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Europeans with lion hearts
by Maggi Barnard of The Namibian


He did not come to Namibia to find hearts, but once he started looking they were everywhere - in rocks, in the sky, in plants... “This shows that Namibia is a land of peace and love,” said David Palivoda (36) an architect from Geneva, Switzerland. He had sold his car to be able to join the 140 km charity walk for lions in the desert environment of the Kunene region last week.

Displaying his collection of heart-shaped rocks he had collected on the trek, Palivoda could not stop musing over the magical place. Unlike the famous U2 song, there is no doubt in his mind that he had “found what he was looking for. Today I feel very, very good,” he said despite sporting blistered feet and stiff muscles. “Namibia is such a humble place. I felt in harmony with myself and nature. The environment is so pure. It is magical.” said the man who was so overwhelmed by the beauty and endless space of the landscape that his tears flowed freely.

You would rather think the group of nine Europeans and one Namibian who took on the challenging trek would be overcome by the intense heat and difficult terrain they had to traverse. “They have done incredibly well,” said Neil Hobbs, expedition leader and representative of Across The Divide, a UK-based organisation specialising in charity walks. “It was extremely hot and very tough on them. They came from minus five degrees Celsius and snow in Europe to 45 degrees Celsius on their first day with very little shade around,” said Kobus Alberts, the Namibian guide for the trek. Despite encountering heat of 49.5 degrees Celsius on the warmest day, Alberts said the group did well after acclimatising after about three days. This did not stop them though from asking continuously how hot it was and how far they still had to go. Despite suffering with blistered feet and even mild heat exhaustion, none of the walkers gave up. All of them crossed the finish line at the bottom of the old Brandberg West mine last Saturday - grinning from ear to ear and congratulating each other.

“It was definitely worth it,” said a cheerful and spirited Eric Vola (61) from Chamonix near Monte Blanc in France. Being a seasoned mountaineer, he found the walking very tough on his feet, but the “magnificent scenery and superb meals” made every day a highlight. He said the terrain they covered were very interesting for a desert. “It is so different to the Sahara where the scenary stays the same for hours on end. Here it changed every 15 minutes. There was always a surprise around the corner.”

Alberts said the route from the Brandberg Wilderness Camp to the Ugab River Camp, which was done for the first time, was excellent. About 70 per cent of the route went over rocky terrain, one day covered sand dunes while lots of animals made their appearance. For Grania Orton the highlight was seeing her first zebra. “Their camouflage is incredible. I saw one straight on and had to look carefully to see it.”

Another highlight was the view from the top of the Doros crater, which they climbed. It is something Vola, and many others would never forget. “It looked like Jurassic Park. You could see in all directions for about 40 miles - the view was just splendid. And we were in the centre of this magical place.” “The view from Doros gave them an idea of the actual size of the country. You get a better perspective when you see the vastness,” said Hobbs. According to Palivoda he is definitely going to bring his family back to Doros crater, where he left behind a big heart-shaped rock. He was not the only one fascinated by the rocks. By the sixth day the back-up vehicle was loaded with rocks of all shapes and sizes, representing a special place or feeling to each one who had picked them up. Getting them home on the plane was an issue to be dealt with later.

For Tammy Hoth, chairperson of the Afri-Leo Foundation and the only Namibian participant it was great to be shut out form the rest of the world. “I only thought about lions, conservation and future projects. It was a very intense
week - it felt as if I was on another planet.” She said not only did the terrain gave them a good feel of the habitat of
lions, but she had ample time to discuss all the issues around lions with the rest. The walk was done in aid of Afri-Leo. “We had no choice but to walk, and by talking about the foundation and lions it helped to take their minds off the heat and the suffering.

Although each individual had a different reason for taking on the challenge which might not necessarily be for conservation or lions, but included personal reasons, Hoth said it was worthwhile. By Friday it looked like most of the Europeans were hooked in some way or the other and promised to spread the word back home. Hoth plans to make it an annual event. The main idea of the walk is to boost the financial reserves of the foundation, but a lot of awareness goes with it. “It is not a holiday, yet people have a fantastic time and experience,” said Hobbs. “You get up at 05h00, you eat new and unusual food, you are in a group with strangers - some people thrive on it, others take longer to enjoy it but after five days it suddenly clicks.” He said the concept was working very well and was extremely popular in the UK. “Normally people would only give a cheque to a charity and that is the end of their involvement and they do not get anything in return. ”The charity walk not only requires them to raise a lot of money to be able to join the trek, but it also becomes a personal challenge. (Part of the money raised goes towards the organisation of the trek and the rest is donated to a charity.)

