Hartley's Swirl Icon

LATEST NEWS

My Kalahari Experience


As we crossed the ‘Great Nothing’, feeling small and insignificant in contrast to this vast, hauntingly beautiful, big and ancient, now dry sea in the Kalahari, moments of doubt crept in…. we were truly alone, having seen no other vehicles for over a day now, we might even be lost.

I remembered the words of the lodge staff telling me that driving through the Pans was always a risk. With no marked tracks or visual references the Makgadikgadi also had a deceiving tendency to suck vehicles into the sludge just below its cracked, dry surface, but was there any other way to truly experience this huge, empty, stillness except to become part of it.

After 3 nights of camping between an endless white, silent, spacious and empty earth and the blanket of a thousand brilliant stars covering it, even being lost had started to feel more like being found, and so with only the bare necessities and a continuous 360 degree view around ourselves we continued onwards in the general direction of our oasis; Jack’s Camp.

As desert gradually gave way to golden grasses, a mirage of mokolwane palm trees unbelievingly rose before us just on the lip of the Pans. Nestled within, a refreshingly authentic and sophisticated, old world safari style camp with unobstructed views across the expanse of ‘Great Nothing’.

Jack’s Camp not only offers stylish comfort amid antique chests and rugs, a unique national museum, a library and pool with a view in an impossibly remote location, but facilitates the most unusual exploration and experience of its surrounding Kalahari wilderness.

Nearby, the breath taking Chapman’s Baobab; the third largest tree in Africa.

Game drives take you in search of rare and elusive desert animal species.

During the dry season, quad bike into magnificent sunsets which stretch across the lunar expanse.

Experience epic horseback safaris through the unspoilt white encrusted salt pans.

Sleep out amongst giant boulders, under ancient baobabs and a horizon to horizon full of stars displayed.

The Serengeti of the south; during the wet season the Makgadikgadi is home to Southern Africa’s last surviving migration, and the cat species who follow it.

One of the most unexpected delights, was the up close and personal meerkat encounter.

A short drive from the camp we stepped out of the vehicle with our guide and strolled across to a clan of constantly chirping, rummaging wild meerkats who hardly seemed bothered by our presence. After having taken my hat off and settling down quietly in the grass to watch them I suddenly became very attractive as the highest lookout point!

Perhaps the greatest honour and revelation though was sparked by meeting Cobra, one of the ‘salt Bushmen’ and famous tracker and friend of Jack Bousfield.

I had heard rumours about his age and stories tell of him crawling into an abandoned aardvark hole and emerging covered in writhing, freshly hatched pythons.

His well-lined face tells of an ancient link to the Makgadikgadi and in his presence we became witness for just a few hours to an ancient way of life and a respected connection to the essence and wisdom of the earth.

Accompanied too by a family of San Bushmen in their simple adornments, we walked through the Pans. We listened to their festive clickering chatter fill the cold morning air as they playfully joked amongst themselves and invited us into the mystery of their culture.

Cobra’s skill in catching snakes is legendary but we were called to another mesmerising practice of his. As we watched aghast he quick as lightening dug up a scorpion and ceremoniously put it in his mouth ! I think I let out a little scream but he wasn’t eating it; as a service to the creature instead he was cleaning it’s 8 eyes with his saliva before releasing it back into its hole unharmed!

We tasted roots and berries and identified animal prints, dug up water plants for a drink and dug them respectfully back in so they could continue to grow. We watched them make fire and were drawn into their very real enjoyment and animated playing of a game similar to rock, paper, scissors. They share all possessions and come together in the evenings to enjoy the “Holy” fire and hypnotically dance to call to spirits and ancestors beyond.

In Wayne Visser’s words :

“We call you Hunter, Bushmen, San

You sowed the seed of primal Man

A gentler race we have not known

See how your legacy has grown…

You chose the way of archer’s bow

Of hunter’s grace-the art of flow:

to give and take and see the whole

To honour life and feed the soul.”

Comments are closed.
SATSA No. 207
 

Hartley’s Safaris is registered with Southern Africa Tourism Association Registration number 207.

Legal

Hartley’s Safaris
South Africa (Pty) Ltd
Reg no: 2001/006019/07
United Kingdom
Copyright © 2016 Hartley's Safaris SA

Okavango Explorations (UK) Ltd
T/A Hartleys Safaris
Registered in England No. 2348880
Copyright © 2016 Hartley's Safaris UK

SATSA No. 207

The air holidays and flights shown are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Our ATOL number is ATOL 3958. Many of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website.

Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected.

Copyright 2024 by Hartley's Safaris | Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement | Powered by: WoW Interactive Login
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MAILING LISTS