Set in southern Namibia, Great Namaqualand, ‘Bittersweet Karas Home’ is the story of three families, the Hills, Walsers & Hartungs, whose lives merge and intertwine in a semi-arid land that presents both hardship and blessings.
‘The past is fascinating but it's where to learn from; the future is where we want to live.’
(Albert Einstein)
By the time the founding group of the Gondwana Collection arrived at the barren swathe of land bordering the Fish River Canyon in the mid-1990s, the three families – the Hills, Walsers and Hartungs – were long gone. Only their graves, ruins and memories remained as pointers, loose ends leading to the intriguing stories of their lives.
Researching the history of the early farmers in the area - the Germans, the British and the Afrikaner (Boer) settlers - and how they were unable to survive on the land, the Gondwana team had further confirmation that farming in the long term was not sustainable and that changing the land-use type from sheep and cattle farming to tourism was the avenue that would ultimately fund the larger conservation area.
They realised that the original balance of nature could never be regained after the damage of the centuries and understood that it was ‘a new balance’ that had to be found. This new balance would take into account that the land, including the indigenous relics such as the rock engravings and Haitsi Aibebs, required acknowledgement, respect and protection. The lessons of the past needed to be heeded and used as guidance to manage the land in a more positive, life-affirming manner.
Tourists staying with Gondwana contribute to funding the conservation effort, social upliftment and integration – all important elements of the Gondwana philosophy that stands on a tripod base of environmental, social and financial legs. Returning to a time before colonisation when cultural groups worked together, Gondwana successfully makes use of a diverse and integrated staff complement.
Former state president and founding father of Namibia, Sam Nujoma, was one of the first visitors to the Gondwana Canyon Park to witness this tripod synergy and referred to Gondwana’s staff complement as ‘a diversified workforce that reflects the social milieu of our country and our society’. Using this sound triple-bottom-line philosophy as a base, Gondwana ensures that it will leave a lighter footprint than its predecessors and regards itself as the custodian of the land. It is, after all, ‘Ti Oms’ - ‘Our home’.
Over the years, adjoining farms were acquired in the area bordering the Fish River Canyon. Fences were dismantled and relics of sheep-farming removed. Research was carried out to establish which animals once historically occurred in the area and new stock of red hartebeest, wildebeest, plains zebra and giraffe was gradually re-introduced. The Gondwana Canyon Park expanded to encompass an enormous area of 130 000 hectares (1300 square kilometres).
The land is responding to the new balance. The flora has regenerated and the fauna has increased as the animals are now able to follow the scattered rainfall prevalent in the area, unrestricted by fences. The Gondwana Canyon Park has become one of largest privately-owned conservation areas in Africa with park wardens and rangers, a yearly game-count, regular natural resource monitoring and cataloguing of Park biodiversity, water installation management, research and training, alien species control, anti-poaching patrols and frontier-fence management. Bordering the /Ai-/Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, it naturally restocks the greater Fish River Canyon complex, having a ripple effect of positivity.
When the Gondwana Canyon Park was initiated, hardly any game remained in the area. A small pocket of mountain zebra, gemsbok, several ostrich, springbok and a small population of predators were recorded. Over the last three decades, the game has increased to such an extent that the first herds of gemsbok, hartebeest and wildebeest have been sighted in the state park. At night, the sounds of the wild, the lilting cries of jackal, can once again be heard.
We celebrate this return to nature and look positively ahead to the future.
𝐀𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
The authors are indebted to the Hill, Walser, Hartung and Örtendahl descendants as well as Werner Hillebrecht (National Archives), Gunther von Schumann (Namibia Scientific Society), Ulrike Lindner (University of Bielefeld), Robert Gordon (University of Vermont), Adolphe Linder, Martina Hildebrandt (German YMCA London) and Pastor Peter Pauly (ELCRN), who generously helped with photos and letters from family archives and with information and advice.