Afrique : l’Or Bleu sous les Sables

Afrique : l’Or Bleu sous les Sables

We, the Bushmen, There are only two important things in life, fire and water. Water, the blue gold under the sands. In Namibia, in the Kalahari Desert, This natural wealth is a hidden treasure and only a few insiders know how to discover it. At during our travels, We have explored many oceans. This time, I offer you a fascinating dive into the most mysterious of them, an ocean in the making, in the heart of Africa. 2000 km from Namibia and the Bushmen, Lake Malawi is the starting point of Francis Le Guin’s expedition. Is this an ancient sea or a giant lake? Could it be that the Great Rift fault continues to spread, allowing the Indian Ocean to flow into it one day? Northeast Africa is crossed by an immense geological fracture which shapes the Rift Valley. But this fault extends further south, from Tanganyika to Malawi. Will a new Red Sea emerge in the heart of southern Africa? In the green water, Divers do not move along a simple cliff, but of course on the submerged part of the Great Rift fault, 50 km wide and a few thousand meters deep. Lake Malawi is one of the oldest freshwater reserves in the world, fed by an underground river for almost a million years. I feel like I’m diving into a giant aquarium. Thousands of multi-colored butterflies surround us. 600 species of cyclids descended from a single common ancestor. These small fish, which are a delight for aquarists, are also the subject of study by marine biologist Kenneth McKay, the world’s best specialist. This endemic fauna is very diverse. Some cyclids have protruding jaws or teeth adapted to different types of feeding. Others have tapered shapes, rare colors and patterns in freshwater. What color? Amazing It’s beautiful, No Why are you fishing for these fish? These cyclids are fished to bring back to the village. And show the children the splendid species found here. Ah, It is an essentially educational goal. Yes. You do a lot of studies on them. Yes. Okay, Let’s go. Why so many colors in such cloudy water? It’s a matter of sexual attraction or Yes, That’s it. Females prefer the most beautiful and sexy fish, like in birds. The more vibrant their colors, the more likely they are to attract females. It’s the females who decide. In Tchembé, as in the surrounding villages, Cyclidae are the basis of the diet. But overfishing of these fish is a problem, because they are able to eliminate the cause of a terrible disease, bilardiasis. Cyclidae feed on small shellfish, carriers of this parasite which weakens the human immune defenses. To preserve ecological balance and public health, Ken therefore encourages the reproduction and breeding of fish in ponds away from the lake. They eat a lot of fish. In Lake Malawi, They can catch up to 70 tons of fish per week. Today, The bright side of things, It is that in this lake, there is no oil pollution or introduced species, as in Lake Victoria. Here, there are only endemic species. Endemic only. But the problem, it’s that the less there are, the more they prevent. It’s a matter of education. Cyclidae could one day disappear Fortunately, no. By adopting good behaviors, there is no reason why it should not continue to be an important food source and to exist. Of course, when the Rift Valley fault spreads, it will become an ocean. One day, therefore, the species will disappear, But fortunately, it’s not for now. But if other species are introduced or pollution increases, so there, It could be dramatic. Actually, it has been observed that the number is decreasing, but not to the point of disappearing. Our goal therefore, It is to bring them back so that they eat the parasites and eradicate the disease. That’s what we hope. And the people here, they listen, they are aware of the problem They trust you or they don’t. There is a lot of work to be done, but we have a good team in Malawi. Everyone who works with us here in Chembe is from the village. It’s their job to inform people. So there is hope. There is always hope. Every evening, The men of the village put the canoes into the water. Until the heart of the night, they will trap many fish, attracted by the light of oil lamps alone, like moths. Lake Malawi is the third largest in Africa. A true inland sea, 600 km long and 87 km wide. It continues to open at a rate of 10 mm per year. In several million years, it could become one with the Indian Ocean. Francis decided to board the ferry that connects the two shores of the lake. On board the Ilala, to see how the rift extends to the south of the lake, I meet Mr. Break, A wise old man who tells me the curious story of the ghost ship. What did he look like? He came from the bottom. He was coming out of… Water? Yes, that’s it, He was coming out of the water. A big boat like this, with so many passengers on board. I saw it with my own eyes. But I asked my father, What is he doing here? And he answered me, No, it’s a dream, This is not reality. Did he come from the depths? Yes, from the depths. But to go, where It has never been seen in any port. Coming from the depths, but not docking in any port, This ghost ship is said to belong to the spirit of water. It is one of the mysteries of Lake Malawi. It is one of the spells of eternal Africa. In these jade waters, We no longer know very well whether we are in fresh water or already in sea water. Thirty meters