Day 3 and we are still in the Kgalagadi. This time highlighting landscape, light and colour.
Light and colour would change constantly during a day and with the seasons or the mood of the weather. I was profoundly captured with each change – a spiritual experience. More a feeling than just using my sense of sight.
And the stillness, the quiet was incredible too. Standing atop a red sand dune staring at the infinite horizon – serenity… You need to be comfortable with silence in the Kalahari, in my experience.
There is a purity here I have never felt anywhere else – it is a soul journey.
My Kgalagadi time actually inspired the name of this blog.
But it wasn’t always serene. There is a harshness here too. It is a place of extremes and paradox… as so much of the human experience is.
Choosing today’s pics was a tough task… a year’s worth of Kalahari wildlife encounters limited to 10!
Of course, there are the iconic Kalahari predators like lion and leopard. Then there is the majestic gemsbok (oryx) with their sabre horns.
The bird life astounds – raptors, owls, vultures…. I chose ostrich and a kori bustard to share today.
Then there are the cuties like the meerkats and ground squirrels… the mischief makers like the ratel (honey badger).
Cheetah were an added bonus. A little taste of true wildlife conservation research by accompanying Dr Gus Mills on a cheetah radio collaring project. We followed this sibling group most a of day through the dunes. The next day we changed tack and found a new female to collar. Elena had recently become independent. After I left the Kalahari Gus and Margie sent me photos of her with her first litter. There she was looking healthy, a gorgeous first time mum still sporting the collar I had helped to fit…
Due to severe wandering withdrawals I have decided to use the month of April to wander virtually down travel memory lane. Here we go….
We are starting at Twee Rivieren rest camp in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.
I spent some time here as a SANParks People and Conservation intern. The internship was organised through an organisation called Global Vision International.
My lodgings – a shipping container village within the staff village affectionately known as Blikkiesdorp (Tin Town).
I remember the sound of the barking geckos of an evening, dodging scorpions on windy nights and the amazing family of yellow mongoose who kept the cape cobras at bay.
28 March 2020 8:30pm many acknowledged Earth Hour around the world. I happened to be in Twee Rivieren for the first ever Earth Hour. It was my task to communicate about climate change and its impact on this area of the arid North West. With not too many resources to hand and bearing in mind we are talking 13 years ago, I cobbled together a display, of sorts😀 I have included a pic of the display board in the Twee Riveiren visitors’ centre. We also parcelled up candles with a little info sheet for all the chalets, campsites and staff houses so guests as well as staff could participate.
More Kgalagadi wanderings tomorrow…. this time remembering many breathtaking moments with the incredible wildlife of this unique region.
Longing to experience the real, authentic Mama Africa in all her grit and glory? Love a good road trip? What about great banter around a campfire, sipping a gin and tonic, pausing every now and then to listen to the soundscape that only a night under the African sky can bring? How about magical sunrises and sunsets? Or an impromptu coffee stop in the middle of somewhere intrepid? Want your African experience to include some boots on the ground time for wildlife conservation and community empowerment?
That all important coffee break along the way…. Maputo Special Reserve, Mozambique
Then you need to meet my gorgeous friend, Carla Geyser. Her Journeys with Purpose are all of the above and then some!
Carla with Izzy (another kindred spirit) on a boat… a day exploring the waters of Maputo Bay, Mozambique
I first came across Carla’s story in 2016 when she embarked on her epic Elephant Ignite Expedition – travelling 16 000km across 10 countries. Carla and her team visited 37 conservation organisations, engaging with communities along the way and distributing 20 000 educational booklets. The idea for this expedition was sparked by the plight of elephants across Africa – their plummeting numbers due to poaching and human wildlife conflict.
Then in 2018 I followed Carla’s next adventure, The Rise of the Matriarch, on social media. This time an international all women crew set out with Carla for a 50 day, 11 000km journey through 4 countries. This expedition raised global awareness for the plight of African wildlife, raising funds for conservation groups and empowering local youth, especially girls.
I still have the diary from that time and scribbled in a
margin is “Blue Sky Society Trust – next time”.
In May of this year I got to meet Carla in person. She picked me to be part of her crew for a
2019 Journey with Purpose. I have
recorded this incredible adventure in previous posts:
Carla is a great expedition leader – the perfect blend of happy-go-lucky and down to earth pragmatism. She knows Africa well and understands how to travel wisely. Able to go with the flow while at the same time being uber prepared for every eventuality – a real skill in this environment!
Carla overseeing production of a delicious potjie… on top of the world in eSwatini
I love Carla’s attitude to life which is incorporated into
the name of her not-for-profit – The Blue Sky Society. Read here how the name came about. She is a kindred spirit… we share a passion
for Mama Africa, our birthplace. Yet
Carla’s personality is such that anyone from anywhere could not help but enjoy
her company and be swept away in her enthusiasm for life and her work.
I consider it one of the greatest experiences of my life, that May Journey with Purpose. I also consider it an honour and privilege to have shared the road with Carla Geyser and her fabulous landy, Dora. And I cannot wait to go again and be a part of another Blue Sky Society Journey with Purpose!
Dora the Landy in Kruger National Park… this photo taken shortly after two spectacular leopard sightings
Carla is an ordinary woman just like me. But her big dreams, her belief in the infinite possibilities of life and her “just do it” attitude make her voice extraordinary….
Four incredible Journeys with Purpose are planned for 2020 (click on the links to find out more):
What is the significance of finding
your tribe? You are in your element,
time stands still leaving your open heart to soak up all you are experiencing,
really seeing the people in front of you and really hearing their stories. There might be no other purpose to this than
for those people to be seen, to be heard.
But it could be that in this flow you are being given access to
knowledge and understanding which moves you forward on your path. For me those 14 days on our Journey with Purpose
was the latter. I feel compelled by all
I have seen and heard to champion these stories, to spread the word about the
incredible work of these passionate individuals working for wildlife and
community.
Now I love nothing better than seeing the “bigger picture” and some of you reading will know how I love a good map! And I didn’t see this straight away as we progressed through our itinerary, but I think I see it now…. What connects all our conservation and community stories from this expedition together is the increasing collaboration and building towards recognising the increasing value of Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs).
Here is where I mention the Peace Parks Foundation. Their single purpose is “to restore a tomorrow for life on Earth”. Their dream – “to reconnect Africa’s wild spaces to create a future for man in harmony with nature.” What does that look like in action? Helping, guiding, supporting, facilitating TFCAs. Creating a hub for a conservation collective in a particular region. This hub transcends national borders and helps take these seemingly small, individual actions and bringing them together – the dragonfly effect.
Jennifer Aaker and Andy Smith are a husband and wife team who have applied what they term the dragonfly effect to using social media to affect social change. Their book – The Dragonfly Effect: quick, effective and powerful ways to use social media to drive social change – is an interesting read. They talk about the dragonfly being the only insect to move deftly in any direction when all four wings work in unison. This effect is similar to the ripple effect and is used in sociology, psychology and economic circles to show how small actions can create significant change. While their focus is the use of social media, I think the effect applies to the situation I am describing here.
Our JWP01 South expedition took us into two significant TFCA areas – the Greater Limpopo TFCA and the Lubombo TFCA. The people we got to meet and spend time with, the projects we got a little glimpse of on our journey were some of these small pieces working to their strengths and their passions. Placed in the bigger picture of the TFCA landscape there is more than a little hope of significant, lasting change both for wildlife and wild spaces as well as the human communities coexisting here.
For me this sort of hope is especially inspiring as I am on my own journey where I am currently planted to demonstrate how this dragonfly effect can work for conservation and community upliftment anywhere in the world.
