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SOUTH AFRICA - 2
A part of us remains wherever we have been.
Anon.
8th May
After leaving Lesotho, we return to South Africa again, into the Free State with grassy plains and cattle country. Heading south toward Aliwal North at the edge of the Eastern Cape, popular for it's mineral baths and hot springs, we discovered a sign for Badfontein Guest Farm. We drove down a very long track, opening and closing a number of gates with cattle grids alongside. Such a long track, without a sign of anything except for a few cattle and horses, that we began to wonder if we were heading the right way. We finally arrived at the house, where a group of dogs greeted us and we were shown the way to the camping area, hidden amongst trees and on the banks of the great Orange River. The source of this amazing river begins high in the Drakensberg Mountains near the border of Lesotho.
The traditional, thatched huts housed washing facilities and living accommodation if required. There was a large braai area and we were brought a big sack of dry logs for our fire.
We stayed two peaceful days there, just us and lots of bird life, had some great braais with a bottle of red wine but had to wrap up in coats and scarves at night. The temperature began to drop by about 4 p.m. and once darkness fell it was very cold.
10th May
An early morning mist meant that the sun did not begin to warm us amongst the trees quite so early this morning.
We headed out toward Burgersdorp, a quiet and sleepy town where we stopped at the Hagenhuis Coffee Shop. We sat outside in a pretty garden with some very handsome hens strutting about, having coffee and the most delicious cheesecake and lemon meringue pie! We met Phillip there from Oviston, who told us all about his pet rooster that he had rescued some time ago but who had recently died. He sounded such a real character from Phillip's stories and he obviously missed him a lot!
The grassy plains, numerous lakes, low mountain ranges and remote sheep and cattle farms continued until the Lootsberg Pass after Middleburg.
We camped for the night at Urqhart Park in the town of Graaf-Reinet, often referred to as the gem of the Karoo in the Eastern Cape. It is the 4th oldest European town in South Africa and has many lovely examples of Cape Dutch architecture. Its architectural heritage has been restored through the recognition of over 200 National Monument buildings and everyone seemed very helpful and friendly in this lovely, peaceful town.
We cooked a great omelette that evening, with 7 black and white cats all waiting for titbits! Our first warm night however since leaving Andy in Durban, we hope it continues!
11th - 12th May
Our next stop was to be Beaufort West in the Western Cape and the Karoo National Park for camping.
The very straight road continued for many kilometres through flat semi-desert, becoming more barren and remote except for the odd sheep farm.
Every now and again we had to shut our windows, as huge, grasshopper- type insects flew up from the scrub and road and splattered all over the Land Rover making such a noise as they smashed into the windscreen. We were picking off legs and wings for quite some time afterwards!
Hardly any other vehicles passed us on the entire stretch of road to Beaufort West and we entered the park to the north of the town where 33,000 hectares of impressive Karoo landscapes are protected.
We drove 6 kilometres into the wilderness to a lovely camping area with luxurious showers, baths, toilets, laundry and even cooking facilities. The birds were all incredibly tame and a grey mongoose came close looking for crumbs.
We stayed another day so that we could drive through the park and up the Klipspringer Pass and hopefully see some wildlife. We were lucky in seeing some handsome Red Hartebeest amongst the bush and Klipspringer and Steenbok clambering up the rocky hillside. Vervet monkeys and a baboon ran across the track and our binoculars picked out Cardinal Woodpeckers on a cliff edge.
There were 5 tortoise species in the park, more species of tortoise in a single area than anywhere else in the world and one very large one wandered across the campsite in the afternoon munching the grass. Seeing the wildlife and beautiful views as we drove up the pass made our trip very worthwhile.
13th May
We fell in love with the next little town, beautiful Prince Albert on the edge of the Karoo, at the foot of the Swartberg Pass. This picturesque little town with its relaxed atmosphere, was founded in 1762 and there were some lovely examples of Cape Dutch, Victorian and Karoo architecture. Many of the buildings had ornate verandas with tumbling masses of vibrant coloured climbers. We had coffee and apple strudel sitting on one of these verandas which belonged to a hotel, pub and coffee shop. We walked through the beautifully restored hotel and into a garden with rose beds, lawns and a magnificent old vine that covered the whole length of a shady walkway with it old, twisting stems and golden leaves. The beautiful, wooden furniture inside the hotel came from George and Knysna, towns further south on the coast. Buildings here were painted in soft pastel colours, some were thatched and most had shutters at the windows.
