Contained in the fortress of the Drakensberg and Maluti mountains Lesotho lies 1000m above sea level – close to God.

Like Desmond Tutu, the Basotho people under their founder, King Moshoeshoe, fought hard for independence and self-governance.  And, after conquering his foes, King Moshoeshoe remained generous and gracious in his exalted position.

The Basotho are justly proud of King Moshoeshoe .  His name, pronounced “Moshweshwe”  is onomatopoeic of the sound of an enemy being debarbed.  After all a man without a beard is no-man.  And as a young warrior he adopted this name to show what he could, and would, do to his adversaries.

Revealingly, the modern Basotho realize that his martial qualities were not the primary reason for his greatness.  His mentor,  Mohlome,  whom the Basotho hold in high esteem, is credited with moulding King Moeshoeshoe into the gracious and benevolent leader that he was.

Mohlome, was a great friend of Moshoeshoe’s grandfather and spent years coaching the young leader in statecraft.  At a time of great upheaval – the Zulu Difiqane wars sent waves upon waves of displaced people looking for refuge or conquest themselves all over southern Africa – Moeshoeshoe learned to value peace and became non-discriminatory under Mohlome’s tutorship.   He is known to have sent cattle and food to tribes that he’d just defeated in battle, to prevent them starving.

A little known fact is that Moshoeshoe’s mother was a leper.  He did not banish her to some godforsaken place but had her housed in a nearby cave with attendant women.  He regularly visited her in the cave and when the plateau of the great settlement was under siege from enemies, moved the Royal household into the cave with Mother. 

Lesotho still has a strong sense of tradition and both young men and women are sent off to initiation schools where they go through their rites of passage to adulthood.  The photos indicate the different garb they don for this. I can’t help but think the boys are a bit like male birds – lots of loud plumage!  Not that Desmond Tutu, dressed in purple robes, has that avian look … or does he?

Flying from Cape Town, I flew into the gateway city for most safari expeditions (Johannesburg) and spent a night at a lovely little guesthouse.  Outlook Lodge was a welcoming overnight stop after leaving the comforts of my own home.  On the following day, a quick transfer to Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport where I met the rest of the group.

Unfortunately after a 3 hour delay we finally arrived at 22:45 at Kilimanjaro Airport.   It was interesting to discover the journey took us from Johannesburg to Dar Es Salaam (4 hours), then from Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar (a whole 10 minutes airborne!!) and lastly a flight from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro (40 minutes) – Jambo!

We found ourselves crashing into bed on the first night, ready for a bright an early start to our trip.  Our first two nights were spent at an ‘Authentic’ campsite in Lake Manyara National Park.  What is authentic camping ?  It’s the adventure of camping, but with the comforts of convenience e.g. all cooking and camp chores done by staff, no pitching of tents, bucket showers and chemical toilets.    Lake Manyara truly found a special place in my heart! This park has a great diversity in eco-zones, corresponding to a similar diversity of animal and birdlife. 

Early to rise once again on Day 4 and we set out for destination Ngorongoro Crater.  En route we visited a delightful retreat 5km from the park entrance.  It is a  working farm, offering very comfortable accommodation for guests in beautiful surroundings.

As we entered the Ngorongoro Conservancy, we encountered a tropical rain forest in low-lying mist.  This vegetation is very typical of the crater rim and was provides a home to buffalo, waterbuck, bush pig and local Maasai warriors herding their goats or cattle to the water source in the crater.  Be prepared to pull out USD1 to take a photo of one of these fine-featured locals!   After a tricky 600m drop along narrow road we ventured for a game drive in the 2 million year old crater.  Three distinct eco-zones:  flat grasslands, forest thicket and a small attracted all types of birds and wildlife.

We sneaked a peek at a 5 star property before heading for our private campsite set up once again inside the conservancy area.  A steaming bowl of popcorn and nuts was waiting our arrival – we take some things too much for granted!  After wishing upon a few falling stars we settled in for the night.

Next day we set out for Serengeti National Park.  En route we stopped at Oluvai (aka Oldupai) Gorge.  If you don’t catch the local’s 20 minute talk on Olduvai Gorge, wander through the information centre.  As for the next stretch of road, be warned, corrugated gravel road is quite wearying after two hours.  Fortunately we had a pit stop at a local Maasai village and visited their little grass/mud homes.  A very interesting insight to the life they lead with simple necessities.  Beware ladies with long black hair, the local chief may try to barter for your hand in marriage!

At long last, Karibu Serengeti National Park!!!  Upon first entry, I was pleased that we were in Landcruisers with open tops as the grass was very long.  You have to try spot lion at Simba koppies, or deeper in the park, look out for crocs at a place only your guide will be able to pronounce.
After this long day we finally arrived at Serengeti Wilderness Camp and were looking forward to our showers and sundowners.

Our flight back to Arusha certainly proved more comfortable than the drive out.

Before I knew it, I was back on the flight back to Cape Town with wonderful memories and inspirations to return again one day!   Highlights of this trip certainly included Lake Manyara!

To survive as a species it is now well recognized that the human family must rise to the challenge of changing its attitude and thinking.  Our adapted outlook will need to embrace the diversity of Life and realize that we are but players in its great drama.  We will need to retrieve that profound sense of belonging to the whole, rather than our present perception of differentiation and conquest over Mother Nature.

So how does a society (global or otherwise) transform itself?   Through stories: stories sustain us, stories inspire us and stories comfort us.  Stories uphold all the religions of the world and form the basis of all beliefs.  Tales of good and evil, life and death, love and hate have nurtured human beings from time immemorial.  Throughout history myths and legends have inspired great acts of love and sacrifice.  They have motivated many a hero and heroine against overwhelming odds.  And, when life hits a low point, souls are sustained by tales of redemption and salvation.

