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ariëlle Renssen

Mariëlle Renssen

I S BN 978-1-77026-418-2

9 7 8 1 7 7 0 2 6 4 1 8 2MAC/CPT/0912/TG/NB/GH

ANY COMMENTS research@mapstudio.co.za

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR UPDATES, DOWNLOADS, MAPS, CATALOGUES & SPECIALSMapStudio™ and the MapStudio™ device are trademarked to New Holland Publishing (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd1st edition © MapStudio™ 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the Copyright owner.

More Back-RoadMore Back-Road

4X4 TRIPS4X4 TRIPSThis book is for all you travellers out there who:

t Have discovered that your 4x4 actually likes the feel of dirt between its tyres

t Feel that you need a greater challenge than parking your 4x4 on Sandton or Century City’s pavements

t Like us - still don’t ‘do’ camping

t Have realised that off-road travelling can come with a fridge, hot shower and flushing loo

t Are not Rambos but do enjoy getting off the tar and exploring the back roads

t Have realised that you don’t need to call the AA to change a tyre

t Are so bitten by the back-roads bug that zero cellphone reception or wi-fi doesn’t matter anymore

t No longer believe that Cape Town, Mauritius or Sun City is the ultimate travel destination

t Are still armchair travellers but love reading about those who aren’t

Koua

ms

Kook

Abiekwa

Annis

Holgat

Groen

Orang

e

Kamma

Kosies

Aribes

Doring

Stry

Skaap

Buffels

Swartlintjies

Brak

Buffels

Orange

Orange

Orange

KA

MI E

SB

ER

G

NA

MA

QU

AL

AN

D

RI

CH

TE

RS

VE

LD

N7

R355

R382

N7

N14

N14

R358

R358

R358R355

R355

Wildeperdehoek Pass

Wondergat Entrance

Richtersveld Transfrontier Park Entrance

Hakkiesdoring Camp

Gannakouriep Wilderness Camp

SpringbokvlakteDie Toon

Tatasberg Wilderness Camp

Tatasberg Viewpoint

Maer Poort

De Hoop Camp SiteAkkedis Pass

Potjiespram Camp Site

Aquacade Camp

Klein Pella Guesthouse

Sendelingsdrif Camp

Namakwa Eco Trail

Skilpad Rest Camp

Hand of God

Kokerboomkloof Camp Site

HelskloofPass

SpektakelPass

NamaquaNational Park

GoegapNatureReserve

|Ai-|Ais/RichtersveldTransfrontier Park

SkilpadWildflower

Reserve

Sendelingsdrif

Kuboes

Eksteenfontein

Kotzehoop

Lekkersing

Bulletrap

Nigramoep

Okiep

Mesklip

Kommaggas

Grootmis

Soebatsfontein

Kamassies

Rooifontein

Gamoep

Pella

NamiesBloemhoek

Aggeneys

Uitkyk

Dabenoris

Goodhouse

Vioolsdrif

Port Nolloth

Steinkopf

Kleinsee

Kamieskroon

Onseepkans

Pofadder

Nababeep

Springbok

31°12’11.64”S17°56’02.58”E

30°09’28.25”S17°48’35.07”E30°07’05.70”S

17°35’31.14”E

29°46’03.54”S17°50’06.06”E

29°39’51.30”S17°53’15.06”E

29°18’16.20”S17°10’08.04”E

29°32’13.68”S17°23’04.38”E

29°18’34.68”S17°03’54.78”E

29°00’13.44”S17°05’34.68”E

28°30’51.71”S16°55’53.17”E

28°07’25.56”S16°53’28.32”E 28°11’01.32”S

17°10’41.16”E

28°14’56.10”S17°14’47.76”E

28°20’49.68”S17°19’26.94”E

28°23’44.86”S17°09’18.39”E

28°25’20.28”S16°53’28.62”E

28°49’26.04”S17°15’15.48”E

28°41’47.58”S17°35’03.48”E

28°46’07.68”S17°37’27.66”E

29°01’27.78”S17°49’54.48”E

29°04’43.49”S17°54’16.64”E

29°04’21.13”S17°57’52.39”E

28°59’01.61”S18°13’25.24”E

29°02’53.83”S18°54’07.42”E

29°00’19.32”S19°00’37.86”E

29°01’58.26”S19°09’13.56”E

29°08’15.72”S19°09’08.22”E

29°07’44.34”S19°23’35.76”E

0 50 km 25

N

NAMIBIA

NAMIBIA

ATLANTIC OCEAN

DETAILED ROUTE

MAPS WITH GPS

POINTS AND

HIGHLIGHTED ROUTE

INCLUDES

GPS TRACKS,

MAPS & TOURISM

CONTACTS

Download GPS tracks for this book using the QR code below

More Back-Road

MARIËLLE RENSSEN

4X4 TRIPS

First edition published in 2012

by MapStudio™ South Africa

ISBN 978-1-77026-418-2 (Print)

ISBN 978-1-77026-416-8 (ePub)

ISBN 978-1-77026-417-5 (PDF)

Production Manager John Loubser

Project Manager Genené Hart

Editor Thea Grobbelaar

Designer Nicole Bannister

Cartographer Genené Hart

Digital Compiler Anthony Davids

Proofreader Roelien Theron

Reproduction Resolution Colours (Pty) Ltd, Cape Town

Marketing marketing@mapstudio.co.za

Feedback research@mapstudio.co.za

Terrain background for maps kindly supplied by the

Peace Parks Foundation

Photo credits © 2012 All images Hirsh Aronowitz

and Keith Titley

Printed and bound by CTP Book Printers,

Cape Town, South Africa

MapStudio™

Wembley Square, First Floor,

Solan Road, Cape Town

PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000

Tel: 0860 10 50 50

www.mapstudio.co.za

Text © 2012 Mariëlle Renssen

Maps © 2012 MapStudio™

© MapStudio™ 2012

The information contained herein is derived from a variety of sources. While every effort has been made to verify the information contained in such sources, the publisher assumes no responsibility

for inconsistencies or inaccuracies in the data nor liability for any damages of any type arising from errors or omissions. Reproduction or recording of

any maps, text, photographs, illustrations, or other material contained in this publication in any manner including, without limitation,

by photocopying and electronic storage and retrieval, is prohibited.

QUICKFINDER|Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park 46Addo Elephant NP 12Addo town 7Afsaal EcoTrail 38Akkedis Pass 48Bakkers Pass 81Barkly Pass 91Barra Peninsula 147Bastervoetpad Pass 91Beaufort West 34Bedrogfontein 4x4 Trail 10Berlin Falls 66Bourke’s Luck Potholes 66Brandvlei 33Calitzdorp 28Calvinia 33Camdeboo NP 20Caracal Ecotrail 44Carlisleshoek Pass 93Carnarvon 34Chidenguele 140Eastern Cape 84Eksteenfontein 53Elandshoogte Pass 92Gannaga Pass 31God’s Window 66Graaff-Reinet 18Graskop 62Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park 139Helskloof Pass 54Inhassoro 145Izintaba Private Game Reserve 79Jouberts’ Pass 88Juriesdam 4x4 Trail 18Kamieskroon 44Karoo NP 24Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 108Komsberg Pass 30Kraai River Pass 89Kruger NP 122Lady Grey 88Lesotho 96Lisbon Falls 66Loeriesfontein 33Louis Trichardt (Makhado) 72Loxton 34Lundean’s Nek 95Mac Mac Falls 66Mac Mac Forest Retreat 62

Mac Mac Summit Route 64Maletsunyane Falls 105Mapungubwe Cultural Tour 76Mapungubwe NP 72Marakele NP 80Massingir Dam 138Mbombela 62Mokala NP 83Motlatse Canyon Panorama Route 58Mountain Zebra NP 18Mozambique 134Namakwa Eco Trail 57Namaqua NP 44Naudé’s Nek 92Nieu-Bethesda 19Noorspoort Pass 21Nuweveld EcoTrail 38Otto du Plessis Pass 90Ouberg Pass 30Oudeberg Pass 21Pilgrim’s Rest 65Pofadder 57Pomene 143Potlekkertjie Loop 36Potrivier Pass 92Rhodes 93Rooinek Pass 29Sendelingsdrif 46Seweweekspoort 28Soebatsfontein 4x4 Route 45Somerset East 17Sonnenrust 4x4 Trail 19Springbok 45Steytlerville 22Sundowner Route 106Sutherland 28Swaershoek Pass 16Tankwa Karoo NP 28Tofo 140Tshugulu Eco Trail 77Vilanculos 145Vioolsdrif 55Volunteershoek Pass 94Wartrail Valley 94Waterberg Meander 80Wepener 107Wildeperdehoek Pass 45Willowmore 22Zastron 100Zuurberg Pass 16