We visited an art gallery further up the street, where a huge, Australian Blue Gum tree had been cut down but in such a way, that it appeared to represent a massive sculpture. Inside the gallery there were many lovely paintings reflecting the feeling of remote Karoo landscapes, also interesting sculptures, pottery and furniture. We treated ourselves to a beautiful but very simple, handmade, coil pot by Martin Volk, a well-known potter who now lives in Knysna. The people in the gallery took great care to wrap and pack it very carefully for us and it will hopefully stay in one piece inside the new box that we bought in Durban, which has been fitted on to the roof rack.
We passed the beautiful little church as we left Prince Albert and then drove through the amazing Swartberg Pass. This Pass has barely changed we were told, since it was first built in the 19th century. One of the construction methods used, was to light fires to heat the rocks and then cool them rapidly by pouring over cold water so that the rock would crack. Much of the labour was done by prisoners and the mortality rate apparently was quite high, as we could well imagine!
The rock colours and formations and the views were spectacular and as we slowly descended, a fertile valley opened up way below us with lush fields, lakes and forested areas.
We drove on to the Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn and arrived just in time for the last guided tour at 4 p.m. These wonderful, limestone caverns began forming approx. 20 million years ago, when acidic ground water chemically eroded the limestone rock. The dramatic stalactites and stalagmites began growing, only when the water, which once filled the caves, drained away, a mere 3 million years ago. Southern Africa's earliest people found shelter here before the caves were discovered in 1780 by Dutch Colonists.
We found Cango Mountain Resort a few kilometres from the caves, situated by a river and bordered by huge, oak trees in their autumn colours. Clouds appeared over the mountains and we had our first rain in the night since we had left last September!
14th May
Today is Mother's Day in South Africa.
A cloudy morning but the sun broke through to dry the outside of our tent before we left.
We drove through Oudtshoorn, a big ostrich farming area and on through the Outeniqua Mountains and Pass where at a spectacular viewing point, you could see the Voortrekker Pass along the neck of the mountains, the Montaga Pass that followed the river bed and the Railway Line.
The sea came into view as we began our descent and we drove into George and then followed the N2 to Knysna, which overlooked a large lagoon protected from the sea by the rocky Heads.
We found Woodbourne Resort for camping, hardly anyone there again being the low season and found a lovely, quiet spot not far from the lagoon. We collected some wood for a braai and had just finished cooking our meal when down came the rain, so we scooped everything up and ate inside Moby. We turned on the radio, only to hear that 'Blessed are the rains in Africa' was playing...... uncanny!
15th May
We left Knysna behind today and then Mossel Bay and Heidleberg and on to Swellendam. We stayed at the Bontebok National Park nestled under the Langeberg Mountains and close to the Breede River. In 1931 this Park was proclaimed to protect the last remaining Bontebok, an unusually marked antelope. The Bontebok have flourished and now number over 200 in the park. It is also home to Cape Mountain Zebra, Red Hartebeest, porcupine and several smaller mammals and reptiles, as well as over 200 bird species including South Africa's National bird, the Blue Crane.
It was a lovely camp ground, very quiet and peaceful. As I was taking the dishes to be washed in the dark with a torch, I came across a very large porcupine by the washroom. I was surprised at how big it was and its spines were raised all over its back. These are nocturnal creatures and rarely seen, so I felt very honoured!
16th May
We stopped to speak to Jesse and Rob before we left the park today, both of whom knew a lot about the local bird life. Jesse was taking photos of the birds with a huge 500mm lens and I'm sure her photos will be quite amazing!
Leaving the Bontebok we took the dirt road to Malgas, famous throughout South Africa for its old, man-powered ferry across the River Breede. Known as the 'pont' it was first used in 1860. The present model is the last, man-drawn ferry in South Africa and it still carries people, vehicles and livestock back and forth across the river every day. Moxies Pub in Malgas is named after Moxie Dunn who manned the ferry for 25 years from 1961-1986. Today, the ferry is able to take 2 vehicles and has two men that haul the ferry across using chains that hook on to cable wires.
Just across the river we discovered the Malgas Hotel. We stopped and sat out in the garden and enjoyed the best toasted ham and cheese sandwiches we have tasted so far. These were followed by freshly baked scones, on to which we thoroughly scraped out the jam and cream pots! It was all so delicious and we were really hungry as it was nearly 3 p.m......a long time since breakfast! What a find! It had certainly been worth the long and dusty track.
From Malgas we headed to Cape Agulhas and the southern most tip of the African continent, where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet and the coastline is wild and rugged, with huge waves crashing over the rocks and shore. It was a lovely evening and luckily the sun was behind us for photographs.
We camped that night by the beach but the clouds looked ominous!