deep, I explore, a little drunk, the boat that emerged from my dreams. Unless it’s the one from the legend, a wreck, fish, the same bestiary as the ocean, would we have traveled in time Would I already be in the depths of the trans-African sea? Between myth and reality, in the sweet intoxication of the depths, I brush past the submerged corridors. The Wheelhouse and its crew of scales. The bow drowned in aquatic mists, the frozen rudder of this captainless ship. And I imagine more than I see. Electric fish and catfish, waging a merciless war in the darkness of phantom rates. And the stories of Mr. BREAK Come back to me. This immense underground river that crosses Africa, mixing the waters of Tanganyika with those of Malawi, of the Zambezi and others much further away. The black rock indicates the south, But Francis, who studies the orientation of faults, note that right angles do not re-rifle in reduction. Does the fault really end in the heart of this monumental lake? How far do these abysses lead, which will perhaps one day swallow up the waters in a gigantic fall? It is precisely in the West that the Zambezi River, border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, presents an extraordinary natural phenomenon, the victorious falls. They project the waters of the river 170 meters below and seem to lose themselves in the bowels of a torn earth. Here, the Rift split into two branches, one that continues south and the other that turns west, towards Botswana and Ocavango. It is the only river in the world that does not join the sea, forming a Delta whose water evaporates on the edge of the Calaari desert. But water doesn’t just disappear into the atmosphere. Francis thinks the Rift is continuing. How far does this water go? We must follow the course of the river, whatever the difficulties. But navigating the twists and turns of the Delta is unthinkable without the help of Chris Brooks, one of the best guides in the Okavango. Incredible. These papyri. It’s amazing, there is so much water. It’s truly incredible to think that this water has traveled all this way from Angola. She made her way. A passage up to here, across the Ocavango Delta, to finish his journey in the Kalahari Desert. There, we are on the main arm. The main arm, Yes, That’s it. Like the fingers of a hand. And then, All that water disappears. Or like the roots of a tree. Exactly, like the roots of a tree. And most of this water ends its cycle back into the air. It evaporates. And only 2% flow into the Cavango Water Delta. It then slowly follows its course to the Kalahari Desert, where she disappears. So the river never sees… No, the ocean, he never gets there. Part of it probably has to continue underground. Yes, I think, Yes. There must surely be something underground. No one really knows or understands hydraulic mechanisms. But it undoubtedly continues underground. But to rain. I can just put something on this side We will at least try to provide protection on one side. Attention, attention, stop I think we’re going to get hit by a storm. Brocodile does not attack boats naturally, but the hippopotamus that walks through the papyrus, if, he feels threatened, He can turn the boat over without any problem. It’s stopped, We’re waiting to see if we can unlock it, if not… They are caterpillars, the lean thing that falls on our heads there. Stinging caterpillars. What is it then? Yes, I have a finger like a doppelganger. We believe the caterpillars and the small black insects. there. And with the rain, we’re going to have another ecosystem there. Frogs. We’ll get there tonight. Yeah, Yeah, no doubt. It’s taste, wet, we’ll get there. All that’s left is to wait. Yeah, we’ll get there. Triss wants to be reassuring, But his optimism soon comes up against reality. The getaway, which was only supposed to last six hours, will actually drag on all night. You will even have to camp on an island to share with a herd of wild elephants and a leopard. The team leaves, but the difficulty remains, because the Papyri have blocked the canals. And the boats are slowed down by the weight of the equipment needed for shipping. Even though we are on the main river, It seems very narrow. But in fact, Most of the water flows between all these papyrus trees that surround us at the moment. These papyri are a floating plant bed and water also passes underneath. This partly explains the clarity of the water, as it is filtered all along the way by the green carpet of papyrus. And then, on the other side, We’ll come across a huge open-air arm in a kilometer or two. We just have to make our way through this small section before we get to the open area. We’ll get there soon. These are the same papyri that also had… You feel like an arlo-rouro. But I’ll never get there. The slaps, Me. This is a problem. You anticipate and in fact, you realize. It’s part of the game, You know. It’s because it’s so difficult to get to these places that they’re so lost and wild, free from any human intervention. I don’t like places that have to be earned. The team finally reaches the entrance to this immense Ocavongo Delta. This is the territory of the Nile crocodile, a formidable species that evolves in this space, twelve times the size of New York City. It’s a promise, That. It’s a promise Ah, yeah, Yeah. Good, Here we are in the thick of things. You see what I was telling you? It could