Travel log South Africa - Second visit
Sunday 12-11 (320 km)
In the morning it is still cold and I have a face rash. The heat in Ai Ais or a cushion allergy I contracted there? Hopefully it will disappear quickly. Since we still have a couple of days to spare, we decide not to head for Cape Town but to drive east towards the Orange river and stay a couple of days at the Augrabie Valle . In June we liked it there and Eelko has never seen them. The flower season in Namaqua Land is over and the land is barren and empty. In Pofadder, and other villages we pass, there is, with the exception of some coloured teenagers, hardly anyone to be seen on this sunday. When we approach the Orange River and Kakamas, the landscape turns green again and soon we are driving through the vineyards. We turn to the left towards the falls – unlike the Victoria Falls, a lot of water passes through the gorge – and rent a two-bedroom cottage with airco. At night we have a braai with boere wors.
Monday 13-11 (85 km)
My face rash has almost disappeared and the more I think about it, the more I am convinced it was the heat in Ai Ais. Since there is no laundry service in Augrabie Falls National Park Resort, I buy some Omo in the camp shop and do some hand washing. Afterwards we tour the park: the mountain of the moon, Oranje Kommetje, Ararat and various beautiful views of the river. Later in the afternoon we have a game drive. Although we tour the park for two hours, we do not see a single animal! At night we watch the stars and when we see a falling one, we wish ourselves a safe journey home to Sibratsgfäll and Veldhoven.
Tuesday 14-11 (85 km)
As usual Paul is up very early in the morning to drink his coffee and read. He opens the door to let the morning air in and sits quietly in a corner. Suddenly a huge male baboon comes in and jumps on the kitchen table. Paul and he see each other at the same time but Paul is a fraction of a second faster in his attack. When the book hits the baboon, he becomes so scared that he shits all over the kitchen floor before fleeing through the door. The confusion is complete when the baboon runs straight into a mongoose that is inspecting our fire place for leftovers. The mongoose has no choice but to attack and the baboon becomes even more scared. To substantiate his encounter with a fellow primate, Paul wakes me up to inspect the baboon shit on the kitchen floor. After all the camping we have done and after all the third class meals we had when eating out, Paul is looking forward to a sophisticated wine lunch and invites us to accompany him. Although we find a good supermarket in Kakamas, we cannot find a good restaurant. On our way to Uppington, however, we find a restaurant – “Vergelegen” – only a view kilometres outside Kakamas . The local Chardonnay is excellent and comes in a wine cooler and with proper and clean white wine glasses. The smoked salmon filled with grated “snoek”, followed by a pan fried sole, can easily compete with that of the “Fisherman” in Veldhoven! The desert, home made ice with chopped fresh green chillies, is a real invention. To complete this all, there is a properly laid table with fitting cutlery and linen napkins and the service is friendly and professional. Paul is muttering about the barbaric conditions under which we ate the past 5 months and by and large I agree with him. To begin with, camping in Africa has its limits with respect to culinary achievements. Usually we were glad when the ingredients were available and when we managed to eat the food while it was still hot. After two weeks, we ignored the greasy pans and dishes, more often than not there was no hot water, and soon we fell into the disgusting habit of drinking out of tins and plastic cups. Paul treasured his coffee percolator and our two stainless steel thermos mugs. His morning coffee, according to him, was the only civilized moment during an average eating and drinking day!
Eating out in Africa north of Namibia turned out to be more a matter of convenience than of enjoyment. Usually the food was edible, sometimes it was not. Often it was expensive in relation to the quality as well. In middle market hotels and lodges buffets are apparently “in” and usually, at least according to our taste, bad value for money. Plates, cutlery, glasses and tables are usually grimy and service sloppy. Of course, there were the noticeable exceptions. We ate well in Kabula Lodge in Blantyre in Malawi and in the one and only international hotel in Quelimane in Mozambique. The Travellers Lodge in Bagamoyo in Tanzania was good value for money. In Njoro in Kenya, the Nightingale staff cooked an excellent supper for us when we rented the cottage. When we joined the overlanders with supper a day later, it was extremely poor value for money indeed. At the Marich Pass Field Study Centre in Kenya the food was good and the breakfast really excellent. Don't get me wrong. We enjoyed our gipsy way of life in the past five months but, at the same time, look forward to eat a good curry again from clean dishes and at a well laid table. Paul is home sick when he thinks of his crystal whisky tumbler with a single malt in Sibratsgfall and Veldhoven. I am looking forward to a fortnight without a stomach disorder and to the taste of fresh milk again. Yes … you must have discovered our secret by now: we are less flexible than we pretend to be!
