies before travelling onwards.

The road is a channel through a tree-filled expanse dotted with African villages and elephant-caution signs.

Divundu is the entrance to the Bwabwata National Park where you gain a sense of the unusual community and

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wildlife synergy that makes this area so exceptional, and, as you venture further, of the successful Namibian conservancy programme in which community members take responsibility for their resources and coexist with wildlife.

This Zambezi section of the route, dubbed the ‘Caprivi Wetlands Paradise Experience’ by Open Africa, extends to Kongola and then veers southwards, following the Kwando River before circling up to Katima Mulilo and the Zambezi River. Kongola is the place to visit the Mafwe Living Museum, located on the road to Singalamwe; to fill up with fuel and supplies; and to purchase superbly made local crafts at the Mashi Crafts outlet. The tarred section of the C49 ends at Namushasha River Lodge where travellers can enjoy a visit to the Namushasha Heritage Centre under the boughs of a giant baobab. Lodges in the area provide an opportunity to experience the lush tree-filled expanse and the magic of the Kwando water channels, and to join excursions into the Bwabwata National Park (first by boat and then vehicle) to explore popular spots such as Horseshoe, often frequented by elephants.

Civilisation is once again reached at Katima Mulilo and at Ngoma, the final leg of your journey – or possibly the beginning.

The ‘Four Countries Experience’ begins on the Botswana border and continues through Chobe National Park to Victoria Falls and the mighty Zambezi. Keep an extra measure of awe and wonder for this spectacular phenomenon where earth and water meet in a fantastic celebration. TNN

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WINDHOEK COUNTRY CLUB SWAKOPMUND HOTEL & RESORT & CASINO ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

• •

• • •

Situated in the capital of Namibia, Windhoek.

The 4-star hotel is built around a remodelled 18-hole golf course and themed around a desert oasis offering 152 luxurious rooms, all equipped with the necessary amenities.

The Windhoek Country Club Resort is the perfect setting for conferences, weddings and gala events.

The Oryx venue can accommodate as little as 12 to a maximum of 800 people.

The Kokerboom Restaurant offers an á la carte menu and speciality buffet.

PO Box 30777, Pionierspark Tel +264 (0)61 205 5911 Fax +264 (0)61 25 2797 e-mail: windhoek@legacyhotels.co.za Web: www.legacyhotels.co.za

• • • • • •

Situated in the beautiful coastal town Swakopmund.

Built in and around the restored Old Station Building dating back to 1901.

This 4-star hotel offers 90 spacious rooms.

Recreational facilities include a swimming pool, a gymnasium and casino.

Two-minutes’ walk from city centre.

Day trips to the desert as well as dolphin cruises and scenic flights can be arranged.

PO Box 616, Swakopmund Tel +264 (0)64 410 5200 Fax +264 (0)64 410 5360 e-mail: swakopmund@legacyhotels.co.za Web: www.legacyhotels.co.za

• • • • • • • • • • •

Spitzkoppe massif The White Lady Bushman painting on the Brandberg The famous rock engravings at Twyfelfontein Epupa Falls Etosha National Park via the Galton Gate A taste of intriguing Himba culture An adventure into the more remote areas of Kaokoland Desert-adapted elephant (if you’re lucky) Tremendous landscapes Striking geological formations Big sky

Contact: koos.cunene@iway.na

HIGHLIGHTS • • • • • • • • • •

•

HIGHLIGHTS

Ruacana Falls (in the summer) Uukwaluudhi Royal Homestead Etosha National Park (via King Nehale Gate) Nakambale Museum and Church (in Olukonda) Ombalantu Baobab Tree Eenhana Shrine Outapi War Museum Omugulugwombashe National Monument Uukwambi Kings Monument Purchasing superbly woven baskets at the Ohandje Artists Cooperative in Ondangwa (behind the Puma service station) Visiting a traditional homestead

Contact: morne.dowie@gmail.com

•

•

• • •

• • •

The Living Museum of the Mbunza near Rundu and the Mafwe near Kongola Visiting the Mahango, Khaudum (a 4x4 journey) and Bwabwata national parks Boat cruises, fishing and birdwatching along the waterways Purchasing hand-made local crafts at Mashi Crafts, Kongola The abundant bird species and wildlife – elephants, buffalo and hippo The magic of the river world Chobe National Park Victoria Falls

Photographs supplied by Open Africa Routes and Paul van Schalkwyk Photography

HIGHLIGHTS

Contact: mw.paxton@gmail.com

Funded by the Millennium Challenge Account-Namibia, these three routes have been developed by Open Africa and the Namibia Tourism Board to lure adventurous travellers to the less-travelled northern regions of the country. In accordance with the ethos of Open Africa’s tourism routes, they offer authentic experiences while generating income for local businesses in rural Africa.

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1 GEMSTONE JEWELLERY FROM THE PEACE COLLECTION

TNN SHOPPING

TNN was introduced to an astounding jewellery range at this year’s Made in Namibia Expo that took place from 29 to 31 July. The Peace Collection exhibit included an assortment of adornments made from locally collected and resourced Namibian gemstones and materials. The mission of the Peace Jewellery Collection is to harness and showcase unique Namibian craft products throughout the tourism sector. The enterprise also assists in the development and promotion of cultural heritage by working with young men and women and supporting them in their educational endeavours.

The Peace Collection is focussed on educating members of local communities in areas such as project management, marketing, fundraising and networking. The company’s products are available at the Namibian Craft Centre adjacent to the Nucleus Health and Fitness Club, as well as online at http://www.thepeacecollection.getafricaonline.com.

Gemstone and wire rings N$100

Compiled Elzanne Erasmus

2 TAKE HOME AN AFRICAN TAN As ever, the Namibia Craft Centre is playing host to the most interesting locally-made products found in the country. A wide array of colour enthrals the senses as soon as you step into this popular citycentre shopping destination.

This spring, the Namibia Craft Centre plays host to a playful range of springbok pelt footwear produced by African Tan, a COSDEF project. COSDEF is a Swakopmund-based non-profit organisation that provides skills training to local disadvantaged communities, resulting in fun hand-made products that appeal to tourists and locals alike. So be sure to buy your colourful spring fare in the form of African Tan’s brightly dyed springbok sandals and let your style be just as friendly and exciting as the changing of the seasons.

Contact them at artsncraft@iway.na or phone them at +264 64 40 6122 Sandals N$295

3 A FUN AND VIBRANT PILLOW PARTY Casa Anin, at Bougain Villas in Windhoek, is boasting a range of beautiful hand-stitched pillow covers. The covers depict fun Namibian scenery and animals and are hand-embroidered in the Casa Anin workshop above the selling outlet. The energetic caricatures are made using a wide range of multi-coloured threads.

The material that serves as the base for the pillowcases comes in a wide assortment of colours. Casa Anin has more than four different styles of pillowcases this season, each making its own statement. The fun and vibrant embroidered animals in our pick for spring will have you smiling all the way to summer. Contact them at +264 61 25 6410 or email them at info@anin.com.na Embroidered pillowcases N$260

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WHAT TO BUY 4 A BRIGHT AND SUNNY DAY The weather has turned cheery and the sun is out, so the time has come to haul your warmer-climate threads out from the back of the closet. The perfect addition to said threads would most surely be a hat that is equally brilliant, bright and beautiful as the wardrobe you’ll be airing when you step out. Namcrafts has the perfect sunhat for lazy Saturdays and Sundays spent soaking up the spring air. Fitting in perfectly with our spring rainbow theme, the sunhats come in an assortment of sizes and six different colours that will add a cheerful and sunny hue to your attire when you step out. Contact them at +264 61 25 0342 or email them at info@namcrafts.com Sunhat N$125

5 THERE’S A BIRD ON MY CUP… Design 33 is stocking an amazing series of ceramics this spring.

Beautifully handmade cups, mugs, saucers, milk jugs and sugar bowls adorn the shelves, and have the added quirk of being embellished with colourful sculpted ceramic birds. The realistic little birds are perched on the edges of the crockery sets and add a whimsical element to your kitchen and tea tray. The ceramics are so unusual they’ll make you question why you ever bought that plain white tea set, and they’ll ensure that a small part of the colourful Namibian wildlife brightens up your home. Visit Design 33 at 33 Gartenstreet, Windhoek or give them a call at +264 61 24 0165 Ceramic sugar bowl N$430 Ceramic mug N$280

Ceramic milk jug N$495

6 TRADITION IS GIVEN A COLOURFUL TWIST Collect your spring blossoms, or anything and everything else, in these beautiful hand-made baskets created by the innovative craftswomen of the OMBA initiative.

