Otjiwarongo, Namibia
We drove back towards Windhoek on way to our next location, the Africat lodge in Okonjima. The Africat foundation provides a safe reserve primarily for large cats (cheetahs, leopards and the occasional lion). However, they also provide a haven for other endangered animals such as the African dog when they can. The foundation was founded by a farming family who lived in the area. They were having an ongoing issue with large cats repeatedly attacking/killing their cattle. If an offending animal was shot, another one would take its place within months. The family became quite uncomfortable with the recurring need to kill the predator in order to safeguard their livelihood so they started a research program to understand the reasons for this behaviour. These humble beginnings has resulted in the creation of a 20,000 ha game reserve, a thriving research and veterinary program, a staff of over 200 people and a community outreach program to educate and try to save Namibia’s remaining wild cat population. Their slogan is ‘conservation through education’ and they meet that end by creating both a tourist lodge and a school for the children of the reserves workers (that currently educates 70 children). It may sound that these lofty and laudable goals could interfere with the experience of a tourist visiting the site but that assumption could not be more incorrect. The accommodations (we stayed in the standard rooms near the lodge) were amazing. When you wake in the morning, you look out over the African plain. It fulfilled my stereotypical expectations of what Africa “should” look like. We spent a few hours on the patio of out cabin looking out over the horizon and the unbelievable array of stars. It has been a very long time since I saw the stars with no light pollution. We went on several animal ‘hunts’ where we were able to see cheetahs (on foot), leopards (in a car) and wild dogs (on foot). The cheetahs and dogs were about 15-20 feet (3-4 m) away. I never thought that I would see such wild animals in the wild while walking around. The cats tend to be brought to the reserve as cubs (almost always after their mother was shot). The cats are assessed, fed and cared for in a more contained area until they are ready to release into larger reserve. One animal per group is tagged with a GPS collar that helps to track movements, aids in research studies and helps the trackers locate the cats for visitors. We also took part in a Bushman walk where we were shown basic survival and tracking skills. Imagine Wild Totos tracking, trapping and hunting game, making fire to cook and then creating fabulous jewelry from the remains – it’s every Toto’s dream!! During our stay, we took part in the of the highlights of this culinary tour: breaking into teams and creating a 3 course meal under the careful toutilege of Sidney and Alison. For the appetizer enjoyed a soufflés. The main consisted of deconstructed oryx sosaties with pap and chakalaka. The star of the meal (and winner of the fiercely friendly competition) was the dessert of tarte Bordelaise served with honey tuile and vanilla ice cream topped with Amarula liquor. Definitely an amazing meal (and a hint of what it must be like to work in a busy restaurant kitchen)
2GuysTravel 