On the trail of the Kalahari bushmen

by Kraig Becker on

A few days back we posted about 18 unique travel experiences that even the seasoned traveler would find interesting. One of the suggestions on that list was to travel to the Kalahari Desert to stay with bushmen and partake in an initiation hunt with the tribes that still wander the remote regions of southern Africa.

Recently, travel writer Sally Emerson journeyed to Botswana to go in search of the bushmen herself. She wrote about her adventures for the Times Online, as she explored the Okavango Delta and the Kalahari, following in the footsteps of author Laurens Van der Post, who published The Lost World of the Kalahari back in 1956. The book has become one of the seminal works on the bushmen and their culture.

Both Emerson, and Van der Post before her, were searching for the San Bushmen, one of five distinct tribes that are spread out across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Angola, and Botswana. Today, it is believed that less than 100,000 of the bushmen remain, but those that do, maintain close ties to their culture, and the land on which they live.

Emerson says that the bushmen that she met were able to teach her about the plants and animals of the Kalahari while showing her how to set traps and hunt as well. They displayed a deep understanding of what their surroundings could provide for them, allowing them to survive for extended periods of time in the desert. Many of the tribesmen are now guides, and are eager to share their history and culture with visitors from the rest of the world. Traveling to the Kalahari to spend some time with these guides would indeed makre for a unique and amazing travel experience.

Adventure destination: Okavango Delta, Botswana

by Kraig Becker on

For many adventurous travelers, an African safari is at the top of the list when it comes to mixing beautiful scenery with the best wildlife encounters on the planet. Most visitors go to Kenya, Tanzania, or even South Africa to get the classic safari experience, but there are other, lesser traveled places, that can deliver that same experience, in a more remote location, far from the typical safari crowds.

One such location is the Okavango Delta, located in the interior of Botswana. Years ago, the region was dominated by a large body of water known as Lake Makgadikgadi, which the Okavango River once emptied into. But the large inland lake has mostly dried up, and due to tectonic shifting, the river now empties out into the Kalahari Desert, forming the Delta, and giving life to an entire ecosystem of plants and animals that couldn’t exist there otherwise.

The well irrigated portions of the Kalahari turn into a grassland, not unlike the Serengeti, and it attracts a similar level of wildlife as well. Elephants, giraffes, zebras, and hippos all call the Delta home, as do an array of big cats, including lions, leopards, and the elusive cheetah. More than 400 species of birds inhabit the region as well, and it is also home to a substantial population of wild dogs, which are now found in very few places on Earth.

One of the unique aspects of visiting this region of Botswana is that it allows visitors to go on safari not just by land but also water. Traditional 4×4 safaris are popular of course, but the waters of the Delta allow travelers to see the wildlife from an entirely different perspective, namely from a dugout canoe that is poled along by a native guide. Drifting through the serene waters, the canoes pass over hippo pools, while antelope drink from the shore, and Nile crocs float past like logs with eyes.

While the Okavango Delta is less traveled than the more well known safari locations in Africa, it still attracts thousands of visitors each year. That means that there are a wide array of accommodations available, ranging from simple campsites, with travelers staying in tents, to lavish lodges with all the amenities. But make no mistake, this is a remote and rugged place, unlike any other on Earth, and is definitely a must see for all adventure travelers.

Ten very dangerous animal encounters

by Kraig Becker on

Writer Richard Conniff has made a career out of doing dumb things with animals. He’s even gone so far as to write a book about it that is not only humorous but also quite informative. He has taken this extensive knowledge and created a list of his top 10 most dangerous animal encounters for the Times Online, in which he gives the harrowing details of own adventures with wildlife.

The intrepid author has circled the globe to visit some very remote locations, which has allowed him to get up close and personal with plenty of exotic wildlife. For instance, he not only has gone swimming with piranhas, but has also had encounters with the infamous candiru, a tiny catfish that is known for swimming up inside its victims, including humans taking a dip in the Amazon.

Fish aren’t the only creatures that make the list however, as he also gives the lowdown on several insects, including the bullet ant (so named because its bite feels like you’ve been shot) and the tarantula wasps, which actually prey on the large spiders most of us fear. Conniff also shares his experiences tracking wild dogs in Botswana and driving through a raging storm in Peru with a deadly coral snake in the glove compartment.

Reading the article will make you laugh and cringe, sometimes at the same time. It is a nice guide for what not to do while traveling through remote regions filled with dangerous wildlife. If you like the article, I definitely recommend picking up Conniff’s book, which is filled cover to cover with similar stories.

Saving Endangered Species Through Tourism

by Kraig Becker on

One of the real successes in ecotourism over the past decade or so has been the use of tourist dollars to aid in wildlife conservation. Many countries have discovered that travelers are willing to pay a good deal of money for the opportunity to observe wildlife in its natural habitat, and those funds can go a long way to not only protecting that wildlife, but building an economy as well.

With that in mind, the Times Online has put together a list of ten top wildlife conservation holidays. Each of the trips on this list will not only give us amazing, once in a lifetime, wildlife encounters, but also piece of mind that we are having a positive impact on the animals as well.

On the high end of the scale, travelers can go to Noah’s Ark on the North Island in the Seychelles. For a mere £1200 per night (roughly $1800), you’ll be pampered with your own private villa, complete with plunge pool and butler, a spa, and pristine beaches. And while you lounge in luxury, the resort is using all that money to return the island to its original state, which includes removing invasive species such as rats, brought there by the coconut plantations. Their efforts have already yielded results, with the Seychelles white-eye, an indigenous bird, seeing its population increase by 36% in the last two years.Birds not your thing? Then how about heading to Uganda, where roughly 700 mountain gorillas still exist. Uganda has practically become the model for the use of tourist dollar to protect wildlife with their highly successful gorilla treks. The permits are on the expensive side, but that money goes to protect these noble creatures from poachers, deforestation, and guerillas of a completely different kind. Despite all that, the gorilla population continues to grow, and visitors continue to pay top dollar for a chance to spend just a few hours with them.

There are plenty of other good suggestions for wildlife vacations that help save endangered animals, ranging from black rhinos in Namibia to spectacled bears in Ecuador. Take any one of the trips and go with a clean conscience, knowing that you are having a positive impact on the places you are visiting.

Are We in a Golden Age of Green Travel?

by Kraig Becker on

Clearly the entire travel industry has been undergoing some dramatic changes over the past few years. There was a time when the thought of “green” travel was relegated to a relatively small, niche market that included some eco-conscious tour operators. But in the past few years there has been an inceased effort to be more green in all area of our lives thanks to an increased awareness of global climate change and a focus on limiting our impact on the environment in general.

This increased awareness and focus within the travel sector has resulted in more energy efficient modes of transportation, the rise of sustainable tourism efforts across the globe, and better environmental policies from many nations. All of this has prompted National Geographic Adventure to ask “Is This a Golden Age of Green Travel?”

Adventure cites an action plan from the World Tourism and Travel Council that offers ten ways to combat climate change and the fact that four major international airlines have begun testing jets that use bio-fuels. They also point to the fact that Marriott Hotels is leading the charge to protect a 1.4 million acre section of the Amazon Jungle.

As further examples of the green movement, the magazine offers up five great eco-lodges, on five different continents, that are all leading the way in sustainable tourism and caring for the Earth. Places like the Black Sheep Inn in Ecuador and the Odd-Balls Camp in Botswana, who are making it easier for us to visit exotic places, while leaving a minimal impact.