Wednesday 15-11 (560 km)
Once we leave the Orange River on our way to Vanrhijnsdorp , we are back in the dry and desolate Northern Cape. Some villages, at least to the Dutch ear, have suggestive names: “Riemvasmaak”, “Putsonderwater” and “Verneukpan”. The roadside country is dry and yellow with now and then some green trees in the lower lying areas of Swartkolk, Grootkolk and Rietsekolk. Contrary to what we thought when we studied the maps, there are no lakes, dams or rivers. So, early in the afternoon we decide to get out of the semi-desert and to head for Vanrhijnsdorp. Once we pass Calvinia, we enter the wheat and barley area and descending from the Vanrhijns Pass we enjoy some magnificent views. In Vanrhijnsdorp we find our favourite Lombarts Guesthouse without any problems and manage to get a spacey self-catering apartment. At night, we sit on the veranda and decide to drive to the Cedar Mountains Wilderness Reserve. If we like the place, we will stay there for a couple of days. It will be our last camping days.
Thursday 16-11 (130 km)
From Klawer onwards we drive along the Olifantsrivier. Its water is used for irrigation by pumping it into canals that run along the contours of the land. Citrus orchards, vineyards, wheat, barley and vegetables. Silos to store the grain and cooling units for the citrus. All looks well maintained and managed. It shows what is possible when the natural resources are properly exploited. Why have we not seen similar schemes along the fertile Zambezi delta? After passing the Clan William Dam, we turn to the left and head to the Cedar Mountains. The dirt road is abominable and its takes us the good part of an hour to the Algeria Campsite. To our dismay we can only camp for one night since all sites are booked for the weekend. An elderly couple advises us to try the Yamaka Campsite some 6 km from Algeria. Paul and I drive up there and indeed, they are not yet fully booked. We rent a dilapidated small caravan (year of manufacture 1976!) for the next days. Eelko can sleep here and we can store our luggage. We will sleep ourselves in the roof tent. Back in Algeria, we cook and sit shivering around a log fire. It is cold in the mountains!
Friday 17-11 (10 km)
We break up camp in the early morning and move to Yamaka . For the last time, we unfold the roof tent and then get our luggage into the caravan. The campsite is shady and quiet and next to a natural swimming pool. The owners of the site – an Afrikaander/German couple – have built a small dam in the Ronderivier and the water is just deep enough to swim. We drive up to their house and find that they are “organic” farmers: citrus, mangos, passion fruit and rooibos. We buy some “organic” marmalades and pickles and a kilo of “non-organic” lamb. Late in the afternoon the campsite fills up with families with small children: apparently the site is popular with the Capetonians. Not surprising, since Cape Town is only two hours away. The lamb curry tastes excellent and after sun set it cools down sufficiently to feel comfortable.
Paul folds out the roof tent ladder for the last time!
Saturday 18-11 (0 km)
A rest day. While Eelko walks some trails, we laze and read. Later in the afternoon, Paul tries to arrange lodging for us in or near to Cape Town. He is not successful, everything is fully booked over the weekend, and we decide to stay in Yamaka until Monday morning.
Sunday 19-11 (0 km)
Again a rest day. Via the farming family we get the address of an apartment just outside Cape Town: Big Bay Beach Club number 14. Paul phones the owner and luckily we can stay in this two-bedroom apartment until and including Thursday. At night we have a braai at the cottage of Sabine, a young woman Eelko has befriended. The braai is excellent, but the atmosphere a little tense. We suspect that her former husband is not pleased with our presence and we regret that we were drawn into this.
Monday 20-11 (300 km)
We are all glad when we have mastered the dirt road towards the N7 without damage to Wa Bashasha and are on our way to Citrusdal . Soon, we change the citrus orchards for wheat fields and around noon we spot the first vineyards of the Western Cape. The feeling that our great Africa adventure has come to an end becomes definite, when we turn to IJzerfontein and have lunch there along the Atlantic Ocean. When we are in Blaubaai, we phone the owner of the apartment. Soon after we have arrived at the Big Bay Beach Club, he is there to hand us the keys. The apartment on the second floor is modern, clean but a bit sterile. The view on the Table Mountain and down town Cape Town, however, is stunning.
Tuesday 21-11 (90 km)
At 11.00 hours we are in the centre of Cape Town and find the Intersped office without problems. Shanaaz Isaacs is waiting for us and has done all the necessary home work to get Wa Bashasha shipped to Vigo in Spain. Thursday 23 rd we can roll Wa Bashasha into her 20 ft container. A day later she will be hoisted on board MS Grey Fox, which will sail, we hope, on 26 th November. If all goes well, we can collect her from the docks in Vigo by 11 th December!
