Words and pictures by Steve Killick

THE TIRAS BERGE

CONSERVANCY
Steve Killick explored an area of vast, dramatic landscapes where natural beauty
and thought-provoking echoes of the past combined to whet his appetite for more.

1
SA4x4

May’06
A
fter five days of foot slogging
down the Fish River Canyon,
an icy Tafel lager had never
tasted this good, nor had my body
ever relished anything quite as much
as this prolonged soak in the Ai-Ais
springs. Aaaah!
Beyond this moment we didnʼt have
a plan. Well, nothing beyond venturing
north to Sossusvlei with ten days in hand
to explore the area in between. We said
goodbye to our hiking companions,
packed up the Hilux and headed to
Keetmanshoop to provision for the next
leg of the trip.
“Welcome to the Tiras Berge
Conservancy” said the pamphlet
in the window of the gas station at
Helmeringhausen, “The place to spend
a few relaxing days away from every-
where”. I jotted the map down on the
pamphlet, and so we headed west in
search of the Tirasberg.
This 125 000 hectare area on the edge
of the Namib Desert is situated within
the triangle of the Fish River Canyon,
Sossusvlei and Lüderitz. It comprises
a number of farms run by conser-
vation-minded farmers whoʼve created
facilities to welcome visitors to share
these vast and beautiful landscapes in
which they live. In the west, the red
dunes rise above the shimmering white
plains like a tidal wave extending all
the way from the Atlantic coast. At its
centre is the 2 000 m high Tirasberg,
a vast granite mass rearing out of the
scorched gravel plains.
Our first stop was at the farm
Aubures of Jőrn and Adrienne Miller.
We arrived at the farmhouse at dusk
and were escorted down to the campsite
set in a grove of ancient sweeping
kameeldoring trees, and presented with
a bunch of firewood.
“Look out for the kudu bulls at the
water trough tomorrow morning!” said
Jőrn as he headed off, leaving us all
alone to our campfire and the silvered
full moon landscape. Well, there were no
kudu in the morning, but we decided to
explore the farm a little further. A low-
range track up to the top of the mountain
afforded a spectacular view back over
the Tirasberg and a sighting of six very
shy kudu cows. Jőrn had explained to us
that the game was only now moving back
into the area after many years of hunting
had eliminated most of it, including
the predators. Theyʼre farming karakul
sheep for their pelts at present, as this is
more eco-friendly than traditional sheep
farming. As the vegetation recovered,
the game was returning, and Jőrn
told us theyʼd even had a few leopard
sightings and one cheetah sighting. The
farm is also blessed with a profusion
of Hoodia cactus, which was used by
the San people to suppress hunger and
thirst on long hunts. More recently the
drug companies have discovered its
properties, and itʼs currently being used
in the quest for the ultimate diet pill.
Fortunately these little plants are now
protected by law and cannot be grown,
except under licence.
From Aubures we headed into the
heart of the Tiras Berge to a farm
called Koimasis, or “Meeting Place”
in Nama. Apparently the area had
held spiritual significance for the San
who once roamed these parts, and who
would meet periodically at special
sites for healing rituals and gatherings
of the different family groups. Camped
in amongst the red boulders at the foot
of the giant granite dome glowing in
the evening light, one could feel the
same magic that has drawn people
here for thousands of years. Nowadays
Koimasis is a cattle and ostrich farm,
as well as a well-established guest
farm. Accommodation is in self-
catering chalets or campsites cleverly
built into the boulder outcrops, so
that each site is afforded remarkable
privacy from which to enjoy the
surroundings. We spent a lovely day
walking on the mountain behind the
campsite; a bizarre moonscape of
boulders, kokerbome and nabome.
From Koimasis itʼs a 20 km drive
back to the D707, which skirts along the
eastern edge of the dune fields through
the Naukluftberg Nature Reserve up
to Sossusvlei. The landscapes are
breathtaking – deceased kameeldoring
trees silhouetted against a shimmering
landscape of multiple hues. I have
to agree that this stretch of road is
certainly worthy of its reputation of
being the most scenic road in Namibia.
It is, however, best travelled at dawn or
dusk when the light is softer and
Left caption
Below caption
2
SA4x4
May’06
 red dunes rise above the shimmering
white plains like a tidal wave

