I had an amazing opportunity to spend a day with a small Khoisan tribe during my trip to Botswana over Christmas 2019.

I caught a bus with my partner from Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, to Ghanzi, a small town 650km away. It was a long bus ride. A hot one. The air conditioning was broken and every time the bus stopped, a salesman would jump on and try to either sell us pies or convince us to join his pyramid scheme. The journey to Ghanzi was not one for remembering but I cannot seem to forget it.

When we arrived, the payoff was worth the agonising bus ride. We stopped at the bus station in Ghanzi and got a taxi into the bush toward our camp. The site was beautiful. each guest got their own tent type house. That’s the only way I can think to describe it. Although, it was full of large gaps and I kept discovering massive lizards under our pillows. My partner was not too thrilled about that as you can imagine.

Once we had settled in, we set off to speak to the owners of the camp. They told us about a Khoisan tribe nearby that love meeting visitors. Of course, we agreed with a lot of gusto. We arranged to visit the tribe the next day. Camera ready!

I still remember how excited and nervous I felt as we approached. Excited because every photographer would give their left nut for an opportunity like this. And nervous because I kept worrying that something would go wrong with the camera and I had only brought one.

The experience was amazing though. They showed us how they live and how they survive on very limited resources. But in some ways they are richer than us. They have everything they could ever need at their fingertips.

Towards the end of the day as the sun was going down we danced around the fire, me included. I looked ridiculous but felt free.

Here are some of the pictures from my time with the Khoisan tribe.