2

“VISION – Peace Parks Foundation envisages the establishment of a network of protected areas that links ecosystems across international borders. Given the proximity of the region’s protected areas to each other, the possibility exists to create wildlife dispersal routes between them or in certain

instances link them. MISSION – Peace Parks Foundation facilitates the establishment of transfrontier conservation areas (peace parks)* and develops human resources, thereby supporting sustainable economic development, the conservation of biodiversity and regional peace and stability. Our GIS

Programme now in its 10th year has offered mapped visual support to the various countries and agencies’ planning, decision making and management structures across the full network of these southern African protected areas. Please visit www.peaceparks.org for more detailed information”

24

Tankwa Karoo NP, Karoo NP Linear trip 1171kmstarting Oudtshoorn,

ending Beaufort West

25

more information: Plan Your Trip Info: page 39

Tourist Resources: pages 158–160

maps: This Route’s Map: pages 26–27

Also in Road Atlas Section: pages 150–156

Linear trip 1171kmstarting Oudtshoorn,

ending Beaufort West

Getting there (Oudtshoorn)From Johannesburg: N1 or N12 to Beaufort West,

N12 to Oudtshoorn

From Durban: N2 to George, N12 to Oudtshoorn

From Port Elizabeth: N2 to George, N12 to

Oudtshoorn

From Cape Town: N2 to George, N12 to Oudtshoorn

Trip summaryFeatures: Karoo contrasts – flat plains and

spring flowers vs. towering mountain cliffs, off-

road trail-driving, corbelled houses

Trip duration: 5 days, 1171km

Time of year: End of September (spring)

Linear trip: Oudtshoorn to Beaufort West

Road conditions: Grades 1 and 2 4x4 routes: em-

bedded rock, loose stones, sand stretches, steep

ascents/descents, dry river crossings

What’s so special about this route? tGetting under South Africa’s skin via back roads

