In the Footsteps of the Bushmen

In The Footsteps of the Bushmen

The weather was glorious and as we set off early in the morning on Christmas Eve. There were six in our party, including the ‘happy Finns’, a young Finnish couple so nicknamed because they were always smiling. Lunch and water packed, our guide assured us that it was a relatively easy hike up the trail and wouldn’t take us more than 3 to 3 ½ hours to get to the rock art and about 3 hours to come back down. We had already spent time in this ethereal landscape when we had taken the spectacular drive up the Sani Pass into the country of Lesotho (“the roof of South Africa”) the day before. The pass is the highest in the country at 2865 meters. It was breath taking with stunning views in all directions.

We hiked slowly, enjoying the scenery and listening to our guide tell us about the history of the area. We hiked through rolling fields and grassland, skirting wooded gorges with the magnificent high basalt cliffs in the background. This is a magical and otherworldly landscape, straight out of The Lord of the Rings. When I mentioned this, our guide agreed and said it was because Tolkien was originally from South Africa. A little trivia that I had not known.

There is evidence that this area of the Drakensberg Mountains has been occupied for thousands of years. We were on our way to visit one of the numerous San rock art sites in the area. The San were the oldest inhabitants of southern Africa where they lived for 25,000 years. Those living in this area are believed to have migrated from present day Botswana. They were part of a larger diverse group of peoples who shared common linguistic connections. The name “Bushmen” comes from the early Dutch settlers and loosely translates into the word ‘bandit’ or ‘thief’.

Four hours had passed and we still had a long way to go. By now we were getting hungry and wondering why we were not there yet. Fortunately, you can drink from the streams at that altitude because there are neither domesticated animals nor humans living up there. At least water wasn’t going to be a problem.

Five hours later we finally reached our destination. There were three sites of Bushmen art, all painted on rock over hangings. The pictures were amazing, beautiful and colorful. They had been painted roughly 4,000 years ago. On one, a great hunt was depicted. Other segments showed us a glimpse into their daily life. Our guide told us that for the Bushmen, the paintings weren’t just representations of life but also held the key to the supernatural world. The shaman painted images of the animals that they held as sacred. By doing so, they also harnessed its spirit and thereby were able to enter the spirit world.

We ate our lunch under one of the overhangs. The vistas were gorgeous. No highway or buildings off in the distance to break the magic spell. It was easy to imagine a world before the intrusion of modern man. To think that a group of San Bushmen had sat where I was sitting and had looked over the same great expanse made me feel very small and insignificant.

Night Drive

Night Drive

I have been fortunate to do quite a bit of traveling on this vast continent over the past few months; a month in South Africa, a week in Zanzibar, a few days here and there… Shortly before the rainy season descended upon us, I traveled north to spend a few days in the southern region of the Luangwa National Park.

The locals used to call this area of Zambia ‘the crowded place’ because of the massive herds of elephant and hippo that populated the park until poaching in the 1980’s decimated their numbers. Thankfully, that is in the past. The animal population has rebounded since strict government intervention and conservation laws have been put into place.

I flew into the dusty, sleepy village of Mfuwe located 20k outside of the park gate. It was still early but the day was hot and getting hotter. After checking into the Mfuwe Lodge, I spent the day lounging indolently around my chalet. It was too hot to do much else but my veranda looked out onto the lagoon and I was able to observe small groups of zebra, antelope, and elephant come out of the bush to take a long drink. To my amusement, Baboons chased each other through the grass and rolled in the mud.

At teatime, I gathered with the other guests in the lounge in great anticipation. The lodge is famous for the elephants that tramp across the reception area on their way to the mango trees on the other side of the building. And sure enough, just as promised, a group of elephants trotted up the path from the lagoon and straight into the reception area. Cameras clicking and camcorders whirring, we stood in awe as they marched single file past the desk and gift shop and back out again on their way to the mangos. You can see this for yourself by clicking on the following link:

http://www.africatravelguide.com/articles/the-elephants-of-mfuwe-lodge.html

As the brilliant sun sank in the west, we climbed into the open 4 x 4 to set off on our night drive. My traveling companions were a mother and daughter from Perth, Australia and the three of us had the entire touring car to ourselves. We jostled slowly along the dirt paths as we made our way through the woodland to the river. A huge herd of water buffalo crossed the track ahead of use, kicking up dust and forcing us to stop until they had passed. Wildlife is plentiful and the park is home to fourteen species of antelope, as well as Thorneycroft’s giraffe, found only in the South Luangwa Valley. With such an abundant food source its no wonder that the big predators survive well here.

Night descended quickly and we were soon enveloped by the inky blackness. The driver drove slowly, the spotlight making great swaths across the landscape. “There” the driver pointed…two hyenas trotted across the plain. As we drove on we spotted elephants, a leopard in a tree, a group of startled puku staring into the lights, and a majestic male lion relaxing under a tree with his mate. Nicki, the young Aussie, asked our driver if he would stop and turn off the lights so we could observe the brilliant night sky. We leaned back and sat in silence looking heavenward. After several minutes the driver turned the lights back on and I heard a loud gasp as we all sucked air; eight lionesses surrounded our vehicle! We held our breath as they stealthily moved around the car, sniffing the air and keeping their eyes on us the entire time. They were so close I could have reached out and touched one! What beautiful and powerful creatures. It felt magical and dangerous at same time. They soon lost interest and sauntered off disappearing into the blackness and we continued on our night drive.