Working on the Wildside
Meet Senior Chief Justin Barnardo of The Inqua Otentotto people of the Sā:n and Khoekhoen territory.
“The future and sustainable outcomes rest on the involvement of indigenous and local communities, arresting the negative impact of climate change, habitat loss and biodiversity decline.” – Senior Chief Justin Barnardo of the Inqua Royal Sān and Khoekhoen Sovereign Aboriginal Autonomous Authority (IRSKSAAA).
Snr. Chief Justin Barnardo is the current leader of the Saul and Susannah Kamfer Royal House from the Historical Piesang Rivier Vallei Baai. Justin C. Barnardo was born and raised in the charming village of Kranshoek – in the Bitou Municipal area. His heritage is seventh generation Kamfer and of the eighth generation Barnardo Clan in Plettenberg Bay. In his own words: “…a born Southern African, !Xhoe & !Xam (khoikhoi and San) descendant, an indigenous Son of the Soil, from the Aboriginal people, the Leopard Totem, Inkwa Nation of Southern Africa.”
This is quite a title for a young husband and father of three, however, Justin is already well known and involved in his community. He attended 2024’s World Travel Market in Cape Town with Plett Tourism and trail experts, Ingwe Adventures, to present the unique Inqua Trail to an interested travel industry.
It should come as no surprise that Justin guides along the Inqua Trail: this is the ancestral land of the Royal Inqua People, Justin’s people. He first came to the Plett Tourism Association’s attention as a guide on the exquisite Inqua Trail – the wild, coastal trail from the Robberg Peninsula to the indigenous Harkerville Forest – passing his home village of Kranshoek – the pristine, paleontologically significant coastal region better known as Robberg Peninsula and the Robberg Coastal Corridor.
His family – along with other pioneer families – have occupied “The Mountain” (The Robberg Peninsula) since the mid-1800s. However, evidence illustrates that the region has been inhabited for much, much longer and, in exploring these ancient histories, Justin shares something very special with those he guides.
As an incredible storyteller and passionate conservationist, he’s just the person to lead an exploration of the dramatic coastline that is fast gaining a reputation as one of the most beautiful trails in the Western Cape. The Inqua Trail traverses a pristine stretch of coastline linking Robberg Nature Reserve in Plettenberg Bay to the Garden Route National Park and is the sole means of funding the continued management and development of the Robberg Coastal Corridor Protected Environment, declared in 2015. The corridor forms part of the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve which was recognized by UNESCO in 2017.
Not only is this an area of outstanding natural and scenic beauty with significant geographical, archaeological and paleoanthropological sites but it has also been identified as Critically Biodiverse. When hiking the Inqua Trail, you are quite literally hiking for conservation. Justin is not only knowledgeable about the natural and biodiverse gems on this trail from the delicate fynbos to the best rock pools and caves, but also carries an honest connection to the coastline which is most hauntingly apparent when he talks of times 8000 years past or blows the ancient sound of the Kudu horn, the shofar echoing across the ocean.
As a community leader and environmentalist, Justin is passionate about the sustainable protection and use of the coastline of Plettenberg Bay. Speaking earlier this year at a Plett Environmental Forum to discuss the proposed seismic testing off the southern Cape coastline, Justin spoke passionately: “We believe that the indigenous people have the right and responsibility to maintain and strengthen our distinctive relationship with our traditionally owned and culturally occupied lands, territories, waters and coastal seas, our lifestyle of fishing, farming and foraging in the shallow intertidal zone and inner wildlands”. He implored: “The future and sustainable outcomes rest on the involvement of indigenous and local communities arresting the negative impact of climate change, habitat loss and biodiversity decline.”
Plett Tourism community writer, Sihle Ntsatha – who attended the environmental forum expanded on Justin’s words: “Through a forum and dialogue regarding the protection of our natural environment, what fascinated me most is how the Chief always reflected on his elders with so much respect. I enjoyed the stories that the Chief shared with the audience of how people in days of old were so protective over the environment. It is people like Chief Justin Barnardo that keep this town in contact with its rich history and culture. ”
Guided by his parents and elders, it is apparent that Chief Justin Barnardo is respectful of and knowledgeable about his community’s rich cultural history and is determined to make a difference in both his community and the local environment. His manifesto continues this theme: “We are keepers of the spiritual gateway, always paying homage the His Creator he never forget to voice aloud _!Gâi |Gângans !Tsüi//Goâb Abbā_ ,singing praises to Adonai, a cultural people who hold an intuitive connection with the soil and the ocean. The Khoikhoi and Sā:n community highly values our customs and traditional practices, and the connection we hold with our natural habitat. To us, this is life giving and it is home.”
