The Khawa Dune Challenge & Cultural Festival has grown over the years to become one of the most anticipated Botswana calendar events. City dwellers always plan ahead for this escape away from the city for some fun time in the desert. It may appear as if Khawa is all about bikes making rounds in the sand dunes and the stunts but there also some activities which you do not want to miss out on. I don’t mean the camel rides, art & craft exhibitions and all that. These are simple activities that you can do on your own or with your team yet we tend to somehow overlook.
1. Watching the Sunrise
Watching the sunrise has always been one my favourite things to do. In all my travels I make sure to watch the sun rise when I get the chance. In Khawa the experience really is exceptional because of the environment. The vast and seemingly never-ending horizons of the Kalahari produce some of the best sunsets I have ever seen. From the first day we arrived in Khawa for the dune challenge and cultural festival a few years ago, we would religiously wake up early, find a perfect spot and just stand silently watching the sunrise. What a feeling! I completely understand why this therapeutic exercise is even recommended by doctors.
Best times to watch the sunrise is just before everybody wakes up and the camping sites area is just as perfect. We would wake up, place the camera on the tripod stand and record the action. A couple of still and motion shots before it beams in all its glory. It is from there that we would proceed to have some breakfast and then get on with the rest of the day activities.
2.Visiting the locals
During the intervals of the quad and bike races we would walk about in the village and pay the local families visits. Their reception was so heartwarming. I remember at some point we visited a particular family where we found an old man who had lost his eyesight but not his humour. He lived with his siblings and children in a small house and survived on government social support initiatives. The family was so eager to teach us about their way of life and how it is for them living in a place like Khawa. They showed us around. I remember at one point he shared stories of how in the olden days they ate wild plants/legumes which grow in the Kalahari area to help with hydration since water was a scarce resource in the area.
It was an overall pleasant experience and we learnt a lot more than what was in the official program of the event. I totally advise you to do the same if you are an outgoing person who likes to explore beyond scopes. The advantages of being with locals is that they always have stories to share about their village especially to the visitors. Even the key areas of the village have meanings attached. One of the families we visited even wanted to take us on a walk for us to see their kraal, the clinic, church, local bar and relate their personal life experiences at those places.
3.Sand-boarding
Well basically this is like snowboarding or skate boarding, the difference here is that you do it in the sand dunes as opposed to on ice or on ramps. Maybe we should just stick to sand-sliding? Whichever one you prefer!
I remember seeing children in their teens and below faces beaming with excitement as they slid down the dunes and kept going back up to repeat this activity. I loved doing this one. They used card-boards and smashed water bottles. I saw that this year the organizing teams are planning to bring the actual boards for this activity. That would surely be exciting. But remember if those children would still be there with their DIY boards, you might want to try it out for the fun of it. It’s part of the process of interacting with the locals anyway and getting the real raw fun.
4. Chasing the Sunsets
Well, sunsets are quite similar to sunrises which I have already listed and explained above (but the experiences are definitely not the same) and for that reason I will not dwell much into this one.
For the sunset, the best place from my experience is at the sand dunes. Make sure you stay back after most people return to the campsites to freshen up and get ready for the night activities. I guarantee you, you will love the scenic views from the sand dunes and watch the amazing sunsets quietly over there. Take this as another opportunity to shoot amazing photos.
5.Stargazing
Stargazing can defined as the act or practice of looking at or studying the stars but here I am loosely using the term to refer to watching the stars. If that makes you feel otherwise, let’s alternatively use the term “night sky-watching” then. I am a very fascinated by astronomy, astrology and all that jazz, for that reason I always looked forward to night time.
If you have a telescope, it would be a bonus to pack it and believe me your nights in Khawa will not be the same. Otherwise you can just download some astronomy apps on your smartphone like StarChat, SkyView, SkyEye Astronomy just to mention a few. They are easy to use and fun as well.
I remember we would from time to time walk around holding up our smartphones and tablets during the night and people would walk up to us and ask about what we were doing. It was a perfect ice breaker on its own.
In conclusion, I would like to wish you all those who will be attending this year’s edition of Khawa dune challenge and cultural festival a pleasant one and hope you try out some (if not all) of these extra activities. The Khawa to-do list always has a space to accommodate this and more spontaneous activities I’m sure.
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Enjoy!
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