The not so great white hunter


Our Namibia Holidays
Namibia self drive holiday, big cat conservation
Self drive trip taking in Namibia's highlights
Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
Namibia self drive safari
Stunning self-drive safari through north and south Namibia
Namibia small group guided holiday and safari
A fabulous small group guided trip in Nambia
Namibia Desert & Caprivi camping safari
Safari covering the highlights of Namibia & Caprivi
Namibia small group holiday, sand dunes & safari
A hidden gem of contrasting landscapes and amazing wildlife
Namibia on a budget
Self drive holiday on a budget in stunning Namibia
Namibia and Botswana safari holiday
Namibia & Botswana lodge safari Caprivi Etosha Okavango
Family safari in Namibia
Climb the highest sand dunes in the world
Namibia elephant conservation
Help protect and research the desert elephants
Namibia and Botswana safari
Two week adventure tour of Namibia and Botswana
Windhoek to Victoria Falls self drive tour
A self-drive adventure through Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
Diverse Namibia holiday
An active, exciting adventure, exploring iconic Namibia
Victoria Falls to Cape Town small group holiday
Explore the best of Southern Africa's wildlife and nature.
Privately guided Namibia holiday
Experience Namibia at your pace, with your own private guide
Namibia highlights tour
Incomparable wildlife and landscapes in superb Namibia
Namibia holidays, safari & desert discovery
9 day safari designed to show you the best of Namibia
Cape Town to Vic Falls holiday in Southern Africa
A spectacular and diverse African journey
Cape Town to Victoria Falls small group lodge tour
Classic route lodge safari to Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
Namibia Desert & Caprivi small group lodge safari
Accommodated safari through the Zambezi region & Namibia
Namibia wildlife sanctuary volunteering holiday
Care for rescued animals in Namibia
Namibia carnivore conservation & research project
Assist the team as a Big Cat Conservation Volunteer!
Southern Namibia self drive holiday, desert eco-systems
Explore the 4 amazing eco-systems of Southern Namibia
The Grand Southern Africa safari
21-day tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls
Namibia cycling holiday
Wide open spaces, endless skies & sand dunes
Cape to Windhoek Namib desert camping safari
Camping safari from Cape Town to Namibia, Sossusvlei, Etosha
Elephant conservation holiday for families, Namibia
Elephant conservation volunteering project for families
Cape to Windhoek Namibia Desert tour
Lodge safari from Cape Town to Namibia, Sossusvlei Etosha
Wheelchair accessible Namibia self drive holiday
Self drive trip taking in Namibia's highlights
Pinching myself at my good fortune and with Laurens Van der Post in my head, I too tried to move quietly and effortlessly through the bush. However not all was going to plan. Firstly it was hot, really hot. I found that I needed to drink almost continuously. Also, despite my best efforts I got stuck in thorn bushes that the San seemed to melt through, and my size twelves made twigs snap with a seemingly deafening noise (not a problem that you have with child size feet in soft leather sandals).
From time to time we stopped to eat some berries, to examine tracks or chew seeds. Once they dug up tubers containing a refreshing milky fluid from areas of sand that to my eye showed no trace of what resources might be below. I felt helpless and disappointed as I realised that I lacked the survival skills and physiological adaptations that they had acquired over centuries of life in the desert and felt I was a burden rather than a part of the hunting group. However, to my delight, I was about to score a very small victory…
At one stop I noticed that a digging stick had been left behind. Rather than hand it back immediately I carried it quietly behind my back for the next 20 minutes or so. When you only have a handful of possessions I figured that losing one that you depended on for hunting might be important. Eventually one of the San looked back sharply in the direction where the stick had been left. From behind my back I slowly brought out his stick. Nothing was said - he simply gave me a gentle nod and a dignified and quiet smile - but it meant the world to me!
That night I was invited back to the village for a traditional hunting dance. After asking more about their lives I thought that they might like to ask me about life in the UK - I figured that aeroplanes, the Queen or even football might interest them. However, the question - 'what do you hunt?' - completely floored me. As it dawned on me that my newfound friends rated a man principally on his hunting ability, I struggled for an answer. When I explained that I was quite keen on fishing my stock plummeted to new depths. Fishing is not overly popular in the Kalahari Desert.
Trying to pick up what was left of the conversation I asked the San, and the local tourism entrepreneur who brought tourists to see them, about tourism and its benefits and pitfalls. I learnt that the income from tourism - the San are paid for each walk and for dancing in the evening - is very welcome for several reasons. Firstly, my guides' grandchildren, who had previously shown little interest in learning traditional skills, were keen to build up their knowledge and return to more traditional ways of life as tourism guiding pays better than the menial jobs they are able to get in the towns.
With the income from tourism the San supplement the meat from hunting with some from a local butcher. As a result they are putting less pressure on the local wildlife, which is returning closer to their village - thus considerably reducing the distances that the San need to walk to hunt.
Our top Namibia Holiday
Namibia self drive holiday, big cat conservation
Self drive trip taking in Namibia's highlights
This trip can be tailormade throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary
However, tourism is no panacea for the San. Tourists like myself are keen to learn more and more about their culture, but it can be unclear where the boundaries of privacy lie. I felt a little uncomfortable in their village, and wonder about the impact of increasing numbers of tourist traipsing through it.
By visiting the San we are changing them. However we have to be cautious to balance our own romantic ideals of preserving their cultures, with their desire to adopt some of our culture, and to improve their healthcare, education and income. We cannot help but be aware of their lack of experience in tourism, its invasiveness, and how to manage it to keep private aspects of their lives and culture that need to remain so. The answer may lie in limited numbers of responsible tourists visiting various sites (and possibly not the villages) to spread the economic benefits, and minimise the impacts on any one community.