With a rainbow of colours and sizes to choose from, there is a basket for every need and occasion. OMBA represents some of the most skilled craftsmen and craftswomen from Namibia’s marginalised communities, with their products bearing testimony to how traditional craftsmanship can be given an imaginative contemporary twist. Contact OMBA at +264 61 24 2799 or email them at marketing@omba.org.na Basket N$62 Set of three baskets N$134 Closed basket N$72 Placemats N$77

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IN SEARCH of SUGARMAN Text and photographs Pompie Burger

In Twelfth Night Shakespeare had Malvolio say: “Some people are born great, some achieve greatness, some have greatness thrust upon them.” I don’t think it is too difficult to work out under which group the sunbirds fall. Namibia’s sunbirds have a tendency to prefer being born great in the northern part of our country. To be more specific, in the Zambezi Region.

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BIRDING

Baby, I was born with a suit Leonard Cohen

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T

en species of sunbirds occur in Namibia, of which the Scarlet-chested (Chalcomitra senegalensis), Marico (Cinnyris mariquensis) and Dusky Sunbird (Cinnyris fuscus) occur in the central and northern parts of the country.

The Malachite (Nectarina famosa) and Southern Doublecollared (Cinnyris chalybeus) reach their most northern distribution around the Orange River in the south. The northern group include the Amethyst (Chalcomitra amethystina), Collared (Hedydipna collaris), White-bellied (Cinnyris talatala), Shelley’s (Cinnyris shelleyi) and Purple-banded Sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus).

Being a Windhoek resident means my scope of expertise in the sugarmen are limited to the Scarlet-chested, Marico and Dusky Sunbirds. Obviously I am a bit biased as far as preferences are concerned, but looking at their exquisite colours, you can’t really disagree that these are probably the best-looking of the bunch, excluding the Dusky, the only sunbird that can survive in the desert, which makes it rather special in itself.

REACHING INTO THE FLOWER’S INNER SOUL My extended and intimate knowledge of sunbirds is limited to these three species. Watching them for hours from the comfort of my backyard, I have experienced endless hours of pleasure.

The weeping boer-bean (Schotia brachypetala) producing its voluptuous red juice-dripping flowers during spring is the venue.

The competition from the Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea), Southern Masked Weavers (Ploceus velatus), Grey Go-away-birds (Corythaixoides concolor) and African Red-eyed Bulbul (Pycnonotus nigricans), is quite relentless, although the sunbirds’ long, curved bill, and elongated tongue do give them an unfair advantage over their opposition, because they can reach right into the inner soul of these flowers. The end of the bill is serrated near the tip to saw open the corolla to reach the

nectar. Autumn produces its own magic, when the Windhoek aloe (Aloe littoralis) is in full bloom.

Unfortunately my Go-away birds have an annoying habit of biting off the stem of my only Windhoek aloe, probably in frustration for not being able to reach the inner essence of the flower’s nectar. As a result, there are no other delicacies for the sweet-toothed sunbirds for the rest of autumn.

THE BEAUTY RITUAL

One of the sunbirds’ favourite pastimes is to beautify themselves. Most other birds prefer the water feature or small pools of water to perfom this act of hygiene. The sunbirds find this act rather passé and probably also a bit dangerous. They prefer the sprinkler, which in turn waters the tree leaves on the lawn. Waiting in the tree, the sunbirds then rub themselves against the leaves of the tree. Whether this gets them really clean, as in deep-down Omo-clean, I have my doubts, but in the end they seem to look quite fancy, although the process looks rather superficial to me. My mum should have had a look at this, because she always thought our bathing activities were not that effective and also somewhat superficial. Another fascinating act of the sunbirds is their hunting of small insects in flight, which confirms the suspicion that their ancestors might be from Gobabis.

In Etosha there are a few additions to the above-mentioned three sunbirds. The White-bellied Sunbirds prefer a habitat that is dry acacia and other types of woodland, so the area is ideal for them. The Aloe hereroensis in front of the gas station in Okaukuejo is the place to go if you want to catch them in action. Obviously, this is during autumn when they are in flower. Although Amethyst Sunbirds should occur here, I have never seen them in Etosha. They prefer open woodland, and according to Roberts Bird Guide, gardens, although the garden habitat is not that satisfying in these areas. Further north to the Kunene Region and to the east they are quite common.

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ENTER THE FOREST-LOVING SPECIES The Zambezi Strip adds the Collared and Purple-banded Sunbirds to the above-mentioned sunbirds, providing them with a habitat of mangroves and evergreen forests that supplies a different brand of insects and nectar. Kalizo Lodge, apart from being the area to host the largest Southern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides) colony in Southern Africa, also lays claim to having a resident pair of Shelley’s Sunbirds.

After many hours of watching, sitting, sleeping, waiting and carrying my camera around with my neck muscles in a constant spasm from looking up into the different trees for this elusive sugarman, I have yet to see it.

It’s not that I don’t believe Val (you never doubt anything she says); it’s just I still have to see this little fellow.

To the south, along the Orange River – the border between Namibia and the Republic of South Africa – you will find (again, if you are lucky) the brilliant, bright metallic-green Malachite Sunbird and the Southern Double-collared Sunbird. Although their preferable habitat is fynbos and Karoo shrubland, they do occur in gardens in these areas. I must confess it would probably be much easier to fly down to Cape Town and look for them there. This is if you are prepared to deal with a few muggings or hijackings along the way, and being harassed by Western Province supporters in the process.

AVERAGE MUSIC MAKERS, BUT GREAT POLLINATORS As far as their musical talents are concerned, they are rather average, because the best they can offer are high-pitched, penetrating monotonous calls that have a rather metallic-like sound, and I don’t mean metallic as in Metallica. When looking at their bills, you can probably not expect much more.

Do they play any part in pollinating plants? Contrary to popular belief, most birds are not very good pollinators. The sunbirds, however, are an exception. They are generally considered to be the best. Their only other anatomical claim to fame apart from having short legs is their very strong feet on which they perch when feeding.

The million-dollar question is: are our sunbirds related to hummingbirds?

Apparently not. Although both have long, curved bills and both consume high-energy nectar, only hummingbirds have truly mastered the art of hovering in stationary flight, even backward flight. On our trip to Argentina we were fortunate to see a hummingbird, and after I saw it in flight, I understood what was meant by the term hovering. Because of this ability to hover, hummingbirds require a great deal of high-energy nectar. Whatever your opinion on the pros and cons of hovering is, it’s worthwhile going to find a hummingbird, albeit not in Namibia. You will need to travel further afield to witness this wonderful act of aviation.

As for Sugarman and not Sugarwoman, it’s not too difficult to figure this one out. Sunbird females are, to say the least, somewhat drab, as in dull greyish. The suits the males are born in just look so much better. TNN

BIBLIOGRAPHY Beat about the bush, Trevor Carnaby Roberts Bird Guide, Hugh Chittenden

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BATTLE BAMBARA NUTS Text and photographs Christie Keulder

It started so pleasantly. It was still early morning and I was taking it easy, both hands on the steering wheel and a foot lightly on the accelerator. I enjoy this type of road trip. The job is done and I’m heading home, so there is no hurry, no stress and lots of interesting scenery to take in.

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ust outside Rundu I noticed that the magunis were starting to come into season. I always buy some of the fruit to take home, so I slowed down to scan the produce on display.

They have to be a bright, deep-orange colour or else they are no good. I spotted a deserted table with those very same bright, deep-orange magunis – just what I was looking for.

As I climbed out of the vehicle, I saw there were also bright-red beans and some dull-greyish kernels. Mmmm… interesting.

