On the traces of the San in the Namibian Kalahari The indigenous San people of Namibia- the so-called "bushmen" - used to make poisoned arrows and store their water in ostrich eggs. These days, though, only a few San still live in the Kalahari Desert as hunters and gatherers. But if you'd like to know how the indigenous desert people once lived, farmer Reinhard Friedrichs will take you on an early-morning historic hike through the thick bush and past the Makalani palms. Friedrichs grew up among the San on his father's farm near Tsumeb and speaks their language fluently. To find water in the dry prairies he knows you have to dig under the warthog hills. He can identify medicinal and poisonous plants, and he knows how to read animal tracks. As you move among the mud huts in an atmosphere reminiscent of an outdoor museum, you'll see that Friedrichs has collected everything he can to document the way the San traditionally lived - seeds and fruit from the bush, love darts made from oryx horn, and small bracelets made from ostrich eggshells. At night you can sleep in a mud hut with a high grass roof. Before it's time to turn in though, you can light up a petroleum lamp or sit around the fire, where the fragrant smoke from the Tambuti logs keeps away the insects. (Herero women, by the way, grind Tambuti wood to a powder and make perfume from it.) You can also watch as antelopes, water fowl and wart hogs drink at the watering hole.
Breakfast includes homemade fig jam, muesli, and whole grain bread. For dinner, Ivonne Friedrichs cooks game specialties with meat from oryx, kudu or springbok antelopes, served with butternut squash and garden lettuce. If you come in February, you can try the nutritious and crispy grilled termites. These days, there is not much space left for the San to cultivate their traditional way of life. Much of the land is used for grazing livestock, so many of the San now work on farms or go to Windhoek to find work.
 The two-and-a- half-hour early-morning hike with Friedrichs is a good way to learn more about the San. His companion Aron, often joins the group, setting animal traps and showing visitors how his grandparents make fire using two sticks, a knife and some dry grass. Reinhard Friedrich's ancestors came over from Germany in 1867. You can ask him about the German colonial past, when Namibia was known as German Southwest Africa , and about thecountry's current politics. Friedrichs and his wife also own the neighbouring farm, where they raise cattle with the help of a dozen workers and their families.
The Muramba Bushmen Trail can be booked separately or as part of a Namibian holiday package.
For more information and reservations, please contact:
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