Richtersveld - September 2011

A good friend we met on the Liuwa Plains trip, Joker Slabber, told us about a trip he was going to do in the Richtersveld and suggested that we come along. Generous people sometimes invite us to join them. Another friend Brad Hoffman and his son Ryan thought they would join us too on the first part of the trip via Augrabies Falls which we decided to do before the "organised" trip with Rey janse van Rensburg.

First stop was Augrabies Falls where we stayed in one of the lodges in the park.

Thereafter we set off to Klein Pella and along the Namaqua 4x4 route. Recent rains had washed away much of the grass at the camp sites and the invader thorn bushes/trees have almost taken over completely. This is a shame as when we were there there were no nice camp spots near the river. Groot Melkboom had lots of open space but we only stayed there for a short break before moving on. Kamgab was a good memory - the drive down was lovely but the camp site was far nicer in the past. We drove around looking for a camp site and to start with found a spot quite far from the river. Later we moved closer but there was no grass.

The flowers were out and the trip to Springbok where we met the group was pleasant.

We know the Richtersveld quite well but it was interesting to go with a guide.

After the Richtersveld we plodded on alone. The 4x4 route to Skilpad became treacherous and I decided we should turn back as it would involve lots of work if we got jammed in or stuck on the track which had eroded badly in the rain.

Citrusdal and The Baths called strongly and off we went. We were lucky enough to find accommodation there for about four days.

Joker Slabber suggested that we contact Petrus Slabber who we had also met on the Liuwa Plains trip. Petrus did us proud and took us around to some lovely spots in Citrusdal that we would never have found on our own.

After a few more days in Citrusdal we headed for Gamkaskloof - otherwise known as "Die Hel" or "The Hell". We were a little apprehensive as when we stopped and enquired at Prince Albert we were told that the road was very difficult to traverse and accommodation would probably be a problem. Rubbish - the road down was lovely - just very steep and windey close to our final destination. Accommodation was plentiful and after arriving we were told to just go to Oupa Piet Mostert's house and make ourselves comfortable. Our stay there was lovely and we will certainly visit again sometime.

After all this we needed a little break so we decided to visit the Karoo National Park where we were told lions had recently been introduced. There we stayed in one of the lovely chalets. Daily we drove around in search of the elusive lions. While there we met friends and told them to drive on and minutes later they came across the lions that we never saw. Since we were last there a significant route which used to be only for 4x4's has been graded so ordinary vehicles can be driven on it.

After that we drove home - it had been an interesting trip.

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