1: Pretoria - Springbok (South Africa)

South Africa Pictures Here:

Week one Update

We are currently sitting in the Wimpy in Springbok enjoying a MEGA coffee, waiting for a wheel bearing to be replaced… Read more about it here.

The last week has been an absolute pleasure to say the least! After the manic and insane time we had the two weeks before our due date, we both took about 3 days to relax and then seamlessly transformed into our new roles of world travellers and the general slower, simpler pace of life.

After our weekend at Sun City we got hit by the most bizarre rat race I can remember! Monday we packed the Cruiser. Tuesday and Wednesday the removals company came to pack our house up. This was nothing like we expected it to be and the guys really just filled up as many boxes as they could with zero regard for slowing down! Catt had to make them unpack at least 3 boxes to find stuff we still needed and I had to phone them on Wednesday morning to bring back my binoculars and flash light they had accidently packed.

We used Biddulphs as they were recommended to us by friends. I am not sure yet if I would recommend them or not. For a start, they underestimated our volume by 200%, which made the cost 3 x more than we expected. Secondly, although the packers were efficient and friendly, they only arrived after mid day every day and they packed with little regard to space saving. This was not exactly the way the Rep explained the process to me. Anyway, that’s all done now, paid for and for the next year our stuff will live in Pete and Annie’s loft in Kent…

Our leaving date was April 1, and that was also the day our tenants were moving into our house. Nothing like cutting it fine then! On the 30th of March we decided to delay our leaving date by one day. I had a hole in my tooth that needed urgent dentistry, Catt had a Chiropractor appointment and we had a mountain of paperwork left to do, including picking up our bank guarantee for the Cranet. So leaving one day late seemed a reasonable and not unexpected result.

We still left home on the 1st! We managed all our chores in the morning and headed over to Ralp and Liz’s house for the evening. This was a very apt thing to do as we started our very first overland trip (Suzuki in Namibia) by having breakfast with them on the morning we were leaving! This time it was supper, wine and a bed, and at 5:30 on the 2nd of April we were off at last!

We skipped our first planned accommodation at Witsand and headed straight to Augrabuies National Park where we had a booking for that evening. We had been there twice before. Both times in the dry season with vey little water overt the falls. This time was much more spectacular!

Before visiting the falls we proceeded in unpacking 90% of the car as everything was simply thrown in the previous few days. We sorted out the packing systems and methods, made notes of what was packed and heading to the UK and took stock of our food supplies. An all round traumatic experience after a 10 hour drive, but a very necessary one!

In the late afternoon we went for a well deserved swim on our way to the falls walk way. These guys have made some really nice improvements since our last visit in 2005. There is a nice boardwalk all around the view points and the new viewing platforms are in the perfect places! The falls were running at something like 19 300 m3 per second and although it was not running over the sides, you could feel the vibration of the massive force in the granite rocks the platforms were built on. That kind of put the absolute power of water in perspective!

I’m pleased to say that with the photographic equipment I now have, and the knowledge I have gained since 2005, I managed to get a photo of the falls I deemed worthy of the scene! At last! I’d love to go there when the falls are in full flood, but that will have to wait a few years!

Day 2:
Our next destination was the Ai Ais/Richtersveld Transfronteir Park. We expected this to be a long day, so we left Augrabies fairly early. We passed Pofadder and Springbok, Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay before reaching Sendelingsdrift just after 16:00. The lady at the gate informed me that we had another 3 hours to go to our camp site at De Hoop and that she was not supposed to let us in after 16:00. Fortunately for us, she smiled and said: “On your own risk then?”

It was my turn to drive and I drove hard! Without abusing the vehicle, I concentrated hard and drove as fast as the track would allow. Sometimes we were in 1st gear doing less than 10km/h, and sometimes in 4th gear doing about 40km/h. The faster stretches of road were quite corrugated, but not unbearable. The Akkedis Pass was unexpected and slow going!

The pass is only a few km’s long and doesn’t require Low Range. I would probably put the difficulty rating on around 2.5 out of 5. I remember reading on a forum that someone wanted to take a normal road trailer over the pass and was asking if this was possible. Lots of people said “yes”. My advice would be not to! There is some fairly steep approach and departure angles and I honestly think you’ll cause some damage to anything non 4x4!