t A slew of gently challenging scenic 4x4 trails

t Feeling like a Voortrekker in a corbelled house

tKaroo NP – rocky, mountainous and mightily

marvellous

Groot

Sand

Gam

ka

Olifants

Amos

Sak

Dwyka

Sout

Groen

Krom

Klein Doring

OorlogskloofRenoster

Doring

Tankwa

Doring

Leeu

R O G G E V E L D

MO

UN

T AI N

S

H A N T A M MO U N

T AI N

S

G R O O T S W A R T B E R G M O U N T A I N S

N1

N7

R355

R303

R44

R46

N1

R364

R27

R27

R355

R357

R355

R353

R63

R354

R356

R354

R63

R357

R361

R63

R63

R403

N12

N10

R308

N1

N1

N1

R353

R61

R306

N12

N9

R407

R62

R381

Seweweekspoort Pass

Old Tollhouse

Sutherland Detour

Komsberg Pass

Tankwa NationalPark Entrance

Paulshoek Cottage

Tankwa NationalPark Reception

Windpomp Restaurant

Osfontein FarmOsfontein Farm Turn

Embizweni Trail Cottage

Karoo National ParkReception Karoo National Park

Entrance

Rooinek Pass

Gannaga Pass

Huisrivier Pass

OubergPass

Corbelled House

Outdoor WindPump Museum

SwartbergNature Reserve

SwartbergNature Reserve

KarooNational Park

Tankwa KarooNational Park

CederbergWilderness

Area

GrootwinterhoekWilderness Area

Klaarstroom

Zaaimansdal

KommandokraalSeekoegat

Wiegnaarspoort

Restvale

Three Sisters

Wagenaarskraal

Hillcrest

Rosedene

Renosterkop

Letjiesbos

Brandkop

Grootdrif

Kootjieskolk

Sakrivier

Tontelbos

Doringbos Die Bos

Cederberg

Tweefontein

Middelpos

Bo-Wadrif

Hilandale

HottentotskloofGouda

Soetendal

Avondrust

Tweeside

Matjiesfontein

Kareevlakte

GrootkraalKruisrivier

Groenfontein

Matjiesvlei

Prince Albert RoadDwyka

Koup

Prince Albert

Kruidfontein

Leeu Gamka

Hondefontein

Saaifontein

Sterling

Giesenkraal

Pampoenpoort

Meltonwold

Verster

Rouxpos

Zoar

Vleiland

Dysselsdorp

De Rust

Uniondale

Rietbron

Loeriesfontein

Nieuwoudtville

Brandvlei

Williston

Uitspankraal

Wuppertal

Clanwilliam

Citrusdal

Sutherland

Prince Alfred Hamlet

Porterville

De Doorns

Laingsburg

Ladismith

Merweville

Fraserburg

Loxton

Van Wyksvlei

Vosburg

Victoria West

Hutchinson

Calitzdorp

Calvinia

Ceres Touws River

Carnarvon

Oudtshoorn

Beaufort West

33°35’33.68”S22°12’08.89”E33°35’33.68”S22°12’08.89”E

33°28’50.09”S21°27’34.20”E

33°31’49.37”S21°41’19.00”E

33°21’42.84”S21°24’38.99”E33°22’25.88”S

21°10’00.65”E

33°22’50.63”S21°00’24.26”E

33°11’47.94”S20°51’30.64”E

33°04’33.82”S20°35’38.94”E

32°56’56.51”S20°33’00.36”E

32°32’40.53”S20°39’18.30”E

32°23’39.12”S20°39’41.72”E

32°25’07.42”S19°59’44.16”E

32°14’28.64”S20°05’45.17”E

32°16’30.68”S20°06’39.46”E

31°54’22.10”S20°13’51.71”E

31°28’03.00”S19°46’27.23”E

30°57’14.40”S19°26’51.83”E

30°27’57.46”S20°28’46.20”E

30°21’51.73”S21°49’09.01”E

30°58’05.70”S22°07’29.71”E

31°14’08.34”S22°16’21.14”E

31°28’32.99”S22°21’10.30”E

32°20’34.48”S22°34’55.38”E

32°19’59.66”S22°29’33.36”E

0 80 km 40

N

Groot

Sand

Gam

ka

Olifants

Amos

Sak

Dwyka

Sout

Groen

Krom

Klein Doring

OorlogskloofRenoster

Doring

Tankwa

Doring

Leeu

R O G G E V E L D

MO

UN

T AI N

S

H A N T A M MO U N

T AI N

S

G R O O T S W A R T B E R G M O U N T A I N S

N1

N7

R355

R303

R44

R46

N1

R364

R27

R27

R355

R357

R355

R353

R63

R354

R356

R354

R63

R357

R361

R63

R63

R403

N12

N10

R308

N1

N1

N1

R353

R61

R306

N12

N9

R407

R62

R381

Seweweekspoort Pass

Old Tollhouse

Sutherland Detour

Komsberg Pass

Tankwa NationalPark Entrance

Paulshoek Cottage

Tankwa NationalPark Reception

Windpomp Restaurant

Osfontein FarmOsfontein Farm Turn

Embizweni Trail Cottage

Karoo National ParkReception Karoo National Park

Entrance

Rooinek Pass

Gannaga Pass

Huisrivier Pass

OubergPass

Corbelled House

Outdoor WindPump Museum

SwartbergNature Reserve

SwartbergNature Reserve

KarooNational Park

Tankwa KarooNational Park

CederbergWilderness

Area

GrootwinterhoekWilderness Area

Klaarstroom

Zaaimansdal

KommandokraalSeekoegat

Wiegnaarspoort

Restvale

Three Sisters

Wagenaarskraal

Hillcrest

Rosedene

Renosterkop

Letjiesbos

Brandkop

Grootdrif

Kootjieskolk

Sakrivier

Tontelbos

Doringbos Die Bos

Cederberg

Tweefontein

Middelpos

Bo-Wadrif

Hilandale

HottentotskloofGouda

Soetendal

Avondrust

Tweeside

Matjiesfontein

Kareevlakte

GrootkraalKruisrivier

Groenfontein

Matjiesvlei

Prince Albert RoadDwyka

Koup

Prince Albert

Kruidfontein

Leeu Gamka

Hondefontein

Saaifontein

Sterling

Giesenkraal

Pampoenpoort

Meltonwold

Verster

Rouxpos

Zoar

Vleiland

Dysselsdorp

De Rust

Uniondale

Rietbron

Loeriesfontein

Nieuwoudtville

Brandvlei

Williston

Uitspankraal

Wuppertal

Clanwilliam

Citrusdal

Sutherland

Prince Alfred Hamlet

Porterville

De Doorns

Laingsburg

Ladismith

Merweville

Fraserburg

Loxton

Van Wyksvlei

Vosburg

Victoria West

Hutchinson

Calitzdorp

Calvinia

Ceres Touws River

Carnarvon

Oudtshoorn

Beaufort West

33°35’33.68”S22°12’08.89”E33°35’33.68”S22°12’08.89”E

33°28’50.09”S21°27’34.20”E

33°31’49.37”S21°41’19.00”E

33°21’42.84”S21°24’38.99”E33°22’25.88”S

21°10’00.65”E

33°22’50.63”S21°00’24.26”E

33°11’47.94”S20°51’30.64”E

33°04’33.82”S20°35’38.94”E

32°56’56.51”S20°33’00.36”E

32°32’40.53”S20°39’18.30”E

32°23’39.12”S20°39’41.72”E

32°25’07.42”S19°59’44.16”E

32°14’28.64”S20°05’45.17”E

32°16’30.68”S20°06’39.46”E

31°54’22.10”S20°13’51.71”E

31°28’03.00”S19°46’27.23”E

30°57’14.40”S19°26’51.83”E

30°27’57.46”S20°28’46.20”E

30°21’51.73”S21°49’09.01”E

30°58’05.70”S22°07’29.71”E

31°14’08.34”S22°16’21.14”E

31°28’32.99”S22°21’10.30”E

32°20’34.48”S22°34’55.38”E

32°19’59.66”S22°29’33.36”E

0 80 km 40

N

Tank

wa K

aroo

NP,

Karo

o NP

26

27

Groot

Sand

Gam

ka

Olifants

Amos

Sak

Dwyka

Sout

Groen

Krom

Klein Doring

OorlogskloofRenoster

Doring

Tankwa

Doring

Leeu

R O G G E V E L D

MO

UN

T AI N

S

H A N T A M MO U N

T AI N

S

G R O O T S W A R T B E R G M O U N T A I N S

N1

N7

R355

R303

R44

R46

N1

R364

R27

R27

R355

R357

R355

R353

R63

R354

R356

R354

R63

R357

R361

R63

R63

R403

N12

N10

R308

N1

N1

N1

R353

R61

R306

N12

N9

R407

R62

R381

Seweweekspoort Pass

Old Tollhouse

Sutherland Detour

Komsberg Pass

Tankwa NationalPark Entrance

Paulshoek Cottage

Tankwa NationalPark Reception

Windpomp Restaurant

Osfontein FarmOsfontein Farm Turn

Embizweni Trail Cottage

Karoo National ParkReception Karoo National Park

Entrance

Rooinek Pass

Gannaga Pass

Huisrivier Pass

OubergPass

Corbelled House

Outdoor WindPump Museum

SwartbergNature Reserve

SwartbergNature Reserve

KarooNational Park

Tankwa KarooNational Park

CederbergWilderness

Area

GrootwinterhoekWilderness Area

Klaarstroom

Zaaimansdal

KommandokraalSeekoegat

Wiegnaarspoort

Restvale

Three Sisters

Wagenaarskraal

Hillcrest

Rosedene

Renosterkop

Letjiesbos

Brandkop

Grootdrif

Kootjieskolk

Sakrivier

Tontelbos

Doringbos Die Bos

Cederberg

Tweefontein

Middelpos

Bo-Wadrif

Hilandale

HottentotskloofGouda

Soetendal

Avondrust

Tweeside

Matjiesfontein

Kareevlakte

GrootkraalKruisrivier

Groenfontein

Matjiesvlei

Prince Albert RoadDwyka

Koup

Prince Albert

Kruidfontein

Leeu Gamka

Hondefontein

Saaifontein

Sterling

Giesenkraal

Pampoenpoort

Meltonwold

Verster

Rouxpos

Zoar

Vleiland

Dysselsdorp

De Rust

Uniondale

Rietbron

Loeriesfontein

Nieuwoudtville

Brandvlei

Williston

Uitspankraal

Wuppertal

Clanwilliam

Citrusdal

Sutherland

Prince Alfred Hamlet

Porterville

De Doorns

Laingsburg

Ladismith

Merweville

Fraserburg

Loxton

Van Wyksvlei

Vosburg

Victoria West

Hutchinson

Calitzdorp

Calvinia

Ceres Touws River

Carnarvon

Oudtshoorn

Beaufort West

33°35’33.68”S22°12’08.89”E33°35’33.68”S22°12’08.89”E

33°28’50.09”S21°27’34.20”E

33°31’49.37”S21°41’19.00”E

33°21’42.84”S21°24’38.99”E33°22’25.88”S

21°10’00.65”E

33°22’50.63”S21°00’24.26”E

33°11’47.94”S20°51’30.64”E

33°04’33.82”S20°35’38.94”E

32°56’56.51”S20°33’00.36”E

32°32’40.53”S20°39’18.30”E

32°23’39.12”S20°39’41.72”E

32°25’07.42”S19°59’44.16”E

32°14’28.64”S20°05’45.17”E

32°16’30.68”S20°06’39.46”E

31°54’22.10”S20°13’51.71”E

31°28’03.00”S19°46’27.23”E

30°57’14.40”S19°26’51.83”E

30°27’57.46”S20°28’46.20”E

30°21’51.73”S21°49’09.01”E

30°58’05.70”S22°07’29.71”E

31°14’08.34”S22°16’21.14”E

31°28’32.99”S22°21’10.30”E

32°20’34.48”S22°34’55.38”E

32°19’59.66”S22°29’33.36”E

0 80 km 40

N

Groot

Sand

Gam

ka

Olifants

Amos

Sak

Dwyka

Sout

Groen

Krom

Klein Doring

OorlogskloofRenoster

Doring

Tankwa

Doring

Leeu

R O G G E V E L D

MO

UN

T AI N

S

H A N T A M MO U N

T AI N

S

G R O O T S W A R T B E R G M O U N T A I N S

N1

N7

R355

R303

R44

R46

N1

R364

R27

R27

R355

R357

R355

R353

R63

R354

R356

R354

R63

R357

R361

R63

R63

R403

N12

N10

R308

N1

N1

N1

R353

R61

R306

