Experiencing the rugged beauty of the Kgalagadi

| Friday April 9, 2010 00:00

When I got an invitation from Conservation International (CI) to be part of their Western Kgalagadi Conservation Corridor (WKCC) project tour alongside stakeholders from the government and NGOs, there was both a sense of enthusiasm and trepidation: Enthusiasm because this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to tour the much-revered Kalahari. Trepidation because, well, I couldn't be sure what lay ahead. 

Afterall, most Batswana hardly ever have the money or the time to tour their beautiful country. So I was happy that courtesy of my job, I would finally camp in the belly of a desert that presents one of the harshest terrains on Planet Earth.

The journey to the Western Kgalagadi started in Gaborone where two minibuses picked CI's guests to two different destinations, with me in the 'Southern Trip' team.  I have to confess right away that I did not feel much excitement until I reached Hukuntsi because it was there that I was told that our campsite would be Name Pans, a few kilometres outside the village of Zutshwa. On our way to the pans, we begin to have a feel of the Kalahari as we negotiate the sandy single-trek trail.  We arrive at Name Pans late in the evening and it is clear that many people in our group feel tired and not in the right mood to follow the programme. Some of the activities scheduled for the evening are a bushwalk with cyber-trackers, bird-watching, a night game drive and a story-telling session, but everyone agrees that all should be reserved for the following day.

Fortunately for us, the tents are already set up and we all have time to refresh before we retire for the day. There is no stretcher in my tent, so I decide to sleep on the thin mattress provided since I do not want to sound like a grumbling 'city-slicker.'

Just when I am beginning to fall into deep sleep, some movement just outside wake me up. I can swear that something is snorting just outside my tent! Could it be one of those terrible predators trying to run down my tent? To my relief, I realize it is just the wind slapping against the tarpaulin. Henceforth, I struggle to go back to sleep because there are too many unusual sounds and movements outside my tent. I hear this strange sound somewhat like a person snoring. Is it really a person or could it be a hungry hyena?

Thus my first night at Name Pan proves to be a difficult one as I can hardly sleep a wink. Hence I am happy when the owners of the safari company taking care of us get us up in the morning and tell us to get ready for the day.

'Did you hear the howling of a hyena that visited our camp last night?,' someone asks.

As in turns out, most of my fellow campers believe there was a hyena or two in the camp the previous night, and I am relieved to realize that I am not the only one who heard the strange noises in the dead of the night.

We go on a bushwalk and the lead guide tells us to follow him in single file while another guide brings up the rear. But both guides are unarmed.  We are warned to keep to our single file because predators tend to target victims that stray away. Soon after, the beautiful sun rises from the eastern horizon. It is a breathtaking sight and I am happy that my colleague, Kagiso Onkatswitse, is there to capture every moment on film.

'What do we do if a lion attacks us?,' I ask the guide at the rear. He puts me at ease by telling me that lions hardly attack human beings unless they feel threatened or are too old to hunt wild animals. At the pan, which is a few metres from our campsite, we witness one of the most amazing sights my eyes have ever seen - hundreds of springbok grazing. Springbok must surely know how stunningly beautiful they are, or else why would they walk and spring in such a swanky manner? The blue wildebeests are also there in the pan, but they are evidently a shy lot. They always make sure to keep a safe distance between themselves and human beings. Wildebeests may not be as graceful as springbok, but they are also a majestic sight.

We go round the pan, lest we disturb the peace of the grazing animals. Out in the bush, the lead guide tells us that most of the trees in Western Kgalagadi are acacias. He shows us the camel thorn tree (mogotlho), the bastard umbrella tree (mosu) and the shepherd's tree (motlopi). The shepherd's tree is described as the tree of life in the desert as one can make porridge and tea with it roots. It also provides good shade for both animals and birds in need of escape from the cruel heat of the desert. We also learn that the desert has its fair share of snakes, among them the black mamba, the Cape cobra, the boomslang, the Mozambican spitting cobra and the brown snake.

After making our way back to the camp for breakfast, we depart for the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP). Along the way, some of us squeal like little children when we spot animals such as the hartebeest, the blue wildebeest, springbok and the eland. We all enjoy ourselves despite the bumpy ride. Once at the KFP, the park warden briefs us before we drive off to see tourism infrastructures, observation hides and watering points for wild animals. The group is divided into two, one uses a specially designed tour vehicle belonging to Africa Insight while the other uses the CI vehicle. Isang Pilane and I are in the group in the CI vehicle.

As we head back to camp, the others decide to take the cut-off line route while we opt for the shorter but bumpier one we used before. This time around, the journey seems shorter and we are soon at the camp. While we wait for our colleagues in the other vehicle to arrive, I interview the two CI cyber-trackers, Kebogile Babotse and Oamogomotsa Cooper, and the interview proves to be one of the highlights of the trip. Babotse, who is the more experienced of the two, says he has never been scared while in the bush. He says he has encountered a number of animals that some regard as dangerous but he knows how to deal with them. 'When you chance upon a pride of lions, you either squat, standstill or retreat slowly,' he says. 'Lions never bother people unless they feel threatened or are hungry.'

He is not afraid of wildebeest either. He says while wildebeest like to provoke people, they would not harm you if you conducted yourself in the right manner. Interestingly, Babotse and Cooper are never armed when they go out into the bush because, as they say, they have lived peacefully with wild animals since childhood. The trackers work hand in hand with the Department of Wildlife to whom they report if they spot something out of place. Both Babotse and Cooper admit that they are wary of snakes which they say 'can strike at any moment without provocation'. They also fear the leopard but are quick to add that the cat is shy in nature and tends to flee when it spots people.One of the dangers of working as a cyber-tracker is getting disorientated because of the intense desert heat; that could put a tracker's life in danger because of the treacherous terrain, the harsh conditions and the beasts of the wild. Three hours later, our bedraggled colleagues arrive clearly regretting having taken the longer route.

The following morning, we have breakfast and pack for our journey back to 'civilization'. As part of the programme, we are to meet groups of craftsmen and women in some villages, but our group is tasked with picking a facilitator from Poswaane. The trip to the place takes us past the beautiful Masetlheng Pans which are described as the breeding grounds for most ungulates in the WKCC area and where the community would like a campsite with amenities to be developed. Although our 4 x 4 has a hard time negotiating the treacherous terrain, we manage to reach Poswaane where we witness the shooting of a documentary about the lifestyle of the San (Basarwa) and the Bakgalagadi in the area.

After Poswaane, we head to Kang for a two-day workshop themed Tourism Development Planning for the Western Kgalagadi Corridor Region. Actors at the workshop include experts from the conservation, tourism and landscaping fields, community leaders, government officials, the Department of Wildlife and the media. Items at the workshop include a series of presentations for setting up a foundation to the project, visioning process for WKCC tourism plans, further perspectives on tourism plans and exploring opportunities for tourism in the WKC.

The overall aim of the WKCC project is to establish formally conserved wildlife corridors between two extensive protected area in south-western Botswana, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and the Central Kgalagadi Game Reserve, through an intervening region where wildlife movements have become disrupted through various changes in land use (human settlements, cattle ranches, fences, monopolization of scarce water resources), while addressing the needs of the local people.