“We very rarely have people who give up,” said Gary Goldsack from Kaurimbi Expeditions, who was responsible for the logistics of the trek. “Most of the problems people experience on a trek are psychological, and you can get around that,” said Goldsack who could speak from experience. He lived in the UK when he joined a trek in Namibia about three years ago. He decided afterwards to pack up his live in the UK and move to Namibia. He now specialises in these expeditions in Namibia and South Africa. “Some people make radical changes in their lives after these treks,” said Hobbs. “They often find new jobs or get divorced and they come up to me and thank me for that.” He said the time in the wilderness, where they are completely removed from television and radio make people think a lot. “We usually have a session of about 20 minutes where we let them sit in a place with a good view in complete silence. The idea is to let them reflect on why they are here - it
is a very powerful medium.”

According to Alberts the trek gives you time to think about your environment and your life. He added that the difficult route brought out the best in everybody as it became more of a challenge. “The women were the stars, as usual,” Alberts conceded. He also complimented the two oldest members of the group, Vola and his friend of 42 years, Etienne Nussle.

For Noelle Nussle the trek was the beginning of a great dream. She was the mastermind behind it and hope to organise many more. Although working as a personal assistant in a bank in Geneva, her passion for wildlife has given her life some interesting turns. When she first read about the Africat Foundation in Namibia in the Hello magazine in 1995 she cut out the article promising herself she would go there one day. When her personal life took a turn for the worse early in 2001 she dug up the article again and eventually ended up working as a volunteer for Afri-Leo for three months. “I got really involved and learned everything. When I got back in Geneva I started thinking of ideas to raise funds for the foundation.” She started off very ambitiously working on a 650 km trek along the border of the Etosha Park. Fortunately she met Goldsack and heard about the treks they undertake and decided to rewrite her project.

With no money for marketing she had to rely on word of mouth to try and get volunteers to join the trek. “Although the concept is working very well in the UK, it is very new in continental Europe. People have a different mentality and it will take a while to change it.”

Nussle managed to get a group together, consisting mostly of her family and friends, including her father, brother and cousin. Her brother will be making a documentary on the trek which she plans to use to promote future ones. “Wildlife is my passion and my hope is that the foundation would grow in strength that I will one day be able to work for them full-time.” She wants to be involved in Afri-Leo to show Namibians that there are people who believe in the country and want to help. “Namibia is still a paradise. It is a gift from God to have such a beautiful country.” Hobbs agrees that there is not many places left in the world like Namibia. “I came here in 1999 for the first time and every time I return I see something different. It is so refreshing. It will always have some mystery.”

While Across The Divide organise trekking expeditions as charity fund raisers in remote areas all over the world, Hobbs said Namibia remained one of the most popular. It seems like the surprise element cought everyone on the trek. They expected to see sand and dunes as in the Sahara, in stead the Kunene’s special magic has won over their hearts. With only a few hours of sleep behind them after the previous night’s frolics, the group set off on the very last morning on a cheerful note. As they walked off Palivoda turned around pointing to a cloud: “Look there is a heart upside down in the sky!”


About Afri-Leo
The most recent population estimate of lion in Namibia was approximately 691 lions. Free-ranging populations are only found in northern Namibia in the Kunene region, the Etosha National Park (ENP), Bushmanland and west and east Caprivi. Much needs to be done to conserve and protect Namibia’s valuable lion population. Lion numbers have shrunk throughout Africa over the past fifty years chiefly due to drought, human encroachment, habitat destruction, disease and persecution. It is believed that the lions in the ENP and Kunene region are free of Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus (FIV) or Feline Aids. The Afri-Leo Foundation, established in 1997 as a non-profit organisation, is dedicated to the protection and conservation of the lion (Panthera leo) in Namibia. Money raised by the walk will go towards foundation’s environmental education and awareness programmes, research and farmer-predator conflict resolution.

Through its programmes and efforts the Afri-Leo Foundation hope to keep the lion population healthy and growing in Namibia. An environmental education centre is due for completion by mid-2003 at the Afri-Leo Project. Groups of young Namibians have participated in various awareness programmes. Plans are in place to support many more programmes when funds are available to employ an environmental educator.

On the research side the Etosha Boundary Lion Project commenced in 2001. It involves the monitoring of cross-border movements of lions and the prevalence of disease among domestic cats and dogs on farmlands. A second farmer-predator survey is planned for this year in collaboration with ENP wardens.

The third project supported by the foundation looks at ways to mitigate farmer-predator conflict issues along the southern border of the EPN and elsewhere. The aim is to contribute to effective protection of livestock and game, and ultimately the lion. The Etosha Boundary Fence Project was initiated in 2001. By December last year sections of the porous fence-line separating farmland from the ENP were repaired. Through co-operation between the foundation, ENP wardens and
border farmers it is hoped that the number of livestock and game destroyed annually will be reduced, which will encourage greater tolerance of lions by stock farmers.

More information on the foundation available at www.afrileo-foundation.org
or contact Noelle Nussle on e-mail at noelle@afrileo-foundation.org.

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