17th May
It rained hard during the night but the tent kept dry. The sun was out in the morning and the sea looked beautiful, with long, clean stretches of sand in both directions.
We left for Hermanus but first took a track that led to Die Dam and which ended at a long sweep of white, sandy beach and a sea that changed from emerald to a deep turquoise. Such a beautiful and remote spot and with a campsite almost on the sands, we were very tempted to stay but decided that we had only just got back on the road.
We found Hermanus to be a large town with beautiful houses built high up on the cliffs overlooking the bay, providing excellent viewing points for watching the whales that come into the bay to calve between June and November. Sadly, we are just too early to see them. The whales that arrive are mainly Southern Right but Humpbacks have also been seen and the numbers are increasing yearly.
18th May
Through fruit farming country and then up into thick cloud that covered the mountains. This was followed by fog and rain on the way to Franschhoek, a very attractive old Cape settlement, spread out in a valley with wooded hills and vineyards beneath the mountains. It had tree-lined streets, beautifully kept houses, lots of restaurants and classy shops, including a lovely art gallery. We went for coffee and cakes to escape the pouring rain but it continued all the way to Stellanbosch. This was wine producing country with lovely, white, Cape Dutch farmsteads and vineyards, the vine leaves now beautiful shades of orange and gold.
We didn't linger in Stellanbosch because of the rain but went to the Mountain Breeze campsite just outside of town amongst pine trees and lots of squirrels. A farm shop and the Breeze Inn Restaurant were close by and we had an excellent meal there when it was just too wet for us to cook outside.
20th - 28th May
We have had enough of the wet and cold and the forecast for the next 5 days is not good, so we head for Cape Town to see if the weather will improve.
We stayed at Imhoff Caravan Park at Kommetjie on the Cape Peninsular and although it meant driving into Cape Town each day, it was a good site with very friendly people. We had an excellent meal with very attentive service at the local restaurant 'The Kommetjie Grill' run by Neville and Pat Lance. We hope you both manage to make your own trip to see more of Africa in the not too distant future!
We really enjoyed our time spent in Cape Town, although the weather was changeable and we only saw Table Mountain clearly once!
We visited the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront area with its many shops and restaurants built around a small dock area and spent a fascinating afternoon at the Aquarium.
We had a lovely day in the Cape Peninsular National Park where we climbed up to the old lighthouse at Cape Point. We then continued along the path around the edge of the cliff towering 200 metres above the sea and with wonderful views out to the ocean and then almost to The Point, where a new lighthouse has been built on the rocks, as the original one was always shrouded in mist.
Baboons were sitting on the Land Rover when we returned but fortunately everything was still intact!
We then drove round to the Cape of Good Hope where the wild and rugged coast continued and the sea was full of kelp.
We had another lovely day at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. Cecil Rhodes was the last, private owner of these eastern slopes of Table Mountain, having bought them in 1895 for £9000 to keep them free from urban development. On his death in 1902 he left Kirstenbosch to the nation. The gardens were established in 1913 to conserve and promote the indigenous flora of South Africa and they are regarded as one of the great botanical gardens of the world. We really enjoyed the sculptures that were in one part of the gardens.
We got to know the Cape Peninsular really well with its coastal towns, beautiful bays and the spectacular Chapmans Peak Drive that follows the rocky Atlantic coastline with stunning views.
The clouds were gathering again however and the temperature was dropping. We were not going to get our trip to the top of Table Mountain to see the view! The rain began in earnest again and we decided to spend our last two days in Cape Town in a self-contained cottage at Afton Grove in Noordhoek on the peninsular. The accommodation was excellent with lovely furnishings and every comfort and the owners were extremely helpful.
28th - 30th May
We left Cape Town today on the N7 with wonderful views from the mountains down on to the flat, farming valleys near Citrusdal, a town with fields of orange trees laden with fruit and wild flowers at the sides of the road.
We spent 3 days in the beautiful Cederberg Wilderness Area where black eagles fly and leopards still roam. We stayed at a lovely campsite by the river belonging to Jannie and Katrin Nieuwoudt. They grow citrus fruits and a late mango crop on their organic farm called Jamaka which has been in the family for 300 years. They kindly gave us a bag of oranges and mangoes and we bought organic honey and mango jam from their little farm shop.
We took the dirt road to Dwarsrivier and stayed at the Sandrif Campsite situated again by the river. Dwarsrivier is also home to the Cederberg Private Cellar. At over 1000 metres above sea level, snow can fall on the vines in winter, breezes blow in the hot summer and this, combined with pure mountain air and crystal clear waters, make it ideal for growing the grapes that produce their fine wines. We bought a bottle of their red wine, which was excellent.