The child that came running from the nearby village could not have been older than ten, maybe twelve years. I could see her smile from about fifty metres away.

“I want some magunis. Are these fully ripe?” I asked. She grabbed them and started shaking them. “No problem, I’ll give you the best, sir. How many do you want?”

“Twenty, please, if you have that many.”

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I watched as she carefully picked through her stock, looking at the colour of each and giving it a shake. Every one that met her discerning standards was put into my bag; the rest remained on the table. With my magunis in the bag, I shifted my focus to the remaining produce.

EEFUKWA, NONGOMENE, BAMBARA… “Are these eefukwa?” I asked, pointing to what looked like beans. “Yes,” she smiled, “but we call them nongomene.” I immediately bought a tin-full, and another tin-full of the dullgrey kernels that turned out to be marula kernels.

Back home and in the kitchen, I skinned the beans, and placed them in a bowl of water to soak before heading for bed. And that, right there, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep, was the last calm and peaceful moment I had in my encounter with these beans.

In the presence of new ingredients, a cook has to ponder several important questions. What to make? What to add? For how long? In what manner? To what effect? But perhaps most important of all: how?

Up to that point of putting the eefukwa into the pressure cooker, I admit I’d had no experience with these beautiful bright-red artifacts, which have as many names as there are cultural groups growing them.

TRADITIONAL FOOD From my research I know eefukwa are bambara nuts (Vigna subterranea) and that they are the third-most important legume in semi-arid Africa. So, a lot of people cook and eat bambara nuts – I am not going this route alone. That is comforting.

I also know that these nuts – actually, like the peanut, bambara nuts are legumes, not nuts – grow in soil conditions where no other self-respecting legume would set root. Therefore, they are hardy and drought-resistant – that should have been a vital clue.

Yet, like a true romantic, I chose to ignore it.

Instead, I revelled in the fact that they are nutritious – low in fat (5%) and high in proteins (18%) and carbohydrates (65%). They are grown mainly as an intercrop with millet, maize, sorghum, yams and cassava.

YET NOT A RECIPE IN SIGHT I contemplated all this information while adding three cups of soaked bambara nuts into my pressure cooker. In only the few minutes it takes to reach full pressure, I got the chance to peruse a few African cookbooks for recipe ideas. I should not have been surprised. Ten cookbooks, eight of which have the word ‘best’ next to ‘African’ in their titles, and not a single recipe. It seems that not only is the bambara nut one of Africa’s most common, yet most ‘forgotten’ crops; few African chefs, if any, warrant it with a recipe. Dorah Sitole’s book From Cape to Cairo brought no luck, nor could I find anything in Sandra Amoako’s Akwaaba: A taste of Ghana.

After 30 minutes, I de-pressurised the cooker, and ladled a large spoonful of hot bambara into my mouth.

Big mistake.

I could feel the blisters form on my tongue. It was excruciating.

But I forged ahead. This time I employed my teeth, which have dealt with most things I’ve thrown their way.

But not this time. No sir. I might as well have bitten into a slice of Grootfontein’s Hoba Meteorite. To prevent further damage to my precious, personal eating utensils, I deposited the lot into the kitchen bin.

difficult to say “f&@kit” with painful pockets of water the size of 50-cent pieces wobbling on your tongue, but I did. A lot.

After another hour, I completed the ritual of de-pressurising the pot once again. This time I carefully removed a few beans and rinsed them under cold water. Other than a wrinkled skin, there was almost no progress. More swearing with a swollen tongue.

More fresh water, more heat and more pressure. Still no recipe.

I went to bed that night with hard, still inedible beans in the pot, and much turmoil in my head. I got little sleep as I continued to ponder the best way to cook the beans. I made sure I followed all the recommended steps – no salt or acid, as this toughens them. A little bi-carb of soda, which is supposed to make them softer (and help with embarrassing flatulence!).

The next morning I waited until everyone was gone. Rinsed them once again and added more fresh water. Made sure I had enough to do and more than enough to drink. I then dug in for the long haul, with every hard-assed fibre in my being. In fact, I might even have been a little happy as I listened to the whistle of the pressure cooker. Then all went quiet. Just like Gochas on a Sunday. Not even a breeze blowing.

Quietly I inspected the kitchen. The stove was still on, but there was no heat. I tried the remaining cooking tops – nothing.

I would have done better trying to heat the cooker with a cigarette lighter.

After about 15 minutes of close inspection and agitated swearing – by now I had already consumed twice my daily dose of high-blood-pressure pills – I discovered that I had run out of electricity. What else on God’s beautiful earth could go wrong?

It took another hour and a half to get the beans soft, by which time I was ready to admit defeat. Is this why it is a ‘forgotten’ crop?

Eating them is a whole lot easier than cooking them. I used my bambara nuts to make lovely vegetable fritters. If there is anyone out there who knows how to cook these beans in much less than about four hours, I would be most grateful to hear from you. Honestly, I would. TNN

ALL OR NOTHING This time I approached the pressure cooker with much less concern over the well-being of these rock-hard artifacts. I added fresh water and cranked up the temperature. With the cooker back to full pressure, I retired – blisters and all – to seek solace on the Internet.

Other than a video clip showing a young West African woman droning on for ten minutes about how she missed her family and how hard it is to get proper bambara nuts in the USA, there is nothing. Zippo! Zilch! Nada!

I struggled to make it through the ten minutes of watching her cook beans on a stove top. It takes four hours, she said. It is

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SPRINGTIME IN HALALI

When the Acacia nebrownii trees are flowering Text and photographs Annabelle Venter

It’s August and I can’t wait to ‘see yellow’ ­– tiny yellow balls of fluff as far as the eye can see and set against an intensely blue sky. Then I know that it’s springtime and I’m on my way to spend a few days at Halali Camp in the middle of the Etosha National Park. These yellow balls are the inflorescences of Acacia nebrownii, a short and somewhat untidy, many-stemmed acacia tree growing no higher than about three metres, which you’ll find lining the roadsides in Etosha. The common name of this plant is water-thorn acacia, named thus because it’s thought to indicate the presence of water.

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HALALI

S

o it’s fitting that after entering the Andersson Gate and passing through Okaukuejo Camp, the first waterhole you’ll encounter on the road to Halali bears the name of this plant.

Truth is, we simply cannot drive past Nebrownii Waterhole without making the detour to see which animals are drinking there. There are almost always a couple of the legendary ‘white’ elephant bulls, reinforcing the myth by spraying new layers of white mud over themselves. Between the legs of these giants you’ll probably catch

a glimpse of springbok, gemsbok, zebra and giraffe playing out the usual tense scenarios common to waterholes in the dry season. It’s an image you will have seen many times and is always a favourite among visitors. This elevated waterhole gives you a good view and it’s quite close to the parking area. If you make your way here in the early morning or late afternoon, you might be lucky enough to see lions and hyaenas, and in summer the lions often rest up during the midday heat in the culvert visible back on the main road. Black rhino often come to drink here too.

But today there’s not much happening and after a quick check, we’re on our way again. After lunchtime the traffic to Halali will be subsiding. The game-drive vehicles from lodges outside Andersson Gate must begin to turn homewards as we continue on our way east to what often feels like the most remote camp in the park.

For us this is one of the attractions of Halali – that the roads are somewhat quieter in the early morning and late afternoon, and that and the stunning pan vistas in this area are the backdrop to many a magnificent sighting.

The camp is spacious and set in a woodland of large mopane trees. As we drive through the gates for the third time this year, we joke that we are visiting our weekend cottage, because we come here so often! But this time we’re camping (it’s very booked up in August), so after greeting Noreen at the office and checking the sightings book, we choose our tree and campsite that will be our home for the next four days.

There’s no time to waste, as the light is beginning to take on the afternoon glow, so after setting up camp basics, it’s off for the first game drive. On the way to the gate, we meet our old pals Samuel and Gabriel, the game-drive guides who tell us about their recent cat sightings. Apart from the tour operators who visit regularly with clients, I think we are among the most regular local visitors! We shared a special leopard sighting with Samuel a few trips back (see TNN Winter 2014 pp. 16 to 17) and he always knows where the big cats are hanging out.

