The Company We Keep – The Da Silva’s - Nossob – Kgalagadi
Butch and I have just returned from the bird hide where we’d spent a few minutes in the hope of seeing and ticking off some birds on our list. There wasn’t one. Not even a laughing dove. We did enjoy the ground squirrels digging and dashing and chittering about though.
This morning we'd woken up to inclement weather and it has since rained.Not a downpour, just a soft soaking shower. Good for the sandy soil. Soon we’ll see green when seeds start sprouting. Here everything happens quickly. Within days shrubs will be flowering and the veld will start living colour again. Not that I mind the shades of gold the fields are now.
In the Kgalagadi we smell the rain even before it falls and afterwards our senses are overpowered by the earthy fragrance of wet, honey hued straw. A heavenly orchestra announces the coming rain with a lightshow accompanied by a thundeous orchestral performance and then, when the storm rolls onwards along the horizon we're rewarded with a colourful rainbow. The sun sets and the blood orange full moon ascends.
Two days ago while watching the Cheetah on a hunt the chap with the Zimbabwe license plate stopped and indicated I turn down the window. My new bestie Butch chirped. We’d met the evening before on the Wi-Fi bench beneath the tree at reception. They had just stopped and I asked where they were from on seeing the foreign registration plate. “Zimbabwe” he replied, “you also from Zim?’ he enquired “No” I said, “but we do love Mana Pools!” He smiled knowingly, nodded and walked off to reception to be received.
I wound down my window and my NBFF informs me that our NEW electric steps are down and could be hazardous to passing traffic. Indeed. I turn to Butch enquiringly. Our steps can’t go down. They’d malfunctioned the previous day after Butch had noticed a loose wire and two missing screws. Not only have we lost the new stairs the one spotlight is hanging by a thread, it has to be disconnected and replaced! It looks very much like a milk tooth about to fall out!
We’d caused enough trouble with the flat tyre debacle. We had to get this sorted asap. As luck would have it a Park’s ranger stopped shortly after I get back into the vehicle after an inspection and lifting of the steps to prevent them from damaging another vehicle. I explain the predicament we’re in, he nods sagely and says he wondered why I’d alighted our vehicle. (It is a game reserve with wild animals after all.) Yes, I think, this is it. We’ll be booted right out of the park. He’s far too nice for that and once he’s sure we’re all right leaves us in a cloud of dust.
We had to return to the camp to fix our problem. Cable ties are a camper’s best friend and in a jiffy we had our steps secured.
The bush telegraph is a speedy one and we soon learned that there was a pride of three lions sleeping under a tree 19km from camp. Not to miss out on anything we decided to join the crowd and have an opportunity to photograph lions for the grandchildren. We hope this would spice up our storytelling.
Lions always find a shady spot once the day heats up, they’re not particularly fussy and will sleep anywhere as long as they’re shaded. These three, two females and a young male were lying spread-eagled in the road.
By the looks of things, they’d recently hunted, the young male’s mane was matted and sticky from drying blood and the one female had been severely darted by a porcupine. The prey must’ve been the small porcupine as they looked quite thin and certainly not full-bellied as they would be had they hunted a larger animal. We thought they might go hunting should an unexpected Springbok come waltzing past them.
The Honey Badger was parked with the sun on our backs. We would be there to watch the drama unfold. Butch could spread himself out in the cab. Set his cameras up while I moved to the back and opened our large window. The cool breeze wafted through fanning us. We spent the afternoon bird-watching and photographing them for the records.
The lions were so close at times we could see their ticks, fleas and flies. Quills, the lioness with the most piercings, rolled over occasionally to find a more comfortable position while the male lion struggled to remove some quills painfully lodged in his foot.
You might’ve been one of the geniuses who sat at the back of the science class, the ones, like me, who carefully inserted a math compass under their skins only to realise it was quite painless. I think the lions’ hide is so thick they hardly feel the pierce, only the discomfort. (Goes to show I did learn something in the science class!)
The afternoon cooled down at about 17h00 but the lions didn’t budge. Eventually, the matriarch got up and went into the grasses, lying down with her head up surveying the countryside. Motorists out on sundowner drives started arriving. We enjoyed the human jostling for position and soon had bets on who the alpha males in the human pack were. We stayed put.
Whilst the matriarch looked out for supper the two youngsters slept, only occasionally opening an eye to pin their mother down but would soon be soundly asleep. They were useless in the pursuit of supper.
