Namibia chapter twelve
The big dune walk and desert paintings.
Chicco meets me at 0630 for the drive out to the big dune. It’s a private dune on the property of the andBeyond, offering a more tranquil dune experience.
Before arriving I wasn’t sure how much dune walking I wanted to do. After climbing Big Daddy, I decided I wanted more.
The night before Jo told me they offered breakfast in the desert after the climb, which Chicco would prepare for me. But there might be an issue of flies. I misheard her, thinking they had a problem with flights. I told her if they needed the Landcruisers to get people to their flights I was happy to do whatever worked best for them.
No no no, she said. It’s a problem of flies. Depending on the weather conditions the area can be infested with flies. Ah! I told her that regardless I’d take breakfast back at the lodge. It’s such a beautiful setting and I wanted to make the most of it.
•
We drive out in the semidark. Chicco tells me of going on ranger patrol with his father as a boy. He rode a donkey, they camped out under the stars. It sounds idyllic. The experience shaped him and put him on the path to what he does today.
The sun rises, painting the skies in shades of bubblegum and cotton candy. The clouds spread the light, allowing the rays to pass here and there.
Chicco drives the car around to the far side of the dune where the sand slopes gently up towards the peak. He takes off his shoes and we begin the ascent. The sand is soft, and while the dune lacks the height of Big Daddy, the climb is more difficult for the lack of others packing the sand ahead of us.
We climb higher; the sun rises. Light dapples the sand.
Chicco tells me to continue on. He’s going back to the vehicle and will meet me on the other side of the dune. It feels like I’m close to the summit, but false peak after false peak greets me. Clouds play across the sky, the light plays hide and seek with the dunes.
I take photos at the summit and then sit down. The sand is cool and I dig my feet into it before turning and laying down on the ridge. Chicco is nowhere to be seen. I close my eyes and take a short nap.
The sun lights the land selectively, pools of gold slide across the sand.
Chicco is nowhere to be found. I get up to see if I can see the Landcruiser from my vantage point. It’s hidden behind the dunes. I listen for the roar of an engine. There’s nothing; there’s no one around. I am surrounded by sand.
I hear the roar of the engine and slowly see Chicco round the bend. He drives slowly as if searching for me. He parks near the base of the dune and I start my descent. He had told me to meet him by a large tree, but I’m uncertain now of which tree he means. I decide to descend to where he waits. Along the way I look at the tracks of those who came before me.
Chicco says he lost me. He wasn’t sure where I had gone. I show him pictures of the tracks I have taken and ask him to identify them. There’s one in particular that puzzles me, a set of prints with nothing but untouched sand around them. I’m curious as to what might have transpired.
Chicco tells me he’s worked at a number of lodges, including Doro Nawas, where I’ll be on my birthday. His cousin works there now as a guide.
He moves around a lot because he feels one’s mind narrows if one stays in one place too long. He wishes there were more lodges in Namibia to transfer to, but he ultimately wants to farm sheep and cattle. He has a friend who has offered him land while he looks for his own.
I ask him how he started. He tells me he used to work in conservation so it’s easy to find jobs as a guide. Wilderness initially asked him to guide after they had worked with him on conservation projects when he was on the village side.
We begin our drive back towards the lodge. The sun clouds continue to select what the sun can illuminate and I admire the play of light and shadow as we drive through the seemingly deserted landscape.
Nearing the lodge, Chicco asks me if I want to see their version of stonehenge. It’s a pile of rocks that have been revealed due to the erosion of the sand around them. It’s almost shocking to see these boulders in the desert. I haven’t seen anything like them in the desert thus far.
We can see the lodge from the rocks and we drive in an almost straight line back towards it. The desert is beautiful, the interplay of clouds and sky and light and shadow create a kaleidoscopic view. A lone oryx makes its way along the base of the mountains, and we follow it with our gaze as it walks slowly, parallel to our progress.
Back at the lodge I breakfast with Chicco and we continue our conversation from before. Oryx visit the watering hole along with springbok.
