Okonjima

The Okonjima Family And Other Animals
By Ben Trovato

Namibian cattle farmer VJ Hanssen and his beautiful wife, Rose, breathed life into Okonjima way back in 1970. It was a tough but idyllic existence – one that saw their children, Tammy, Wayne, Donna and Rosalea, grow up with a deep love for animals and nature.

Sadly, Rose passed away in August 1992. VJ followed in July 2006.

In 1993, the original lodge was built at Okonjima and the farm was converted into a conservation project with the AfriCat Foundation registered as a non-profit organisation.

With the help of some treasured staff, the Hanssen siblings have turned Okonjima and Africat into international success stories.

Roll credits …


WAYNE is the main brain. Lord and master of all that he surveys, Wayne is in charge of the finances and other important stuff. He also oversees major projects such as expanding Okonjima’s infrastructure, clearing alien vegetation and grasslands research. Since Elvis the baboon died, Wayne has learnt to communicate with humans and is now relatively comfortable interacting with them on a social level.	DONNA She’s a bit like one of her beloved lions – fierce and strong when she needs to be, otherwise she’s just a big pussycat who likes her tummy scratched. Donna is in charge of public relations and marketing. She advises on décor in the lodges and camps, takes care of the website and supervises the design of brochures, DVD’s and other publicity material.

ROSALEA is the matriarch of the Bassi clan. Her marriage to Luigi produced the Okonjima offspring Keanu, Jayd and Kayden. Luckily, a fair bit of Italian has rubbed off on her – so she has no problem making herself heard when it comes to keeping the family in line. With a head for figures, Rosalea is in charge of bookings, payments, invoicing and making sure that the taxman gets his share.	LUIGI has had his eye on Rosalea ever since November 1992. But it was only in 2001 that he made the move from Windhoek to Okonjima. A true master in the art of pasta-making, Luigi uses his Mediterranean charm to keep the peace among the fiery Bassi brood. He takes care of maintenance and telecommunications.

TRISTAN (with Jayd) could get a job at the United Nations if he ever had to leave Okonjima. With the patience of a saint, Tristan has been the resident diplomat ever since he arrived in April 1999. He overseas the Front of House of all four camps – a job not for the fainthearted. He is also in charge of the very popular Okonjima curio-shop and has a hand in design. (Tristan will be on a sabbatical for 1 year and will be back on Okonjima in 2009)	YOLANDI has done a fantastic job of getting Wayne to mix with people as well as animals. She keeps him happy, which is important since he usually has a gun on his hip. Yolandi arrived in June 2002 and is Rosalea’s loyal lieutenant. If she’s not in the office, she’ll be in Wayne’s bedroom.

STEVE makes sure that Donna isn’t eaten by hungry lions or tourists. Given his previous career with the Royal Marines, both people and animals give him a wide berth. Steve has been on the scene since October 2002 and is Okonjima’s "systems engineer" and helicopter pilot.	CARLA is extremely organised and often is the only one who has her ship together. She fled Cape Town for the bush in July 1997 and hasn’t looked back since. Her passion is running AfriCat’s welfare project, the office and taking care of the orphaned & injured cats. Her other passion is Dave.

DAVE is part American Indian, although he refuses to let anyone study his family tree. Built like a Mack truck, Dave is a highly-skilled cameraman who has filmed documentaries around the world. He came to Okonjima from Britain in 1996 on a shoot for the Discovery Channel, took one look at the weather and decided he was never going back. Dave is Okonjima’s all-rounder. From fixing fences to flying planes, Dave can do it. Not many people know this, but Elvis (the baboon, not the singer) once bit Dave in the b…s. Something else not many people know is that he has a tattoo of Mickey Mouse on his behind. Apart from that, he’s not a bad person. << back to family main page