Once again we decided to do the transition between rest camps as a game drive. Leaving Nossob early, we soon saw a Pale Chanting Goshawk dive down to catch its breakfast in the long grass and then fly up into a dry tree to enjoy its meal. Unfortunately we could not see what prey it had caught.
A young Springbok and its mother provided a lovely picture.
The rest of this day delivered little in terms of sightings. A few times we saw raptors circling in the distance. Once again I have to rely on Merlin’s identification, since I am unsure.
More Oryx, a few giraffes and the unusually green Kalahari with flowers reminding one of Namaqualand in September, were our enterainment for the rest of the day.
We did come across a traffic jam caused by a cheetah resting close to the road, next to a recent kill, but the number of cars and their positioning precluded any photographic opportunities.
Not a particularly exciting day with relatively few opportunities for interesting photography, but nonetheless an enjoyable and relaxing day in the Kgalagadi.
Once again I was up before sunrise, in time to take a photo of the rising sun. The red dunes of the Kalahari were green after the recent good rain and the unique smell of Kalahari sour grass was in the air.
We decided to have a relaxing day, lazing about, reading and going for a short hike, including a brief visit to the Meerkat rehabilitation centre on site.
As always, my camera went along for the walk.
By this time we had realised that we had very limited cellular and internet connection and uploading photos and blog posts had become impossible. But this is part of the charm of traveling in these remote areas.
So, at last, after a hectic few days back at home, Liana managed to get around to editing her videos, so here are the videos for Day 5, Day 6 and a lovely video she made using my astro photos from this and previous trips.
After a large breakfast at A State of Grace guesthouse in Clanwilliam, we started our trip by filling up with diesel and then proceeded via Pakhuis pass and Hoek se Berg pass to the Biedouw valley
On a very cold and overcast day, the flowers were not open, but still provided a spectacular sight. I can just imagine how much more spectacular it must be on a sunny day with the flowers open.
We were too early to get coffee at the Biedouw Valley Farmstall, which only opens at 11:00 and decided instead, to proceed over the Kouberg Pass to Wupperthal for coffee at Lekkerbekkie Coffee Shop.
Since some social media posts had suggested that the Eselbank Pass might be closed due to recent flooding, we enquired in Wupperthal and were assured that the pass was open to 4×4 traffic. We decided to tackle this pass on our way to Mount Ceder. Although very narrow and certainly a major challenge if encountering traffic going in the other direction, this pass is actually not difficult to drive and does not require serious 4×4 skills, mainly just some common sense. Luckily we only encountered one other vehicle and even more luckily, this happened in a place where there was space for passing. The reward was spectacular scenery, better captured on video than photos (video to follow in a separate post).
A visit to the waterfall at Eselbank was a bit of a failure, since we could not find an actual viewpoint of the main waterfall and were unwilling to clamber over the rocks and risk a serious fall, especially in the windy conditions. After passing through Eselbank, we proceeded towards Mount Ceder passing through more ruggedly beautiful terrain in the Cederberg, including Grootrivier hoogte, stopping along the way to photograph some more flowers.
Google maps will tell you that the drive is 123km and should take approximately 2 hour 15 minutes, but that doesn’t take into account the terrain and roads. A more realistic estimate is probably about 4 hours for that distance.
We had a lovely cottage at Mount Ceder, overlooking a valley. Unfortunately it was overcast and my planned astrophotography didn’t materialise. The positive aspect was that we got a very good night’s sleep.
At breakfast the next morning, the staff at Mount Ceder, informed us that they expected severe weather over the next 24 hours, our planned hike in the mountains was cancelled and we were warned that anticipated flooding could see us stuck and unable to travel the next morning. We made a quick decision to change our plans, leave while we could and use the spare day for an impromptu visit to our children in Cape Town.
Returning to our cottage to pack up, we saw a beautiful rainbow over the valley, ending at our cottage.
After a very informative and interesting olive oil tasting, we had a cheese and olive platter for early lunch and then hit the road. Light rain already started falling while we were on the Blinkberg Pass.
As we reached the tar road, we started encountering the first of the severe weather. On the beautiful Gydo Pass, near Ceres, the rain was bucketing down.
Michells Pass was equally rain drenched
Arriving in Cape Town, we were again reminded of the Cape Town traffic, one of the major reasons we could not imagine living there again.
If you enjoy my content, please subscribe to make sure you are informed of new posts, you won’t get spammed.
We made an early start from Hondeklipbaai, driving on a dirt road still muddy and slippery from the previous day’s rain, stopping in Garies at the Garies Toeriste Stal, for coffee and toasted sandwiches, before heading on to Clanwilliam.
Arriving in Clanwilliam, we went for a stroll in the Ramskop Wildflower Garden. This had apparently become quite run down under Municipal management, but is being revived by local enthusiasts. We spent an enjoyable hour walking around here, taking some photos and video.
Then it was on to Graafwater, where we had a thoroughly enjoyable visit and lunch with friends.
Carrying on with my theme of photographing church buildings, I walked around the church, looking for a good angle for a photo, eventually finding one with a sunburst.
Late afternoon, we returned to Clanwilliam to check in at our accommodation, where we were just in time to see the beautiful sunset over Clanwilliam dam, from the guesthouse pool deck.
After dark, we returned to Graafwater, to continue where we left off our visit with friends and to photograph the Milky Way over the church.
Returning to Clanwilliam, I just had to take another Milky Way shot over the Clanwilliam dam, even though a few clouds were starting to appear.