We explored some of the unusual rock formations in the area, sculptured by time and the elements. Lot's Wife was a strange rock that had been weathered to look like a woman kneeling down. In the biblical story of Lot and his wife running away from Sodom and Gomorra, she was instructed not to look back but did, and was turned into stone!
We drove to Clanwilliam from the Cederberg, passing more orange groves and masses of wild flowers. This area certainly has been one of the highlights of our trip with its beautiful views, unpolluted air, absolute silence and nights full of stars!
We camped by the lake at Clanwilliam, with reflections of the mountains in the clear, blue water. It was a quiet, sleepy little town and the only area in the world where Rooibos tea is cultivated and then processed, packed and then marketed worldwide from the factory there. Clanwilliam is also famous for its Strassberger Velskoene factory where beautiful leather boots and shoes are made. Bill left with a lovely pair of leather boots which cost the grand sum of £34!
31st May
Today we drove along the coastline to Elands Bay which offered huge, white dunes and big waves for surfers but all was quiet at this time of the year. We camped further up the coast at Lamberts Bay Caravan Park in the heart of crayfish country, with more endless, white beaches and blue sea but with the Atlantic waves thundering in.
1st June
We entered the Northern Cape and Namaqualand (Namakwa), with craggy mountains and the occasional quiver trees. Little, white-washed farmsteads nestled amongst scrub covered hills which seemed to continuously unfold and spread to the horizon each side of us. We stayed at the well run campsite in Springbok where the first European run copper mine was established in 1852. When more copper deposits were discovered just to the north, Springbok became a centre for mining prospectors.
2nd June
Heading for Port Nolloth on the diamond coast, we drove through a semi-desert area that seemed endless, although flowers were blooming from the unexpected heavy rains. We had to make a detour as the bridge over the River Holgat, just before Port Nolloth, had been washed away!
Port Nolloth became a centre for diamond mining after a young soldier found a glittering stone near there and hundreds of prospectors then converged on the area. It soon became clear, particularly to Ernest Oppenheimer of De Beers, that a huge, rich source of diamonds had been discovered and they eventually took over all the major mines.
We saw the boats used for dredging the gravel beds on the sea floor not far from the shore and the huge mountains of sand where mining also took place beneath the sandveld, a narrow, sandy plain between the mountains and the sea.
We continued up the coast to Alexander Bay, the most northerly situated town along the west coastline and obtained a permit to visit the area. Since diamonds were discovered along this stretch of coast, it has also become known for its mining.
We drove out to the part of the coastline where the great Orange River (named after Prince William of Orange) finally flows out to the sea. We didn't quite find the estuary, as it was obviously a long walk along the beach but I have never seen such a wild and spectacular sea! The waves were enormous and the hot wind blowing from the desert was so strong, that the spray from the huge waves was being blown back out to sea. It was difficult to stand upright in the wind and blasting sand. The white, sand beach however, was littered with bleached driftwood, some in beautiful, sculptured shapes.
We met Hoskin and Charmaine in the shopping centre who were very interested in our travels. When they knew we were thinking of visiting the Richtersveld Transfrontier Park with Namibia, they offered to take us to some friends of theirs.... Carel, who had a diamond mining concession and was a diver and Estelle. They both welcomed us into their home and provided us with lots of information on this remote, mountain/desert park.
Since the torrential rains, this usually dry area has turned green with many flowers in bloom. The park nurtures many succulent plant species and it certainly sounded a 'must' to see before entering Namibia.
Before we left, Carel showed us a photograph of a 63 carat diamond that he had found when he was diving inshore! We hope you find some more!
We imagined we would be camping in this fierce wind but the campsite at Brandkaros, about 28 kilometres from Alexander Bay, was tucked in a sheltered spot by the Orange River, in the centre of a citrus farm.
3rd - 5th June
The Richtersveld Transfrontier Conservation Park spans the border with Namibia. It has some of the most spectacular scenery of arid and desert environments in Southern Africa. Bi-sected by the Orange River, which forms the border between South Africa and Namibia, it comprises the Ai-Ais Hot Springs Park in Namibia and the Richtersveld National Park in South Africa.
We drove to Sendelingsdrift where we obtained our entrance and overnight camp permit for the Richtersveld, although unfortunately, some of the campsites had been closed due to the torrential rains.
Our first camp stop, about 10 kilometres into the park was at Pokkiespram by the Orange River.
