by Chris Marais
“The Himba cook them into quite potent liquor,” said Toni. Every species on God’s Earth, it seemed, has a way of getting out of it.
While we were temporarily lost in a world of white-winged tenebrionid beetles, purple morning glories and baby crocodile tracks, we were hailed from behind by a cheerful old man called Dos Santos, who was on his daily fishing mission.
Dos Santos carried a pole strung with an old fishing line, ending in a homemade hook with a wine cork for a float. We asked him, in pidgin Portuguese pantomime, what he used for bait. He scrabbled about in a tatty old bag and brought out a tin half-full of soil and nervous worms.
Dos Santos, a completely rational man of his time, had simply walked out of Angola and its wars in the seventies and set up home alone in a tiny hut made from branches next to the Kunene River. He did odd jobs for the lodge and was growing butternut, pumpkin, carrots and corn for its table.
Utterly fascinated by this happy old Huck Finn, Jules and I swerved off the scheduled walk and followed Dos Santos to his fishing spot, a nearby river backwater. Our baboon sentry barked:
“Two pax veering off with Delta Sierra. Three pax still on path. Leave some lunch for me.” Or something.
We asked about the crocs. Dos Santos said they left him alone. We gave him some tobacco money and the old man put down his fishing pole, lifted his hands to the heavens and invoked a sky-full of blessings upon our heads. We blessed him back and rejoined the main party.
Presently we found ourselves on a rocky peninsula with a splendid view over the Kunene, where the river was pouring itself enthusiastically over a waterfall. Above us in this watered garden moonscape, a blackbreasted snake eagle circled. At our feet, a tiny orange-and-brown skink scurried, occasionally halting to lift his feet and cool the pads under them in a weird imitation of a canoe-paddler.
“A Mexican Wave lizard,” I said
“You’re getting the hang of it,” Toni said.
On the way back we looked in on Dos Santos, who was singing a cheerful song (a) because he had not yet been snaffled by a Kunene crocodile, and (b) because he’d already caught a thick-lipped happy (Thoracochromis albolabris), two leopard squeakers (Synodontis leopardimus) and a slender stonebasher (Hippopotomyris ansorgii).
What’s more, he was going to eat those fine specimens all by himself that night, outside his stick-hut along the Kunene river, by the light of an Angolan moon. What’s not to sing about?
There used to be elephants here, browsing the length of the Kunene in great numbers, until the war wiped them out. On the evening boat trip, we wondered if the area would not be more generously lined with Makalani palms had the soldiers and their machine guns and the grey-shoed politicians in the background spared the herds. Someone, I think it was Toni, had told us a Makalani seed germinates more easily once it’s been through the digestive tract of an elephant. All life is connected.
A hot, heavy, desert wind blew at our backs like the urgent breath of a panting dragon. It batted our boat towards a tiny sandbank, which was technically on “the other side” of the river.
“Look, I’m back in Angola drinking beer after 30 years,” I told Jules, trying not to let the moment descend into a pit of irony. “And look, I’m surrounded by folks in khaki again. But somehow it all feels different. Nicer.”
On the return trip, Toni waved farewell to an almost invisible Dos Santos as he sat on the bank taking in the last glow of sunlight. There was something so essentially happy about that man, I just wanted to jump out of the boat and go sit by his side. But I knew the crocs would show an unhealthy interest in my plans.
That night, around the fire, we met a rich American guy who, for my money, had spent a year too long on Wall Street being a Master of the Universe. Despite being able to call on more cash than my entire suburb back in Jo’burg, he looked a little broken.
“Investment banking: that’s a lot of stress,” remarked Jules. “How did you cope?”
“I drank,” he said, staring deep into the flames.
The next day, while the American contingent was quad-biking about the place, we joined the Brits for a drive out to the Bogenfels arrangement of rocks. We passed Ludwig’s bustards patrolling the sands for crickets while the skies above built up into a stormlight fantasia. Suddenly, Toni stopped the vehicle and dived into a sand dune.
“That’s it, you see,” I assured Sky Captain Benson. “Toni’s got Cafema Fever.”
But the girl was actually just hunting down an armoured lizard that lived in the dune. The lizard was not in for visitors.
“He knows me too well,” said Toni, rejoining us, dusting off half a dune from her ranger outfit.
You can actually get quite stoned, just looking at the desert scenery out here. The various massifs take on the shapes of barking dogs, sharks and dragons. A slight breeze carries the scent of myrrh on the air, and there’s always the chance of spotting a shaggy brown hyena padding over the dunes.
In the afternoon Toni drove us off to meet Oumatjie and Krokodilla, who live in the village of Otapi about eight klicks (kilometres) from the river. Four years ago, Krokodilla (who then bore a now-forgotten name) went off to the Kunene to fetch water, accompanied by her little dog. As she was filling her calabash, a crocodile leapt out of the water and grabbed the right side of her body. The dog charged the crocodile, barking. The distraction worked, for Krokodilla anyhow. The big lizard released the young Himba woman and went for the little dog, which was never seen again.
