Through the Kalahari Desert - G. A. Farini

** Limited Edition #366 / 1000 **

This book is a facsimile reproduction of Through the Kalahari Desert, by G. A. Farini. Originally published in 1886 in Britain, simultaneously with German and French translations, Through the Kalahari Desert is now virtually unprocurable in spite of high prices offered by collectors.

Farini (real name William Leonard Hunt), together with his son Lulu, Gert Louw, a bushman of mixed extraction, and Fritz Landwer, a German trader, explored the Kalahari in search of diamonds, cattle ranching areas, scientific information and adventure. While Farini wrote of their findings, his son sketched and photographed, and some of these illustrations appear in the book. During the latter part of their journey, while on a hunting expedition near the Nossob River, they came upon what appeared to be the ruins of a city, the city now known as The Lost City of the Kalahari.

In recent years numerous expeditions have ventured into the Kalahari in search of this city and, while odd individuals claim to have found it in various areas, major expeditions have met with no success. As a result Farinis writings have been examined in minute detail. Farini, a showman who once walked across the Niagra Falls on a tightrope, seems capable of exaggeration, but even if his lost city is nothing more than a natural rock formation, other aspects of his journey the exploration of the Aughrabies Falls (The Hundred Falls) springs to mind were certainly most praiseworthy.

His contribution to the records of famous explorers who have responded to the call of Africa, is not only a valuable addition to any library, but also makes fascinating reading.