Namibia - A Place called Solitaire Written and Photographed by Brad Fitzpatrick
Located on the edge of the Namib Desert, this quiet valley
reintroduces you to the sun and the stars.
We had seen hundreds of springbok since we left Namibia’s
Huseo Kutako International Airport. The tawny antelope inhabit
much of the country’s central highlands and desert fringes,
making them a common sight on most any drive through Namibia.
But as we approached Solitaire Guest Farm, which lies tucked in
a valley at the foot of the Namib Naukluft Mountains, I noticed
that one springbok had become incredibly bold.
It was late evening when we arrived at the front entrance of
the guest house, its red sand parking area sharply contrasting
the sea of soft blonde grass that stretched up to the foot of
the mountains. There, standing fifty meters from the edge of the
manicured gardens, was a springbok ewe. Her coat blended perfectly
with the grass savanna, and had she not flicked her ears I might
not have seen her.
“Look at that springbok.” I shut the door of our
car, certain she would turn and dash out into the veldt. But she
did not. She stood in the shade of an acacia tree, flicking her
ears and studying our party. Then she came to us, not at a walk
but bounding toward us. She crossed the road and trotted to within
ten feet of me, studying our group with her wide brown eyes. I
noticed her horns, which should have been turned in sharply at
the tips, were crowned with what appeared to be tiny boxing gloves.
“She belongs here,” I told the group. “She’s
a pet.”
I was soon shown to my room, a quiet bungalow at the western
edge of the guest rooms in the shadow of a sprawling acacia tree.
I asked about the springbok and found out that she had been orphaned
and bottle fed. She had a name, too—Bokky. Seemed fitting.
Solitaire lies at the eastern edge of the Namib Naukluft Park
and represents the last major town (major in Namibian terms, which
means a gas station and a diner) before reaching the towering
dunes of Sossusvlei. The red dunes represent one of the highlights
of any Namibian safari, owing their unique color to iron fragments
mixed into the sand. The dunes have, quite literally, rusted.
Solitaire captures the essence of Namibia—namely, vast
spaces and a stillness found few other places on earth. After
we dropped our bags at the guest lodge we were pointed to a rocky
outcropping a quarter mile from the lodge that our hosts told
us was the best place to watch the sunset. As the shadows stretched
across the face of the mountains I set out for the rock pile (with
Bokky in tow) and was treated to a classic African sunset over
the acacia-studded savanna. Bokky seemed to enjoy herself as well,
standing balanced on the sheer rock surface as she scanned the
valley below us. At last light my group and I started back for
the guest farm, where a dinner of local game was being prepared
in the outdoor barbecue area. It had been some time since my last
trip to Namibia and I had forgotten how tremendous the stars are.
Halfway to the lodge I stopped and sat down, watching as they
appeared in the clear sky above. Solitaire seemed the only fitting
name for such a place.
Brad Fitzpatrick
grew up in southern Ohio, graduated with a degree in biology
from Northern Kentucky University and currently teaches forensics
and anatomy at Southern Hills Career Center in Georgetown,
Ohio.