N12

N9

R407

R62

R381

Seweweekspoort Pass

Old Tollhouse

Sutherland Detour

Komsberg Pass

Tankwa NationalPark Entrance

Paulshoek Cottage

Tankwa NationalPark Reception

Windpomp Restaurant

Osfontein FarmOsfontein Farm Turn

Embizweni Trail Cottage

Karoo National ParkReception Karoo National Park

Entrance

Rooinek Pass

Gannaga Pass

Huisrivier Pass

OubergPass

Corbelled House

Outdoor WindPump Museum

SwartbergNature Reserve

SwartbergNature Reserve

KarooNational Park

Tankwa KarooNational Park

CederbergWilderness

Area

GrootwinterhoekWilderness Area

Klaarstroom

Zaaimansdal

KommandokraalSeekoegat

Wiegnaarspoort

Restvale

Three Sisters

Wagenaarskraal

Hillcrest

Rosedene

Renosterkop

Letjiesbos

Brandkop

Grootdrif

Kootjieskolk

Sakrivier

Tontelbos

Doringbos Die Bos

Cederberg

Tweefontein

Middelpos

Bo-Wadrif

Hilandale

HottentotskloofGouda

Soetendal

Avondrust

Tweeside

Matjiesfontein

Kareevlakte

GrootkraalKruisrivier

Groenfontein

Matjiesvlei

Prince Albert RoadDwyka

Koup

Prince Albert

Kruidfontein

Leeu Gamka

Hondefontein

Saaifontein

Sterling

Giesenkraal

Pampoenpoort

Meltonwold

Verster

Rouxpos

Zoar

Vleiland

Dysselsdorp

De Rust

Uniondale

Rietbron

Loeriesfontein

Nieuwoudtville

Brandvlei

Williston

Uitspankraal

Wuppertal

Clanwilliam

Citrusdal

Sutherland

Prince Alfred Hamlet

Porterville

De Doorns

Laingsburg

Ladismith

Merweville

Fraserburg

Loxton

Van Wyksvlei

Vosburg

Victoria West

Hutchinson

Calitzdorp

Calvinia

Ceres Touws River

Carnarvon

Oudtshoorn

Beaufort West

33°35’33.68”S22°12’08.89”E33°35’33.68”S22°12’08.89”E

33°28’50.09”S21°27’34.20”E

33°31’49.37”S21°41’19.00”E

33°21’42.84”S21°24’38.99”E33°22’25.88”S

21°10’00.65”E

33°22’50.63”S21°00’24.26”E

33°11’47.94”S20°51’30.64”E

33°04’33.82”S20°35’38.94”E

32°56’56.51”S20°33’00.36”E

32°32’40.53”S20°39’18.30”E

32°23’39.12”S20°39’41.72”E

32°25’07.42”S19°59’44.16”E

32°14’28.64”S20°05’45.17”E

32°16’30.68”S20°06’39.46”E

31°54’22.10”S20°13’51.71”E

31°28’03.00”S19°46’27.23”E

30°57’14.40”S19°26’51.83”E

30°27’57.46”S20°28’46.20”E

30°21’51.73”S21°49’09.01”E

30°58’05.70”S22°07’29.71”E

31°14’08.34”S22°16’21.14”E

31°28’32.99”S22°21’10.30”E

32°20’34.48”S22°34’55.38”E

32°19’59.66”S22°29’33.36”E

0 80 km 40

N

See Key to MapS on page 160

28

DAY 1Oudtshoorn via Seweweekspoort and Sutherland to Tankwa Karoo NP (422km) Leg time without stops: 7 hours

Even though we were at the trailing end of spring, all roads leading to Oudtshoorn were flower-bedecked: shocking-pink mesembryanthemums, papery everlastings, yellow button- heads and kouterbossie (Klaas Louwbos). The fynbos was bristling prettily. Showiest of all were the Chinese lantern bushes, laden with baby-pink inflated capsules. Driving through Oudtshoorn, with its gabled and zinc-roofed Victorian houses built of sandstone, we knew we were in ostrich palace territory. The ostrich farm signs confirmed it. So did the ostriches.

Leave OudtshOOrn On r62 tO CaLitzdOrp, fOr 50km

We headed into the flat, scrubby Karoo landscape – but this time, instead of grey, it was all pinks 3 and sunshine-yellows, helped by yellow pomegranate bushes and crops of canola and lucerne. We were driving towards the big, layered Groot Swartberg Mountains, Calitz-dorp nestled at their feet. And what fun it was passing through the town (it’s on Route 62, so quirkiness 2 prevails). Outside a row of general

dealer stores, a female mannequin in a bike helmet and long shirt (and not much else) was sitting astride a vintage scrambler advertising a local pub; a rusty old bicycle hung on the outside wall of the Anna Sophia shop and accommodation complex, while little cutout figures skipped along the rooftop; and there were Victorian cottages with verandahs, art galleries and coffee shops.

The Huisrivier Pass gave us entry into the lower foothills of the Swartberg, intensely green with fleshy, shiny spekboom. Then we were rising and dropping in the belly of the hills where Cape Fold strata were tilted and scrunched in brick-red layers. At times, they were green-carpeted, at others, scoured and bare. We threaded through the interlocking mountains. A tiny flat-roofed dwelling was dwarfed by the rocky ramparts.

drive tO zOar fOr 27km, right OntO graveL thrOugh seweweekspOOrt fOr 21km

The purple blossoms of the keur-boom were everywhere, the air fragrant with a honeyed scent. And then, great wings outstretched above us, there was our first Jackal Buzzard. It settled, right on cue, on a telephone pole, allowing us to ogle it through our binoculars. Then we entered the huge rock portals

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2

3

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of Seweweekspoort, shattered rock walls leaning askew. The character-istic vertical spines of the Swartberg were here, raked back like an open fan. Rigid rock slabs, impossibly curved by tectonic pressure, tilted into the air like gangplanks. Yet, mountain cabbages and coral and bitter aloes, with thickly seeded heads, survived in this territory, clawing to the unforgiving rock. Every corner we turned in this mountain maze offered a new vista: interlocking spurs of quartzitic sandstone; upended layers; and buckled and bent rock sandwiches, shattered through. In the grandeur of our surroundings, our white vehicles were reduced to scuttling woolly mites. 1 At times, rocks seemed dangerously balanced but were, in fact, perfectly weighted according to the laws of gravity and nature.

This was the setting in which we drank our first cup of coffee … surrounded by a proliferation of yellow tick-berry bushes, while dassies scampered over the rocks. Of course, once we were on our way again, the perfect picnic perch offered itself: a cave hollowed out of the mountain face with a little wood-and-thatch shelter nearby (33°23’52.32”S, 21°23’57.24”E). There would just have to be a next time.

We popped out of the pass at 1000m, all declaring unanimously that Seweweekspoort is just as dramatic – if not more so – as the Swartberg Pass.

exit pOOrt; turn Left at OLd tOLLhOuse, tOwards vLeiLand fOr 24km

It was such a joy taking the back roads (our intention on this trip). The scenery constantly surprised us: we had the Lower Swartberg behind us, the Rooiberg flanking left and the Witteberge ahead on the horizon. 5

Other than the rolling, stone scrub- land, mountain slopes went from grey-white scree to stony to green and shadowed. A profusion of grey-leaved cancer bushes 4 were burst-ing with bright-red flowers and big

shiny bladder-like pods. A Jackal Buzzard hovering over the brush

suddenly dived, then planed up again past us, its chestnut breast clearly visible. A little Rock Kestrel flitted off across the scrub.

We were now in the midst of the mountains and their structure had visibly changed. The strata were much finer, layered like phyllo pastry and moulded into Gothic-style arches. At other times they rippled in wavy lines or chevron designs. Then we were in a valley with 360º views of pointy meringue-like peaks covered in green icing.

As we passed a farm, a dog be-hind a fenced enclosure, wet tongue flailing, raced us at such high speed that Hirsh remarked, ‘Hope he knows there’s a fence at the end.’

at vLeiLand, Left OntO graveL, thrOugh

rOuxpOs fOr 10km

This was a little back-road detour, just to make sure we could really taste the dust in our mouths. Still in the hills, our 4x4s crossed a valley of grapevines and fruit trees, spring flowers dancing alongside us. The gravel road filed into a horizon of blue mountains jostling with one another for space.

9km tO CattLe-grid, turn immediateLy Left (rOOinek pass) tO Laingsburg fOr 32km

Gravel gave way to tar as we tra-versed the Rooinek Pass, the rocky road cuttings and scree slopes as russet as their name implied. In the Buffelsrivier valley, the land flattened out into a traditional Karooscape.

In Laingsburg the boys refilled the vehicles, while I was charmed by a bakkie-load of the prettiest little girls, all braids and pigtails and toothless smiles, shrieking over the iciness of their soft-serve cones. With a grin the adult male in charge assured me they weren’t all his.

... 360º views of pointy meringue-like peaks covered

in green icing

Plant life Pink mesembryanthemums (Drosanthemum hispidum; D. eburneum)

Chinese lantern (Nymania capensis)

Kouterbossie/Common Klaas Louwbos (Athanasia trifurcata)

Geelpleisterbos/Yellow healing-bush (Hermannia cuneifolia)

Yellow pomegranate (Rhigozum obovatum)

Tick-berry bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera)

Cancer bush (Sutherlandia frutescens) 4

Poison bulb (Moraea miniata)

Kapokbos (Eriocephalus sp.)

