Southern Africa - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 180

239 HIDE AWAy IN THE TrEETOpS
Of kNySNA fOrEST, SOuTH
AfrICA

240 mEET THE buSHmEN AT
NHOmA, NAmIbIA

Nhoma, a simple tented camp owned and run in
partnership with the nearby Bushman village
of Nhoq'ma, on the border of Khaudum National
Park, offers guests a chance to get back to their
primeval roots. Always wanted to know how to
start a fire or make an arrow? Immersed in a
hunter-gatherer society, you will here.
After a morning spent hunting spring hares or
porcupines with the Bushmen, learning how to
make small traps from twigs and animal sinews,
there's usually time in the afternoon to join in
their games and perhaps buy a few souvenir
ostrich-shell necklaces.
At night, after dinner
back at camp, guests
can trek back through
the dark dunes to sit
and watch the Bushmen
gather to dance and sing,
with their shaman often
falling into a trance
which, they say, enables
him to communicate with
their ancestors. They've
been doing this for tens
of thousands of years.
Staying at Nhoma is
one of the best ways of
ensuring these traditions
continue.

It's dusk. You lie back in the outdoor bath with
a glass of wine, looking at the stars. The smell
of the coals from the barbecue lingers in the air.
Vervet monkeys chatter in the distance. Other
than that, darkness, and the serenity of another
night in the indigenous forest, deep in the hills
facing the Outeniqua Mountains. Staying in a
treehouse was never this snug.
The eight lodges at Teniqua Treetops were
adapted to the space available among the trees,
so they all have a different design. During their
construction only non-indigenous species were
removed, whose wood, along with reclaimed
glass and old army tents, was then used to build
the lodges. Each is self-catering - including one
with full disabled access - and has a deck for
lingering sundowners.
As you'd expect in a set of treehouses,
children are encouraged (they won't disturb the
neighbours, since the lodges are so secluded from
each other) and well catered for, with a swimming
pool, table-tennis set and forest trail. There's a
fun walk for grown-ups too: a steep path through
the dense tangle of vines and trees to the remote
Karatara River, stained brown by leaf tannins.
A word of warning, though: Teniqua Treetops
is set in pristine indigenous forest, which means
you're more likely to meet an oversized insect
than another person. But if you're content with
isolation and the occasional spider or moth, it's a
great escape from urban life, and a vital project
in returning rare woodland ever closer to its
original state.

Alone in the trees at Teniqua
Treetops; Hunting spring hares
with Bushmen at Nhoma

Need to know Nhoma
is over 200km from the
nearest petrol station
in Grootfontein, along
sandy tracks (some only
traversible by 4WD) and
visitors should bring spare
fuel. For rates, details
of activities and further
info on getting there see
W www.tsumkwel.iway.na/
NhomaCamp.htm.

Need to know Teniqua Treetops is 23km from
Sedgefield, which is eight hours from Cape Town
by coach. Staff will fill your fridge with local food
and wine (for a charge) if given a week's notice.
More info on accommodation, tariffs and local
places of interest at W www.teniquatreetops.co.za;
T [phone].