Sunday 14th April 2013

L:  We were up early in the morning, out of habit, but the girls took longer to persuade out of bed.  Heather had been rather cold at night, but Nicole slept well.  Of course, I managed to find a great sunrise too.

 

 

 

We made coffee and had rusks and had a long walk up to the pools where it was lovely and warm early in the morning.  We came back and had a cooked breakfast, like old times, when we all camped together, though the girls missed the skottel-braai (big gas fryer).

We cleaned up the campsite and set off for a walk around the campsite and up a short trail above the warm pools.  We ended up right at the back of the campsite where there are 3 pools, the two top ones are warm, but the lowest one is pretty chilly.  Steve and I managed to get in and enjoyed a cool swim in the lovely rock pool.  There were other people in the warm pools so we did not want to disturb them. 

 

 

We took quite a few photos of us as a family for the scrapbook and blog.  
 

We set off back down the road to our campsite which is the lowest possible site and Heather spotted a klipspringer buck on one of the rocks.  It was like a statue overlooking the campsite.  We also saw another one later on.

 

After a refreshing drink, we sat around for a while before having to pack up camp and head home.  We had decided to go, as a family, for some sushi in Sea Point on our way home. 
 

We drove back to town, more or less in convoy and arrived in Sea Point where we had a super evening of sushi before returning home and having to unpack.  Steve is still on leave so we can take our time sorting this week.
 

We have had a super trip, and really experienced some unusual places and different experiences.  The eco-trails were lovely and we both thoroughly enjoyed them as well as the Richtersveld. S: We learnt a new expression: ‘Are you bragging or are you nagging’, met some amazing people and as always come back with an appreciation of what we do have.
 

 The best thing about going to remote places is that most of the time there is no MTN coverage so I can lose my phone. I feel that for four weeks of the year I can cut myself off from the world for a while. Most things can wait until I go back to work.  
 

L + S: Now it is on to planning the next trip, and it is going to be a biggie.  Thanks all, for reading about our travels.  Keep well until the next time.  Cheers.

Saturday 13th April 2013

S: This morning was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky and already getting very warm. It had been a little cold during the night, but not as bad as further up the coast.

We were heading inland today and the drive was fairly short. We were going to spend the last night of our trip at The Baths in Citrusdal. Rather than travel to Clanwilliam and experience the road-works between there and Citrusdal, we headed out along the river which feeds the Verlorenvlei, where we had been staying. 

 

 The vlei stretches quite far inland and as we drove along we could see a lot of bird life including a whole lot of pelicans. The road becomes gravel, but we were in no hurry and just idled along enjoying the scenery. The road eventually becomes tar and heads towards Piketberg. We turned off and joined the N7 on Piekeniers Pass.

On the way we had been chatting to our girls and when Heather heard we would be staying at The Baths she said she loved the place and would love to be there. We jokingly said that she must come up for the night and before we knew it everything was arranged and she and Nicole were going to drive up and join us. They must have really missed us while we were away. Heather had had another commitment that evening, which fell through, and Nicole had nothing on so they were excited about their road trip.
 

We had arrived at The Baths without booking and when we got to the gate we were told it was fully booked, but were still allowed to go up to reception to enquire further. We were in a bit of a fix as the girls were on their way and we had no place to stay. Anyway Lesley worked her magic and we were allowed to stay on the overlander campsite which was near the gate. We said that if any overlanders arrived we would make a plan, but luckily, none ever materialised.

 

So we spent a couple of hours soaking in the hot pool waiting for the girls to arrive. We met some old neighbours from when we lived in Lakeside and played catch-up on our lives and also met another couple and their children who were also Capetonians.
 

It seems that The Baths has become a very popular place now with the improved ablutions, electrified sites and restaurant. There was a rugby match on and you could hear the noise from the gate.
 

The girls arrived at about four and after that it was non-stop talk as everyone caught up, regardless of the fact that we had been communicating all the time we were away.  I was also spoiled with birthday presents as I had been away for my birthday and it is better receiving them from the giver even though it was much later.  Thanks girls.  L:  It was lovely to see those smiling faces as they came through the gate, we really missed them.