I have had a strong sense for many years that Africa will give birth to these stories. 

As a symbol of the natural world Africa is well placed to inspire these stories as there are still places in Africa where you can hear a faint echo of what it was like in the beginning when man lived in harmony, rather than at odds, with nature.  And so it is that I believe African stories can help in this necessary transformation of the global consciousness.

In “My Heart Stands in the Hill” by Janette Deacon & Craig Foster the stories and beliefs of the //Xam Bushmen of the Northern Cape illustrate the great sense of belonging these people felt in their landscape. 

In “Tlou, The Elephant Story” by Bontekanye Botumile she describes the creation of an elephant from a human, basing this on the tribal belief that “elephants are first cousins of human beings”.

As the archetypal symbol of the human spirit, the wind is an important metaphor for transformation.  As Kabbo, a Bushman interviewed by William Bleek & Lucy Lloyd in the 19th Century, said   “I am waiting … that I may set my feet forward in the path … I … listen, watching for a story, which I want to hear … that it may float into my ear … I feel that my name floats along the road … along to my place … I feel that a story is the wind.”

The CKGR was proclaimed in 1961 as a game reserve and “… the protection it offered to the Bushmen was written into the Constitution with the agreement of Botswana’s first democratic government.” This was at a time when the Bushmen were still leading their hunter/gatherer way of life and hunting with bows and arrows.

As Botswana progressed (it is one of Africa’s political and economic success stories) the government foresaw the inevitable social cataclysm when the 20th Century would meet the Stone Age. The Bushmen were ill-equipped to deal with what was to come. In order to ease this passage the government introduced the Remote Area Dwellers Programme (RADP) in the 1980s. Bushmen were allowed to hunt and gather certain species for resale in the towns. Government officers were located in several settlements in the CKGR to assist the Bushmen with transport and negotiating the best deals in town. Water was even trucked into these settlements by the government to encourage people to settle.

The first time I went to the CKGR was in 1987. We crossed the reserve diagonally from the south-east to the north-west. In the southern portion we followed diamond prospectors’ gridlines, so there is no doubt in my mind that the necessary research has been done. However, in Botswana (as in most African countries) ownership of mineral wealth falls to the State, as per the country’s constitution. So if viable mineral wealth has been discovered in the CKGR then constitutionally the State has a right to it, and it is doubtful that any government would allow a game reserve and the lifestyle of a few to stand in the way of benefiting the majority. Unlike other African countries where mineral wealth is exploited by international corporations with the collusion of local elites, the major portion of profit from Botswana’s diamond wealth goes back to the government. Debswana, the 50/50 partnership between De Beers and the Botswana Government, pays its taxes on profit in … Botswana. So the winning partner is the government. (The model is so successful and beneficial to the country that it is set up as an example to other African countries.) In Botswana’s solid democracy diamonds have financed development since independence. So the myth that the Bushmen removal from the CKGR is about diamonds just doesn’t ring true.

All the while inexorable change knocked at the CKGRs door.

Since the RADP terminated in the early 1990s, the Bushmen have been gradually encouraged to move out of the CKGR with the enticement of free primary schooling, free health-care and permanent water. As expected, there were some, especially the older ones, who couldn’t cope with this change. “… alcoholism, boredom and depression …” are disorders that afflict many indigenous people overwhelmed by a less sympathetic culture.

I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic to the Bushmen. On the contrary, as a First People, I feel they’ve had a rotten deal at the hands of many colonizers, of all ethic origins. To paraphrase Laurens van der Post, the Bushmen provide a mirror in which both Black and White people can reflect on the shadow side of their natures.

So here we sit in 2007 where a large segment of the Bushmen population has partially adapted to 21st Century life. They own rifles and guns and they hunt from vehicles. They are pastoralists with herds of goats. They wear Western-style clothing and they are accustomed to permanent water.

You can see the dilemma the Government of Botswana sits with. “Small” herds of goats become large herds of goats if they have water and forage. Goats are notorious for overgrazing and debilitating an ecosystem, if left unchecked. Taking a quick look at areas outside of the CKGR in Botswana, where permanent water is provided, will confirm this.

Also to expect hunters, who own rifles, to resort to using bows and arrows is naïve. Unrestricted hunting with rifles in a game reserve will soon decimate wildlife numbers.

The CKGR is opening up to non-consumptive photographic tourism with job creation being a government objective. Tourism is Botswana’s third economic pillar (diamonds and beef being the other two) and diversification makes sound managerial sense.

So in order to preserve the integrity of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the government is trying to “… persuade the Bushmen not to return to the CKGR.”

The big mistake came in the forced removals carried out in 2002 and it is obvious from the judgment of the Botswana High Court in 2006 that the letter of the law was not followed. And while law abiding countries in Africa should be commended, this does not detract from the predicament the government now finds itself in. Just when the world is coming to realize the threat the environment is under and that continued human consumption cannot continue on the scale it has, we have a First People clamoring for their share of the spoils.

So which is paramount: human or environmental rights? As with most important issues, it’s not that simple. Perhaps the question should be reframed. Is Man dependent upon Mother Earth or is Creation somehow dependent on Mankind? And how should Man adjust to changing conditions to ensure his own long term survival as a species?

These are the questions of our Time.

The irony of all this is that it’s happening to a people who were, in their traditional spirit, utterly comfortable with the concept of a symbiotic relationship with the Earth.