Lessons in Damara-Nama

While staying overnight at the Duwisib Guest Farm, we had the pleasure of meeting Elizabeth who managed the farm while the owners were away. Elizabeth welcomed us, cooked for us and joined us at our meals for fun and informative chats. She was interested in us and our unusual lifestyle and we, of course, were very interested in her. Her native language is Damara-Nama, one dialect of the Khoekhoe click language spoken in Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. We were interested in hearing her speak her language and she was happy to accommodate us.

Later, we visited the nearby Duwisib Castle for a tour. There, Samantha, our tour guide and hostess, was a gem. She was knowledgeable about the castle, spoke excellent English and was only too happy to give us a little lesson in Damara-Nama … and ham it up a little for the camera.

The Khoekhoe (Koy-koy) click language consonants are represented by punctuation marks in a symbolic, phonetic alphabet, but it's definitely not a language that I think we'll ever master. Remember how difficult it was for even locals to pronounce !Nami#Nus.

One of the best parts of travel for us is meeting new people and sharing time with them. The opportunity to sit and chat with Elizabeth and Samantha was a highlight of our trip.

Duwisib - A Castle in the Desert

One thing you don't expect to see when you're driving along dusty, bumpy gravel roads in the Namib Desert is a castle. When we read about Duwisib Castle, we thought it was probably just a big house that the locals referred to as a castle. Au contraire … this is a fine, 22-room castle in the middle of nowhere, now owned and operated by NWR (Namibia Wildlife Resort) and we stopped for a visit.

Duwisib is actually a Nama word and pronounced (click)dwee-sib and it means black sheep, referring to the unusual black sheep raised on this farm and subsequently the distinctive way that the Nama referred to Baron Hansheinrich von Wolf, the castle's owner. Designed by Wilhelm Sander, the same architect who designed the three castles in Windhoek (castles were his forte, it seems), the castle was built between 1908-1909. Von Wolf's wife, Jayta (Humphrey) von Wolf, an American heiress, wanted to live in a castle and, using her money, her willing husband complied with her wishes. Why they chose such an isolated spot in the Namib Desert eludes us.

Local Herero people quarried the the red sandstone on site, while Italian stonemasons and German carpenters were imported for the finish stonework and woodwork. Other than the sandstone, most of the building materials were imported from Europe, transported by ship to Lüderitzbucht and then by ox cart via a 14 day trek to the castle site. The interior was quite grand. We climbed the steep narrow stairs to the gallery and the gentlemen's “rooms” on the second floor for a view of the great hall below.

From the turret, we had a scenic vista with an iconic quiver tree in the foreground and an expanse of desert that stretched to the mountains beyond.

The von Wolfs lived in the castle for only five years. With the help of an extensive staff, they farmed and raised cattle and thoroughbred horses from Australian and British stock. In 1914, they left for England to buy more horses, leaving the care of the castle in the hands of the staff. While at sea, WWI broke out. After a short internment in Brazil, they finally found passage back to Europe where von Wolf joined the German forces and within 14 days was killed in the Battle of Somme in France. Jayta remained in Europe for a time and remarried and finally returned to Summit, New Jersey, her original home, where she died in 1946. She never returned to Duwisib nor did she ever lay claim to the property. Remember those wild horses in Aus that we visited a few weeks ago? It is thought that they are direct descendants of von Wolf's abandoned stock.

As we wandered through the castle, our guide and hostess, Samantha, provided us with insight into the von Wolfs' daily lives, which despite of their isolation, was pretty grand. The von Wolfs appreciated fine European furniture and much of it was still in place.

When we ended our tour, we found ourselves in a pleasant courtyard and we had the chance to chat with Samantha for a bit.

We found out too late that we could have actually spent the night in the castle in a pretty classy room. The staff were anxious to have us stay, but alas, we had already booked a room at the neighboring Duwisib Guest Farm.

We were not disappointed in the guest farm, however. There, Elizabeth, greeted us, showed us to our cozy room and served us afternoon tea and coffee … quite civilized for the middle of nowhere, we thought.

Dinner that evening was a farm-type meal of roast chicken, potatoes and carrots. Other folks who stayed had oryx steak with bobotie, a South African dish.