be anywhere under the papyri, there. And watch out for those on the surface too, eh. Don’t leave a leg hanging, a hand in the water or whatever. But the team is determined to get into the water to study this part of the delta. In case of a bite, wherever and despite the pain, The only thing to do is to encircle the crocodile with the legs, for example, Because what he’s going to try to do is spin at full speed to disarticulate a limb, to drag you down and drown the prey. Whereas if you cling to the crocodile’s body, you turn with him. It changes too much. Meanwhile, You must not lose the tip, etc. And immediately, you have to push your hand in, the whole arm in the mouth and open the bottom cavity. And that, This means the crocodile will drown. And so, He will immediately let go and run away. SO, Good luck. Naturally, Good, This kind of thing should be avoided. So, the juveniles are quite bright yellow and black, and adults are gray-green. So you know right away who you’re dealing with. Because if we’re in the fog and you see a piece of tail, you don’t really know. Be very careful when disembarking. Vince Shaxs is our crocodile specialist. Yes, Yes, It’s perfect. Here, This is the perfect place. He can climb up the bank here and run away on the other side. He is always near the water. At the slightest noise, he is on his guard. See, he stayed lying here, And it changes position within this small perimeter depending on the sun’s exposure. This is the place of a large crocodile, apparently, which has two escape routes. This is the beast’s claw. How tall can it be? 10 foot ? Between 2.50 meters and 3 meters. Where do they lay the eggs? Are they making holes? Yes, They dig with their paws about 30 cm, depending on the type of soil. And then they put the eggs down and cover the table tightly. I imagine it’s very dangerous to approach during the nesting period? Yes, It’s sure. It also depends on the environment. For example, here in the Delta, They are very suspicious of men. SO, if we approach, They tend to run away rather than protect their eggs. Unfortunately. The nullification salary, That, it’s going to be our… Main problem. We can really see this enormous river gradually disappearing into the sands. There, under our feet, something is happening. SO, Where can we find crocodiles here? Near this tree, No Yes, all types of access, like those three trees over there. Anything that allows them to come onto dry land. And then all these peaceful waters, like this lagoon. We won’t go there. Actually, You just have to make sure that visibility is good. They are very opportunistic. You never know what they’re going to do. They have unpredictable behavior. Good, We’re going to stop making plans and try to go see what it’s like. If we see one at the bridge that doesn’t move, sleeping, Can we approach him or not? Yes, It depends on the size. If it’s a little bit below my size, I will… Visibility underwater does not exceed one meter. In order to avoid any incident, Only Francis and René, the cameraman, dive in scuba gear, while Rainer and Gerald watch the surroundings to try to anticipate the arrival of a crocodile. The water is the color of tea. I can barely see my outstretched hand. It is a setting of blond sand, rippled by the watery wind like a desert underwater. I know the crocodiles are there, watching us. But in this opaque water, we won’t see one, which increases the feeling of danger. “But what’s holding me?” “We become paranoid.” “We’re not going to hang around here, because the longer we stay, the more risks we take. The team continues to follow the water’s path, sinking ever further into the delta. A labyrinth where the very shallow depth threatens to ground boats and leaves room for large sandy expanses. How does water disappear? Would she slip under the desert sands? You see the sand of Locavango, This is the sand that comes from Calary. It came here on the wind. Was it the wind that brought him here? Yes. It is pure Silica. It might even come from Angola. This has nothing to do with sea sand. Oh, yes? Look. Oh, that’s it, you found one. It’s a small one, a very small one. It’s a small one, he is still young. How old? It’s hard to say. I would say he must be 5 months old at the most. It is a very ancient animal, the crocodile. Prehistoric, like dinosaurs. Sometimes, he doesn’t eat anything for a very long time. Yes, It’s true. If there are not enough resources or in case of drought and there is nothing to eat, They can go up to a year without feeding. No. Amazing That’s why they’re still here, I guess. It is a very powerful animal. Very strong, even though the legs themselves are quite weak. When they swim, they just fit like that, along the body. But all the power comes from the tail. They hunt prey on the surface, It can jump out of the water at a speed of almost 70 km per hour. It is a well of incredible strength. The crocodile draws all its strength from there. Without his tail, he can’t do anything. Come on, we put it back in the water. Yes, before it gets too hot. It’s the same with humans, You know, When we put our nose under water, the heart slows down immediately. The Ocavango Delta is a paradise for wildlife that comes to drink there during the dry season. Beneath the surface live more than 70 species of fish and crustaceans. In these tannic waters, whose color is due to the acid decomposition