 

We then spent a long time in the warm baths together, chatting and for them, it was great to warm up as, although the weekend was warm in Cape Town, the weather had become so much chillier than we left 3 weeks ago.

We had told the girls not to worry to bring anything, so we had a braai with meat, sandwiches and salads out of what we had left.   They had brought a lot of fresh fruit and a few treats which was a great addition to our supplies.
 

We were back in the water, late at night and then off to bed.  The girls in the ground tent and us in our rooftop tent. 

Friday 12th April 2013

S:  It was great to sleep in a bit this morning and we were much warmer back in our rooftop tent.

L:  I was excited to get to the bird hide to spend some time looking over the vlei with all the different types of birds so I left while Steve was sorting things out.  We were really upset to see that there had been a fire, quite a while ago, and that the hide was totally non-existent.  The sad thing was that the rubbish left behind was left in the water, with rusty sheets of corrugated iron contaminating the wetlands.

It was a great experience, however, to sit quietly and watch and hear all of the goings on.  I saw an otter, a pelican, flamingoes and a duck that caught a huge fish.  

It was lovely and real noisy with the bird calls as well as all the rustling in the reeds.  We went back later in the afternoon, nearly evening, but the wind was really blowing at the water’s edge so there was not nearly as much action although we did manage to see quite a few pelicans, which are endangered.  There are a lot of different types of ducks here too.

There are also sheep, a donkey and horse and lots of dogs. We had a good laugh at the donkey after we fed it an apple as it jumps up and kicks its hind legs in excitement.

S:  Friday night is pizza night here at Vensterklip so we decided to forego our usual braai and sat in the bar for a drink and a pizza.  They were really fresh with home-grown produce which was a nice change.  We finished our meal with honey liquor Dom Pedros which were really delicious.  We then went back to the campsite to update the blog and pack and sort, ready to leave tomorrow.

We have one last chance to soak in the Citrusdal warm baths before we head home.  L:  We have not booked a camping spot, so I really hope that there will still be space, since it is a weekend.  We can only fit on certain sites with the height of the bakkie and tent on top.

So it is off to bed for us……

Thursday 11th April 2013

L:  That was a freezing cold night.  We were given only a single duvet each, but we took our double bed sleeping bag into the tent with us last night.  We pushed the beds together and tried to keep warm, but the tent that they had given us, did not zip up at the bottom and with a gale force wind blowing, there was no way of keeping warm.

We showered, but also did not have much success there as the showers were gas and the regulator allowed either boiling hot or cold.  We had breakfast and set off on a long drive to Elands Bay.

We drove along the coast and most of it was sand driving which was quite a bit of concentration, but pleasant enough and the views were really great, sea and sand dunes with lots of birds on such a clear day.

Shortly after we had entered the Namaqua Park we saw our first springbok as well as quite a few steenbokkies. 

A little further we were privileged to see not one but two birds of prey, both perched a few telephone poles apart.

S:  We have spent a bit of time along this coast before. There is a ‘main’ sand road and then there are ring roads which you can take to explore closer to the sea amongst the beaches, bays and coves. However as we did not have much time, don’t know why I was rushing this late in our holiday, we stayed on the main road except for a few waypoints we had missed on our last trip which Lesley explains below.

L: Steve had found a place on the GPS that said fountain or spring, but although the section was very green, with reeds, we were not able to see the source of the water. S: There was a second place called ‘Fountain and kraal’ on the T4A (Tracks for Africa) map which we also stopped at. There seemed to be remnants of a wall and a sort of depression in the ground which could have been a spring.

L: Then he surprised me by stopping at the seal colony!!  I have always loved seals, calling them “feddies” as a child, why, I can’t tell you……

We walked on to the beach towards all the seals, scores of them and within a few metres, came across two baby seals basking in the sun.  They never heard us for quite a while so we were able to get really close and then they rolled over, whimpered and clambered up the rocks, with the adult seals calling to them.