Kraalbos (Galenia africana)

Yellow buttonheads:

Button flowers (Cotula barbata)

Ganskos (Cotula turbinata)

Aspoestertjie (Felicia macrorrhiza)

Bitterkaroo/Bitter cow cud

(Chrysocoma ciliata)

Tiny buttonheads:

Anchor Karoo (Pentzia incana)

Grey Karoo (Pentzia globosa)

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frOm Laingsburg On n1 (sOuth) fOr 13km, right OntO graveL tO r354 fOr 20km

We marvelled not only at the evid- ence of life-giving rains and the fluorescent hues of spring, but also at the stupidity of a long-distance truck driver trying, at a painful crawl, to overtake a row of three same-sized trucks on a stretch with less-than-perfect visibility. Dicing with death took on a new tone. We emerged unscathed.

turn right; after 16km, right OntO graveL (thrOugh kOmsberg pass) baCk tO r354 fOr 67km

We were back to the taupes and olives of the Karoo 7 – the flat land interspersed with buffed and smooth rock hills. Suddenly, the Freelander hit a rock, followed by the familiar

thump, thump, thump of a flattening tyre. We were hardly into our trip, in benign territory, and already we were one wheel down. 6

right OntO r354 tO sutherLand fOr 15km

We knew of the one and only petrol pump/service station in Sutherland from a previous trip to the Karoo – a Shell garage named JWL Motors – so after the boys had replaced the tyre, that’s where we headed, in spite of our aim to bypass Suther-land due to time constraints. (We were off to the Richtersveld after this little trip and needed a decent spare.) It was already 14:30 … we’d spent far too much time photographing Seweweekspoort! As we crossed Rooinek Pass, rising briefly above the plains, the sudden splashes of orange gazanias made me think someone had knocked over a paint tin. Later, almost instantaneously the hills turned from drab olive to splotched yellow. Then they were pink.

Luckily JWL Motors was able to patch the tyre, so we left it with them and drove out to a roadside rest stop overlooking Sutherland to have a (very) late lunch. Story of our lives. But all I can say is: shame on you, Sutherland Municipality. There wasn’t a single trash can to be seen, which is partly why the entire area was a dump site. Empty bottles, shattered glass, plastic, polystyrene containers and paper covered the ground. Enough to thoroughly put you off your lunch.

sOuth On r354 fOr 36km, right via Ouberg pass tO tankwa karOO np fOr 82km

It was now 16:00, and we were on a vast, flat plateau. The spring flowers were closing with the sinking sun. The prettiness of salmon-pink-flowered poison bulbs belied their name. With still 116km to the Tankwa Karoo NP, our timing was tight. At this time of the year, the parks tend to close their reception offices at 17:00.

Tankwa Karoo NP: a quick summary

t Today Tankwa has increased to

1436km2 in size.

t Its uniqueness is its succulent

Karoo biome.

t It is one of 25 biodiversity

hotspots in the world.

t It is the only arid system hotspot

in the world.

t So far, 615 plant species have

been identified in Tankwa.

tGeologically, look out for dolerite

boulders, shales and tillites

(glacial deposits).For more detail on Tankwa, read

our first book, Our Top 4x4 Trips.

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at driefOntein, bear right; Left fOr Ouberg pass

The thing with Ouberg is this: when you approach it from the east you rise imperceptibly to the edge of the Roggeveld plateau and suddenly, there you are, with the earth plung-ing away to a vast hill-filled valley below and the gravel track visible as over and over it twists on itself until it reaches the valley floor. After staring open-mouthed at the view, we started the tricky descent. There was not even the pretence of raised stone slabs to define the edge of the hair-pin bends – nothing between us and a potential bumpy roll to the valley bottom. Instead we allowed our-selves to be wooed by the washes of pink, left behind like a stain, 9 cre-ated by swathes of mesems covering the finger-like hills and spreading up to the crest of the mountains. We also startled a grey rhebok.

Our vehicles drove across the foot of the valley in a purple haze (shades of Jimi Hendrix), encircled by mountains.

turn right, pass thrOugh a farm gate

Other than a few very abandoned-looking farm buildings – as bombed and shelled as Gaddafi’s compound, was the wry observation – there was no sign of habitation. A very dis- tinctive peak jabbed into the sky out of a flat-topped range of hills.

thrOugh 2nd farm gate, right OntO graveL, then right tO middeLpOs

The very first sign for Tankwa Karoo NP! Things had changed since our last trip here three or so years ago (then, some of the roads weren’t even on Tracks4Africa).

A previously churned-up mud road had hardened into eroded tracks and channels. We waved hello to our first Yellow-billed Kite, crossed a dryish pebble riverbed, drove over a white-railed bridge … and finally turned right to the park reception. It was waaay past 17:00 … but

because we’d called beforehand, they were expecting us, and a very kind park staff member had waited to sign us in. (An alternative arrange-ment is to use the two-way radio installed outside the reception office to contact park staff; someone will come to meet you at reception.)

Our destination was the nearby Paulshoek Cottage (4.5km). And, oh,

was it wonderful to have a temporary little home after such a long, long day. A Pale Chanting Goshawk, settled on a tree stump outside, dis-appeared in a flap of black-dipped white underwings. We had seriously earned a couple of frosty beers and a chilled glass of wine. A very nice outside braai area, protected by a tall reed fence, was where we retired for the night.

DAY 2Tankwa Karoo NP via Gannaga Pass to Osfontein Farm (585km) Leg time without stops: 8 hours

The spring flowers started opening up to the morning sun and we saw what we’d missed the evening before. The pebbly, dry scrubby Tankwa we’d encountered some years ago was transformed by fuchsia-hued mesems, fat-fingered yellow vygies, buttonheads and weird Hoodia gordonii, with spiny, cactus-like stems and brown-pink saucer-shaped flowers. Kapokbos, their cotton-like fruits a mass of tiny

Paulshoek Cottage Paulshoek, a simple green-roofed

building with concrete floors and

reed roll-up blinds, has a certain

charm in a Voortrekker kind of way.

Hot water comes via a donkey-

boiler (how this name originated

eludes me …) and lighting is pro-

vided by a series of paraffin lamps

in wall brackets, replete with dark

sooty circles on the ceiling – stamp

of authenticity! The living area is

almost religious in its asceticism,

but the unmatched pieces and

rugs have been chosen with some

thought. In the kitchen is a blackened

Aga stove, and an old forked tree

trunk props up the ceiling. Candles

and matches are the only decora-

tion in the bedrooms, where simple

beds are dressed in white linen.

And the ultimate in luxury: thick,

fluffy white towels!

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white pompoms, were everywhere. So was kraalbos, a bright lime-green feathery bush.

If we’d had the time to peer through our binoculars all morning, we’d have clocked up a multitude of Karoo LBJs (a lot of them special, despite this derog- atory acronym). The bushes were quiver-ing with bird song, but the brown, fawn and cream plumage of cisti- colas, prinias, larks and chats is so hard to identify that you have to work really hard at it, aided by your bird books. I did, however, tick off a Karoo Long-billed Lark.

right at reCeptiOn OffiCe tO gannaga pass and middeLpOs fOr 51 km

‘Remember to look right and left for traffic,’ Hirsh quipped to Keith. We were the only people in the park.

The flat plains with their ring of distant Karoo hills remained un-changed, but the packed-stone park signs were new and the roads had definitely improved. Pale Chanting Goshawks were out in full force, perching in their very upright manner – one on the high point of a windmill, another on a gate in the middle of nowhere. The gravel plains were packed with small euphorbias,

succulents and tiny fleshy plants of great variety, an incredible tribute to Nature’s ability to regenerate herself. (Tankwa is now a veld recovery project after approximately three centuries of overgrazing by domestic animals.)