of papyrus, Freshwater clusters rub shoulders with armies of catfish. The migration of catfish. An extraordinary gathering that only exists here. It is a living river, uninterrupted by thousands of individuals, sliding between the roots, in a bubbling of foam. THE Delta is constantly being shaped by unexpected architects. Hippopotamuses, which open new waterways through the papyrus, and termites, shaping islets where sediments accumulate. It is a world of peace, of copper and gold, where water and earth tinged with twilight mingle. It’s incredible. It is the largest inland African delta. But all this water, she, is previously up to the Indian Ocean. Yes. And now, She slowly dies in the Kalahari Desert. Millions of years ago, A series of faults appeared in the region, cracking the land coast. This stopped the flow of Cavango water that was flowing towards the Indian Ocean. But it wasn’t just a crevasse, there was a whole series of them. Imagine the water flowing and two cracks suddenly forming. As they were close to each other, the ground has subsided. So the water got trapped. Quite. She fell into this huge depression. At first, she formed a lake, Lake Ocavango, and filled all the vacant space. But little by little, sediments began to develop and accumulate, And now we have this flat expanse. All this water, finally the greater part, let’s say 98%, returns to the atmosphere and forms these clouds. There may be some of it that goes underground Absolutely. It’s very likely. A part flows below, under our feet. It’s a magic system. Intact, Perfect. And the cycle continues like this. Beautiful and very peaceful. What a strange feeling in this place. During that time, Vince Shaxs and members of the Ocavango Crocodile Project study the Nile crocodile population. It’s good, we’re going to go there. Where do you want to go? Avoid catching crocodiles larger than 3.20 meters. Otherwise, they can make holes in the boat. Audrey De Boeuf-Toulade is a French zoologist based in Botswana. She studies the reproductive cycles and sexual dimorphisms of crocodiles, that is, what distinguishes males from females. So he takes a urine sample, For this, a catheter is used which is inserted into the bladder. So he looks inside the cloaca for the clitoris. It’s bad. It’s bad. We’re going to take your body temperature now. 26.5, Body temperature. Needle in. Needle in. 86 points for a measurement of 1.67 m 1, 2, 3. Okay. Okay. THANKS, THANKS. You can see his second eyelid. Actually, like that, They can see underwater. It’s time to leave Chris and Vince, who will continue their wildlife inventory. Francis Le Guin decided to lead the team to the southern end of the delta, where the water disappears completely. He will meet his friend Randall Moore at the Abu Camp reserve. This one promised a big surprise. This region of Locavango is mainly composed of savannahs, a very dry landscape, where pools of water are rare. This is the territory of big cats and African fauna as we imagine it. Randall Moore is a colorful character who has lived in the Delta for 20 years. He has two passions, cigars and elephants. The boats have given way to the Raised 4x4s and the expedition takes on the feel of a safari. Randall developed a program to reintroduce captive elephants into the wild. His charges cool off every day at the very spot where the waters of the Delta disappear. The elephants, like other animals, are comfortable in the water, No Above all, they love water. Playing in the water, drink it, Water means everything to them. When it rains, It drives them crazy too, by the way. They love water. Hopefully these clouds will clear and it will warm up a bit. And so, there, they are going to have a great time today. René Heuset does not want to miss this unique opportunity to film elephants underwater, despite the risks that this entails. It’s so good because you have the challenge of saying how close I can get without him crushing me again. That’s it, I think these are unforgettable moments for me. She is a small female, very sweet. Ah, ok. If you are ready, we continue. Here, at the gates of the Kalahari Desert, The dry season is coming. The green slowly dies into the yellow ochre. The last marshes shrink and the river falls silent. The water birds will soon take flight. But it’s already too late for these catfish, destined to perish from asphyxiation. Animals will have to find other sources of water to survive. It is the beginning of a long transhumance. Part of the waters of the Okavongo evaporate into the atmosphere. But what happens to the water that disappears into the depths of the Earth? The answer may lie in Namibia, in the extension of the fault which passes under the delta, across the border with Botswana. So, number of passes for… It’s true that in the middle of nowhere, we have lost the habit of formalities a little. And that is a border post that is surprising to say the least. Tonight, The camp will be set up near a Bushman village. Here, It only rains once a year. So it only rains a few days a year? Yes, Yes, only a few days. And here we are. Do you want to talk about us in Africa? I think this is a good start. And we’re not going to stay on the face for long and we’re going to follow it to the bottom of the Earth, if we get there. These mouths belong to the San ethnic group, the oldest people in Africa. These populations are the only