Halali Camp consists of two- and four-bed chalets and close to 60 camping sites, the latter on the basis of first come first serve, unlike Okaukuejo where you are allocated a stand. This is why it’s good to check in as early as possible if you want a good, quiet spot! But the upside of not being given a number is that the next morning after folks have checked out, you can move your campsite! There are lights at most of the campsites as well as electrical points,

and some stands have cement tables and stools. Facilities for dishwashing and washing lines for clothes complete the basic offerings. There is even a small bar at the campsite.

Next to the restaurant there is a large and sparkling swimming pool for whiling away the hot hours of the day.

The bush chalets were revamped several years ago and all have a braai stand and outside seating. The standard rooms don’t have braai facilities and you’ll need to eat in the restaurant. There is a small fridge in each chalet and room, as well as a kettle, cups and saucers. There are no inside facilities or cookware for preparing food and also minimal utensils, so you’ll need to bring these along.

Breakfast is included in the rates for all these types of indoor accommodation.

Eating outside your bungalow at Halali has the exciting possibility that the resident badgers may visit you. But please take note that it is most unwise to leave food out for these animals, because if they become a nuisance they will be eliminated. So just enjoy watching them! They don’t usually take any notice of humans, and you’ll hear them knocking the metal bins over as they canter through the camp. We’ve often heard them in the dead of night sniffing near the tent or at a screen door. If you’re camping, make sure your food is secured inside your vehicle at night, as these incredibly strong creatures have been known to achieve amazing feats to get to food. Please note that these are wild animals and are known to be extremely aggressive.

Jackals also visit the camps, as all visitors to Etosha know, and have become somewhat of a pest over the years due to feeding by visitors. A special daytime treat is finding the scops-owl in the campsite. Sometimes you may be lucky enough to see a pearlspotted owlet perched briefly in a tree, calling to its mate across the camp. Ask the camp attendants, as they usually know where to look.

SPEED LIMIT Please stick to the speed limit of 60 km/hour on all Etosha’s roads.

Travelling any faster endangers the lives of the residents that the park is meant to protect – not to mention your own life and that of your fellow visitors.

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We have two favourite routes for the evening drive and it’s a tossup whether we turn left or right at the T-junction, 9 km north of the camp gate. Left takes you in the direction of the Salvadora and Rietfontein waterholes, but we often just do the 8-km detour along the edge of the pan – beautiful in the late afternoon light. You really don’t have to drive great distances to capture those orange-red sunset silhouettes on the way home, and you never know what little creatures will be waiting for you en route back to camp.

Of course you might win the lotto, as we did on the last trip, and find a leopard relaxing in a tree near Rietfontein.

The other option is to turn east and visit Nuamses, the Etosha Pan lookout, and then drift home via Goas. Both Nuamses and Goas are known for late-afternoon sightings of leopards, but you’ll have to watch the time and not head back to camp too late, as the drive to Halali is straight into the setting sun.

Once back at camp, head straight for the Moringa Waterhole within the camp. This is a magical way to end the day, as just after sunset the air fills with the tinkling calls of kelkiewyns (Namaqua sandgrouse) arriving in large flocks for a final drink before dark.

It’s so lovely to watch their reflections in the water, landing and taking off. It’s the real sound of an African desert night about to begin. Gradually their calls die away and the spotlights illuminate a silent scene as night settles in.

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Your eyes begin to ache from peering into the semi-darkness, and then suddenly you see a movement to your left. It’s more a change of the shape of the background than anything definite, but gradually as you stare you see that background taking the shape of a leopard! What masters of camouflage these big cats are – you might only recognise it once it’s actually at the water!

This always causes a ripple of chatter and mild hysteria amongst the onlookers – there’s just a rock face a couple of metres high separating us from the animals below, and the big cats are what we’re all waiting for. The leopard drinks and disappears as silently as it came.

Some nights the waterhole is taken over during twilight by the elephant herds – and such a commotion is carefully avoided by this secretive cat. It’s marvellous to watch the elephant interactions as they slake their thirst and revel in the water. Later it’s time for a rhino or two to arrive – sometimes as many as five or more at a time. While watching all this carrying on down below, keep an eye open around you for scorpions in the seating area, or even more crucially, a badger or two!

You can spend the whole night sitting here waiting for the next act to happen on stage, and you are welcome to do so, as the waterhole is within the camp and lit all night, but at some stage you’ll need to eat something and you won’t want to miss the restaurant hours (closing time at nine) if you’re not self-catering.

Dinner is a buffet affair and there’s usually a choice of game, beef, fish or chicken, plus lots of salads and veggies to keep all diners happy. Some nights there’s a braai outside on the veranda and the draft beers are always icy cold. Taté Petrus Malakia, who has been the chef at Halali for 29 years, is looking forward to his retirement later this year. He mans the grill and has fried thousands upon thousands of eggs in his time, always with a ready smile.

After dinner we drift off to our tent to sit outside for a last few minutes to listen to the night sounds. There are lions near camp tonight and they are restless, the males roaring continuously in the

early evening, then again around dawn. This is what camping in Etosha is all about – feeling the night awakening around you and hearing the creatures out there; feeling the gentle movement of air caress your face; listening to the mopane leaves rustling softly in the breeze; watching clouds float across the moon; avoiding the badger; and feeling alive!

Then it’s off to sleep in the freshest air imaginable, listening to the pearl-spotted owlet and its friend the white-faced scops-owl, and dreaming about what you may find on your travels the next morning. TNN

WATERHOLE ETIQUETTE •

Observe the rule of silence and switch off your cellphone. By doing so you absorb the atmosphere and so do others around you. There is no need to talk constantly. Noise also disturbs the animals.

•

Leave your noisy food packaging at home.

•

Wear soft cotton clothes, not nylon, and please – none of that noisy Velcro!

•

Please don’t smoke – it’s a public and somewhat confined space, so show respect to your neighbours.

IN A GIANT SANDPIT Text Guy Jennings Photography Piers L’Estrange

Mountain biking is all about the trail, about the surroundings, and about the terrain. Riders will always remember and talk about a great piece of trail, a ‘gnarly’ rocky, technical section, or a ‘mother’ of a climb from a great ride. Riding through the desert is different. It is glorious, wonderful, smile-inducing freedom.

We had an approximate distance to cover each day, and way points to follow, but 48

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FATBIKE ADVENTURE

apart from that, riders rode where and how they wanted to – picking their lines, surfing the dunes and all loving the freedom of such a remarkable place on these remarkable bikes. Looking up at times, we could be literally kilometres apart, yet still within visual contact and all thoroughly immersed in the silent beauty of the dynamic, shifting sands of the Namib.

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“

”

Sand is just like snow, surely?

thought Bill.

And thus the expedition was born.

The Namibian Snow-2-Sand fatbike experience

In July this year, a bunch of guys (and a girl) from Namibia, South Africa and Alaska met at Mannie’s Mecca bike shop in Windhoek to undertake a bike ride with a difference. A world’s first on bicycles, the ride would take the team through the beautiful, ancient and unspoiled Namib Desert to Walvis Bay.

T

he bikes that the group were to ride were 9:zero:7 fatbikes, so called because of their fat ‘takkies’ (wide tyres) – some measuring 4.8 inches wide and designed to ‘float’ over the snow in Alaska and other similar, chilly, places. The bikes had been ridden in sand before, but no one, including bike designer, owner and team member, Bill Flemming, knew how they would perform in the massive sand dunes in this remote part of the world.

Fatbiking is the fastest-growing cycling sport throughout America.

The fatbike was invented to handle winter riding in Northern America and Europe. The concept behind the original bikes was that the fat tyres would float across the snow, and not leave the rider buried up to the top of their fork in soft snow, meaning that people could ride and race all year round. Due to their fun factor and comfort, the bikes caught on so fast that they are now a popular choice for commuters and on riding trails worldwide.

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The Namibian Snow-2-Sand expedition was the brainchild of bike designer and co-owner of the 9:zero:7 fatbikes, Bill Flemming. Bill was up for a new challenge, and while googling the least populated countries in the world, Namibia with its vast tracks of desert dunes came up high on the list.