That was just the beginning.  Seems a few of the adult seals stay on the beach to look out for the babies while most of the parents are out swimming or doing what seals do.  There were some babies, sleeping on the rocks or playing in pairs and groups while the rest were in the nursery pools, learning how to swim, float and climb in and out of the rock pools.  It was too adorable, I could have spent a full day just watching them and photographing them.  They are the most amazing creatures to watch, so graceful in the water yet still able to climb rocks and scamper along the sand. 

We had time restraints, so reluctantly left the seals and headed off to Groenrivier, where we signed out and headed to the N7 because we were on our way to visit the parents of a friend of ours, in Vredendal.

Just as we were leaving Groenrivier we saw a few emus on a farm next to the road.

Once we had got onto the N7 and after seeing the sign stating that there were roadworks for 87kms and experiencing the first stop-go roadblock, we decided to turn off at Nuwerus and go via Lutzville. We arrived in Vredendal at 3 pm and spent an hour and a half having tea, rusks and cake with a lovely couple.

We refueled, popped in at the Spar for some meat and got back on to the road.  On the way back to Lutzville we passed under the magnificent railway bridge that was built across the valley for the iron ore train that transports iron ore to Saldanha Bay and around the country.

We drove for another 2 hours to Elands Bay along the Spoornet private toll road and although we had to pay R30 for the first part and R25 for the second part, it was well worth it as the gravel road is well graded and comfortable to drive on.  Ha ha, as opposed to all the strange tracks we have been on.

I jumped out of the car as soon as we got to Vensterklip as the sun was setting and I did not want to miss the sunset.  It did not disappoint.

We set up camp, once again, finding that the campsite here has gone down a bit too, with the private toilet and shower room not being in tip top condition as with the under shelter braai area.   A great pity to let things go.

We braaied and went to bed as soon as possible after a long day on the road. 

Wednesday 10th April 2013

L:  It was especially hard to get out of bed and leave our lovely little beach cottage, ha ha.  I must admit, I was surprised that we slept so well, firstly, as it had been really freezing in the lounge area (we suggested later this morning that our hostess provide an oil heater for both her units), and that we had 3 bikers staying in the next-door unit.  Strange how you presume because they are on those noisy things that they will be noisy too.

Steve chatted to them as they were leaving this morning, just ahead of us and found out that they were on a trip around South Africa, starting in George and then ending up back home.  They were leaving for Paternoster this morning, which is quite a far drive.

Well, we packed up and had a bite to eat and left, off on the next part of our adventure, and what an adventure it was!!  Wow, Steve had read up about a 4 by 4 trail, called Buffelsrivier, up the mountain, yes, literally, up the mountain.  The trail was so steep that all our “Moonchies” (little rocks, shell and animals (plastic) that we have collected on our trips, came flying off the dashboard onto our laps.) The gradient was so steep that I, being shorter, could not see the ground, so I closed my eyes and went to a happy place……Only joking, Steve.  I loved it!!!  S:  The start of the track was very difficult to follow as no-one has been on it since the rains of a week ago, so I had to rely on the GPS to find the way.  The track has deteriorated and is now rutted due to erosion by the water, so we were doing a lot of axle-crossovers.  L:  (you mean trying to break the axle.)  

S:  I have a lot of respect for the Colt as it went up like a tractor, low range, first gear and no problem.  The track went over the mountain for a while and we stopped off at farmhouse… (L:  you guessed it) – ruins!!.  L:  It is amazing to think that people went to all the effort to bring up all the necessary materials to build and kit out a home.  A lot of the structure was made from homemade bricks and stones from the mountain, but still, the amount of back and forwarding to go and get supplies is mind-blowing.  I presume that they used donkeys and horses mostly, can’t imagine a truck being able to access the mountain like we did. 

S:  As you can see, we are now heading south and decided to take the country roads to end up in Hondeklip Bay.  After being in the mountains for a while, we eventually came off the mountain into the valleys where the road improved.  We meandered through the valley and there is subsistence farming here and there with little farmhouses made out of corrugated iron, dotted here and there. We startled a bird of prey, which had just caught its quarry which I managed to photograph, not sure what it was.  We seem to have the luck to come upon these birds quite often and it is the second time this week that we have found a bird catching its prey. 

