Cultural Experience
|
Currently all our tours depart from and return to Windhoek. Minimum of 2 and maximum 6 guests per vehicle. This are educational tours/safaris for those of you with a great mind of meeting us the locals. Our tours will allow you to interact with the Himba and the Kalahari people and learn about their cultures, traditions and wilderness educational skills- all in a non-intrusive manner that is respectful to these people/tribes and their environment. You will join in their chores such as milking cows, fetching water, experience the Sheppard trail and interact with the tribe at its traditional homestead. Be introduced to the various farming activities in this dry-like country; or learn about African bush living with the Kalahari Bushmen, Damara and Ovaherero people. We also offer self-drive guided safaris including tours/safaris to Etosha National Park, Sossusvlei Dunes, OvaHimba tours/safaris.This can be in the form of camping in tents, lodges, under the African *s and guestfarms. |
|||
| 1) On the Historical Trails of 1904 Eastern & Central Namibia (3 Days) | |||
This 3-day tour departs east into the Kalahari Desert, destined for an Ovaherero Kraal and historic 1904 Herero-German war sites. Learn about the ways of life, day-to-day day activities and the religion of the Hereros. Visit a historic site where the ‘’Extermination Order’’ of the Ovaherero was issued in the early 1900’s and, time permitting, we may visit Okaepe living museum and the school project. At Waterberg we will tour German soldiers’ graves from the 1904 Herero War and hike on the plateau before overnighting. On our return to Windhoek the next morning (third day), we will stop over in Okahandja to visit the popular local crafts market which offers a diversity of crafts and woodcarvings. Accommodation may include a traditional hut, be it San/Bushmen,Herero,Damara-Nama and Ovambo, campsites and camping, with few modern amenities (hot water is cooked at fire, cold showers, bedroll). For detailed itinerary, please contact us. |
|
2) Highlights of the Kalahari Bushman & Grassroots
(1 Night; 2 Days) - N$3650.00 PER PERSON -Minimum 2 people Please find our Detail Itinerary and Rates below |
|||
 Day 1 Okazeraue: Guest will be picked up from their accommodation in Windhoek around 09h00 the drive to our rustic local farm based in the Kalahari Desert; via the eastern town of Witvlei/Gobabis respectively to our overnight destination. On arrival we check-in and a short ‘’refreshment break’’ before starting with the bushwalk. The duration of the walk depends on the guests, we will however return to the base camp before sunset. The special feature of this short safari is the walks guided by Bushmen family on a farm. The aim is to learn about the hunter-gatherer way of life. As you walk the guides will explain the uses of different indigenous traditional plants identify animal spoor and demonstrate how to find everything necessary for survival in this wilderness. Get a close look at the rapidly disappearing culture of the last hunter-gatherers. Go on a walk through the veld with a small clan of Bushmen/Damara/Herero as they show you how they gather food, start fire with sticks, wind direction and get water from underground roots. But in the evening enjoy and hear stories of times past. \\\\\\\'Keep it simple\\\\\\\' Day 2: Windhoek: After an early bush breakfast we saying good bye than head back towards the town of Witvlei/Gobabis depending on the route we take, and have coffee/tea, cake & glass of wine before we drive back to Windhoek. Rate Per Person: N$3650.00 (Minimum 2 people) Duration: 1 Night; 2 Days Departure Time: At 09h00 Departs from: Windhoek Vehicle Type: Depends on the size of the group Description of facilities: Camping on a sharing basis Recommendations: comfortable walking shoes, wide brim hat, sun screen, sunglasses & personal water bottle (2litres), small back pack to carry your water for the walk. Warm jacket, (summer & winter), flashlight, camera & film. |
|
3) Exclusive with the Kalahari Bushmen (2 nights; 3 Days) - N$6650.00 PER PERSON
Special Bushmen Cultural Experience:
You visit, a farm owned and operated by a local farmer in the eastern Kalahari and the farm is situated in a huge cattle-ranching area. The idea on this farm is to get an understanding of local culture of the Bushman people and the environment surrounding. The accommodation is either in a farmhouse with small single beds, or in our bush tented camp on a sharing basis. Please Find our Detail Itinerary and Rates below |
|||
Day 1 Okazeraue: Guest will be collected from your accommodation in Windhoek around 09h00 the drive to our bush wilderness based camp in the Kalahari Desert; via the eastern village-town of Witvlei to our overnight destination. On arrival we first meet our host family on the main local farm before going to our camp site and meet our guides before putting up out tents with a short ‘’refreshment break’’. Our campsite is in a wilderness environment we take a relax late afternoon walk to investigate the surrounding area and talk to our guides. The sun is dipping down as we return to camp in time for sundowners, dinner cooked over the fire, and the tranquility of an evening in a remote wilderness environment. The evening after supper is spent stargazing and sharing stories with our hosts, the Bushmen, Damara or Ovaherero people. Day 2 Okazeraue: You will be given a dawn wake-up call with a hot coffee before we set off on foot into the bush. The duration of the walks is open-ended depending on the weather & your energy! The emphasis during this outing is on bush experience and the guides will demonstrate how they make use of plants to provide for their needs. