Sitting on the sun baked wall of the wide patio of the NamibRand Family Hideout, I took a sip of chilled Chardonnay, gazed out over the timeless landscape and thanked the heavens above for Albi Bruckner.
Who is Albi Bruckner you ask? Well for me he is the hero of the Namib, in fact I am so enamoured with Albi that I think I may just start selling “I love Albi” bumper stickers or wearing “Albi rules” t-shirts. You will too when you start to have an inkling of what this incredible and visionary man has achieved and the legacy he has left us all.
About thirty years ago, Albi stood at the edge of a vast and indescribable landscape and envisioned a different future for the endless grasslands, ochre dunes and jagged peaks that he saw in front of him. Albi had decided to do the impossible; buy up scores of overgrazed and under-productive livestock farms and rehabilitate them into a single continuous natural habitat essential for protecting the biodiversity of a unique and fragile ecosystem.
Lucky for us, Albi’s prayers and perseverance paid off and he succeeded in creating one of the largest private nature reserves in southern Africa; the NamibRand Nature Reserve and probably my favourite place on earth.
The moment you step into the NamibRand Family Hideout it feels like coming home. The rustic farmhouse used to be inhabited by a family of Karakul sheep farmers and lay deserted for many years till it was converted into a self-catering getaway for desert lovers. It is a comfortable yet basic place with a gas stove and fridge and solar geyser and lights. During the day the old stone floors are cool under your feet and at night the wide walls that have been baked by the desert sun for close on a hundred years keep you warm.
There is a profusion of life at Namibrand, in the house and out on the dunes. A fat and self-satisfied gecko lives under the kitchen cupboard, a cheeky bat eared fox may chance its luck and raid the dustbin, a rock kestrel hunts the Namaqua Sandgrouse at the waterhole and the comical wing flicks of the Familiar Chat never cease to amuse.
Herds of oryx and springbok come down each day to drink at the waterhole outside the farmhouse and when one walks the dunes they are covered in spoor of insects, reptiles and mammals. I always wish I knew more about spoor when on the dunes – like a blind person trying to learn braille, I find myself touching the tracks hoping to
make more sense of what creature could have possibly made them.
Every morning we wake early and walk to the dunes in the dark with our torches and wait for the sun to bath the landscape in colour. We do the same each evening with the moon. There is something profoundly special about having the desert all to yourself.
This is a place where the silence is so deep you can hear your own heartbeat!
Adopt a Fairy Circle
Mysterious bare circles in the sand dot the landscape along the edge of the Namib Desert. These bare patches have been named “fairy circles.”
While numerous scientists have researched these circles, no one has yet been able to ultimately determine their cause or purpose. Various theories of their origin have been suggested, including euphorbia poisoning, animal dust baths, meteor showers, termites and underground gas vents. In the modern world of advanced research, innovative technology and information networks, it is refreshing to know that Nature can still keep some of her secrets.
You can add to your experience on NamibRand by adopting a fairy circle. All funds raised through this program go directly to the NamibRand Conservation Foundation. For a donation of R500 you can adopt a circle for yourself or someone else. A numbered disk will be placed in your specially chosen circle and you will receive a certificate acknowledging your donation and recording the exact GPS-coordinates of your fairy circle.
For more information contact
www.namibrand.com/Foundation.htm
Things to do in the NamibRand Nature Reserve
- Unguided walking trails through the dunes
- Dune-boarding (boards provided at an extra cost)
- Bird- and game-watching at water-hole on your doorstep. (Look out for unusual species like the Dune Lark, Lappet faced Vulture and Martial Eagle)
- Kite-flying (bring your own kite)
- Star-gazing
- Stunning nature and wildlife photography
- Unguided demarcated 4×4 scenic drives through the dunes
- Dune drive with driver (Hideout vehicle) 2 hours, maximum 6 people
Visits can be arranged to the NaDEET centre (Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust) – only 5 kilometres away, this is a very worthwhile cause and interesting to visit - Hot-air ballooning by prior arrangement
- Relaxing – doing nothing!
What it costs at the NamibRand Family Hideout
- From R810 to R990 per day for a group between 5 and 10 staying four nights plus (dependent on the season)
- Namibrand Park Fees of R230 per group per day
- Dune board hire R120 per stay
- Radio hire and 4×4 drive permit R150 per vehicle
- Bedding and towels per person per stay R130
Who to contact at the NamibRand Family Hideout
Website: www.hideout.iway.na
Contact: Andreas and Mandy Brückner
Telephone: +264-61-226803 (office hours), +264-81-1272957 (mobile – after hours), +264-81-1299940 (mobile – alternative)
E-mail: [email protected]
