The Magic of the Bushman

October 9^th, 2008

Listening to the African rain, beating its sound on the top of our car we headed inland to Drakesburg, the ‘Berg’ as it’s fondly referred as, for a change of scenery. Picture beautiful purple and dark blue mountain landscapes, dotted with tall, thin Cyprus trees, icy streams and red bush with the occasional dairy cow, and you’ll see the Berg. Its beauty is a source of inspiration and provides a sudden desire to buy oil paints and set up an easel even to those without talent (a.k.a. me).

We eventually set up camp at the Sani Pass Backpackers Lodge, where the chocolate cake and cold beers they had available became our new staple diet. The offer of a ‘bushman’ walk was too tempting to resist, so we signed up for the next day’s hike. 9:00 am the next morning we rose with vigour in our step, taking our clean hiking boots out to play. Guided by a Lesotho white man, Matt, we started our journey. Kindly, perhaps too kindly, pointing out the different flora we encountered Karel and the others took out their cameras at each one proudly taking photos from all possible angles. One Gigabyte later and many photos richer we made our way up to the top of the hills, listening to the baboons bark and seeing the Eland eyeing us up.

What was at the top? Absolutely inspiring, no words really can describe the magnificence of Bushman paintings approximately 8,000 years old. Paintings held in partial caves overlooking the beauty of the valleys below were drawings of hunting preparation, celebration, Eland, and more. The detail of the people, white hair of the shaman, the bags carried by women, the bow and arrows of the men, the clothing worn, and any decoration of bead, was delicately painted.