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the hunter-gatherer way of life. As you walk the guides will explain the uses of different plants identify animal spoor and demonstrate how to find everything necessary for survival in this wilderness. Get a close look at the rapidly disappearing culture of the last hunter-gatherers. Go on a walk through the veld with a small clan of Bushmen,Damara or Herero local guides as they show you how they gather food, start fire with sticks, wind direction and get water from underground roots. The game tends to concentrate on the farm and our chances of spotting different species are enhanced by the sharp eyes of the Damara, Bushmen or Herero guides. Wherever we spot the species or spoor our guides will give you the story behind the animal tracks and point to the fascinating detail that is too easily missed. The Guides will demonstrate more of their survival and hunting techniques/skills and guest are allowed to hunt with their cameras. Before it gets hot anyone of us can identify a tree and we can have brunch and afterwards return back to our camp. Guest will lead us back to the camp, please no GBS, that’s why observation and listening to our guides & asking questions are of most importance. Along the route to our campsite we pass through a landscape characteristic of the Kalahari with wide vistas of bush dotted with clumps of trees and interspersed with wide open space. Reveal the amazing variety of life in this apparently harsh landscape. The midday is passed relaxing in the shade back at camp perhaps reading up in the reference books what was seen in the field. We then call it a day and our dinner will be prepared on an open campfire. Day 3: Early morning bush breakfast, break down of camp, say good bye to our friends & the host family before returning to Windhoek. In Witvlei depending on the route, guest will have coffee, cake and a glass of wine at own cost before we return to Windhoek. Rate Per Person: N$6650.00 ( Minimum 2 people) Duration: 2 Nights, 3 Days Departure Time: At 09h00 Departs from: Windhoek Vehicle Type: Depends on the size of the group Description of facilities: Camping on a sharing basis Recommendations: comfortable walking shoes, wide brim hat, sun screen, sunglasses & personal water bottle (2litres), small back pack to carry your water for the walk. Warm jacket, (summer & winter), flashlight, camera & film. |
|
4) 3 Day - Eastern Kalahari Bushman & Batswana Tribes We embark on a journey passing the commercial farms to the communal land while observing the changing environment as we go deeper into the Kalahari dessert. Eastern Kalahari Bushman & Batswana Tribes: Join us on an exceptional expedition where we discover the lifestyles and traditions of some of Namibia’s oldest cultural groups. This 3 day safari is designed to give you an in-depth look into the lives of the San Bushman and Batswana tribes, allowing you to discover them up close and personal, as we witness their daily lives and activities. • Learn about the real issues which face ordinary people in rural communities in Eastern Kalahari • Stay in a rural homestead –eat/taste, sleep & learn about daily life of the local people • Visit the modern villages of both the San Bushman and the Batswana communities • Make friends with Namibians whom you would not otherwise meet • Join a working tour with us as it goes about promoting rural development • Meet and stay with the host family • Be part and seek to assist local communities to be able to support themselves through income generation projects and community development programmers. Please Find our Detail Itinerary and Rates below |
|||
 In Namibia the cultures of the people have been so adversely affected by civilization over time, that today it is highly unlikely to find a tribe that has not been exposed to westernization. Europeans first explored Namibia in the early 1400s and the indigenous tribes’ way of life have been altered ever since. Sadly, the most significant changes to the way of life of the indigenous people took place in the 1800s when missionaries and explorers started to establish a permanent presence among the people of Namibia. Kalahari San Bushman Village: Today we drive to a rustic local community based camp in the Kalahari Desert, via the eastern town of Gobabis. There will be time for guest to have coffee/tea at own cost, while your guide buys fresh supplies. We continue our journey south east, driving past saltpans with an immense wide open space into the heart of the Kalahari Desert. Here you will have the opportunity to observe how local communities are able to farm in the Kalahari and survive the test of time. On arrival late/mid afternoon we will welcome by the San/Bushmen dancers, At the bushman traditional village/camp guest will enjoy traditional bushman dancing, and songs, and the meaning of the songs will be translated for you, including old story telling to obtain insight into the unique survival techniques of the oldest tribes in Namibia. Please note that here guests need to ask question and share their experience with communities we visit. We then set up our camp and relax or call it a day. The night will be spent around the campfire. Camping on sharing basis including Dinner Day 2: Epukiro Boiteko Batswana Village: We start the day with a morning bushwalk where we learning more about the Bushman’s hunting techniques such as tracking