Another late night, this time with Liana deciding to postpone her video downloading and editing for a day in order to get some rest.
Day 4 arrived, cold, dreary, overcast, not what we had been hoping for, but true to the weather forecast, which had been accurate for once. We decided, nonetheless, to take the drive to the Skilpad section of Namaqua National Park. The locals in Hondeklipbaai advised us to take the detour, returning to the N7 the way we had come, due to road conditions.
We stopped in Kamieskroon to get fuel for the car and ourselves. Entering Kamieskroon, we saw a beautiful little church.
In Kamieskroon, I also saw a street carrying my name, but quite sure not named after me or any relation.
After fuelling the car, we drove towards the National Park, stopping along the way for breakfast at Die Murasie
Once in the Park, we decided to forego the planned hike, since it had started raining and we did not want to get drenched. Instead, we drove the two circle routes in the Park, one of which is new and labelled a 4×4 route, but really a very easily driveable route.
As expected, in the rain, most of the flowers were hiding their faces. However, this did not really detract too much from the spectacle and we still had a really good time.
Near the end of the 4×4 loop, we saw a few Springbok in a field of flowers, a very special sight.
Making our way back to Hondeklipbaai, we were quite pleased with ourselves about the lovely day we had and the fact that we would be able to get to bed early, but this was not to be. About 20km before our destination, we encountered a quartet of elderly people struggling to change a flat tyre. By the time we had finished assisting them, not only were we rain drenched, which we had avoided in the Park, but also covered in mud.
Eventually arriving at out accommodation at Dogstone Cottage, we took a quick shower and then went to the Rooi Spinnekop Restaurant for an early supper, which turned out to be an excellent choice. The reception was very friendly, the atmosphere relaxed and the food excellent. Liana had a marrow bone starter and I had prawns. For mains she had lobster and I had pan fried snoek and sweet potato.
Exiting the restaurant, we were just in time to catch the sunset, the clouds starting to clear.
With the clouds rapidly clearing, I was able to grab a few Milky Way photos as well.
Tomorrow we turn back south, heading towards Clanwilliam.
Leaving Yzerfontein, we made a quick stop at Weskus Padstal to fill our travel mugs with good coffee. The breakfast smells were tempting, but we had “padkos” of cheese and tomato sandwiches and “braaiwors” in the car, so resisted the temptation.
We headed north along the coast, passing through Velddrif and Dwarskersbos, turning inland at Elandsbaai, towards Graafwater. Unfortunately, driving into the sun, combined with the number of insects committing suicide against the windscreen, resulted in less than perfect dashcam footage.
Just before Graafwater, Liana pointed out a somewhat rundown house, surrounded by wildflowers, stating that I am always looking for suitable focus point in my photos and this might make a good subject.
From Graafwater, a dirt road took us back towards the N7, with a quick stop to photograph a railway line.
Then it was on to Maskam Guest Farm outside Vanrhynsdorp, where we were able to explore their flower route and grab a toasted sandwich and Coke for a light lunch.
Interestingly, some of the flowers at Maskam Guest Farm appear to be planted in rows, the result of the flowers spontaneously growing in a rooibos tea plantation, between the rows of rooibos tea plants.
From here it was back to theN7, past Vanrhynsdorp, along the Knersvlakte, apparently so named due to the sound the oxwagens’ wheels made on the stones, past Garies, where we turned back towards the coast.
The number and variety of flowers along the way were truly impressive.
Approaching Hondeklipbaai, we suddenly encountered dark clouds, arriving in town in midwinter after having spent the day in bright sunshine and summery temperatures.
Our accommodation at Dogstone Cottage was very welcoming. Dinner was an excellent seafood platter at Dop en Kreef restaurant.
We ended the day, hoping that the weather would play along on Day 4 and allow us to see the impressive flowers in the Skilpad section of the Namaqua National Park.
We had a slightly delayed start to the day, having to wait for the bakkie’s windscreen to get de-iced before we could hit the road. The first town we passed trough, Montagu, still seemed fast asleep at almost 8 o’clock in the morning and we had to wait until we reached Robertson before we could get coffee and breakfast. On the way to Robertson we passed through the beautiful Cogmanskloof.
No food photos today since I made the mistake of sitting on the wrong side of the table, resulting in poor light for food photography, or any photography for that matter. This is a pity, since the coffee and croissants at Strictly Coffee were excellent and we received service with a smile.
After breakfast, on the way to Worcester, we noticed snow on the Matroosberg.
After Worcester, we took a detour in order to drive along the famous Bainskloof Pass, built by Andrew Geddes Bain in 1853 and more recently declared a national monument. Our bakkie is fortunately low enough to pass under Dacre’s pulpit, where many a large truck has gotten stuck after ignoring all the warnings along the way. And no, we didn’t see any leopards, despite the promise on the road signs.
Passing through Wellington, Malmesbury and Darling, we reached the West Coast National Park in good time and were soon fascinated by the magnificent flower display in the Postberg section, which is only open for two months a year, during flower season.
The flowers really speak for themselves, no words required.
Satisfied, but exhausted, we arrived at Orca House in Yzerfontein, where we received a friendly reception from Francois. We soon had a fire lit for a braai and then relaxed on the dune in front of the house, overlooking the sea, with a glass of wine in hand.
After dinner, it was once again time to download and edit photos and video and prepare our camera equipment for the next day.
Look at the great daschcam footage of the day, ably curated by Liana to create a lovely memory of the day.
Etienne's Camera 