LOCALadk Magazine

Journey | LOCALadk LOCALadk Magazine Spring 2014 49 Day 11: Torra Communal Conservancy cont... This morning we were on our way to class when one of our guides tore into camp and told us a rhino had been spotted nearby. Our professors split us into two groups and loaded us into the back of pick up trucks. It was thrilling to have the wind rip through my hair while my eyes scanned the horizon for a rhino. My face was plastered with a smile the entire time. When Marthin spotted him, the black rhino was about half a mile away and hard to see unless he moved, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. Later that day, riding back from a meeting with the local community, we came across a herd of giraffes. We also saw kudu, springbok, and ostrich. I've seen these animals before in zoos and books, yet in the wild it's a completely different experience. They are bigger and healthier in their natural landscape. I have a deep respect for the animals and people who endure and survive in this challenging landscape. This evening we met Garth Owen-Smith, a well known and celebrated environmentalist who was awarded the Goldman Grassroots Environmental Prize for Africa in 1993. He was tall and sinewy, with the body of a man who has spent more time under the sun than seeking protection from it. Owen-Smith explained that when the conservancy model gave the rights of the land and the animals back to the people, it was empowering, and the desire to protect them from poaching grew. Over the past twenty years, animal numbers have rebounded, though along with that, human-wildlife conflict has increased. Jackals, hyenas, and lions are preying on farmers' livestock. Elephants are trampling through villages. "Wherever there are humans and wildlife there will be human-wildlife conflict," Owen- Smith explained. I think of the conflicts with wolves and mountain lions in the United States. In our past and present, if there was a problem species, we eradicated it. How easy it is to blame the conflict on the animals as we are expanding our cities outward and moving into their neighborhoods. Day 17: Anabeb Communal Conservancy A few days ago we made the journey from Torra to Anabeb Communal Conservancy. We have ventured further inland, and the daytime highs reach 110. There is a river that runs along our cabins, and lots of goats, cattle and donkeys come here to drink. Last night, right before sunset, Singh and I went down to the river and watched the bats come out of the porous clay banks. We sat for a while and watched them feed on the mosquitoes. Today we had a non-academic day, journeying to a waterfall to go swimming. Now the "waterfall" was more of a gentle trickle coming down a fifteen foot rock shoot into a small pool of algae-rich water, though to my desert eyes it looked like an oasis, as I plunged in with my clothes on. After swimming and having a lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches, we stopped at a Himba village. The Himba are a native, nomadic/pastoral people of Namibia. They wear traditional clothes consisting of animal skin decorated with beads. Today I bought several pieces of jewelry: bracelets made from cow horns and beaded necklaces with hand twisted cordage. The woman I bought them from was eighteen and had two young sons playing in the shade of a nearby tree. In the distance were huts made from clay and cow dung. I must admit, I do not really care for our "luxurious" lifestyle at the eco-lodge, complete with mosquito nets, electricity, and buffets. Though living above the local standard is a common trend of eco-tourism, personally, I prefer my tent.

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