Haim is a tour guide, he works day and night and I think he should slow down.
It’s difficult to say what drives him, it’s not the money for sure, I suppose it’s the way he’s made. If you put him in a forest with an axe he would chop until the forest was cleared or until he dropped, whichever came first. He wrote a PhD thesis on predators – he is a zoologist – he is called into TV studios to talk about leopards, wolves and suchlike, he is a proper authority.
One of his most popular outings is his night safari. He takes guests out into the desert in the pitch dark and with the aid of powerful flashlights picks out points of light in the darkness and drives towards them. The points of light are the eyes of animals staring at the vehicle. One point of light is prey, two points of light is predator; think about it. The animals are not greatly disturbed by the vehicle so long as they neither smell nor hear humans. He draws up alongside them until they are fully illuminated and sometimes they will just stand there sniffing the air, or walk off with Haim’s Jeep following at a polite distance. Some outings are more successful than others, you don’t always get to see large predators but he will show you lesser wonders of the desert like small reptiles, and scorpions of which there is no shortage and even if you are less lucky, his many stories will make the outing worthwhile.
Being a specialist in fauna, he also operates Negev Safari, a small museum situated right at the entrance of Midreshet Ben Gurion. The perfect outing for families and adults alike, especially during the hot hours of the day as it is indoors. It has a very eclectic collection. Snakes, butterflies, stuffed animals, skeletons, but also stone age tools, and a bedouin collection. And the collections are getting richier and richier all the time.
Another of his specialty tours is Har Karkom. There are hundreds if not thousands of historians, theologians, archaeologists who claim to have found the Mountain of G-d; the mountain on which Moses received the Law from G-d. There are about ten main contenders for this title and Har Karkom is one of them. It is a four-hour drive to the mountain, sometimes over rough terrain – it is not an outing for everyone – and during the drive Haim prepares you for what you are going to see by describing the habits and beliefs of the ancient peoples for whom Har Karkom was sacred ground. By the time you arrive you have a working knowledge of the history and archaeology of the matter, you are primed. Another hour and a bit on foot brings you to the two great discoveries which are the kernel of the case for Har Karkom.
Of course, Haim and his trained team will also take you to more conventional jeep tours like Ein Akev, Ein Zik, Ramon crater, desert cisterns. He also has a very compelling explanation of meaning of all the rock art recently discovered in the area.
They can also provide all the logistics you will need if you are planning to go on longer hikes or sleep in a tent in the desert
Haim’s understated manner and great learning makes it hard to resist his conclusions. He is good with introverts, annoying extroverts, hyperactive children, nothing ruffles his feathers, altogether the best tour guide in the Negev
Dr Haim Berger +972545343797 or
negevjeep@gmail.com
English
