Tag: Camping

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Road tripping: Cederberg, Richtersveld & West Coast : Part 1

On a trip like this, I usually try to post daily updates, or at least keep them fairly regular. This time, however, I was hampered by a distinct lack of decent internet access. I had expected to be completely cut off from cellphone and internet connectivity in the Richtersveld, but I certainly hadn’t anticipated the poor connectivity we encountered during the rest of the trip. Even when we were in Wi-Fi zones at campsites or accommodation, or when my cellphone showed a full 3G signal, the connection was often so slow and unreliable that posting to my blog was virtually impossible.

As a result, I have decided to write up the trip retrospectively, in a few posts covering the journey as a whole.

This had been a long-anticipated and carefully planned road trip. With the Hilux — it’s not a bakkie — heavily laden, we finally set off. Day 1 involved a fairly long drive from GQ to a farm stay somewhere between Barrydale and Montagu. Rather than taking the busy N2, we opted for the more scenic R62.

I don’t think there can be a more striking illustration of the difference between the Eastern and Western Cape than the point where the R62 crosses from one province into the other. The contrast is almost immediate. The following dashcam photographs were taken less than a kilometre apart:

During our travels, I have found myself developing a growing fascination with the ruins that appear unexpectedly beside the road — remnants of lives, homes and places that have long since slipped into the past.

On Day 2, we met up with our friends in Robertson before continuing on towards the Cederberg. At the summit of Gydo Pass, we were rewarded with this stunning view.

The gravel road through the southern Cederberg region remains one of the most scenic roads in South Africa.

My fascination with ruins next to the road continues.

Camping at Kromrivier Cederberg Park, we spent the following day exploring the surrounding area. A visit to the Stadsaal (Town Hall) Caves was followed by an excursion to Truitjieskraal. Both offered spectacular examples of the distinctive rock formations for which the Cederberg is renowned.

Campsite at Kromrivier

Some more ruins along the way.

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Road tripping the Northern Cape : The route

With previous road trips, people have asked me to post details about our route with links, so here it is.

Click on links of Days to go to blog posts or on the other links for more information about the routes, accommodation, food etc.

Day 1:

Gqeberha to Britstown

Stayed at Vyfster The Old Jail, had excellent supper at Transkaroo Country Lodge Country Cafe who also do excellent take away coffee if you are just passing through.

Day 2 and Day 3

Britstown to Kalahari Trails/Meerkat Sanctuary

Camping at the Eco Veld Camp at Kalahari Trails

Day 4

Kalahari Trails to Nossob

Camping at Nossob

Day 5

Nossob to Twee Rivieren : On this day we took a detours to 13th and 14 boreholes, not recognised by Google Maps and therefore not visible on the map. You will have to use a paper map of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to see those.

Camping at Twee Rivieren

Day 6 and Day 7

Twee Rivieren to Khamkirri with detour to Augrabies Falls

Camping at Khamkirri

On the way there, we stopped at Upington Slaghuis, definitely the place to buy your meat if you are traveling in the vicinity and also a good source of local information from the friendly staff.

Another worthwhile stop, requiring a slight detour, was Kanoniki Padstal, where we had excellent coffee and pancakes, an informative and interesting chat with the owner and did some shopping.

Day 8

Khamkirri to Van Zylsrus

Stay at Vanzylsrus Hotel , meander through their arty premises, have a cold one in the bar and supper in their restaurant, an enchanting experience.

Day 9

Van Zylsrus to Witsand Kalahari reserve : because of heavy rain on the day we were traveling here, as well as damage to the roads by heavy rains some days earlier, we wanted to avoid the gravel roads and took quite a detour in order to stay on tar roads. In different circumstances, we would have chosen a very different route between Van Zyslrus and Olifantshoek.

Camping at Witsand Kalahari was quite tricky to arrange since they didn’t respond to email and we eventually got hold of them on Whatsapp, using the number in the link. Then, getting an invoice out of them was equally tricky. But eventually well worth the effort.

Day 10

Witsand to Mokala

Stop along the way for excellent brunch at Proviand in Griekwastad

At Mokala, we stayed at Haak-en-Steek Camp

Day 11

Mokala to Graaff Reinet : We drove the length of Mokala National Park, exiting at Lilydale. For some reason, Google Maps will simply not show this, so my map starts at Lilydale. Approaching Ironstone Cottage near Graaff Reinet, Google maps can once again not be trusted. Here we had clear instructions from the owners on which route to take.

Ironstone Cottage is a beautiful cottage in a stunning setting, an excellent weekend getaway from Gqeberha.

For breakfast the next morning, we had roosterkoek and coffee from Chargo Farm Stall in Graaff Reinet. Their roosterkoek are well worth it, but be sure to be very hungry when tackling one.

In summary: 12 days, roughly 4000 km, some criss-crossing of our route, necessitaded by available dates in National Parks, an awesome experience.

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Road tripping the Northern Cape : Day 2 : Britstown to Kalahari Trails/Meerkat Sanctuary

I was awake at 4:00 and saw that the previous evening’s clouds had departed. Quickly grabbing my camera, I went outside to photograph the moon.

As the sun was rising, I decided to take a walk to photograph the church in Britstown. It is noticeable that the church buildings seem well maintained in the small towns, even when the rest of the town is in a sad state.

Driving from Britstown, the road led us through Upington and past many small towns and settlements. Along the way, one sees many ruins.

Thanks to a leisurely driving pace and a few stops along the way, we reached our destination at Kalahari Trails/Meerkat Sanctuary quite late in the afternoon. Our rustic, yet adequately equipped, campsite was quiet and peaceful.

We set up camp and settled down for a braai as the sun was setting.

As the moon was rising, I decided to take some more moon photos.

We settled in to our rooftop camp bed early, for a good night’s rest.