Tsodilo Hills

Botswana
March 4th, 2009

The Tsodilo Hills are mentioned in every guide book as a must see in Botswana and thus we decided that we must see it too. Finding the road on the GPS and following a few randomly located signs we made our way. Arriving at the World Heritage site we read about the spiritual and archaeological significance of the area. This area is believed by some to be the site of creation. People have inhabited the area since 800 A.D. and the rock paintings are as old as 3,000. There are over 4,000 paintings across more than 400 different sites. The overall atmosphere of the place is the most memorable thing about it. It’s amazingly calm and peaceful and is a place of reflection. Our guide Ollie took us around the female hill (there is also a male and a child hill) pointing out paintings and areas where the original people lived including bits of pottery they have found. It was amazing.

On our way out, after preparing some peanut butter bread, a group of people sitting underneath a tree waved us over. They wanted a ride to the main road. We politely said we didn’t really have room as the back was filled with jerry cans, oil and various other items. As it turns out ‘room’ is defined culturally. When you’ve been waiting for a lift underneath a tree for half a day, an inch is sufficient. We moved everything around and squeezed a woman, man and child in. Sharing our resources we enjoyed peanut butter sarnies and water. The baby loved hers, ended up a right mess and once she finished she dozed off. Adorable. Making our way on the road, another man with a donkey flagged us down. Now we seriously didn’t have any space. Luckily he just wanted some water. Karel passed over his water bottle and the man guzzled it. He then proceeded to have a discussion with the other man in the back of the car for about five minutes. Perhaps we’ll start our own taxi service.