and stalking. The women and men will teach us about many edible plants, where to look for them and how they are used, e.g. contraceptives and healing. We also visit their local traditional craft village spending time with them, gaining first-hand knowledge on how they make their crafts including bow and arrow. After lunch we continue to the Historical Epukiro Mission, we embark on a journey passing the commercial farms to the communal land while observing the changing environment as we go deeper into the Kalahari dessert. On arrival we set up camp or check into our Batswana traditional huts. Then, companied by our host/guide we visit the modern village with shops, schools, and a clinic and share our views with the local communities. Our village local guides will take us around the village/mission so as to understand and witness the real life of the Batswana communities in their rural settings. This will either be done on foot or hire a local person with a donkey cart. We will also have the opportunity to experience an exceptional Batswana traditional dance incorporating a demonstration of a traditional wedding, combining music and the natural dancing rhythm, as well as the drama of the Batswana Boiteko communities. Guests will witness the Batswana Traditional food preparations and afterwards story telling around the fire before we call it a day. Camping on a shared basis including Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 3: Epukiro Boiteko Batswana Village – Gobabis - Windhoek (+/-500km) (B) After breakfast we continue our journey back to Windhoek, making a stop in Gobabis long enough to take part in the Epako Township Tour, rounding off our cultural adventure. When all have bid their farewell’s, we head East towards our last destination, Windhoek. On arriving back in Windhoek, you will be dropped you off at your accommodation. Rate Per Person: N$6650.00 (Minimum 2 people) Duration: 2 Nights, 3 Days Departure Time: At 09h00 Departs from: Windhoek Vehicle Type: Depends on the size of the group Description of facilities: Camping on a sharing basis Recommendations: comfortable walking shoes, wide brim hat, sun screen, sunglasses & personal water bottle (2litres), small back pack to carry your water for the walk.Warm jacket, (summer & winter), flashlight, camera & film. |
|
This unique tour includes: Guided Walks - Tracking |
|||
During the walk, your San/Bushman guides will share their rich heritage of accumulated knowledge that makes the San/Bushman masters of this harsh environment and introduce you to the ethnobotany and ecology of the surroundings. The San’s skill at tracking animals is unparalleled; your guide can not only identify the type of animal from a spoor but also its sex, speed, whether it was hungry or not, whether it is fit or old and where it was heading. This uncanny ability of reading animal spoors engages all the senses and offers some idea of how the San/Bushman survive in the Kalahari Desert. |
| Guided Walks - Gathering | |||
 Dawn’s early light finds you walking the Kalahari sands, with your San/Bushman guide in preparation of another day in the bushveld. Your San/Bushman guide, at times accompanied by an interpreter, will stop frequently to point out a tree, leaf, bush or underground tuber that is either eaten raw, roasted or boiled, or ground into a powder and made into a natural remedy. They will give you a glimpse of how the San/Bushman people adapted to the Kalahari Desert, by gathering an astounding array of edible foods, traditional medicinal roots, and other veld products. |
| Trance Dance | |||
The San/Bushman trance dance is the central point of their religious experience, linking the human world with the Divine and unifying the community. Traditionally, the San women sit around a fire and provide music by clapping and intoning, which initially sounds monotonous, discordant and disjointed. The men, traditionally the healers, start to dance around the fire. The music then gathers a discernable tempo and the dancers become more frenetic. The music slowly attains a rhythm and fluidity, which penetrates your whole being. The harmonizing, the offbeat clapping, the rattle of the stamping dancers’ feet grows into a well-orchestrated crescendo. It is as this stage that the dancers start slipping into the trance state. The healers alternate between dancing and laying their hands on the sick, spectators and singers, drawing the ills from their bodies and casting them away a sharp barking sound. Kindly be aware that this activity cannot be stopped and started at will and once the dancing has started, it will continue until all the dancers have returned safely from the Trance Stat |
| Traditional Dancing | |||
 Witness the ancient dancing rituals of the San/Bushman and the dances have remain virtually unchanged in the last 20,000 years of San/Bushman Culture. These dances are not only a celebration of life, but are also a means of passing historic folklore from generation to generation. |
| Bow and Arrow Experience | |||
Try your hand at making the seemingly frail bow and arrow, and with any luck, your guide will find the beetles used to make the potent hunting poison. Making fire the San/Bushman way is also part of your Kalahari walk and the paramount significance of this primal element will come alive for you as you watch the fire sticks working their magic. |
|
NTB Reg: TFA 00041 Tel.: +264 62 56 47 43 Fax: +264 62 56 41 69 Cell: 081 - 2521270 E-mail: info@uakii.com Chruch Street Erf 62 P.O. Box 359 Gobabis Namibia |
|||
©2008 - Uakii Wilderness Survival