We met Des and Liz there who run the Yotclub B&B at Oudtshoorn but were taking some time out to see more of their country. Thanks for your company round the campfire and we wish you great travels in your Landy. Thanks for the advice to turn right at the yellow oil drum, we would never have known and like you, am sure would have carried straight on and into diamond mining territory!
The drive to our second camp took us through some spectacular scenery and to another magical and deserted setting, once again on the edge of the Orange River but this time with the Namibian hills on the opposite side. The recent rains, which resulted in torrents of rushing rivers, had cut huge swathes through this rugged landscape. Although now almost dry again, it must have been an unbelievable sight!
Flowers were blooming in this now green wilderness, a huge variety of plant life, some of the succulents so tiny but with exquisite flowers in bright colours. It is a land of leopards, birds, reptiles and insects and certainly an awe-inspiring, unspoilt wilderness, a mountainous desert park where the rains had changed everything! We felt very privileged to be able to share in this spectacle.
The two Passes tested Bill's off-roading skills at times but as usual Moby did not let us down! Sadly however, we passed what was left of a 4x4 vehicle, still with its roof tent intact but badly damaged, the inside full of sand and gravel. It had been caught in a torrent of water and carried downstream, where it now lay to rest in the dry riverbed.
We met Doep, Henry and Tony on the last day at our second beautiful camp. They had travelled together from just south of Durban. Henry and Tony however, also had their bikes with them on their vehicle and had biked up to Johannesburg and all the way across to the west coast, as far as the Richtersveld. They are planning to cycle across Lesotho and return to South Africa via the Sani Pass. We really admired their fitness (both are retired) and their choice of travel and hope they enjoy many more years of cycling together along with Doep. It was great to meet you all and hear of your plans.
6th - 8th June
Sadly, we slowly left the Richtersveld today after stopping to climb up over the rocks to look at the amazing quiver trees and the strange 'half-men' trees. The 'half-men' trees are rare succulents with long trunks and small bushy 'heads', endemic to the Richtersveld and southern Namibia. There is a legend amongst the Nama people of Southern Africa that says, when the ancient Nama fled south from Namibia, those who turned and looked back, were turned to trees, forever facing north and longing for the homeland that they had left behind. We would love to have stayed longer and visited some of the other overnight camps that were still open at various places in the park but this however, would have taken at least another 3-5 days and each day spent in the park was expensive.
We decided not to head to Vioolsdrif and the border crossing with Namibia via the main roads but to cut across country to Khuboes, down to Eksteenfontein and then take another track from there. By the time we had left the Richtersveld and found Khuboes, it was about 3 p.m. The turning to Eksteenfontein took a while to establish, most of the locals shaking their heads and saying they did not think it was passable after the rains. It certainly turned out to be a very long 30-40 kilometres of mostly non-existent tracks washed away by the rains and leaving rock strewn river beds, pot holes and boulders.
We began the next stretch through the mountains with light fading but decided to continue, as except for parts, it was on the whole, an improvement on the bit we had just covered. We finally made it to Vioolsdrif after dark and found Aquacade campsite on the banks of that famous Orange River. We were made to feel very welcome by Henric although we were late and unexpected and were shown a lovely camping place with our own reed shelter that was equipped with a sink, light, electric socket and table and benches. We sat in our little 'house' to have a late supper but after driving across remote tracks for nearly 10 hours today we were ready for bed!
We visited the well-stocked, little shop back down the track and were told to stop at nearby Fiddlers Creek for oranges, on the way back. The farm had a wonderful, rose garden in front of the house with masses of blooms in every colour imaginable. They caused quite a talking point with the delightful lady of the house, before she took us over to some trees and helped us pick our own oranges. She wouldn't let us pay for them as she had so enjoyed talking about her roses with us. Thank you so much, they were the sweetest and juiciest oranges we have tasted so far!
On our last day at Aquacade, Henric loaded inflatable canoes into a vehicle and his sister drove us higher up the river so that we could all make our way slowly back down the river in the canoes.
Beautiful scenery, a huge fish eagle sitting on top of the craggy mountain and such peace and quiet. Because of the rains the river was still running high and we did one small section of rapids.
9th June
We left Aquacade today, a very friendly and well-run campsite that we would certainly recommend and we also sadly left South Africa behind too. We both think it is a most beautiful country and we have seen some amazing places!
A big thank you to everyone that we have met and who have helped to make our journey so special.
We think you have a wonderful country and we have enjoyed everywhere that we have visited.
Thank you Bruce for your suggestions of places to visit and as you can see we followed nearly all of them. Perhaps you should write a guidebook!
Now on to Namibia!
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