We use our last cash US dollars to pay Intersped and ask them to contact a handling agent in Vigo. Our idea to have lunch at the Victoria and Albert waterfront is thwarted because of the lack of a parking place and the fact that Wa Bashasha is too high for the covered parking. Back at the apartment – Paul is suffering from an infected toe – I go for a beach walk with Eelko. There is a high wind, but the views on the Table Mountain and on Robbeneiland are spectacular. In the mean time, Paul has called Hertz, Avis and a number of other rental companies to get a car for the coming week. Alas … to no avail. No cars available!! In the end we find a small company that has a Opel Corsa for a week.
Wednesday 22-11 (200 km)
Wa Bashasha's last serious Africa travelling day. First we check on the Opel Corsa, sign our contract and give our credit card number. The car will be delivered tomorrow at 09.00 at our apartment. Then we drive to the Cape of Good Hope . This time with our camera! We have lunch at the Cape and return to the apartment late in the afternoon.
Thursday 23-11 (15 km)
Early in the morning we take the luggage chest and the two water tanks from the roof rack. They are cleaned and the chest is repacked. Then, everything is stowed in Wa Bashasha's rear and secured with straps. Paul gives her a last check and pats her on the bonnet: thanks for everything! At 09.00 the Opel Corsa is delivered and the cavalcade leaves for the South African Custom Depot (SACD) in the harbour. There we only have to wait for a quarter of an hour before a representative of Intersped and the Custom Officer (woman) arrive. After the roof tent is taken from the roof rack, Paul drives Wa Bashasha into the container. All four wheels are secured and then the car is strapped with non-elastic heavy duty straps.
Not on her wheels – as was done wrongly during her incoming voyage – but on the front and rear bumpers where they are attached to the chassis. Let's hope it keeps her steady this time and leaves her without body damage. When the car is secure, the roof tent is put along one side of the container and strapped as well. The doors are closed and the seals placed. For Wa Bashasha her Africa Tour 2006 is over! By and large she did what we expected from a Land Rover Series III: to get us safely through Africa over tarmac, gravel and stones, through rivers and gullies and up mountains of 3000 m high. For over 27.000 km she served us well. From Marc's Land Rover Defender the shocks sheared off and the Toyota Landcruiser we hired near Mount Elgon in Kenya got so stuck and damaged that it took us almost two hours to get her on the road again without rear drive shafts. Our Series never let us down and we did not have to walk once. The troubles we experienced were all related to our lack of experience and that of the people who we paid to prepare the car for the expedition. We had the wrong springs mounted: parabolic springs. At the start in Cape Town, we corrected this by mounting two Firestone aircushions in the rear. The rear springs held, but we broke one of the front springs on our way back in Zambia. Since nowhere in Africa parabolic springs for a Series Land Rover can be obtained, we had one forged by a local blacksmith! To our surprise that spring brought us all the way from Livingstone to Cape Town. Then we had, right from the beginning, the malfunctioning mechanical petrol pump . Only in Windhoek, Namibia, we learned that all Series 2.25 litre suffer from this ailment at high altitudes and high temperatures. In Njoro in Kenya a mechanic came with the solution: an electrical petrol pump in line with the mechanical one. In our case it worked miracles: when the mechanical pump began failing we flipped a switch on the dashboard and the electrical pump cut in. Our third problem was of a different nature: a roof rack and its contents bashing the window frame and its securing bolts to pieces. Again in Njoro, this was remedied within two hours by welding two rods from the roof rack on to bulkhead. Topsleeper in Vessem should have known that his roof rack would not hold and he put us at considerable risk. Surprisingly, and apart from the three nuisances mentioned, no other problems were encountered. We used five oil filters, a complete set of brake linings, a petrol pump, four petrol filters and two rear wheel oil seals. All that, however, is nothing beyond the ordinary. Whether you believe it or not, we did not have one single puncture! The South African General SAG 7.50R16 tube tyres, which we had mounted in Holland, were the best choice we could have made. Once Wa Bashasha is properly serviced in the Netherlands and once the front springs have been exchanged, she is ready for her next overland adventure!!
At 13.00 hours we leave the custom depot and head for Bredasdorp and the Hoop Nature Reserve where we arrive around 16.00 hours. Since we only managed to rent a cottage in the Reserve from Sunday onwards, we end up in the guesthouse of the Uys family, a stone throw away from the tiny village of Ouplaas and only 20 minutes away from the Reserve. It is a nice place and the farmer's wife Pat cooks an excellent dinner for us.
We will stay in the Hoop Nature Reserve until next week Thursday, when we travel to Stellenbosch . A day later we will board the plane to Vigo in Spain.
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