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The Bushmen of the northern Kalahari are renowned for their tracking ability, particularly when hunting large game. An integral part of this is the preparation work needed to ready their arrows for the hunt. The tracking and field craft that was involved to find the tiny Diamphidia beetle larva was almost the most impressive part of the process.

These are the beetles whose larvae provides the poison that allow large prey, often big antelope such as Kudu, to be subdued by the Bushmen’s relatively small, lightweight bows and arrows. Firstly distinguishing the host plant, in which the beetles form their cocoons under, is hard enough. Then once the specific plant has been picked out, from what looks like the exact same species as many around us, Xao Qam our lead tracker, starts to dig.

Now, it must be noted that we didn’t find any beetle larva under the first two bushes, however a half metre hole was dug under each, using a single stick in loose sandy ground. In the early afternoon Kalahari desert heat. Just existing in a place like that, without moving and certainly without digging holes is hard enough.

The amazing ability of these Bushmen to withstand these challenges, even in a hat and jacket, was something we were trying to capture and something Gordon was trying to learn. It was an amazing and incredibly hot experience.

Hector Skevington-Postles – Cameraman

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