After that the trail eventually ended on the Wildeperd(wild horse) Pass which is in the Namaqua National Park.  We headed down the pass with spectacular views all the way down to the ocean.  It was quite a long, boring drive the rest of the way.  We took a quick detour into Koiingnaas to have a look see.  It is a mining town which is hugely evident by the sight of a massive mountain, that is actually a mine dump.  It is huge.  We only went to the gate and then turned back and headed to Hondeklip Bay.  We had a buck dart in front of the car, but it was so quick that we are not sure what type it was.  There were also a lot of ostriches, horses and cows. 

Nicole had booked for us again at Skulpieskraal tented camp and so we have one of the permanent tents to stay in - first one with a double bed, but alas, the zip broke so they moved us to another, with 2 single beds.  We hope that it will be warmer once all closed up as they provide only 2 single duvets (seasoned campers that we are, we have a sleeping bag accessible without getting any bedding from the rooftop tent). We stayed here about 8 or 9 months ago, but had to pitch the rooftop tent in the car-park as they were so full.  The WIND is most unpleasant at the moment, we sure hope it will drop a bit before bed time, but we have managed to braai and they have a lovely hall which serves as a kitchen so we are happy to sit inside for our supper and typing the blog. 

Before supper we took a drive around and went down to the wreck of the Aristea. It was a fishing vessel converted to a WWII minesweeper and went aground on its way to Port Nolloth in 1945. 

There is another wreck in the bay as well. 

We did learn that the large square derelict building built on rocks in the bay used to be the ice house where ice was pumped to from the shore so that the ships could come alongside and load up before going out to fish. Those days are long gone as I do not think much fishing happens here anymore. Pity really.

By the way, Hondeklip Bay is named after a rock which apparently resembled a dog. Part of the rock has broken off and the rock looks nothing like a dog, whether it did before it broke, who knows. 

Tomorrow we are off to Elands Bay driving part of it along the coast to Groenrivier.

Tuesday 9th April 2013

S:  A really lazy day today. L:  It is called, a duvet day.  S:  It was really misty this morning and did not clear until just after midday. Had to dig out the jeans at last and find my jacket. At about lunch time we jumped into the car and went exploring.

It takes me back driving around Port Nolloth and the surrounds. I was up here in Alexander Bay in 1989 for three weeks as part of a UCT scientific survey to determine the extent of the decimation of the crayfish after the 1986 Orange River floods. The Orange River had come down in flood and the fresh water had been driven south by the current, from Alexander Bay, with the result that the crayfish had died. Our job was to dive out as many crayfish with air tanks as possible and then measure each one. Every couple of days I would drive our catch down to the crayfish factory in Port Nolloth where it was processed. 

Some things change and some things still stay the same. The gravel road between Alexander Bay and Port Nolloth has been replaced by a very good tar road, but the John Ovenstone crayfish factory is still there though it processes very little these days. 

McDougalls Bay was a fisherman’s shanty town in those days with houses made from anything they could find. I seem to remember a bus and a ship’s bridge. I must dig out those photos sometime.

We took a drive around McDougall’s Bay and were fascinated by the diverse building styles and type of building materials. There does not seem to be any building code.

We then popped into a restaurant on Port Nolloth beachfront for lunch. Pizza, double thick milkshake, pita bread and Mississippi mud pie and ice cream. Yum. 

We also took a walk along the beach to get rid of the few kilos from lunch. I picked up some black stones that look like larva, except these are round.

On the way back to the cottage we noticed some strange boundary walls around what appeared to be a development of some sort. However, the walls were more artistic than functional. We managed to find the entrance of the development and it is called Kai Kai. We went into the sales office and chatted to the staff. They told us the development was started in 2008 and so far 65 plots have been sold but only 4 houses have been built. You can find out more about the development at www.kaikai.co.za.  L:  The locals have built some of the walls and fashioned their own bricks.  They have put up all their names, working them into the walls and bricks.  There are 1 500 names of the locals displayed so far which they are very proud of.