We reached De Hoop at 17:45, about 1.45 hours after leaving the gate. Scouting the camp sites we eventually parked up at the far end of the place, with our closest neighbour being 100m away. We were pleasantly surprised by the modern and clean ablution facilities although there is only cold water.

Day 3:
We had another night in the same place, so we allowed ourselves a lie-in with zero intention of moving anywhere fast! We took a stroll through the camp site, had a swim in some rapids in the Orange River and generally lazed around for the morning. We did move camp in an attempt to flee a midge invested spot we were parked! Our new site was just as invested, but at least we made an attempt.

One of the things Catt talked me into packing was a double bed sized mosquito net. I couldn’t really see the point, but neither the point of debating it, so it ended up in the car. We took this mosquito net, hung it from a tree, weighted down the sides with rocks and created our own, happy, bug free zone to spend most of the day in. I have rarely been that happy with not being bothered to argue!

The afternoon we took a drive to “The hand of God” which was the closest point of interest. Mmm…. Either I have no imagination, or it is simply not worth the effort. The only interesting thing was driving the Akkedis Pass again and filming it with a GoPro. We arrived at the spot, sign posted and all, but to this day can not understand, or see where this hand is or what it does. I did however notice some leaking fluid from one of the rear wheels, suspecting a busted wheel bearing.

On the way back to camp I started getting worried about the wheel, stopped and investigated. I took off the hub cap and saw the fluid dripping out of the drum breaks, so decided that it must be the break cylinder and thought nothing more of it.

Around 17:00 or so, with the sun low, the environment made a sudden and dramatic change! The mountains and vegetation became alive with vibrant colours and there was a postcard picture every direction you could look! The little boy photographer in me got highly excited and the shutter of the trusty 5D Mark II was clicking away happily until we reached camp again. We set up a timer shot and after positioning Catt and pressing the button, I sprinted over boulders to take my place next to her, much to the delight of other campers close by.

Our bug free zone was still in place and spent a glorious evening cooking up a feast, watching the billions of stars and unwinding into our new lifestyle!

Day 4:
We had to move camp! Our booking for the next two nights was at Richtersberg Camp Site. By this time we had figured out that because of the valley we were in, the sun only hits the ground around 7:30, and we refused to get out of the tent before the sun was hitting the ground!

After the usual morning routine we set off for our new camp with the idea of reaching it by lunch time. (The way we love to travel) I soon noticed that that side of the park had all the good stuff in and started plotting an afternoon sight seeing trip. We did reach camp before lunch, put up our happy zone under a tree, and proceeded in being very lazy for a few hours! I can’t pin point the exact moment it happened, but by the time lunch was served, we had comfortably transformed into life as travelling overlanders. Routines were simple and efficient, nothing felt like a chore, and no problem manifested itself as a “problem” There was no water in the ablution facilities, so we had a bath in the river, not even considering this as abnormal or out of the ordinary.

The afternoon was spectacular! We drove to a viewpoint over Springbok Vlakte and took some real stunning images there, including our new signature shot on the home page! Catt got the video camera out and shot some footage for her film. We continued to “The toe” and Quiver tree Kloof stopping every few hundred meters to take more pictures and more video!

17:00 arrived and it was magic time again! We did have at least an hour to travel back to camp, so we had to turn around. Saying that, we still found plenty of time to admire the conglomerate of colours and majesticness of aggressive looking, ragged mountain tops.
Some time later, and just before dark we arrived back at camp… The only people there, and the best spot anyone could hope for!

Day 5:
Well, were still in a valley, so the sun only hit us after 7:00. That’s our story and we’re sticking to it! We decided to go... well… no where for the day! And why not? Mid morning we went for a stroll along the river to a camp called “Tattasberg”. They have self catering chalets there which, from a distance, looked really nice if you are into that sort of thing. We had a swim, strolled back, and entered our happy, still bug free zone with lunch goodies after having another little dip in the river.

Our peace got disturbed a little bit by the arrival of some people in a VW minibus. How the hell they made it there I do not know, but I sure am glad that it was not my vehicle! They only stayed about half an hour, and didn’t really bother us. It is however strange how you can get instant possessiveness over what you perceive to be “your camp site”.