Gannaga PassThe pass begins in the northeast of Tankwa, at the base of the Roggeveld Mountains (Gannaga and Ouberg are two ends of the same escarpment). Gannaga’s bends are not as tight and scary as those of Ouberg, but the road is very much a single-lane gravel track up a steep slope, with not a lot of leeway for another vehicle to pass.

As we climbed, it was intensely green but for the precariously balancing boulders propping each other up. There were tightly tiered shale bands, as if someone had carefully packed sheets of stone one upon the other. Round a corner the road had been hacked out of sheer rock and, to the right of the track, one balancing bouldered tower had been left, creating a road portal

for the 4x4s to pass through. 8 We passed groves of stunted fat-trunked botterboom with peeling yellow bark, and a little klipspringer on the rocks. As we looked back over the mountains, the slopes, dotted with little round bushes, and their curved shadows resembled a pointillist painting.

We topped out at 1200m, staring into a valley of pinks, purples and blues being swallowed up by the hazy horizon. It’s a challenge to capture on film the immense vistas in clear, filtered air. Even if you rise very early to catch the rising sun, there’s no guarantee that the dry air will be dust- and haze-free. It could depend on the season, of course, but we’ve been here in early winter and in spring, and both times we encountered a haze over the land. You might be lucky!

Before we exited the park, we passed Gannaga Lodge to our left. From the road you can see the reception area – a very long, low building of packed stone. The lodge has 10 rooms, split between the Old Farmhouse and the converted Stable Block (see Web Resources, page 39).

A cattle grid marks the end of Tankwa. We continued along the escarpment, the hardened-mud road deteriorating rapidly into an unfor-giving surface. After Keith warned Hirsh over the radio to watch out for sheep, we met our first straying animals. Hirsh retorted, ‘Aha! Here we have the skape who live at the top of the es-skaap-ment.’ Weak, I know, but we laughed.

We started off in Karoo flatness, bossies interspersed with spring flowers, and moved into drier, stony-soil Roggeveld country, dressed in drab grey-green and kapok.

at middeLpOs, right at hOteL/bOer war mOnument; bear Left fOr 1km, Left OntO graveL

We were on the border of the Central Karoo and Namaqualand.

... staring into a valley of pinks, purples and blues being swallowed

up by the hazy horizon.

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After shale and grey renosterbos, on the edge of the skyline suddenly there was a rampart of dolerite-capped circular peaks. Our gravel road cut straight to the horizon. It made me think of the groove left by a woodworker’s cutting tool in a strip of wood.

drive 51km, Left OntO r354 fOr 10km, Left OntO r27 fOr 15km tO CaLvinia

Calvinia is prettily situated in the lee of the Hantam Mountains, an uninterrupted line of flattened ridges. This is the Hantam Karoo, after a Khoi word that’s been trans-lated as ‘mountain where the red edible flowers bloom’. (If you need to stock up on provisions, Calvinia has a Friendly superette, a Spar and a butchery.)

Our 4x4s took us from open-air vistas to the edge of the skyline and then into a set of mountain ridges. We were bordering Namaqualand and the Bokkeveld; hill crests and valleys were awash with pink mesems, lime kraalbos and grey-white kapok, and tortoise bushes bristled with winged pods. The hills had on a leopard-skin coat – except the spots were green. And then we came upon our first kokerbome (quiver trees), with their scaly trunks and spiky leaves, tramping over the top of a hill.

exit CaLvinia On r355 tO LOeriesfOntein fOr 80km

Loeriesfontein is a one-horse town … the Engen ‘garage’ offers a solitary diesel pump installed at the edge of the main road (there is a Spar!). Loeriesfontein does have one quirk – a klompie shiny, silver wind-mills just outside the town, grandly called the Outdoor Wind Pump Museum.10 Apparently there are 27 windmills on display (we didn’t stay long enough to count them), and the only other such collection is in the USA. Exciting stuff in the middle of the Hantam.

exit LOeriesfOntein the same way yOu entered; turn Left tO brandvLei fOr 120km

Our next excitement for the day (after the windmills) was quite a phenomenon. At first it looked like a black stream wavering over the road. Ant migration, we thought. But when we got out to inspect the scene more closely, we discovered hundreds and thousands of tiny grasshoppers, in seven or eight bands, swarming across the gravel in little hops, then filing down the road in a band of seething black. We came across it several times on our journey. Astonishing.

A guidebook on the Karoo (and others) have waxed lyrical about the Windpomp Restaurant in Brandvlei,

where on weekends, apparently, one Wynand Windpomp and his band would create razzmatazz that made the place pump till the early platteland hours. We found it, but it was a shadow of its former self. No Wynand Windpomp (no windpomp at all), no burgers on the menu with suggestive Afrikaans names, no Jetmaster fireplace, where people used to gather when the stars shivered in the cold. No atmo-sphere. At all. So we decided there must have been a hostile takeover. Our Greek and chicken salads did the trick, however, filling the hole in our stomachs.

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Out Of brandvLei (r357) tOwards van wyksvLei fOr 145km; right OntO r361 tO CarnarvOn fOr 78km

Towards the Great Karoo we drove, drab flatness all around, marked only by the sighting of a Southern Black Korhaan. At the sign for Car-narvon we turned right, after which ridges slowly started emerging from the ironed plains. High slopes strewn with blackened dolerite boulders fused into flat-ridged hills. A little prettiness crept in: green among the grey renosterbos, blue-purple in the distant ridges. A Kori Bustard ran across the road.

exit CarnarvOn On r63 (sOuth); after 34km, Left at sign fOr OsfOntein farm

A long dirt road took us to the farm, Osfontein, where Natasha met us, then led us to our corbelled home for the night12 (we were up for some adventure!).

DAY 3Osfontein Farm to Karoo NP (155km) Leg time without stops: 21⁄2 hours

After much sweet, thin piping and trilling from the Karoo birds’ wake-up call (with no effort I saw a Karoo Scrub-Robin, Lark-like Bunting and Malachite Sunbird), we gazed at the flat landscape with its renosterbos, Pentzia buttonheads and brown bumps of hills on the horizon. We accepted an invitation to share a cup of coffee with the farm owners, who proudly guided us around their green oasis of a garden. It was filled with spreading trees, bird song, great slabs of slate and artfully arranged boulders the colour of coffee and iron oxide (koffieklip and ysterklip, or ironstone). A tiny corbelled building adjoins the garden, but Natasha’s pride and joy is her reservoir choked with waterblommetjies.

Very sociable and hospitable, the couple chatted about the renova-tions to a stone sheep-shearing shed – visible from our corbelled house – which was about to be-come farm accommodation.

Left OntO r63 Out Of OsfOntein tO LOxtOn fOr 30km; exit LOxtOn sOuth OntO r381 tO beaufOrt west fOr 113km

We left Osfontein at around 09:30, drove into Loxton, where a round-about carried an old sign with

Stay in a corbelled house Osfontein’s corbelled abode11

is quite charming in a hardy early-

pioneer style.

The small-windowed, two-

domed structure, constructed of

packed and layered stone and

painted white, has slate floors and

a beautiful concentric-ring ceiling,

where consecutive stone layers

have been stepped in to create

the curving cone-shaped dome.

Traditionally, the opening left at

the dome apex is sealed with a flat

stone slab.

Beneath one dome is the main

bedroom; the other holds a tiny

kitchen nook (without sink), two

beds (unexpectedly, this turned

out to be Keith’s ‘bedroom’) and

a dining nook with a huge hearth.

The farmer has built on a separate

shower and toilet.

Furnished in Trekker style, the

house features enamel basins and

jugs, iron towel stands, candles

in stone recesses (the only means

of illumination) and lots of animal

pelts underfoot (I bit my tongue).

Outside, a huge fire pit is en-

circled by big boulders to sit on,

and there are a slate-rock table

and benches nearby.

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35

directions to major towns still dis-played in miles, left the roundabout at Die Rooi Granaat, and aimed for Beaufort West.

The brown, stony Karoo land- scape with its solitary windmills14 steadily turned up more clipped hills, wheaten grasslands and road verges crammed with scarlet cancer bushes.

