After a while I stop and get out. A hot wind blows. I walk towards a rondavel-sized quiver tree, 50 m away. It’s the only thing taller than calf height. It’s late January and bone dry, even for Bushmanland.
The quiver tree says nothing, and it says everything. I cup an ear to its trunk; there’s a heartbeat deep down inside. I whisper something to it, and return to the car. I pass a place called Doornwater – a booster pump station on the pipeline. Not a soul.
Before I reach Henkries, I turn right towards Goodhouse, a small settlement next to the Orange River.
A few years ago I travelled through here with 4x4 guide Rey Janse van Rensburg. That day we stopped and ate lunch in the shade of a shepherd’s tree. Shepherds appeared with their flock of sheep and goats, watering them at a trough. I walked over and met Iky Engelbrecht, a Steinkopf-based farmer. I decided then I would return one day to see how on earth people like Iky manage to survive in this semi-desert.
And here I am.
This story is from the August 2020 edition of go! - South Africa.
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This story is from the August 2020 edition of go! - South Africa.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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