caption

the landscape more dramatic. Itʼs also

the time when the game is active, and
we passed several herds of gemsbok,
springbok, kudu and zebra en route.
Itʼs interesting that this game migrates
freely (and is encouraged to do so)
across farm boundaries, following
the sporadic rainfall. This migration
pattern is essential to the survival of the
species that form this unique ecosystem
in the oldest desert in the world.
On our return south from Sossusvlei
we visited the farm Gunsbewys
belonging to Mrs Gertrude Gräbner,
an eccentric old lady of the desert who
welcomes everyone as if they were
friends of the family. She is only too
keen to share her passion for the desert
with each and every guest. She offers
guided dune walks that take you to
the highest dune in the area in time to
enjoy the sunrise with a cup of coffee
from the thermos. On the way down,
she points out all the intricacies of lives
adapted to this environment, some of
which are extremely uncommon and
only to be found in her little corner
of the Namib. We were fortunate caption

3
SA4x4

May’06
 4
SA4x4

May’06
 5
SA4x4

May’06
caption

enough to see one of them, the Dune

Lark (Certhilauda erythrochlamys),
which was admittedly a rather drab LBJ
(Little Brown Job). A number of rare
beetle species had apparently also drawn
researchers from all over the world, and
I could only marvel at her extensive
collection pinned to a board in her
house, each one carefully labelled with
its Latin name. Guided dune drives are
offered by her neighbour, a very skilled
driver in these sandy conditions, from
whom I certainly learned a few tricks.
Just remember to pack a pump and
a pressure gauge for re-inflating
those tyres.
Her rock-painting walk was the
highlight of my visit. Although the
paintings themselves are not of the
highest quality Iʼve seen, I was blown
away by the number of artefacts
scattered around at each of the sites we
visited: arrow tips, hand axes, grinding
stones, ostrich shell beads, pottery
shards and large flat rocks that had
been smoothed by centuries of animal
skins being stretched and rubbed across
their surfaces.
At one of the overhang shelters, Mrs
Graebner related a story told by an old
lady on a neighbouring farm who had
been just a little girl when the area
was first occupied by German settlers.
Apparently, at that time a lone San man
was still living up in the mountains and
was tolerated by her family. A friend
of her fatherʼs was injured in a hunting
accident on the farm; his wound

6
SA4x4

May’06
 caption
had turned septic and no treatment they
could offer him was helping. With no
apparent knowledge of the accident, this
San man had appeared one morning at
the homestead, offered a remedy which
he applied to the patient, and disap-
peared back into the mountains.
Within a few days the wound had
healed and the patient was back on
his feet. It was clear to me from all
this evidence that the San people had
lived and thrived in this seemingly
hostile environment with knowledge
that we have long since lost. I wondered,
as we drove along the sandy track back
to the homestead, what other secrets
these people had known that have
been lost to us for ever. Unfortunately,
our time in the Tirasberg was coming
to an end. We said our goodbyes and
headed down the D707 south towards
home, knowing that we would be
back to explore the area further. The
farms in the conservancy offer a wide
variety of activities from guided 4x4
7
SA4x4
May’06
caption
dune and mountain tours, games
drives, desert walks, bird walks,
succulent walks and rock-painting
CONTACTS
Koiimasis
Wulff & Anke Izko
PO Box 14, Helmeringhausen
Tel: +264-(0)6368-3052
www.koiimasis.com
Exclusive camping ground. Self catering
rock chalets. Horse riding and wild
horses. Ostrich and parrot farming
Landsberg
Wilfred and Annelise Izko
Tel. +264-(0)638-6522
4x4 Mountain drives
Tiras
Klaus-Peter & Anita Koch
PO Box 30566, Windhoek
Tel: 264-(0)638-6930
walks to rock climbing and horse
riding – something for everyone in an
altogether breathtaking setting.
Camping, Nature drives, Succulent
walks (Lithops)
Gunsbewys
PO Box 30566, Windhoek
Mrs. Gertrude Graebner
Tel +264-(0)638-6604
Camping and self catering chalet.
Visitor’s centre
4x4 Dune and nature drives, Dune
walks, Rock painting walks
Aubures
Jorn 7 Adrienne Miller
Tel: +264 (0)6362 ask operator for 6502
rmmiller@mweb.com.na
Camping, 4x4 trails and night drives,
Nature walks