“Somehow, Krokodilla managed to drag herself ashore,” said Toni, who had befriended both women by now. “She was flown to Windhoek for surgery and stitched up. She recovered well, and wore her hospital gown for many months afterwards. Krokodilla is well known among local Himbas for having flown in an aeroplane and having been to Windhoek. They sometimes mention the croc attack as well.”
We met the two rather gorgeous women in the late afternoon. They received us in their village. Oumatjie, a little tetchy but entranced with Toni’s flame-red hair, was making a basket from Makalani palm leaves. Krokodilla, about seven months’ pregnant with her fifth child, was enjoying a bit of pipe smoking. I don’t know what she had in that pipe, but she looked more relaxed than a Cape Town lounge lizard. Which is hard to do.
We took our photographs, bought some PVC bracelets and said goodbye to this little family in the sand. It was a brief, reasonably gracious encounter, with Toni being a good facilitator, talking in pidgin Himba.
After breakfast the next day, our Sky Captain had us packed and ready for departure. The dune baboons were out on the sand doing an interesting set of dervish-cartwheels like they were on a four-day acid rave in the desert. The African wildcat under the kitchen had eaten the rather handsome lodge rooster in the night and the Brits were practising on their quads in the car park. The lodge at the end of the universe was dealing with another day in Paradise.
“Goodnight Namibia,” I whispered once we were wheels-up and headed for Windhoek. “I’ll see you in my dreams …”
THE READING ROOM –
Suggested literature on Namibia
NAMIBIA SPACE: Chris Marais and Julienne du Toit (Struik, May 2006)
LORDS OF THE LAST FRONTIER: Lawrence G Green (Howard B Timmins, 1953).
SO FEW ARE FREE: Lawrence G Green (Howard B Timmins, 1946).
TO THE RIVER’S END: Lawrence G Green (Howard B Timmins, undated).
THERE’S A SECRET HID AWAY: Lawrence G Green (Howard B Timmins, Reprint 1981).
ON WINGS OF FIRE: Lawrence G Green (Howard B Timmins, 1967).
SECRET AFRICA: Lawrence G Green (Stanley Paul & Co, 1936).
PEOPLES OF NAMIBIA: JS Malan (Rhino Publishers, 1995).
THE KALAHARI (THIRSTLAND REDEMPTION): EHL Schwarz (Maskew Miller, undated).
THE HENDRIK WITBOOI PAPERS: Translated by Annemarie Heywood and Eben Maasdorp (National Archives of Namibia, 1989).
ORIGIN AND MEANING OF PLACE NAMES IN THE ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK, NAMIBIA: H. Berry, “Stoffel” R
ocher, Mark Paxton, Tryg. Cooper (self published, revised edition 1995).
A WALK THROUGH PREHISTORIC TWYFELFONTEIN: Shirley-Ann Pager (self published, undated).
BADLAND: AN AMERICAN ROMANCE: Jonathan Raban (Picador, 1996).
SCOTTY SMITH, SOUTH AFRICA’S ROBIN HOOD: FC Metrovich (Books of Africa, 1970).
THE SHELTERING DESERT: Henno Martin (AD Donker, 1983).
NAMIBIA: FASCINATION OF GEOLOGY: Nichole Greunert (Klaus Hess Publishers, 2000).
SAND AND WATER – A PROFILE OF THE KAVANGO REGION: John Mendelsohn and Selma el Obeid (Struik, 2003).
SKELETON COAST: Amy Schoeman (Struik, 2003).
DISCOVERING SOUTHERN AFRICA: TV Bulpin (Discovering Southern Africa Productions, 1970).
THE THIRSTLAND: WA de Klerk (Penguin Books, 1979).
DISCOVER NAMIBIA: Michael Brittan (Struik, 1979).
KALAHARI: Michael Main (Southern Book Publishers, 1987).
MAFEKING ROAD: Herman Charles Bosman (Human & Rousseau, 1969).
THE THIRSTY LAND: John Brown (Hodder & Stoughton, 1954).
SKELETON COAST: John H Marsh (Hodder & Stoughton, 1944).
COMMANDO: Deneys Reitz (Jonathan Ball, 1998).
TREKKING ON: Deneys Reitz (Faber & Faber, 1933).
THE SKELETON COAST: Benedict Allen (BBC Books, 1997).
INSIGHT GUIDE TO NAMIBIA: Insight Guide Team (APA Publications, 1994).
HIMBA – NOMADS OF NAMIBIA: Margaret Jacobsohn (Struik, 1990).
CONTRABAND: SOUTH AFRICA AND THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN IVORY AND RHINO HORN: De Wet Potgieter (Queillerie, 1995).
EDEN’S EXILES: Jan Breytenbach (Queillerie, 1997).
HEAT, DUST AND DREAMS: Mary Rice and Craig Gibson (Struik, 2001).