S:  Then it was back to our cottage to start packing again for the next part of our journey south. Hondeklip Bay, I think.

L:  We did not bother to make anything for supper as we both had left-overs from lunch and full tummies.

I will miss “Dis Al” meaning “that’s all” as it pretty much has everything and the most amazing sea view (which was blocked for a few hours this morning with the sea mist hanging around for so long.)

It is the first time that Steve has put a t-shirt on and has earned himself quite a tan by now.  My left arm is well tanned as the sun beams in on me while we are driving.  We have had temperatures averaging in the 40’s (Celcius) all the time, but today, being closer to home, for the first time the temp is below 20.  Back home and into winter for us, soon.

Monday 8th April 2013

Today is our last day in the Richtersveld Park. We were up rather early as the clerk at the park’s main gate had told us that travelling time from our campsite to the exit gate would take 4 hours. Then it would be another 2 hours to Port Nolloth.

It was nice leaving so early in the cool of the morning. The sun was still low and you could see the mountains in a new light. It was quite easy going for the first bit and we saw a lone baboon on our way out. Lesley seems to think that there was a baboon doing walkabout round our car last night, but as we pack everything away each night there was nothing for it to pinch.  L:  Yeah, something was making a snuffling noise, and it wasn’t you.  Also, there were very small and greasy hand prints and nose prints……

S:  We retraced our path until we got to the exit road and eventually got onto a large plain where the going was also easy. About 30 – 40 km/h. We were making good time and I wondered where the 4 hours came in.

We had stopped when a large bird swooped across in front of the car and grabbed what, I think, was a mouse. (We had seen a few of these around).  It then flew off and landed a short way off to devour its prey. We tried to get a good photo to identify the bird, but it proved very elusive. Anyway, it was a rather exciting thing to happen on our last day.

Then we started to get into the hills and mountains and we realised why it was going to take a long time to get out. It was really slow going over the bad roads, but boy, was it fun!  We were trundling along at 10-20 km/h for ages. I just love doing these trails, but it requires a lot of concentration. L: And hanging on to the steering-wheel, especially in the sand-tracks where the cars pulls you into the deepest sections, leaving you with sore hands afterwards.

S:  Near the end, we came around a bend and the mountainside was covered in red plants. It was such a contrast to what we had seen before. 

Then it was through another dry river bed and out the other side to end at the check point again where we handed in our exit permit. I also pumped up the tyres a bit to 2 bar as we had had them at 1.6 bar for the roads in the park. I still wanted to keep them a bit soft as there was still more gravel road to drive.

Then it was off to Alexander Bay, with a quick stop to check out some strange things decorating a B&B. L:  A bit of entertainment on an otherwise dull stretch of road. 

S:  We also got Nicole, our daughter, to see if she could find us some accommodation in Port Nolloth or nearby, McDougall’s Bay. We were hungry and decided to stop in Alex Bay for food and supplies. What a mission to find a shop. The one and only is a Sentra and it is in a centre with no signage. There was not much available, but we did get some tinned salmon and rolls for lunch. It was rather nice mixed with mayo and onions. The only fruit worth buying was bananas and we bought a bunch. Yummy. We stocked up on a bit of other tins and dry goods and hoped we could get some better supplies in Port Nolloth.

The Spar in Port Nolloth was magnificent. It was clean and bright and best of all it had just about everything we needed including fresh vegetables and fruit, as well as meat. 

Nicole had organised us a place called Dis Al! There are two semi-detached cottages and the place is still new. It has everything you need and is really nicely decorated with a rowing boat in the front yard separating the two units. It even has two potjie pots under the counter. It also has an uninterrupted view of the sea at the moment. This might not always be so as there are a lot of plots for sale around here.

We opted to go to the hotel for supper. I still had not been out for my birthday dinner yet and this was my chance. It was a bit embarrassing as I could not finish my food. I think my stomach has shrunk. No worries … the calamari tasted just as good for brunch the next day.

L:  It is always a treat to stay in a cottage after camping for so long as we can sort things properly and tidy out the car and do whatever washing is needed.  We have two nights here to be able to see what Port Nolloth has going on……