This is the view that greeted me this morning from the veranda of my room at Leylandsdrift - so called because Louw Schoeman's Leyland truck got stuck here. We've had another gentle awakening as you sit sipping a steaming mug of tea listening to the birds calling down in the canyon. The camp is perched high up on a ridge above the canyon & is a prime spot for some easy game viewing...desert adapted lions, elephants, oryx, springbok...not in the numbers that you see in the Serengeti or Botswana but every sighting is appreciated here. We hop into the vehicle to take a look at what the canyon has to offer...not much this morning except a lone oryx and a pair of bokmakierie birds calling to each other -we sit for a while in dead silence entranced by the beautiful sound bouncing off the canyon walls all around us...magical!!
On our way back to AMY we stop off at an impressive clay castle...smaller ones of which can be seen in the above photo as well. This is a well known geological phenomenon in the Hoarisib River near Purros formed by clay deposition & erosion in the canyon....I'd never heard of them before...that what I like about life....every day is a school day no matter how old you get....
Image: courtesy of Amanda Mitchell
The lovely AMY is waiting for us and we hop in for the short flight to Purros....amazing views of the canyon...a real oasis in the middle of the desert...no wonder all the animals use it as a highway...and you can just see the camp perched on the edge.
Looking back at the dry river bed from which we've just taken off...
We're on our way to visit the Himba settlement near Purros...they are a nomadic, pastoral people so not always at home but we are lucky today....
The Himba are a striking people - the ladies wear skirts made of goat skins decorated with shells and jewellery made of iron and copper. The Himba never wash using water but rub thier entire body with a mixture of rancid butterfat, ash and ochre powder to protect them from the harsh sun. The paste (otjize) is often mixed with the aromatic resin of the Omuzumba shrub as a perfume. The Himba ladies also use the paste in their hair which is long and plaited into intricate designs. The matriarch of this clan, Ouma, invited us into her home and showed us how she perfumes herself as well as her clothing by burning aromatic herbs collected from the bush. One of the first things you are shown on entering the kraal is the okoruwo or ancestral fire, which provides contact between the livng and the dead and you are told to never step into the circle of stones but to always move around it. Just before we leave, there is a selection of traditional wares made by the ladies for those wishing to purchase them. On a previous visit I bought some lovely carved palm nuts (vegetable ivory) and a woven basket from them. I'm never keen on these 'cultural' visits (hence my lack of photo's of the Himba ladies who welcomed us) but have to say that I was impressed with Andre who handled the visit with sensitivity and respect & they clearly liked him.
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