GLOSSARY
Bäckerei bakery
Buchter bay-dweller
CCF Cheetah Conservation Fund
calcrete silvery white lime-rich deposit
caul covering of birth sac over infant’s head; in some peoples, it is highly regarded, indicating that the child has a special gift
handlanger assistant
kaross skin blanket made from wild animals, normally jackals and other small veld animals
klick kilometre
laager encampment of wagons
likkered an Americanism meaning to get someone drunk, as in “liquored”
mangelwurzel type of beet, with yellow root
moer-in, have the to be fed-up
Oktoberfest annual German beer festival
padrão Portuguese stone cross
platteland rural area
ratpacks army issue ration packs
skink species of lizard
Sperrgebiet prohibited area
Star dune star-shaped dune (wind from all sides forms it into a star shape – best appreciated from the air)
sugar Jones sugar craving
tilapia species of fish
Tingatinga Tanzanian artist, Edward Said Tingatinga, whose work was characterised by colourful animal motifs done in high-gloss paints and enamels
veldskoen type of hardy shoe
CONTACT DETAILS
South Africa:
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
Tel: +27 (0) 11 274 2000
Augrabies Falls National Park
Tel: +27 (0) 21 422 2810
Goegap Nature Reserve
Tel: +27 (0) 27 712 1880
Namibia:
Namibia Tourism Board – Windhoek
Tel: +264 (0) 61 290 6002
Namibia Tourism Board – Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0) 11 785 4626
Namibia Tourism Board – Cape Town
Tel: +27 (0) 21 422 3298
Ai-Ais Bungalows (operated by Namibia Wildlife Resorts)
Tel: +264 (0) 61 285 7000
(NWR Head Office)
Tel: +264 (0) 61 236 975 (reservations)
Canyon Hotel (Keetmanshoop)
Tel: +264 (0) 63 223 361
The Nest Hotel (Lüderitz)
Tel: +264 (0) 63 204 000
Sossusvlei Lodge
Tel: +264 (0) 63 693 223
Namib Naukluft Lodge
Tel: +264 (0) 61 372 100
Hotel Schweizerhaus (Swakopmund)
Tel: +264 (0) 64 400 331
Cape Cross Lodge
Tel: +264 (0) 64 694 017
Terrace Bay – see NWR Head Office
Huab Lodge (Kamanjab)
Tel: +264 (0) 67 697 016
Khorixas Rest Camp
Tel: +264 (0) 67 304 716
Bush Pillow Guesthouse (Otjiwarongo)
Tel: +264 (0) 67 303 885
Halali & Namutoni Rest Camps (Etosha) – see NWR Head Office
Meteor Travel Inn (Grootfontein)
Tel: +264 (0) 67 242 078
Sarasungu River Lodge (Rundu)
Tel: +264 (0) 66 255 161
Susuwe Island Lodge
Tel: +27 (0) 11 706 7207
Impalila Island Lodge
Tel: +27 (0) 11 706 7207
Wilderness Safaris Head Office (Johannesburg)
Tel: +27 (0) 11 807 1800
South Africa:
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
Tel: +27 (0) 11 274 2000
Augrabies Falls National Park
Tel: +27 (0) 11 428 9111
Goegap Nature Reserve
Tel: +27 (0) 27 718 9906
Namibia:
Namibia Tourism Board – Windhoek
Tel: +264 (0) 61 290 6000
Namibia Tourism Board – Johannesburg
Tel: +27 (0) 11 702 9602
Namibia Tourism Board – Cape Town
Tel: +27 (0) 21 422 3298
Ai-Ais Bungalows (operated by Namibia Wildlife Resorts)
Tel: +264 (0) 61 285 7000
(NWR Head Office)
Tel: +264 (0) 61 236 975 (reservations)
Canyon Hotel (Keetmanshoop)
Tel: +264 (0) 63 223 361
The Nest Hotel (Lüderitz)
Tel: +264 (0) 63 204 000
Sossusvlei Lodge
Tel: +264 (0) 63 293 636
Namib Naukluft Lodge
Tel: +264 (0) 61 372 100
Hotel Schweizerhaus (Swakopmund)
Tel: +264 (0) 64 400 331
Cape Cross Lodge
Tel: +264 (0) 64 46 1677
Terrace Bay – see NWR Head Office
Huab Lodge (Kamanjab)
Tel: +264 (0) 67 697 016
Khorixas Rest Camp
Tel: +264 (0) 67 331 196
Bush Pillow Guesthouse (Otjiwarongo)
Tel: +264 (0) 67 303 885
Halali & Namutoni Rest Camps (Etosha) – see NWR Head Office
Meteor Travel Inn (Grootfontein)
Tel: +264 (0) 67 242 078
Sarasungu River Lodge (Rundu)
Tel: +264 (0) 66 255 161
Susuwe Island Lodge
Tel: +27 (0) 21 423 1912
Impalila Island Lodge
Tel: +27 (0) 11 234 9997
Wilderness Safaris Head Office (Johannesburg)
Tel: +27 (0) 11 807 1800