We came to the conclusion that in future it would be futile to believe we would ever see a lion sauntering past us during the afternoon or sunset unless it was an extraordinary occurrence. They sleep. By seven o’clock when we had to leave to make it back to camp before curfew they had only moved a few yards to find more shade.
We think there was no supper because all the Springboks were in Ireland for a rugby game. We heard on the grapevine those Springbok were disappointed there too and returned home with their tails stuck between their legs.
---oOo---
In January this year while Butch and I were lolling about on deckchairs on the Kavango river near Rundu and met a delightful young man called Gabriel da Silva from Riebeeck Kasteel. He had his camera with him and proceeded to tell us about his passion for photography and more importantly that they, a family of five, were on an adventure of a lifetime.
The da Silva’s had embarked on their African odyssey in December and would be travelling for thirteen months. Gabriel the eldest child, would be in grade 12. Their Mum Lara homeschools the children so their education was in good hands and they wouldn’t fall behind in their studies. Dad Eugene, a quiet, soft-spoken, kind man decided, during Covid, that they needed to break away.
They were planning to go from Namibia to Angola, the DRC and onwards. Mum Lara writes a blog and publishes regular photographs and a short description on Instagram which we’ve ardently followed. Laras.theme is her profile name.
In January, Butch watched with trepidation as they set off, worried about these inexperienced travellers. They have remained in our thoughts and conversations ever since. Their journey has been incredible and I’ve read Lara’s blog with interest because they’re doing exactly what we’re embarking on.
Yesterday afternoon while making myself a cuppa’ I noted a couple walk past our truck, the clearing along the fence is a perfect footpath for walkers who’d like to do the perimeter of the campgrounds. Thinking nothing out of the ordinary I resumed my ritual and seconds later heard a woman tentatively call “Butch?”
Lara. They recognised our CW registration plate and called out! We reunited like old friends, and we’ve become that since. The da Silva’s have made it. They’ve travelled, seen, explored, and experienced what few people only dream of. The children have grown up, and are lovely and the unit of five has grown in every respect. We spent a delightful hour chatting and catching up. Later on our walk to the Wi-Fi bench, we said hello to Gabriel, Malachi and Eve and listened to their tales of an extraordinary adventure. Their excitement is palpable.
Gabriel’s photography has improved tremendously and his enthusiasm hasn’t waned at all, I think this journey has opened his eyes to creative possibilities way beyond his expectations. Malachi was introduced to a world of flavours and textures as he explored different cultural cuisines, cooking methods, and the use of unusual spices and ingredients. I hope I can follow in his footsteps along our journey, his excitement has certainly sparked my curiosity. Evie’s world, I’m sure, has changed the most. She left home a year ago as a carefree child but will return to her friends a much wiser, mature person. It will be interesting to see how the family’s worldview has changed.
Although they’re a very tight unit it is my feeling that Lara is the driving force behind this amazing family. She teaches, guides, nurses, and nourishes them physically, and mentally but most importantly spiritually too. Kind, loving and devoted to each one (I could see the light in their eyes) she is the glue. You are a warrior; strong and sure-footed Lara. It has been pure gold following you and being inspired by your thoughts and words. May home be your new adventure.
How extraordinary it is that we met them at the beginning of their journey and now again at the end of their travels. A good omen we believe. The pages of our notebooks are filled with the names and telephone numbers of many of the people they met during their travels.
They even gifted us their steps. Thank you. Butch is busy mulling over the tips you’ve given him and I’m sure we’ll be upgrading and making changes once we get to Swakopmund. The contact details you shared are going to be a lifesaver. My only regret is that we didn’t take a group photograph. We’ll do so when we see you at the end of our travels!
---oOo—
The sprinkling of rain yesterday has freshened the veld up and we noticed sprigs of new growth and green grass have already started colouring the sandy riverbed. Our stay in the Exclusive campsite is drawing to a close and tomorrow we move on. The punctured wheel is back on the truck and I’m nursing a bruised foot. A large wheel spanner landed on it whilst we were pushing and shoving the wheel back into position. Fortunately, we have all the tools to fix sprains and bruises and my foot’s as good as new.
Sometimes, especially after rain we've found we see fewer animals, there's so much water about that they don't have to venture far or head to wateringholes to drink, then we have to be content to enjoy the landscape and keep our eyes skywards to enjoy birds. Fortunately most of our drives are either at dawn or sunset when we're rewarded with jewel skies. We so enjoy the rainbow of colours we forget why we're actually there.
---oOo---
Comments
Topics
Latest Photos