Around magic hour we saw the arrival of our worst nightmare. Well, actually our third worst nightmare to be fair. A convoy of 5 vehicles seeking grass to pitch their tents on. We were parked on and next to the only grass for 1000 miles and they completely took over our peaceful setting! They even parked us in!

A few deep breaths later we decided to be as tolerant as humanly possible and retreated into our bug free zone with Magurudumu between us and them, hoping to block the sight out of our minds. This was made more difficult by the loudest one deciding to use the shade of our awning, attached to our car, to hide from the sun!

Later that evening, about half an hour before our bed time, I noticed a lamp, on a lamp post, next to our tent. It was so strange and so out of place that I felt like heading to Narnia through the wardrobe in the old man’s house. (The lion and the Witch in the Wardrobe) The loud one’s wife was quite sensible and disciplined him into turning it off and moving the circle of conversation to the other side of the tents.

Day 6:
We woke fairly early as it was time to move on again and our group also contained small children without early morning volume buttons.

Now it’s time to retreat! We ended up chatting to the guys over coffee and had a great many things in common with them. It didn’t really matter that they were camped right next to us as it was really the only comfortable place for them, and they were really well behaved and didn’t really bother us at all. It was simply unexpected after being the only people in the world for 2 days!

We packed up and headed out of the park via Hells Kloof. We were slightly worried that this may be names because of road conditions, but were pleasantly surprised to come to the conclusion that it was because of the very red aloe plants that are endemic to that specific place. And what a place! You end up driving on the ridge of high mountains overlooking the whole world and feeling a surprisingly cold wind in your face. We also caught our first sight of the Halfmens (Half Human) trees that the park is famous for.

So, the Richtersveld conclusion…

We have to go back there one day! It is very young (Established in 1975) and it is strangely difficult to find information about it. All the good stuff seems to be in the southern third of the park, but I think a trip from the Namibia side, over the Pont, and through the park lasting 8 days would be breathtaking!

We arrived in Springbok around 14:30 after taking the Eksteenfontein road from the park exit. This is 60km less than the coastal road, but dirt all the way and there is a 12km stretch where you might struggle without a 4x4. It is highly scenic and very interesting driving, and if you are not in a hurry, definitely the way to go. I estimate the driving time only about 30 minutes longer than the coastal road.

In Springbok we found a break specialist to tend to the back wheel. They diagnosed the problem being a wheel bearing and are fixing at as I am writing after having to get the part from Cape Town over night.

We passed the municipal camp site, and the airfield and camped at Goegap Nature reserve. I had been there once before in flower season and remember the carpet of Namaqualand daisies being incredibly impressive! This was out of season, so we didn’t expect much. After paying the R60 (Not a typo) for our entrance and camping for the night we went for a 6km stroll in the hills. There is a hiking trail marked, and I expected it to be fit for old ladies who come flower watching in August. Boy was I wrong! It was fairly strenuous and took us about two hours to complete. It goes to the top of the mountain behind reception and offers breathtaking views over the valleys where the flowers are in spring. With magic hour the landscape transforms into reds and yellows and the definition in the uninviting rocky outcrops become clear.

We pitched camp just before dark and had our first hot shower since leaving home. Bliss!

Day 7:
We woke up in strong winds and wasted little time in getting ready to leave. We did have another hot shower (Because we could) and got to Springbok just after 8:30, booked the car in to get the bearing sorted. We went to the bank to pay the removals company’s invoice and spoilt ourselves to a Wimpy mega coffee, or two.

We are hoping that the car will be done by lunch time so we can make our destination for this evening… Verneukpan. If not… Se La Vis, we will stay at Goegap for R60 again and have another hot shower in the morning.


If I had to do it all over again:

Firstly, I would not be as naïve to thing we could pull of the Sun City weekend less than a week before leaving.

Secondly, we would pack our own house up and use the removals company only to wrap the boxes and ship them.

Thirdly… well, no, that’s about it. We are still quite pressed for time, so we couldn’t really take longer to get to places than what we did. For others I’d recommend staying in Springbok before entering the Richtersveld as that is still a 7 hour drive to your camp site. From Augrabies took us 11 hours and it was a hard day!

Lastly… Perhaps carrying spare wheel bearings is not such a silly idea…