Dune Friendly?
Today many
travellers passing through Namibia
Namibia has
become a massive Southern African tourist hot spot; overland trucks arrive
daily from South Africa and Botswana, making Namibia an important stop on the
Southern Africa safari route heading up and across towards Victoria Falls.
This vast and
sparsely populated country had always intrigued me. When I arrive hot and dusty
from across the South African border in the summer of 2008, I made my way
overland up through the Namib desert and its
mighty dunes to the coastal town and former German settlement of Swakopmund.
The first thing I
notice about Swakopmund is that it is surrounded by some of nature’s most
hostile environments. The Atlantic pounds on the coast makes swimming
unthinkable and teems with sharks that look menacing. Towering dunes surround
the roads in and out leading down to Walvis Bay, and up to the Botswana
I notice that the
dunes are dominated by a plethora of sports. With these giant neighbours at
your disposal, and the influx of tourists through this area the dunes and now
hotbeds for sand sport related recreation.
I stay in Swakopmund
for almost a week and talk extensively to locals, travellers, and businessmen
about the environmental impact this fastly growing sport has on the dunes and
the Namib Desert , which is considered to be
one of the oldest deserts in the world. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions
for over 55 millions years is very barren with little plant life and even fewer
animals. How will it cope with the influx of tourists and dune sports?
At first the
people I talk to tell me that the emphasis is on making money. In an almost
exploiting manner many quad biking companies run daily tours into the dunes,
offering an adrenaline fuelled ride around the surrounding landscape.
Travellers, backpackers and high spending tourists pour into one of the many
quad bike rental properties on the periphery of the dunes each day.
Predictably
business is very good.
The quad biking
companies have their opponents. American Andrew Willems opposes the quad biking
businesses and accuses them of needlessly ruining the environment. Andrew Willems
came to Swakopmund almost 10 years ago and set up a sandboarding company that
runs out of the local hostels. His emphasis is on promoting the natural
landscape while caring for the environment.
“Our company has
one eye on the environment and one on making a living, unlike the quad bikers
who pound over the dunes, leaking oil and fuel into the sand. We drive to the
outskirts of the dunes and walk to them. We don’t use buggies or quads to get
up there, everyone walks up and everything we take in is taken out again. I
even give a talk to all our customers why we don’t have chair lifts or buggies.
God gave us this land and we have to help protect it.”
I ask him if
there is a downside to making sandboarding a profitable business as well as an
environmentally friendly one. Andrew looks
on with a sly smile and quips: “Of course we have to grease up the boards which
introduces a small amount of alien matter into the dunes, but not on the scale
of the quad bikers. I could have been greedy and used bikes and branched out
and made loads of easy money, but I am not like that, I want to
South African
Nicolas Mampana works for a tour company that travels from South Africa through Namibia
and into Botswana
“When we first
came here you could do some sandboarding and maybe hire a horse to explore the
dunes, but soon the quad bikers came and ventured further into the dunes; they
are not in direct competition with the sandboarders as they both stick to their
own areas. But in the bar afterwards they don’t speak to each other.”
One night after a
long, hot and dusty day, I sit in a bar with Nicolas Manpana and an associate
of his called James. James is from Kenya
and has travelled extensively through Africa ;
every so often he finds himself back in Swakopmund nursing a cold beer in the
same bar.
I began to talk
to James and after a beer he opens up and tells me that money is the main
concern for all the companies and the environment isn’t given a very high place
on the political agenda. James who is a driver for a tourist company amongst
other things said: “While money can be made no one cares if the dunes suffer,
they will be there tomorrow and long after we have all gone, so why worry”.
I never saw James
again and never got to know his second name, but he has given me a true insight
into the fact that business and making money rules the dunes and dominates
people’s minds at this moment of time.
Generally most
backpackers are ambivalent about the environment. They all enjoy the fun and
thrills experienced from the dune buggies and quad bikes, but when asked if
they have any concerns for the environment many admit that it has never
occurred to them.
I need to speak
to the quad bikers and get their views on the environmental impacts of the
bikes. So I decide to go along for the ride and see what the fuss is about. I
must admit I have a great time until Alison McCarthy from Dublin who was in the
quad in front of me went over the handle bars of her quad landing heavily on
her shoulders and snapping her collar bone in two.
This incident in
the dunes makes me realise just how dangerous this sport is; not only does it
have an environmental impact but the human impact is massive too. Poor Alison
by snapping her collarbone had demonstrated one key factor. People get hurt and
when they do the rescue vehicles slowly making their way out into the dunes
increases the environmental impact.
Hours pass and
finally a 4x 4-rescue vehicle arrives, straps her to a spinal board and takes
her to the nearest hospital. By that time questions about the environmental
impact of the quads and what fuel do they use have slipped from my mind.
All I could think
about was the time under the searing sun supporting her head in a vice grip in
the dunes hoping that Alison didn’t have a spinal injury.
Even though this
incident doesn’t give hard proof that quad biking damages the environment of
the sand dunes, it does however highlight the dangers involved and the time it
takes for assistance and further medical care to arrive. With accidents of a
more serious nature a helicopter is the only viable option for help to arrive.
This could be the
dunes saving grace. Without the money for air support the dunes make any
ambulances work hard going in reaching an accident victim. No matter how big,
powerful or technologically advanced the vehicle, the emergency services use to
get to the site; it is still a slow, laborious task.
For the time
being the rule of hard cash and profitability flies like a flag over the dunes.
Will companies in the Namib take a leaf out of Drew Younger’s book, or will
time show a story of abuse and more environmental damages? Only time will tell.
Date of trip -March 2008
Place - Swaokpmund, Namibia, Southern Africa
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| The author having a fantastic time speeding down a dune outside Swakopmund. |
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