The team consisted of an eclectic mix of people, keen riders one and all, with a common challenge in mind. The itinerary had been set just a few weeks prior to their meeting, but no one really knew how hard, or easy, it may be, exactly how long it would take, or indeed, whether it was possible at all.

All logistics and support vehicles were supplied by Namibian-based company NatureFriend Safaris, and on 22 July friends and friendsto-be piled into a bus and set off for the Namib-Naukluft Park, via the Kanaan Gate, to begin this epic six-day 580-km adventure.

CYCLING & MOUNTAIN BIKING IN NAMIBIA Namibia plays host to numerous MTB races and cycling expeditions every year. Here are some of the races that allow cyclists to truly experience the wonders of Namibia from their bicycle seats: • • • • • • • • • • •

Nedbank Cycle Challenge – February Klein-Aus Vista MTB Challenge – May Windhoek Light Namib Quest – May Kuiseb Classic MTB – May Otjihavera Xperience – August Desert Knights – September 9 Day Cycling Namibia – October The Namibian Pick & Pay Cycle Classic – October 100 km of Namib Desert – November Cycletech Spring Festival – November FNB Desert Dash – December

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DAY

1

was a wake-up call for any riders expecting an easy ‘sightseeing tour’ of Namibia by bike and resulted in a bit of a ‘suffer-fest’. A strong, hot headwind for over 100 km of constant slight uphill riding and a miscommunication with support vehicles led to some of the groups running out of water, not to mention their sense of humour. A mayday call over the ever-present and essential twoway radio ensured that water made it to the riders and they safely reached the glorious first camp, set up by the ever-affable Uys and his camp crew from Namab Desert Tours. An excellent hot desert shower and our first experience of the glorious stargazing on offer made for a spectacular first night. A few bitterly cold Tafels quickly restored faith in humanity, cycling and, perhaps more importantly, restored everyone’s sense of humour.

DAY

2

dawned with perfect weather, and nine slightly tender, tired bodies mounted their fatbikes and headed out. The desert is a constantly changing place, and the terrain immediately took on a different look and feel, becoming increasingly more remote than the previous day. No two days are the same, no two dunes look the same or ride the same, and no stretch of sand is the same. You can be a metre away from a fellow rider and sink into annoyingly soft sand, flailing like a caught fish on the beach, while your mate floats along, grinning gleefully, atop completely rideable, firm, concretelike sand. This was one of the more challenging and exasperating aspects of the ride; it was also a great source of mirth for the rider who chose the line on the solid surface.

NAMIB DESERT FACTS • Believed to be the world’s oldest desert, the Namib is estimated to be between 55 and 80 million years old.

• The name ‘Namib’ is Nama for ‘vast’ or ‘vast place’.

• The Namib Desert stretches for more than 2,000 km along the south-western coast of Africa; its sand dunes can reach up to 300 m high and 32 km long.

• Average rainfall is limited to approximately 10 mm a year in the desert proper.

• The Namib is home to more endemic flora and fauna species than any other desert in the world.

• In 2013, the Namib Sand Sea was proclaimed a World Heritage Site, Namibia’s second WHS after Twyfelfontein with its world-renowned concentration of rock engravings.

• More than 1,000 shipwrecks litter the Skeleton Coast, which encompasses the northern stretch of the Namib.

• Average daytime temperatures can reach up to 45˚C in some parts of the Namib and can fall to below 0˚C at night.

DAY

3

was always going to be the ‘big day’ – big dunes and a big challenge. We were not disappointed. After about 15 km we headed into a stretch of massive dunes without the support vehicles, as being fully laden they couldn’t make it through the huge sand cliffs. At this point all vegetation had disappeared and we were now headed deep into the most indescribable beauty. The sense of freedom was unbelievable. Riding up huge dunes, then dropping off the other side down the cliff-like slipface immediately turns a bunch of grown (mature) adults into happily laughing, screaming children.

There can be no better feeling on a bike than that of dropping off a dune, feeling the bike grip at the top in the soft sand, then picking up momentum at upwards of 55 km an hour down the almost sheer 70-to-80-metre drop off, screaming with laughter and already looking forward to surfing up the next biggie.

The day was made even better by the view of the ocean ahead of us, riding through this giant sandpit of exhilarating fun, with the riders getting together as we looked down on vast flocks of flamingos standing in the shallows, before dropping down for a few hours of soft, draining beach riding, culminating in our only permanent camp of the trip – Namab Camp at Meob Bay.

DAYS

4&5

consisted of more amazing dune riding, hard and soft beach riding – which can either be a long and draining slog – or an easy glide over a rock-hard surface, dodging the chasing waves and following the numerous tracks of the ever-present jackals and, more excitingly, the huge unmistakable brown hyaena paw prints.

Riding through the old deserted diamond mines, with half-buried buildings, an abandoned ox wagon and the small rock ‘cairns’ marking the claims of long-dead miners was both beautiful and eerie… Riding in a driving sandstorm (luckily from behind for the most part) was just plain sore!

Our final day along the beach, through the salt mines outside Walvis Bay and up our final annoyingly soft sand dune was both a cause for celebration and sadness. We had achieved what we had set out to do – certainly not to conquer the desert on bikes, but perhaps to tame her at least a little. We had also arrived back to civilisation, to the real world. Space and solitude replaced by development and people.

We would carry with us memories of a beautiful, spacious and silent landscape, incredible night skies followed by crisp clear mornings, campfires and new-found friendships, and most of all the most incredible riding you could ever wish for.

Now, several weeks later, back at our respective desks, countries and jobs, the Snow-2-Sand group have had to return to adulthood and sensibility – however, thanks to social media, emails and an amazing array of wonderful photographs, a return to being children in a giant sandpit remains just a click away. TNN

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SPRING SOJOURN in SAVUTE A round trip from Windhoek, with Savute as the diamond in the ring...

Text and photographs Annabelle Venter

Spring is knocking on the door – I can feel it – although it’s still early August.

There is a definite change in the air, a smokiness drifting in from the east and a sense of anticipation of warmer days that make me want to pull out my suitcase and start throwing in a few things. I’ve noticed the first vermillion blooms of the coral trees here and there in Windhoek, and just outside town, eager Acacia mellifera pushing out their powder-puff lemon blossoms. This can mean only one thing in my world – it’s time for our annual migration to the north-east.

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SAVUTE

I

t’s a trip we do almost every year and it’s a good circular route through Botswana and back to Windhoek, via the Zambezi Region. It’s mostly on tar except when travelling through the wild reaches of the Moremi and Chobe game reserves. We have done it in a week, but two weeks makes for a good break and you can pack in quite a variety of different destinations in our neighbouring country. Heading out of Windhoek to the east via Gobabis, the plus-minus 800-km journey to Maun will take an easy day’s travelling, passing through Ghanzi, past Lake Ngami and then north-east to the frontier town of Maun, the gateway to some of Africa’s most spectacular game reserves. A phrase often heard is that ‘Botswana never disappoints’ and I can truly vouch for that! Arriving in Maun always initiates an exciting feeling of anticipation for us.

The dusty, mopane-lined streets are abuzz with shoppers, goats, chickens, tourist vehicles and plenty of donkeys. After a long day’s drive, our first stop is to enjoy an ice-cold St Louis beer at Bon Arrivee – a popular cafe opposite the entrance to the airport, where Henry the chicken used to hold court amongst the steady throng of regulars. It’s a great place to immerse yourself in Maun’s atmosphere and unwind after the drive. The food is fairly good, but if you’re a nervous flyer and waiting for an aircraft that will take you into the Delta, the photo memorabilia that plasters the walls here may give you indigestion! This is where young pilots hang out (like those in the TV series, Bush Pilots) when not on duty or waiting for a flight, and the place reverberates with stories of close encounters in the bush.