Before we started ascending Molteno Pass, the valley and ridge slopes had taken on a green mantle, and the soils were covered in tiny gentian-hued Karoo violets. We encountered some tight bends, with a dropaway into the valley, then descended between massive boul-ders pulling free from the main rock, looking as if they were a teeter away from crashing down to flatten us like sheets of foil.

At the end of the pass we hit tar and the land-scape changed dramatically: we were surrounded by conical hills in their brush cuts. Suddenly into another pass, we found ourselves looking down onto interlocking hills. The nearby slopes were marked with columns of rock built purely from balancing boulders, very reminiscent of the Valley of Desolation.

right OntO n1 intO beaufOrt west

A Verreaux’s (Black) Eagle heralded our arrival in the town. It was time to stock up on supplies, and we were spoilt for choice, with all the major supermarkets based here.

Karoo National Park

west On n1 fOr 5km, right at karOO np entranCe

Our reservation papers inspected at the gate, it was another 6.8km to the reception office. We were in lightly undulating country, encircled by lovely green layers of ridged flat- topped hills.16 Among the tawny

grasses were pretty little red bonnets (Ouma-se-kappie) and sunny yellow pomegranate. A massive rock monitor swaggered left and right over a

stone outcrop, its tongue flicking in and out like a prehistoric mutant snake.

The Main Camp cottages, a row of grey, thatched, Cape vernacular-style houses with little squared-off gables, are arranged along the spine of a ridge. Each cottage has a long verandah in the front with great views onto the ridged hills. Inside, tiled floors, high open ceilings, big wooden-frame windows and attractive modern fittings give the units an airy feel. Our large open-plan kitchenette, dining and living area had a bedroom and bathroom to either side.

Potlekkertjie Loop/Klipspringer Pass (45km)

There was no time to waste … a game drive was in order. The road is defined by a beautiful packed-stone wall snaking along the

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12

... surrounded by conical hills in their brush cuts

36

mountain edge. A Booted Eagle soaring at our level suddenly dived, then rose again on the thermals. Having been warned not to get out of our vehicles as eight lion have been introduced to the park, we were a little confused by an official lookout point at Rooiwalle, which had sweeping views onto dramatic, rugged ridge-top cliffs. The scenery again reminded us of the Valley of Desolation. Most unlike Karoo-scapes in general, this park is very rocky, with lots of shattered stone and sprouting-rock kopjes. On the Potlek-kertjie Loop, a far-ranging solid wall of mountain (the Nuweveld) loomed ahead of us,13 its lower reaches green-terraced. Our 4x4s passed through bouldered grassy hills and flat open valleys. I was gobsmacked – another case of having an

utterly preconceived view of Karoo territory, then being blindsided by its raw beauty.

A male and female klipspringer watched us from a distant pinnacle; a tiny steenbok stared out from the safety of a bush. Red hartebeest, with their comical white ‘underpants’, herded a troop of straight-horned babies, as did a posse of gemsbok with their funny stunted-horn young. A bull eland was so enormous, at first we took it to be a rhino. There were plenty of male and female kudu,

along with a few solitary mountain zebra17 and a huge herd

of gemsbok and eland. Throw a few ostrich, baboons and a Pale Chant-ing Goshawk into the mix, and it was a pretty good outing.

As we beetled across the vast plains we’d peered into from the lookout point, the evening light gilded the mountains and shadows emphasised the resistant ridges. It was all quite majestic.

DAY 4Karoo NP Main Camp to Embizweni 4x4 Trail Cottage (46.5km)

It was an incredibly chilly 10°C as we headed for the start of the 90km Nuweveld 4x4 Trail (Grade 1),

which branches off the Potlekkertjie Loop. An option is to overnight at the Embizweni Cottage before completing the loop, which is what we did.

Unfortunately, on the day of our excursion there was such a dearth of animal life that, when we spied a lone gemsbok in the same spot it had been the day before, the jokes were flying. ‘It’s not real; it’s a plastic dummy for the tourists,’ began Hirsh. ‘Oh, right, the ranger’s just been on his bicycle to blow it up with his tyre pump,’ Keith flashed back.

Much chuckling.

Embizweni Trail CottageEmbizweni, meaning ‘where people

gather’ in Xhosa, is in fact a steel-

windowed, zinc-roofed house in

putty-grey, with a long verandah

and wide slate stairs giving on

to 180º vistas of the plateau,

ridges and rock-rimmed mountains

beyond. It has wooden floors, a

fireplace in the lounge/dining

room and a braai alcove on the

verandah. Of the two bedrooms,

one has great views through the

windows and ceiling-height doors.

The house is simply but thought-

fully furnished (ethnic style, framed

pictures) and has all the self-

catering necessities.

... Keith jestingly asked the rangers where they were hiding

the lions

15

37

We stopped for coffee at a fenced picnic site, a sign at the entrance proclaiming: ‘Rhino and lion are potentially dangerous.’ Dramatic understatement. Now if only we could spot one. The clean ablution facilities are to be commended, and the braai drums and benches are appealingly set in a clearing bounded by tight-knit sweet- thorn acacias.

We turned off onto the 4x4 trail. It involved steepish climbs and descents through sudden dips, stony sections, washaways and em-bedded rock, and there were several water crossings across rock shelves. We were delighted by a pair of bat-eared foxes, oversized ears peek-ing out of the grasses, and a Karoo Korhaan picking across a ridge. In a little dam, pretty South African Shel-duck were shifting their beaks from side to side through the water.

The only vehicle we encountered was a parks jeep, and when Keith jestingly asked the rangers where they were hiding the lions, the driver’s eyes widened, and in all seriousness he protested, ‘No, no, I’m not hiding them! I don’t know where they are!’

Then we crossed flat plains covered in rounded bushes and spring daisies, with green, steeply shelved slopes blocking out the sky

ahead.18 We descended into a valley of shaved conical hills, although this was still part of an elevated plateau entirely circled by mountains. The plains became bouldered and stony. It was a truly beautiful landscape with views to forever.

And … at last! Four kudu bulls in sight.

Just before we got to the cottage, a very steep, highly eroded series of stepped rock shelves needed to be tackled. It took a controlled burst of power and a firm hand on the steering wheel (with some holding of breath) to bounce and sway our way to the crest. It had taken us three hours to do a 15km leg of the Nuweveld Loop.

We settled into the Embizweni house, scanning the terrain for animals with our binoculars.15 We could see red hartebeest, eland on the ridge, kudu on a distant rise and dark shapes grazing in the valley.

Later, we were in for some unexpected adventure. At around 16:30 the boys and I noticed a distant humming that steadily increased in volume. Before we’d quite made it out, the entire ex- terior lounge area was surrounded by hundreds of wildly buzzing bees. Hirsh had only just discovered that within the fireplace chimney was a

SpottedKaroo Prinia

Karoo Scrub-Robin

Spike-heeled Lark

Karoo Long-billed Lark

Familiar Chat

Cinnamon-breasted Warbler

African Hoopoe

White-backed Mousebird

Bokmakierie

Pale-winged Starling

European Bee-eater

Common Fiscal

Karoo Korhaan

Booted Eagle (pale morph)

Pale Chanting Goshawk

17

16

38

bees’ nest. We all raced into action, closing windows and doors. Hirsh lit a fire in the hearth in an effort to smoke the bees out. For the next 15 minutes we had a wild show of frantic winged creatures swarming thickly outside, their humming as loud and insistent as a fleet of microlights. Gradually they moved off to a nearby bush while Hirsh ran around freeing the panicked bees that had come in from the chimney and were madly trying to escape.

Our trip certainly hadn’t been without incident, we mused later, as the mountains turned luminous in the dying rays of the sun. A little steenbok was backlit on the ridge and a few female kudus gazed attentively at us. Just as the sun was disappearing, a pale Booted Eagle circled above.

DAY 5From Embizweni (including trail loop) to Beaufort West (71km)

We awoke early to four hartebeest, some 50m away, staring intently at the house through pelting rain. Lightning and thunder reverberated across the plateau. It didn’t take us long to decide that the 4x4 trail would be best negotiated before

rivers became swollen and slush turned the road into a mud slide.Carrying everything back out with us – including all our garbage, a necessity at Embizweni – we drove through a waterlogged landscape, where rivulets, deep puddles and gently swollen river crossings made the route a lot more slippery.

