Shortly before Ghanzi, on the way back to Namibia, we came across a San Museum and the Kuru Art Gallery in N’Daka that had it all. The San, disparagingly called Bushmen by the whites, were the first inhabitants of southern Africa. The settlers then drove them off their ancestral land – something similar happened to the Aborigines in Australia – installed their farms and put up fences. In the end, the San had few areas left where they could live. A place where they still call home today is N’Daka, just before Ghanzi.

We got there early and a few San women were busy mopping the forecourt. The door to the museum was already open and an old San, the museum director, explained to us a lot about the customs and way of life of the San, who are trying to save their traditions into modern times.

After our visit to the museum, the curator of the Kuru Art workshop where the San people make paintings and handicrafts arrived. The room was filled with paintings, each more beautiful than the last. What a splendor! We looked at a lot of them; but one immediately caught our eyes. It was by the artist, Jan Tzega, who had completed it just a few days ago. The paint was still drying and the picture was on an easel. It was titled Young Zebras. We had to have that! We agreed on the price and together the picture was packaged so that the paint could dry completely.

In addition to this painting, we also purchased two necklaces made from ostrich shell and three 2025 annual calendars. With these treasures on board, we continued our journey to Ghanzi, where we refueled and had a coffee. The journey then continued to the border and by evening we had arrived near Gobabis. After almost two months of traveling, we were back in Namibia!

 PS. If you want to know more about the San, read here.