Nhoma Safari Camp
P.O. Box 1899
Tsumeb, Namibia
Cell: 081-2734606

Web: www.tsumkwel.iway.na
e-mail: tsumkwel@iway.na

What to do in the Nyae Nyae Area

Crafts

The Dutch Reformed Church operates a curio shop in Tsumkwe. The curios are authentic items obtained from all the Ju/'hoan communities in the area in exchange for basic food supplies and anything and everything made by the Ju/'hoansi are sold here. The shop is next to reverend Hendrik van Zyl's house. Drive south through Tsumkwe and turn left at the Local Government Offices. The house is the second one to the left and the only one with a nice garden. The shop is opened on request whenever the reverend and his wife are in town and may be visited even on weekends.

The Nyae Nyae Conservancy's craft centre is next to the Conservancy Office (the first buildings on the right hand side of the road if entering the settlement from the direction of Grootfontein). They sell high quality curios made from ostrich eggshells (in short supply these days) and glass beads by Ju/'hoan women. They are only open during office hours. The multi-coloured Tsumkwe Craft Centre at the Tsumkwe crossroad is merely window dressing and harbors informal shops that sell anything from lingerie to bush slaughtered meat.

Baobab trees

The tree known as Grootboom was the biggest in the area until it died in 2004. It was 43m in circumference and died in April 2004. It was estimated to have been 1000 to 1100 years old. The second biggest baobab is the Holboom, 38m in circumference. The turnoff to Holboom is 12 km from Tsumkwe on the Tsumkwe-Botswana road. Holboom is close to a community camp site and you should walk from the camp site to the tree. Camping fees should be payed at Djokhoe village if you want to camp there.

You can take the old Grootboom turn-off 17km from Tsumkwe, but continue southwards instead of turning right to the Grootboom site. This road runs parallel with the Gam road and will take you past Makuri village and numerous large baobab trees to the village of Xamsa. There is a game water hole at Xamsa and there usually is a translator available at either Makuri or Xamsa. You can drive through the villages to the Gam road, but don't take photos without permission.

The Dorslandboom is a big baobab close to the track from Tsumkwe to Sikereti in Khaudum National Park.Take the second turn-off after the sign that reads "Casa's Trading". This is a historic site. The oldest name carved on the tree is the name Black '84. He was a Dorslandtrekker. The other names are of German Schutztruppe that surveyed the area in 1891.

Making fire on top of baobab tree roots will damage the tree and branches regularly break off.  Black mambas make their homes in hollows in the trees. Therefore, don't camp underneath the tree!  A camping fee should be paid at the nearest village. Ashes from camp fires should be buried and names should definitely not be carved on trees, although it seems like the national sport.

Nyae Nyae pan

The road to the pan is the one going south from the government offices in Tsumkwe after driving through town. The turn-off to the left after the fenced field goes to Gura pan. Don't take it unless you want to go to Gura or /Autcha pans. Just before Nyae Nyae pan, there is a road to Krispinsky’s hide.  The road around Nyae Nyae pan goes to Kebe pan where there are numerous forks in the road. The road to the west circles the pan. There is a road to a water hole in the west and one east to elephant straw, a borehole where elephants drink from the casing. It is not allowed to drive over the pan: it leaves unsightly tracks. The wattled crane is a highly endangered species that visit the pan in the rainy season and should not be disturbed. People should not camp at the edge of the pans: tourists go there to view birds and game, not campers....

Cultural tours

If you are interested in learning about Ju/’hoansi culture – tracking, bush food, hunting and traditional dancing - you can enquire at the Nyae Nyae Conservancy Office in Tsumkwe: tel. no. 067-244011. They can arrange a guide from the community. Namibia Adventure Safaris & Tours operates Nhoma Camp at //nhoq’ma village (80km from Tsumkwe). The activities at the camp are bushman related and day tours to Khaudum National Park can also be done from the camp. For reservations book via e-mail: tsumkwel@iway.na or cell: 0812734606.

Always arrange payment before going on an outing. It is usual to pay about N$1000 for a full day’s activities at the villages or N$50 to N$100 per hunter accompanying you on a walk and about N$30 per dancer for traditional dancing. The payment should allow you to take photos as well. If you think that a “real bushmen” is one that only wears skin clothes, you’ve come to the wrong place.  Handcrafted goods are normally for sale. Bargaining is not acceptable, but it is a good idea to take tobacco (shorro), tea (ti) or sugar (zo) as a gift or foodstuff and clothing.

Camping wild

This area is government land and one of the attractions of the area is that one can drive and camp anywhere without making new tracks. The only rule is to take only photos and leave only footsteps. Wherever you decide to camp, it will be in somebody's !nore (hunting area) and it is usual to ask permission and pay a camping fee where required.

Recommended books

• Boiling Energy by R. Katz
• The Bushman Myth by Gordon and Douglas
• The !Kung of Nyae Nyae by Lorna Marshall
• !Kung Rites and beliefs by Lorna Marshall
• The !Kung San by R. Lee, The Dobe Ju/’hoansi by R. Lee
• Return to Nisa by Marjorie Shostak
• Women Like Meat by Megan Biesele
• Healing Makes our Hearts Happy by Katz and Biesele
• The Harmless People by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas.

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