Located on the southern edge of the Kalahari dessert, near to Mariental we had our second stop at Bagatelle. A short one, only one night.
The main reason why we stayed here is because we have cats back home. And since Bagatelle partners with CCF, the Cheetah Conservation Fund, we decided to spent a night.
Driving there was easy and monotonous. Most of it was just dusty dirt road but also kilometers of fenced asphalt roads. We preferred the dirt roads ;-)
We stopped at Maltahöhe and Mariental, two sleepy townships, to get a sense of the local life.
The colourful concrete resting area’s along the road were an eye-catcher. We would see them more often painted in different colours.
Maltahöhe 
Mariental
The cheetah experience was somehow a bit disappointing. We already knew upfront that they were kept in captivation. But witness them getting fed was bit of a circus act. Or was it more of a Pavlov experiment?
The moment the rangers opened the gate and we drove to the feeding point they came running towards us. Drooling.
Turns out they never won’t leave the reserve. Since they got used too much being fed they wouldn’t make a chance surviving in the wild.
But, they did strike a pose!
Next morning we got up early to do a guided bushmen (San people) walk. Indigenous people of the Kalahari they were once nomads-hunters with excellent survival skills. Nowadays they are forced to a more sedentary life because big parts of Namibian land is fenced and owned by major land owners. Consequently game can’t move freely and nor can Bushmen.
The San people at Bagatelle do some gardening and small maintenance jobs during the day and in the wee small hours of the morning they transform into excellent guides and teachers of the ancient way of living.
It is amazing how they adapted and learned some lifesaving tricks to survive in such a harsh and dry environment. Remember that 75% of Namibia is dessert. They explained how to hunt for ostriches, and how easily an ostrich forgets. After all, a tiny brain in a small head. Which plants and berries are poison and which you can eat. How to collect and preserve water. And how to enjoy Bushmen’s television. A campfire!
Their language is one of a kind. It’s a mix of clicks and speech.
Funny to the ear but so difficult to pronounce. We tried it several times but quickly realised that it needs years of practice.
Afica is not only the big five but also has a huge population of feathered species. Most of them flying some of them only running. One of the birds we saw quite often is the sociable weaver. They make big nests in trees with hidden entrances to keep their predators out which can weight well over a ton! The nests are occupied by several families, making it a kind of an apartment nest. That’s why the locals call it an Airbnb ;-)