After breakfast, I am determined to try everything the lodge has on offer. The landscape continues to dazzle with an ever-shifting interplay of light. I break out the watercolors offered and make a feeble attempt at rendering what’s before me. If nothing else it forces me to slow my gaze, to sit and stare in an attempt to see every detail, to hold it in my mind and to translate it to paper.
At lunch, birds perch on the furniture around me. They stand as if posing, but I know they’re hoping for a morsel. They’re bold, hopping onto the table, daring you to shoo them away. After breakfast sometimes I push my plate away and pretend to ignore them as they steal a crumb and fly away.
Shadows fall over the mountains and the watering hole. The oryx is nowhere to be seen. The watering hole is devoid of life.
I treat myself to a massage after lunch, the masseuse working at the knots in my muscles. Unfortunately, there’s little time to relax afterwards. I’ve arranged an ebike trip to see some rock paintings by a nearby cave. I finish my tea at the spa and then head back to the room to change. I’m greeted by my watercolor; I’d left it on the desk and had almost forgotten I had made it. I debate signing it, but I haven’t managed to perfect a lightweight brushstroke.
It’s my last day at the andBeyond and I am already missing it. I take a few additional photos to remmeber it by, and silently thank Angela again for pushing me to come.
I meet Chicco up the hill by the bikes. Bruce is making his way to the observatory. I call out but he doesn’t hear me.
I’ve never ridden an ebike before and I’m surprised at how the assist works. I play with the settings and with full-assist it really feels like you’re a bionic person.
At the base of the caves we leave our bikes and climb up to where the paintings are. The cave is too small to enter, and Chicco walks me along the ledge, pointing out the animals.
A Mexican couple told me I should shout out while sitting by the cave to hear the echo across the valley. I sit by the cave and do so, my voice rings out clearly, the echo bounces back to my ears after a short delay.
Chicco shows me stones used as tools and broken ostritch egg shells used for decoration before we descend, following the same path back to the lodge. Had we more time we could have ridden a longer loop, but night approaches, and Chicco wants to make sure we make it safely back to the lodge.
I invite Jo to join me for dinner. We’re seated on the second floor terrace and Wilhemina waits on us both. We each order the pasta with prawns as our main; Jo asks for extra prawns.
As we’re served our meals I notice that the portions are the same. I look over at Wilhemina. I thought I had requested half portions? She smiles and then laughs. There are no small portions she tells me as she bounds away, not waiting to hear my retort. Jo’s disappointed with the number of prawns in her dish and I happily share mine with her.
I ask her about her job and she tells me she dislikes dishonest people, people who say nice things to your face but then leave bad reviews, especially when the problem is within her power to fix. If they don’t like the room itself or if the pool water is too cold she can’t really do much, but if it’s service-related she can. I mishear the second part. Wait, you can fix the pool temperature? What have I been missing!
She tells me that andBeyond has a program that sends employees to different lodges to work and as guests so they can experience what it’s like. Wilhemina recently returned from an andBeyond in Botswana as a guest and loved it. She saw so many animals she’d never before seen. Jo herself spent five weeks working in Botswana. It’s a great way to see how things are done differently and done the same.
She teaches me about the history of her peoples and how that history informs their present, how politically things have shifted and identities have been and are being affirmed and reaffirmed.
It’s an amazing meal, made exceedingly special by the company and the opportunity to chat more with Wilhemina. Jo and I each order the same dessert. We’re warned it’ll take a little time, but we are in no rush. Wilhemina tops up our wine and we sit in the dark, illuminated only by a candle. We’re the only ones on the terrace; Wilhemina is the only one who comes and goes.
Our conversation spills out into the night, only the stars listen. Jo tells me about the apple pie in Solitaire, how every time she passes she gets excited to stop for it. She tells me about her daughter, who wanted to be a vet but now wants to be a YouTuber. She has a photo with Miss Namibia. I forget what I tell her. I only want the evening to continue, for the dessert to be forever anticipated, never to come. 🇳🇦
28 May 2024