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BOTSWANA ROADSIDE DELIGHTS After some people-watching and spotting familiar faces we’ve seen on previous visits, it’s time to move on to find a camping spot for the night, so we head east out of town to an old favourite, Camp Audi. We’ve been camping here for 16 years and find the campsite consistently well maintained. The spacious outdoor showers under the stars and mopane trees are a sure sign that you’re back in Botswana. The atmosphere at the bar and restaurant has plenty of vibes and attracts the locals – always a good sign – and the food’s not bad either! A beautifully clean, pale-blue swimming pool on the banks of the Thamelekane River and surrounded by colourful comfy sofas is a good place to while away an hour or two with a book, if you can keep your eyes off the interesting birds overhead!

SAVUTE AND ITS ENIGMATIC CHANNEL An elephant arrived here before us and we must wait while he finishes his snack of Kalahari apple-leaf branches with delicate purple flowers. Engaging in 4 low gear to negotiate the soft, deep grey sand, we position the Landy for the evening’s camping while Mr Elephant watches us from the next campsite.

He hasn’t finished his snack yet, and sure enough, just after dark, he comes closer again while we observe his movements from the rooftop tent.

It turns out to be a restless night with all the visitors to our campsite, including a passing leopard rasping us awake, and buffaloes splashing about in the nearby channel. By five in the morning we’re relieved to rise and begin the new day in this magnificent place. It’s still dark, but the setting full moon reveals that there are no predators in the immediate vicinity, and quickly we fall into our hushed morning routine. It’s too dark to walk to the ablutions 100 metres away and we’re not allowed to wander around on foot after dark. Over the first filter coffee

of the day – we never travel without the plunger – we plan our route for the morning, taking advantage of that magical golden hour that photographers are so obsessed with. Because Savute lies further east than Namibia, the sun rises earlier too, forcing a keen photographer out of the sack at an unseemly hour!

The Savute Channel and its surrounding areas in northern Botswana form part of the greater Chobe Game Reserve, which stretches all the way from the south-eastern boundary of Moremi up to Kasane and the Chobe riverfront. Its main feature is the enigmatic channel, which flows in great natural cycles and has a profound effect on the creatures that call this pristine corner of Africa home. About 30 years ago the channel dried up, causing much of the wildlife to move away to other areas with more reliable water sources. Many creatures not able to make the trek suffered and died.

Wildlife filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert immortalised this devastating natural event in their documentary film, The Stolen River. But in 2010 the rains were good and fell in the right places, and the water that had started creeping down the channel two years previously, finally made it as far as the marsh.

Gradually the animals have returned to this Eden, although each year the marsh dries up naturally for a few weeks in the winter, until the summer floodwaters from Angola reach the channel again, in around August.

Our first visit in 1999 was during the dry period, and in spite of this and spending just one day in the area en route northwards, we spotted leopard as well as wild dogs. Something caught our imagination back then and once the channel started resuming its natural cyclical flow, we were compelled to return for a longer visit. It’s inevitable that Savute will experience a drought cycle again in the future, we just don’t know when. In the meantime all of nature is celebrating the return of the waters, as we are.

THE BEND, BEE-EATER CORNER AND PARADISE

This morning we decide to explore all the roads around the marsh to familiarise ourselves with the area and we soon learn that the mornings are pretty quiet as far as game viewing is concerned, with mostly antelope grazing on the plains. By mid-morning the temperatures start to rise and this is the cue for the elephants to gradually emerge from the woodlands in the west.

We find a delightful bend in the road where the river starts seeping away into the marsh and we nickname it Bee-eater Corner in honour of the little bee-eaters we find there. Flocks of Bradfield’s hornbills fill the air with their calls and in the distance a pair of southern ground hornbills are out hunting. This curve in the road is a favourite spot for everything it seems, and later in the afternoon we are thrilled to find a leopard creeping through the yellow grass.

We spend some time with her before she heads down to the river for a drink. The next morning she is still in the area and we watch her again sunning herself on an ant-heap, while she lazily watches the traffic. Leopards are so in control of game viewing! After about 10 minutes, she’s had enough of us and wanders away into the bushes, leaving us wondering whether it was a dream.

The days pass sublimely as we leave all thoughts of home and work far behind and fall into a pleasant daily rhythm. By lunchtime the heat necessitates seeking the scanty shade under the Kalahari apple-leaf in our campsite, named Paradise, where we wait for the temperature and light to shift, or else to drive in the air-conditioned car to try and escape the heat. You never know what you’ll find in the heat of the day, and sometimes it’s worth braving it. We spend some time with a pack of African wild dogs resting in the shade near the channel.

During our stay, the marsh rapidly fills up and becomes impassable for vehicles, but the buffaloes seem to love the fresh greenery that sprouts in the water. Also enjoying the water are hundreds of elephants – smaller groups continually coming in from far-off places, joining the bigger herds until we witness, splashing together in the distance, one of the biggest gathering of elephants I have ever seen. After watching the increasing buffalo herds moving steadily up the marsh towards The Bend over the last few days, we estimate between 1,000 to 1,500 animals to be gathered here. The scene is now set for the king of this jungle to arrive.

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BUFFALOES, LIONS AND BAOBABS On the last morning, for some reason, we are not out as early as we could be (in Botswana in August the gates open about half an hour before sunrise) and we leave camp as the sun is rising, stopping to photograph tree silhouettes en route. At The Bend we are somewhat taken aback to find a cluster of vehicles, their drivers clearly knowing something we do not. A gap in the crowd reveals a magnificent sunrise tableau of thick, orange dust hanging above a huge herd of buffaloes on the opposite bank, with several lions alert in the foreground. Two more male lions are pacing restlessly on our side of the river, eventually taking the plunge and ‘swimming’ the chin-deep channel. The reason reveals itself – a buffalo feast is being devoured by a third male lion inside a cluster of bushes on the opposite bank. We should have anticipated this happening and been out early, so we head back for camp, a little annoyed with ourselves at missing out on such a great photographic opportunity – nine lions crossing the river for the hunt earlier and witnessed by other campers!

Leaving Savute is always a wrench because it’s such a remote and magical place. Time really seems to stand still here as you learn to live with cycles of sun and moon. But the Chobe River up north beckons, along with a boat trip and breakfast at Chobe Safari Lodge, if you are continuing your trip in Botswana. The road northwards is most beautiful, passing masses of stately and ancient baobabs along the Chobe River, before emerging at the Ngoma border post with Namibia.

BIRD SPECIALS, TIGER FISH, ELEPHANTS… EVEN SABLE AND ROAN From here you can either continue east to Kasane about 70 km away and still in Botswana, or cross back into Namibia to enjoy the beautiful Zambezi Region, named after the mighty river that merges close by with the Chobe River. There are loads of interesting destinations to explore along the main thoroughfare travelling westwards; where you will stop depends on what your interests are. From August onwards it’s time for carmine bee-eaters and African skimmers to arrive and nest on the river edges and sandbanks, so if you’re a birder, it’s a good idea to include these on your wish list.

Kalizo Fishing Camp is a good venue for viewing both these birds by means of a short boat ride that you can book at the camp. If birding’s not your thing, then try your luck at catching and releasing a tiger fish here. Either way, a trip on the river is a delight for anyone, just to view the mighty Zambezi from a different perspective. Stop off at the Kwando River for a few days’ detour and discover Namibia’s own version of the Delta.

The Bwabwata National Park on the Kwando’s western bank is a highlight not to be missed before you leave this area and travel through the Caprivi Strip to the Okavango River.

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Namibian Wildlife Resorts has just renovated the old Popa Falls Camp, adding waterfront chalets and boat trips on the river. It’s a good place to end your stay in the north-east, or you could choose from a number of established private camps that line the river close by. Whichever place you pick to rest your happy, weary head, a highlight of this area is the Mahango Game Reserve nearby where you can drive along the river road in the

late afternoon to have your final fill of game viewing. Mahango is well known for its roan and sable antelope, neither of which you’ll see easily elsewhere in Namibia. It’s also home to large herds of elephants and buffaloes.

From here it’s a full day’s drive back to Windhoek to complete the circular route and start planning next year’s trip! TNN

Botswana Tourism Organisation Tel: +267 391 3111 Email: board@botswanatourism.co.bw www.botswanatourism.co.bw

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Did you know?

Stamps may be printed only by a Security Printer (the printers that print money) and ours are printed inter alia in Holland, Austria and New Zealand.

