WIND and PRE go to the Sperrgebiet

One of the most interesting things we undertook was our collaborative collecting trip with PRE to the Sperrgebiet (Diamond Area No. 1) in the southwestern corner of Namibia. It all happened in August 2001, after much effort was put into getting things like permits, police clearances and trip authorities, putting together itineraries, equipment and species lists, and putting the fear of freezing in the desert into Lynn Fish, Gerrit Germishuizen, and Priscilla Burgoyne of PRE. WIND and PRE were off to the winter-rainfall part of the Namib Desert to work in undercollected squares in (arguably) one of the most wonderful places in the world (so great, that you almost immediately forget about the gale-force winds, freezing weather, lack of water for washing, and having to walk vast distances to reach inselbergs that are way off the existing tracks).

We started just south of the Rotkuppe Gate, just east of Lüderitzbucht. Our first stop was to look for an undescribed species of Polemanniopsis, in the hope that we could bring back the first flowering or fruiting material. No such luck—although we found the plants, they were sterile, and the koringkrieks were having a field day.

We did find Euphorbia namibensis (see photo) and a number of other interesting species, though.On to Grillental and Pomona to gaze with awe at Namibia cinerea (quite clearly visible through the sand blowing in the freezing gale, and more than enough to make up for it, I’m sure we all agree). Pomona is regarded as the windiest place in Namibia, and we were able to stay in one of the old mining houses—courtesy NAMDEB—instead of tents, which would probably have been shredded (and I speak from experience) or simply have blown away with us in them.

Next, we went south and east to the Klinghardt Mountains, concentrating on the eastern reaches. Here Ferraria schaeferi was in magnificent bloom, and much film was consumed in consequence. These mountains are very diverse, largely because each one seems unique and a little different from all the others. It was this area, which was to provide a little zoological excitement towards the end of the trip... In the meantime, the vygiephiles among us were quite content with Psammophora nissenii, Astridia velutina, Cheiridopsis Cheiridopsis robusta, and a happy assortment of other taxa.

The Aurus Mountains were our farthest goal. There had been good rains and the area was looking wonderful. Priscilla disappeared over the horizon the moment we arrived and was later seen trying to get her backside onto a press that must have been a metre high, not to mention that there was more than one species collected on each sheet….

I was pleased to obtain a wonderful specimen of Whiteheadia bifolia, as I have visited there several times and seen only leaves:

Our gene bank collector and Red Data enthusiast, Sonja Loots, spent several frenetic hours among her beloved conophytums.

En route back to Lüderitz, we spent our second-last night in the eastern reaches of the Klinghardt range. For a change, it was a very pleasant evening, hardly any wind, and not too cold either. So, Antje Burke, who was our other companion on the trip, cooked us a delicious meal of macaroni cheese. After supper, we cleaned up, put a lid on the leftovers, and went to bed. It wasn’t long before I heard rustling and scraping around the kitchen area, and evil thoughts about mad Transvaalers making coffee in the middle of the night crossed my semiconscious mind. Just as I was about to turn over and ignore it all, I suddenly realised that it was quite another animal making the noise—I opened the tent door quickly, to find a rare vegetarian Brown Hyaena scoffing the remains of supper. He was put out at having a torch shone at him and staggered off into the night.

Well, we cleaned up, packed everything into the vehicles, warned Priscilla (who was sleeping in the open that night) that we had company, and went back to bed. It was just as I was drifting off blissfully again that it came—the most ungodly, bloodcurdling scream, reaching a crescendo and then tapering off into a dying gurgle. I can only say that Sonja Loots and I levitated into our boots, and were out of the tent without touching sides, sure that Priscilla was being eaten alive…it was the kind of scream they pay big money for when they make the Nightmare on Elm Street movies—the kind that makes every hair on your body leap out of its follicle.

We rushed back to where we expected to find a bloody (if not dying) Priscilla. What we found instead was a very disgruntled Priscilla, who had taken offence at waking up to find our furry friend a few feet away assessing her for culinary value. She decided to give this poor hyaena the benefit of her opinion by vocal means, so she let fly with her best hyaena-scaring screech. Well. Suffice it to say that the hyaena was history —and the rest of us are agreed that Priscilla has a vocation in the horror-movie field should she ever decide to give up succulents.

We spent our last night together at Aus Vista, just west of Aus. We wanted to socialise, but it was so cold that we all crawled into our sleeping bags as fast as we could.

This trip was an important one for Namibia. We worked in a number of undercollected and virgin quarter-degree squares, and those data will make a big difference to the environmental sensitivity map that is being compiled for the Sperrgebiet. Our thanks go to PRE, and especially to Lynn, Gerrit, and Priscilla for the hard work they did.

—by Coleen Mannheimer

SABONET News 7.1: 67

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