6th Aug. Roy's Camp

6th August. Roy’s Camp. On way to Rundu
’You vill need vour veel drrive vor the last 6 kelometres’ Karla, the owner of Ohange Lodge said in her strong Afrikaans English. Getting quite used to it by now. Karla was recommending a 200km each way side trip to visit a local tribe of bushmen who had started a low key tourist operation 6 years ago to show visitors how they used to live as hunter/gatherers. Twenty years ago they were forbidden to hunt as the number of wildlife had dropped dramatically. They have given up the nomadic life; the village we visited had about 50 inhabitants.
Erastus met us and told us to make our way to the camp site 500 metres away. He followed after changing into his native garb of a very small loin cloth. They are a small race, making Joan look quite tall. The women soon appeared and proceeded to make jewellery from ostrich shell and seeds. Erastus’es offsider showed us how to make fire from 2 sticks, I refused an offer to try myself, then he proceeded to make a bow from a nearby branch and the string he wove together from a green plant, perhaps a type of succulent. Thirty minutes later we were trying the bow out on a straw antelope. I missed, not by much, but the local hit true. Joan had great difficulty firing, we felt a little unsafe standing too close.
One of the women had a 1 month old baby with her, a lovely little thing already with the tight knit hair of their race.
Many scientists think the San Bushmen is mankind earliest ancestors. A sobering thought but they do have the Asian appearance in their faces.
Roy’s Camp is well known as a stopping off point It has an eccentric atmosphere with bits dangling everywhere. It is the busiest place we have stayed so far.