STAMP ARTIST

ANJA DENKER A WORLD IN 3X4 CM Text and photographs Annabelle Venter

I arrange to meet Anja, the stamp artist, at her studio early in the morning so that we can catch good light for photographs. However, stepping inside her artistic haven, I’m completely distracted by the paintings and stamp posters that line the walls. Apart from the visual feast that inspires and fills many artists’ studios, there are loads of interesting books for research, lovebirds twitter on the branches outside the window, trees sway gently in the breeze, and yes, the morning light that fills the space is really good. A feeling of well-being pervades.

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black-and-white drawing of an elephant, part of a calendar series she’s working on, stands unfinished on her desk.

This is a new venture for Anja, in which she combines her drawing skills and her new-found passion: wildlife photography.

More about that later – today I’m here to learn about the intricate art of stamp painting.

Anja’s career in art didn’t follow the usual path of many established artists who seem to know they are heading in that direction from an early age. She did the mandatory ‘art as a subject’ in primary school, but didn’t really pursue it after that. Years later, while studying fashion design in Cape Town, part-time classes after hours at the Ruth Prowse School of Art fanned the flames again. Here Anja discovered portraiture, dabbling at first in charcoal, shunning oils, and finally finding her true love in watercolour painting.

Returning to Windhoek a few years later, she began doing freelance illustration of children’s and school books for Gamsberg Publishers while working as a full-time secretary during the day. The move to full-time art came about when Anja gave birth to her daughter Alexa in 1999, and a new era began in more ways than one.

Stamp painting is quite a specialised field, as Anja explains. In addition to artistic ability, you need a certain set of skills These include meticulous attention to detail, a very steady hand and good eyesight. Apart from these skills, there are two other areas that require the attention of the artist.

Firstly, she or he must engage in hours of painstaking and careful research, seeking the opinion of experts who can advise you on the particular subject you are tackling, such as museum experts or scientists in that particular field.

Observation of your subject, where possible, is useful to capture the sense of movement and motion. Anja has often gone out to photograph her subject and then painted from her own images wherever she can. A few years ago she did a trip down south to visit the wild horses of the Namib to capture images for that stamp series.

Secondly, the artist must also write the insert for the first-day cover envelope on which the new stamps are issued. This includes specific information on the theme depicted on the stamps, and has to be factually correct and well written.

AN IMMEDIATE ATTRACTION TO THE DISCIPLINE

Anja tells me that she first encountered stamp design when she attended a course offered by Koos van Ellinckhuijzen in 1997.

For her there was an immediate attraction to the discipline. She had always loved painting realistic, natural subjects in a true-tolife style, so this appealed to her sense of order and attention to detail. Her new career began in earnest. Since then Anja has painted more than 100 single artworks, mostly for stamps, between 2001 and the present. She has also taken part in two exhibitions in Windhoek, both at the Omba Gallery. The first was a joint exhibition with a few fellow artists in 2005, in which she exhibited botanical paintings. The second was in 2010, an exhibition entitled Merge, again with several artists. Her work at that time featured seascapes.

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A FINELY TUNED ART IN ALL RESPECTS

I have always thought that stamps were shrunk-down miniversions of A3 or bigger paintings, but Anja assures me that there is a fine art even to the sizing of the stamp! Let’s say you want to produce a 4-cm-square stamp. You will need to scale those exact measurements up three to four times, so that you end up with no more than an A5 sheet of canvas. This has to be done extremely precisely so that the finished product is exactly the right size when it is reduced again in the printing process! That’s quite a small artwork to work on – no wonder good eyesight is crucial.

When designing the stamps, Anja says the artist will also design the layout of the first-day cover, deciding on the font to be used, making sure there is space to write an address on the front, and generally deciding what fits where best, depending on how many stamps the post office requires for that particular envelope.

In addition to the stamps themselves, the artist also designs the ‘canceller’. This is a black-and-white drawing in keeping with the theme of the other stamps and is used to cancel stamp issues.

Anja is modest about her work, but when questioned reveals a couple of interesting facts. To date she is the only Namibian stamp artist since Independence who has designed stamps for other African countries. Her World Cup series for the Southern Africa Postal Operators Association (SAPOA) was published in nine Southern African countries in 2010. In 2006, another set of her stamps – the first joint SAPOA issue entitled National Birds of eight participating African countries – received the award for Best Souvenir sheet in the world for the Botswana postal

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service at an exhibition in China. She has also offered two workshops for aspiring stamp designers in Botswana.

Her advice for those seeking to follow in her footsteps is twofold: Contact Nampost in Namibia and show your interest, and then find a stamp-design course to learn the finer details.

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY A NEWFOUND PASSION

It is with some regret that I learn that this talented artist’s last stamp envelope will be released in October this year. It features some of the various kingfishers found in Namibia.

Anja smiles and says that her eyesight is not as good as it used to be and she has become a little weary of producing art on demand. From now on she is looking forward to focussing more on spontaneous artwork and her new-found passion, wildlife photography. It’s something she has done for many years as part of stamp research, but now she’s keen to focus her attention on photography for its own sake. She escapes to nature as often as time allows to fulfil this passion, and she is looking forward to several new projects in photography. These include the calendars mentioned, and there’s also a book or two in the pipeline. Anja is also highly involved in the fund-raising and support of the desert-lion project, so there is lots to keep her busy.

After we’ve looked through many stamp images and I’ve learnt a great deal about this fascinating miniature world, it’s time to take my leave of the artist and her studio. Who would have thought that so much detail and effort goes into those small stamps we simply lick and stick without a second thought! TNN

BOOKS ON NAMIBIA Review Amy Schoeman

INDIGENOUS PLANT PRODUCTS IN NAMIBIA Venture Publications 2014

Specified on its inner title page as The Commercialisation of Indigenous Natural Plant Products in Namibia, the rationale for the publication of this visually captivating and highly informative book is creatively summarised on its cover by some of the species that are harvested and utilised by rural people in Namibia.

Indigenous Natural Plant Products (INPs) are produced from plants that grow naturally in a particular region or environment in Namibia and which contain active components that can be used as ingredients in cosmetic, medicinal and food preparations. The sustainable wild harvesting and trading of INPs has the potential to contribute significantly to alleviate rural poverty and conservation of natural resources, partially through trade with developed markets internationally. It is mainly women who depend on INPs to improve their food security and who are increasingly engaged in the commercialisation of these products to improve their livelihoods.

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Until the late 1990s much of the economic contribution from INPs originated from the informal trade sector via local markets.

However, Namibia’s proactive approach towards further developing the INP sector on a more commercial basis has yielded significant economic growth opportunities, particularly at the local rural producer or harvester level. Some estimates have put the current annual value of the contribution to Namibia’s Gross Domestic Product of INPs at between N$30–N$50 million, with the potential to increase considerably. The growth in this sector is based on a strong and growing global demand for natural ingredients, including those currently harvested in Namibia for use in medicinal and cosmetic products.

The book highlights species that serve as the main pillars of INP commercialisation in Namibia, such as: !Nara, the desert cucurbit that grows as a leafless, thorny bush throughout the Namib Desert, producing fruit with seeds that are cold-pressed for virgin oil to use in food and in the preparation of natural cosmetic products.

BOOKS ON NAMIBIA Hoodia, which has gained a reputation as a dietary supplement that acts as an appetite suppressant.

Devil’s claw, traditionally known for its effective treatment of arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and has also demonstrated its effectiveness as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent.

Marula seed kernels, from which oil is cold-pressed for use in skin-care products, as it naturally softens, nourishes and revitalises the skin.

Ximenia oil, cold-pressed from the seed kernels of Ximenia americana and sought after for its anti-aging properties, as it increases moisture levels and improves blood flow in the skin.

It also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Commiphora resin, which yields essential oils that have long been used by Himba women in the Kunene Region as a major ingredient in their perfumes, with omumbiri from the Commiphora wildii being the most commercially viable.

Mopane bark, used for treating sore eyes, chafing, stomachache and kidney stones, while mopane leaves used to disinfect wounds and reduce bleeding.