We decided not to complete the longer second arm of the Nuwe- veld Loop in this rain and instead re-traced our steps along the first part of the trail. It was a grey world, even the mountains were completely obscured.

The wildlife was all huddled in the valley: two enormous eland, a gems-bok, zebra, red hartebeest and a little duiker.

It took us an hour, without stops, to hit the 13km Afsaal Loop, which links Nuweveld with the main Pot- lekkertjie Loop. Since conditions hadn’t been too bad, the boys decided we might as well explore further. After a few tricky sections of sharp dips, rocks and washaways, the route led us onto a flat, grassy plain, where only a pair of ostrich, a couple of Karoo Korhaan and springbok braved the rain.

By now the fine surface of mud was akin to a skating rink; our 4x4s were doing balletic zigzags in exquisite slow motion all across the road.

4x4 trails in Karoo NPAfsaal EcoTrail: 13km.

Nuweveld EcoTrail: 90km.

About 50km of this is Grade 1;

there are some steep, rocky sec-

tions and sandy dry river cross-

ings (out of the rainy season).

Embizweni Cottage is available

for six people to overnight,

conveniently situated roughly

halfway along the trail. It has

a fully furnished and equipped

kitchen, with gas-powered stove,

fridge and geysers, and solar-

powered lights.

18

39

In spite of the cold and wet, there were, in fact, animals about – many belonging to the antelope species. Hilly terrain took us onto another plateau, where there was a little hiking hut (obsolete). Then it was back to grassland. Fluorescent-green bushes and yellow grasses managed to pierce the gloom and I couldn’t help thinking how gorgeous it would all look in the sunshine.

There was nothing left to do but hit the pretty town of Beaufort West, with its Victorian zinc-roofed houses and iron broekie-lace, to find a Wimpy for a steaming hot breakfast. As we exited the park in the driving rain, Hirsh mused, ‘Do you think we’ll recognise the rock monitor with its snorkel on?’

PLAN YOUR TRIP!

tWeb resources:

Tankwa Karoo NP:

www.sanparks.

co.za/parks/tankwa

Karoo NP:

www.sanparks.co.za/parks/karoo

Gannaga Lodge:

http://gannagalodge.blogspot.com

Osfontein Farm:

www.osfontein.co.za;

www.routes.co.za/nc/carnarvon/

osfontein/index.html

t Extra tourist resources and

contacts: see pages 158–160

OUR EXPERIENCE tBest move on the trip:

Discovering a gem right on our

doorstep: Karoo National Park

(why has it taken us so long?!) –

a beautiful, craggy-cliffed, wildly

inspiring landscape.

tWorst move:

Sigh … once again … not allowing

enough hours in the day to stop

and smell (and photograph) the

daisies. An uncalled-for puncture

reminded us always to allow for

the unexpected.

tOur advice to you:

Our philosophy generally is that

it’s all about the journey … not only

the destination; so always make

sure to build some extra hours into

your planned route for the day. We

constantly gobbled up hours with

taking photographs and surveying

our planet.

Karoo NP – a quick summary t The park protects the Nama Karoo biome (montane grassy shrubland, grassy

dwarf shrubland, succulent dwarf shrubland, riverine thicket).

t The Beaufort West Town Council donated 721km2 of communal land north-

west of the town to create the park nucleus.

t The park includes an important zone that contains ancient animal fossils,

which are collected and studied.

t The park offers visual evidence of aeons of geological evolution, from the

plains of Beaufort West through the sedimentary and more resistant layers of

rock all the way to the crest of the Nuweveld escarpment.19

19

FEATURING:

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10 GREAT ROUTES

PACKING LIST

MORE BACK-ROAD 4X4 TRIPSM

ariëlle Renssen

Mariëlle Renssen

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ANY COMMENTS research@mapstudio.co.za

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR UPDATES, DOWNLOADS, MAPS, CATALOGUES & SPECIALSMapStudio™ and the MapStudio™ device are trademarked to New Holland Publishing (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd1st edition © MapStudio™ 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the Copyright owner.

More Back-RoadMore Back-Road

4X4 TRIPS4X4 TRIPSThis book is for all you travellers out there who:

t Have discovered that your 4x4 actually likes the feel of dirt between its tyres

t Feel that you need a greater challenge than parking your 4x4 on Sandton or Century City’s pavements

t Like us - still don’t ‘do’ camping

t Have realised that off-road travelling can come with a fridge, hot shower and flushing loo

t Are not Rambos but do enjoy getting off the tar and exploring the back roads

t Have realised that you don’t need to call the AA to change a tyre

t Are so bitten by the back-roads bug that zero cellphone reception or wi-fi doesn’t matter anymore

t No longer believe that Cape Town, Mauritius or Sun City is the ultimate travel destination

t Are still armchair travellers but love reading about those who aren’t

Koua

ms

Kook

Abiekwa

Annis

Holgat

Groen

Orang

e

Kamma

Kosies

Aribes

Doring

Stry

Skaap

Buffels

Swartlintjies

Brak

Buffels

Orange

Orange

Orange

KA

MI E

SB

ER

G

NA

MA

QU

AL

AN

D

RI

CH

TE

RS

VE

LD

N7

R355

R382

N7

N14

N14

R358

R358

R358R355

R355

Wildeperdehoek Pass

Wondergat Entrance

Richtersveld Transfrontier Park Entrance

Hakkiesdoring Camp

Gannakouriep Wilderness Camp

SpringbokvlakteDie Toon

Tatasberg Wilderness Camp

Tatasberg Viewpoint

Maer Poort

De Hoop Camp SiteAkkedis Pass

Potjiespram Camp Site

Aquacade Camp

Klein Pella Guesthouse

Sendelingsdrif Camp

Namakwa Eco Trail

Skilpad Rest Camp

Hand of God

Kokerboomkloof Camp Site

HelskloofPass

SpektakelPass

NamaquaNational Park

GoegapNatureReserve

|Ai-|Ais/RichtersveldTransfrontier Park

SkilpadWildflower

Reserve

Sendelingsdrif

Kuboes

Eksteenfontein

Kotzehoop

Lekkersing

Bulletrap

Nigramoep

Okiep

Mesklip

Kommaggas

Grootmis

Soebatsfontein

Kamassies

Rooifontein

Gamoep

Pella

NamiesBloemhoek

Aggeneys

Uitkyk

Dabenoris

Goodhouse

Vioolsdrif

Port Nolloth

Steinkopf

Kleinsee

Kamieskroon

Onseepkans

Pofadder

Nababeep

Springbok

31°12’11.64”S17°56’02.58”E

30°09’28.25”S17°48’35.07”E30°07’05.70”S

17°35’31.14”E

29°46’03.54”S17°50’06.06”E

29°39’51.30”S17°53’15.06”E

29°18’16.20”S17°10’08.04”E

29°32’13.68”S17°23’04.38”E

29°18’34.68”S17°03’54.78”E

29°00’13.44”S17°05’34.68”E

28°30’51.71”S16°55’53.17”E

28°07’25.56”S16°53’28.32”E 28°11’01.32”S

17°10’41.16”E

28°14’56.10”S17°14’47.76”E

28°20’49.68”S17°19’26.94”E

28°23’44.86”S17°09’18.39”E

28°25’20.28”S16°53’28.62”E

28°49’26.04”S17°15’15.48”E

28°41’47.58”S17°35’03.48”E

28°46’07.68”S17°37’27.66”E

29°01’27.78”S17°49’54.48”E

29°04’43.49”S17°54’16.64”E

29°04’21.13”S17°57’52.39”E

28°59’01.61”S18°13’25.24”E

29°02’53.83”S18°54’07.42”E

29°00’19.32”S19°00’37.86”E

29°01’58.26”S19°09’13.56”E

29°08’15.72”S19°09’08.22”E

29°07’44.34”S19°23’35.76”E

0 50 km 25

N

NAMIBIA

NAMIBIA

ATLANTIC OCEAN

DETAILED ROUTE

MAPS WITH GPS

POINTS AND

HIGHLIGHTED ROUTE

INCLUDES

GPS TRACKS,

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CONTACTS

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