“Patricia is one of those strong women that this continent is so good at breeding. She is a storyteller to rival van der Post and David Rattray in her genre” - Dereck and Beverly Joubert - Film makers, National Geographic

Between April and June this year (2011) Patricia joined a family of Khomani Bushmen on expedition into the Kalahari. Their leader, mentor and guide was a man named Dawid Kruiper, the most renowned Bushman in South Africa (and yes, he does want to be known as a Bushman, not a San). Dawid is the elected traditional leader of the Khomani people, who live on the outskirts of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP) in South Africa. What is now the National Park was once the area on which Dawid’s ancestors lived, hunted and enjoyed a freedom of movement which the Khomanis have not had since the early 1900s.

Dawid is old and frail now, and his 76 years in the nomadic sands of the Kalahari have been at times traumatic and at others triumphant. He has starred in numerous films and been the subject of documentaries, books and academic studies. He’s suffered eviction from his homeland and exploitation by his subsequent employers. He’s been a cheap tourist attraction and a squatter on a sand dune.

But Dawid Kruiper also embodies the most celebrated human rights victory for the Bushmen of Southern Africa since they first faced exploitation by the waves of ‘newcomers’ to the sub-continent centuries ago. In 1999, Dawid and his clan won a claim against the apartheid authorities that had robbed the Khomani of their ancestral land. And he accepted, by way of restitution, 25,000 hectares of land inside the Park, along with farms outside it on which the community could live and run tourism businesses.

But Dawid Kruiper also embodies the most celebrated human rights victory for the Bushmen of Southern Africa since they first faced exploitation by the waves of ‘newcomers’ to the sub-continent centuries ago. In 1999, Dawid and his clan won a claim against the apartheid authorities that had robbed the Khomani of their ancestral land. And he accepted, by way of restitution, 25,000 hectares of land inside the Park, along with farms outside it on which the community could live and run tourism businesses.

In the years since that great day, however, lack of transport into the KTP (which is over 100ks from their ghetto) has hindered the community from accessing all but a small portion of it. So there are places of great historical and cultural significance further into the National Park which Dawid had not visited since his youth, and which his grandchildren have never seen. The old man knew that when he died this vast, precious repository of knowledge and heritage would die with him. So he asked Patricia’s help in mounting an expedition to these precious places, and that’s just what they’ve recently completed. 

With SANParks’ permission to camp and walk anywhere in that Park they needed to visit, eleven members of the extended Kruiper clan, Patricia, her assistant Sue Oxborrow, and film makers Richard Wicksteed and Karl Symons accompanied this fascinating man to birth, death and burial sites; mystical and sacred sites; battle sites and hunting grounds. And what they witnessed was recorded for posterity, for archives and for Patricia’s book and talk.

What Patricia learned from the Khomani Bushmen comprised ancient wisdom and beliefs, long-held secrets and uncanny relationships with wildlife. But she also witnessed a way of treating our natural resources with respect and care. In this, the Bushmen have much to teach modern conservationists.