ones to survive in this desert. They have managed to maintain an exceptional relationship with nature and have adapted to a most hostile environment. This short stay among the Sannes was a life lesson for me. They live in destitution as extreme as their humanity. I felt a deep peace among them, far from clichés, from documentary makers in search of exoticism. Here, traces of modernity combine with knowledge from the depths of time. Their language, above all, is astonishing. The most elaborate, they have four click sounds, unpronounceable for our Western languages. And smoke doesn’t make learning any easier. The Sannes are hunter-gatherers, known for their approach technique. They use poisoned arrows, the toxin of which comes from the stomachs of larvae that colonize the roots of certain trees. This poison is so powerful that it can immobilize even the largest animals. You can ask the chief how you manage to find water now, because this is a mistake here. For several years now, It’s a little easier. The government installed a pump in the village. The problem, It’s because it’s often broken. So we use traditional methods. We do as before. We can show you if you want. Okay, here we go Francis manages to convince them to take him to their hunting grounds. This is where the sannes find water. This camp is right next to a watering hole that we’re going to go see. Watering holes that are sometimes destroyed by elephants. And at that moment, The Sannes are forced to return to traditional water-seeking techniques. And so, they know how to smell it, search for her. They have the lost meaning of dowsing for us. They are born dowsers, like elephants, for that matter. There is nothing left coming out of the pump. But it is a magical instrument, when it works. It was the elephants who pushed her Yes, Yes, Yes, They are them. One or two elephants pushed him. But when they saw that the pump was still there, they left the solar panel aside, They ripped out the pump and threw it there. Here we go ! The Bushmen have learned to live in extreme conditions. They know how to exploit every resource. This root, For example, allows them to quench their thirst. We’ll take the race, we’ll see. We’re not saying it’s going to be good. Yo Nico, to the end of things. Ouuuuuuh. It’s a race. We’re going to make kachon. It is a source, we are just on a limestone plateau, and that is a characteristic form of source, In fact, It goes deep underground. That’s how it was in the old days, they were going from one point to another, from one water point to another, And they knew them, They went even further, since they were able to discover new ones, by simply digging into the riverbeds. dried up, until finding… The chief then explains to Francis that everyone in the village is convinced that it was the arrival of the team that released the water from the sky. Foreigners brought rain from their country. This is a good omen for the Bushmen. We’ll have to come back. I let myself be carried away by this language of origins, far back in time, in search of lost water. And towards the water, even stranger, of Lake Guinasse, in the heart of Namibia. This giant chasm, probed to more than 120 meters, waits for the divers. Resulting from the collapse of the limestone ceiling of a cave, it is only the visible part of a network of submerged galleries which are lost in the depths. The divers then enter an upside-down world, strange and fascinating. In the middle of the fish terminals, Francis discovers stalactites, metallic veins sculpted by acidic water. The cavers are truly progressing into unknown territory. Air bubbles, trapped under the vault, look like mercury, defying the laws of gravity. In the beam of the diving lamps, the submerged walls seem covered with precious metal, while the exterior of the chasm is made of limestone rocks. It’s a dive into another world. Here, nothing like what we have seen before. The fauna is not left out. In this lake lives a unique species of cyclids, distant cousin of that of Lake Malawi. How did he get there? I then think back to Mr. Break in Malawi, this dark and secret river coming from beyond Tanganyika, flowing under the sands of southern Africa. Too good to be true? Could this be one of those founding myths that are ultimately quite common around the world? What if there was some truth to it? What if the fault continued even further west? Could it not feed this important aquifer? Have we discovered the lost water? The hidden face of Ocavango Blue gold under the sands? A reserve of water that seems inexhaustible and eternal, like the fossil fish But for how much longer? Who knows what the Rift is secretly preparing in the depths of Africa? Even though we won’t be there to see it, I like to imagine the shape that the cradle of humanity would take in a few million years, giving birth within it to a new Mediterranean. How many wonderful chasms are there left to discover here? It’s sure, we will return to Namibia. Another expedition Another journey Maybe.

Là où l’eau et la terre s’affrontent, le lac Malawi abrite des espèces marines primitives dans ses eaux douces. L’Okavango, au Botswana, s’évapore dans les sables sans jamais atteindre l’océan. Plus à l’ouest, sous les déserts de Namibie, d’immenses gouffres d’une profondeur infinie cachent des trésors d’eau.

Carnets d’Expédition – Afrique, l’Or Bleu sous les Sables