Morning came none too soon. Our beds were uncomfortably hard as rocks and we rose with sore backs and hips. We could, however, see the castle from our window which was a plus.

Time was a'wasting. This was our final day and we needed to head back to Lüderitz, but we still had the day and we wanted to make the most of it. Ian had suggested driving the “dream road”. Route 707 is considered one of the most scenic drives in all Namibia and we heeded his advice.

But first, stay tuned tomorrow  for some Lessons in Damara-Nama …  a click language and we're told it's all in the tongue. The fine scenery will wait another day.  And, yes, for you techies … there will definitely be a Blue View soon … as soon as I get the Captain back to his boat!

A Wild Cat Walk at Hammerstein Lodge

I petted a leopard today and a cheetah! We hadn't really expected our “cat walk” to be quite as up close and personal as it turned out to be. Let me backtrack a bit. We couldn't get reservations near Sossusvlei as we'd hoped, so instead we opted for the Hammerstein Lodge, about 60 km (36 miles) south. It was on the way and they mentioned a “cat walk” on their website page. We thought it might be a good night's stop. We knew when we'd arrived by their unique entrance gate.

The lodge was a kilometer or so off the road. A herd of sheep was meandering up the road as we entered and we slowly shooed them out of the way to head up to the lodge reception.

As we made our way to the parking area, we were a bit dismayed by the number of tour buses and vans in the parking lot. We checked in and were pointed in the direction of our room … quite a ways up the hill and pretty isolated from the rest of the lodge. Maybe that was good. The receptionist asked if we were having dinner with the “group”. Ummm … we'd had a big lunch and decided to forgo the buffet featuring local beast being devoured by 60 or so German tourists. He asked if we were interested in the cat walk … a tour was just leaving. No, we'd prefer the morning, if possible. “How about 7:30?  You'll probably be the only ones on the tour.” Yup, that's what we wanted. We headed to our room, then wandered around the property for a bit. There was a springbok named Honey that roamed about freely and a friendly oryx in an enclosure that came right up to us and offered his nose for a scratch.

We were up early with the sun and wandered down for coffee and breakfast. Arniston met us right on time and we set off to see the cats … just us and the guide. We walked about 200 meters and came upon a large enclosure and there was Lisa, the leopard. The Hammerstein's son, Matthew, had adopted Lisa when she was a cub and she lived with Matthew, in his room, for over a decade. She came up to the fence immediately and Arniston began stroking her fur. Really? We can pet her? “Sure, just be careful. She can grab you with her paws.” Petting a leopard … what a thrill. Her fur was soft. She purred loudly as we stroked her. We walked the length of her large enclosure and she followed us like a puppy, rolling in the sand, rubbing against the fence, looking for, and receiving, attention.

At the next enclosure, Arniston opened the gate and we walked right inside to meet the caracals. Caracals look like very large domestic cats with long pointy ears, like a lynx. They're usually nocturnal, so we had to hunt for them. Romeo and Juliet were napping under a camelthorn bush and barely visible behind their camouflage. Again, these were rescue cats and though we prefer seeing animals in the wild, we'd probably never would have seen this species of cat at all.

Next we headed to see the cheetahs. Once again Arniston unlocked the gate. “We're going inside?”, I asked incredulously. “Yes. You may pet them if they come up to you. They are quite friendly.” Oh, my!  Take a look at this short video.

As cubs, Oscar and Wilde were allowed to roam the grounds freely, however once they discovered that the farm's sheep made a tasty meal, they were confined to quarters. We stayed for quite awhile, observing, photographing. Oscar and Wilde were pleasant, but aloof. Arniston was knowledgeable and never hurried us in the least, although I doubt he would have let us spend the day as we would have preferred

As we exited the cheetah enclosure, Lisa the leopard, in the adjoining enclosure jumped up next to David and began rubbing against him, much like a domestic cat would. He petted her and she stuck out a paw, without claws, in a playful gesture. Perhaps, David reminded her of her old master, Matthew, but she certainly was attracted to David. We always found it difficult to distinguish a cheetah from a leopard … all those spots ... but seeing them next to each other, it was now easy to tell them apart.

Time to get back on the road. From cats to castles … we're on our way to Duwisib Castle. Read about this castle in the desert in tomorrow's blog. It's Just A Little Further.