• People

Popularity hits tour guide unexpectedly

- 2023-11-24 08:43:00

A global audience can experience Namibia's animals and natural beauty through the lens of a young man, who started sharing his life on a farm outside Windhoek on social media in the past year.
Ruben Lambrechts' love of animals and the outdoors has given him Instagram popularity, as well as the opportunity to do what he loves.
More than 3 million people watched a video that Ruben posted on his profile in January. The video shows him and his cousin walking in the rain on a farm in the Khomas Hochland and seeking shelter in a cave with a tame warthog, Kallie.
"I woke up in the morning and it was only hundreds of likes and followers and at first we thought my account had been hacked. From there it was thousands and thousands of followers. From 4 000 in January, we now stand at almost 350 000," says Ruben.
Some of Ruben's subsequent videos have been viewed by 6 million people and one has even been viewed by around 12 million people.
Interest in his tour guide business, I Dream Namibia, has also received a boost due to Ruben's Instagram popularity.
"My life has changed so much."
According to him, Instagram can be quite exhausting, but it allows him to meet new people.
"If you look at the positives, they far outweigh the negatives," he says.
A Namibian 'Lion King'
Ruben captures a variety of aspects of Namibian farm life - from braais in the bush, a cup of coffee after the rain and cocktails during an orange-pink sunset.
On his profile, Ruben also shares some unique experiences, such as how he lies on his cattle's backs and how the cattle - which are full of personality - enjoy being rubbed, scratched and brushed.
The highlight of Ruben's platform is how he interacts with the animals around him. He shares numerous videos and photos of meerkats, warthogs, wildebeest and special interactions with a tame baboon.
"I grew up on the farm and among the animals and have a great love for it."
One of Ruben's videos begins with the words: "Let me show you the cast of The Lion King through my eyes", which follows with images of animals on their farm similar to the characters of this popular film.
All the animals on the Lambrechts farm roam freely and it is important to the family that animals are allowed to enjoy nature and their freedom.
Another popular video of Ruben was taken during his visit to a haven for animals where small baboons sit on his shoulders and even climb inside his shirt.
"These orphaned baboons unfortunately lost their mothers due to human-animal conflict. They are now being cared for and live in a group that will later be released back into the wild as a herd."
"It's all about rehabilitation and not keeping them as pets. They deserve freedom," said Ruben's post to the video, which received more than 200,000 reactions.
Hanna
On Instagram, Ruben also shares a story of how they healed a two-week-old calf after she was attacked by a leopard.
"After a cold rainy morning in February, we came across a severely injured calf and her mother. We realised that the wound on her shoulder was caused by a leopard. Miraculously she survived."
Ruben says they think the calf's mother tried to protect her from the leopard and thus saved her calf. The calf was later christened Hanna.
"The months after that were a constant struggle. The bite mark on Hanna's shoulder became inflamed and spread throughout her body, causing serious bacterial infections that were life-threatening," the post said.
Hanna's joints and shoulder were badly swollen, causing her to have difficulty walking. She was on antibiotics, her wound was cleaned daily and she received several injections.
"At this stage, Hanna hated us, because in her mind she only knew the pain of the injections we were giving her, without knowing that it was for her own good."
"Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months of struggle. Nothing seems to help. By this time I was qualifying myself as a 'vet' and tried every trick in the book. Somehow, after four months of fighting for her survival, Hanna pulled through and was later released back into the herd."
After Hanna rejoined the herd, Ruben checked in on her daily and systematically won her trust.
"Eight months later we were best friends."
'City wasn't for me'
After schooling in Windhoek, Ruben took a year off and went to work with his brother on farms in Australia.
He then studied BCom marketing and business management at Stellenbosch University. However, Covid-19 hampered his studies and he returned to Windhoek where he started working while completing his studies.
"I worked in Windhoek for a year and a half and it just wasn't for me. I longed for the farm and the animals. Sometimes I just drove out to the farm in the middle of the week to spend time with the animals and drove back the next morning to be in time for work. I also went to the farm on weekends and drove back to town early on Monday mornings," says Ruben.
He finally decided to move back to the farm where his parents and brother still live. He bought more cattle and started farming with them and started his tour guide business.
"I learned a lot, but I'm glad I'm not there anymore because now I can do what I love and what's more, I can do it from the farm."
Business
"Since I gained quite a bit of popularity on Instagram with some of my videos, the tour guide business is also active and keeps me very busy."
He aims to let people experience Namibia's natural beauty, as well as the feeling that the country offers to be closer to nature.
"I accompany people nationwide who need a tour guide or are looking for a driver. I make the reservations myself and travel with them."
With this, Ruben tours unique and luxurious destinations all over Namibia and on I Dream Namibia's Instagram profile he shares photos of Camp Kipwe in Damaraland, Andbeyond Desert Lodge in Sossusvlei, Gmundner Lodge and Simmenau Farmstay, among others.
"With every trip, I experience the feeling of how privileged we are to be able to call this beautiful country our home. Every part of our country is so unique - the landscape, animals and friendly people," says Ruben about his travels in Namibia.
Ruben's short-term goal is to expand his tour guide business and to get help as he is now trying to handle everything himself.
When Ruben is not busy travelling the country as a tour guide, he is on the farm among his animals.
"I enjoy it on the farm and look forward to starting other businesses that I can run from the farm."
Time abroad
About Ruben's year in Australia, he shares that he and his brother had to work very hard on the seed and cattle farms they worked on. "We learned a lot and had to do everything alone such as washing clothes and dishes, and all this after a long day of 12 hours of work. It was hard times, but we earned good money and it was a very nice experience."
Ruben also visited Europe last year and although he says it was very beautiful, it is "not like home".
"We have so many more animals here and you don't find wildlife and nature anywhere else. As far as nature and lifestyle are concerned, we are so privileged and you only realize this when you leave." – [email protected]