Marama vines, which produce the marama (gemsbok) bean, an excellent source of good-quality protein (29% to 39%) and oil (24% to 48%).

The book was funded by the Millennium Challenge Account–Namib (MCA–N) as an Indigenous Natural Products Activity aimed at increasing economic opportunities for INP stakeholders through improved organisational, business and technical capacities along the value chain. It was produced by Riéth van Schalkwyk and designed by Heike Lorck. The text was written by various experts and researchers in the field, with Dave Cole of MCA–Namibia acting as Technical Adviser.

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MISTER DEVIL’S CLAW Text Jana- Mari Smith

Some people’s passion for their work shines through so strongly it is immediately recognisable. One such person is Dave Cole, who has worked with Namibia’s indigenous plants for more than two decades. Dave’s passion has endured several challenges in this field, where he has played a pivotal role in researching and marketing these products to the world.

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highlight has been the recently launched book on the commercialisation of these plant products, which formed part of the MCA Namibia INP Activity. As Manager of the INP Activity for the last five years, Dave, was the principle initiator of this book. A first of its kind in Namibia, the book is meant to open up this littleknown sector to policy makers, the general public, learners and students. It tells the story of the importance of INPs to Namibia’s biodiversity, as well as the important contribution that involvement in the trade can make to the livelihoods of many rural harvesters throughout Namibia.

The Namibian Government helped to form a structure of organised stakeholders and launched the Indigenous Plant Task Team (IPTT), which still operates today. The IPTT is partially funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, and is managed by a multi-stakeholder body that coordinates aspects related to indigenous plant products in Namibia.

Working with indigenous plant products revolves mainly around conserving the environment and biodiversity, and finding ways in which rural communities can generate additional income from their natural environment. It’s not only about protecting the environment purely for the sake of protecting it, Dave explains, but also “…about the people living in these areas, because they are its custodians.”

A good example is that today marula oil is being used globally in more than 300 products, and all this oil is sourced from Namibia.

“Natural products will never equal a salary for a harvester. All it can amount to is a supplementary income, albeit a very important one, considering that most harvesters are rural women and the ‘poorest of the poor’,” Dave explains.

He says the protection of the environment does not exist in a vacuum, but is linked to other important issues. “Unless we address issues around poverty, we will never manage to look after the environment effectively. ”The indigenous plant-resource industry is based on the same environmental principles that govern wildlife conservation efforts in Namibia: “If we don’t put a value to resources, we won’t be able to safeguard them either.”

This is because harvests are linked to natural factors, such as seasonality and availability, which depend largely on rain and other environmental elements outside of the control of people.

While working in the Kavango Region, Dave joined the Centre for Research Information Action for Development in Africa (CRIAA), an NGO that played an instrumental role in Namibia in researching and promoting indigenous plant products, especially devil’s claw.

Dave explains that while devil’s claw had been exported since the sixties, Namibia only really began looking at its commercialisation in 2000, and also at the possibilities of other indigenous plants and their products.

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For more than a decade, Namibia has been exporting a variety of natural plant products, most of which for use in cosmetics and fragrances. Dave explains that a great deal of work has gone into organising producer groups across Namibia, creating supply chains, and putting quality controls in place. Product development and marketing remain high on the agenda.

Dave and his colleagues from various NGOs in Namibia are continually researching potentially new plant products, to afford more Namibians the opportunity to benefit from their environment.

But it’s a long, labour-intensive process, from the initial studies to when the final product is on the shelf. “When you find something has a useful property, it can take between five to ten years to commercialise it.”

Several issues have to be addressed, such as the role environmental factors play in the availability of plants, and the fact that harvesters in rural areas cannot focus on harvesting alone.

“Things such as planting fields, for example. They have other jobs,

so they can’t focus only on this.”Another challenge is finding ways to add more value to production without impacting negatively on producers. “How do we upscale without impacting on incomegenerating opportunities for producers?”

Also, local value addition remains tricky. To boost internal value addition, demand for the products locally has to increase. At present this is not happening. Dave explains: “Most products are semi-processed in Namibia and then exported, as the local market is too small to absorb the volumes being produced. It is a question of pricing. Namibia’s niche market for high-end natural products is small.”

“The future lies in improved organisation amongst producers, more variety and quantity of products, but with some kind of assurance or security of market access, so that producers know how much to produce and have a guarantee that they can sell their harvests.

Another issue would be to improve the terms of trade. Not just the price, but sticking to projections of what they need.”

Things are looking good though. In 2012, the 23 devil’s-claw harvester groups who work with Dave and his colleagues produced 215 tons of dried devil’s claw. In total, Namibia exported 540 tons. In total the 2 000 harvesters from the 23 groups raked in a direct income of N$4.5 million, which translates as a tidy sum for each harvester.

Dave remains in awe of the communities he works with. “I’m always surprised by the level of commitment and dedication they show under the most adverse conditions. The level of effort people put into ensuring it’s a good product astounds me.”

He says the ultimate goal is having communities take ownership of their resources. TNN

Dave Cole with Fritz Kamti and August Jacobs, two of the pioneers who started harvesting Devil’s Claw in 1997. Their story is told in the recently launched book on Indigenous Plant Products of Namibia.

Reviewed on the previous page.

Astrid Andersen and Anne Sofie Madsen are Danish fashion designers.

They chose Swakara as the medium to make their designs come to life.

Why Swakara?

Black, white and dyed spotted Swakara sweater and dyed spotted Swakara leggings by Anne Sofie Madsen

ADVERTORIAL

FROM DESERT TO CATWALK

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e would like to think it’s the soft luxurious curls, and beautiful pattern, the way light reflects like water droplets playing upon silk. Astrid and Anne also enjoy the material qualities that make Swakara such a pleasure to work with; they are not alone.

Swakara is often seen on the international catwalks of Paris, Milan and London, forming an integral part of designer couture by top fashion houses Karl Lagerfeld, Prada, Gucci and Armani, as well as vintage collections designed by Elsa Schiaparelli and others. With its velvety texture, Swakara pelts have become more versatile, lightweight and reversible, with numerous styles also showing off the suede leather side. From winter coats, cocktail jackets and boleros to inventive accents and trim, Swakara is a fur perfect for high-end fashion.

Astrid and Anne’s urban, street-style designs are in complete contrast to Swakara’s origin.

A natural product, Swakara is lambskin from a very special desert breed of sheep. A robust breed, Swakara is able to thrive despite the dry desert conditions in southern Namibia,

a region where nature is so tough that no other livestock can survive, or crop cultivated. Swakara is truly a Namibian success story, providing large parts of the rural community with both employment and food.

Originally from central Asia, the unique Persian lamb was brought to Namibia more than a century ago. Since then, it has been bred in the desert, where highly skilled Namibian farmers have developed farming techniques that involve sophisticated breeding standards and conditions. Today, Swakara is a breed significantly different to that of central Asia.

Swakara is Origin Assured, which means that Namibian farmers comply to a set of ethical principles, designed to enhance the welfare of Swakara sheep. By adhering to these principles, Namibian farmers are committed to the highest moral standards regarding animal welfare.

Swakara, proudly Namibian, an eco friendly fur, from desert to catwalk. www.swakara.net

Black, white and dyed spotted Swakara jacket with embroidery by Anne Sofie Madsen

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Photo courtesy of: Paolo Schneider

Namibia. Wild at heart.

An untamed wilderness that will always leave you spoilt for choice.

Mother Nature is waiting for you.

NAMIBIA – Head office Channel Life Building, 1st floor Post Street Mall Private Bag 13244, Windhoek Tel: +264 61 2906 000 Fax: +264 61 254 848 Email: info@namibiatourism.com.na www.namibiatourism.com.na

GERMANY Schillerstrasse 42 – 44, D – 60313 Frankfurt am Main, Tel: +49 69 1337 360 Fax: +49 69 1337 3615 Email: info@namibia-tourism.com www.namibia-tourism.com

SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Ground floor, The Pinnacle Burg Street, P O. Box 739 Tel: +27 21 4223 298 Fax: +27 21 422 5132 Email: namibia@saol.com

www.namibiatourism.com.na