ALONG THE COURSE OF THE ORANGE RIVER
SW Burger & family - December 2000
This page is dedicated to my late father, Izak Burger who always took us to unspoilt places like Namibia, wild Kruger(then), Transkei.
The Orange River is the largest perennial river in South Africa and flows from it's source in the highlands of Lesotho in the east, into the Atlantic Ocean in the west. I decided to travel and camp along the river, exploring the towns, meeting people, enjoy the various scenery, having fun.
The idea of travelling along the Orange River came from an article I read in the Getaway magazine. I decided to take my family and boet Gerrit with his family on this unforgettable journey. I consulted them initially, explaining the route, daily schedule, etc. At first they weren't pleased about the idea of not enjoying a seaside holiday, and to be on the road almost every day. Pitching camp and breaking camp every day worsened my position in the family's decision of how to spend the coming December holiday.
Gert and I presented photos, magazines, brochures, and eventually everyone bought the idea that this might turn out to be a memorable trip. I fed them candy by promising to spend some time in Cape Town at the end of the journey. Unfortunately, for reasons beyond his control, Gert could only join up with me some 5 days after my departure, so travelling through Lesotho was not to be for Gert this time, which he regrets.
Day 1: Sunday, 17 December - Nelspruit to Sani Top
Our initial planned departure date was Saturday, 16 December. It's always difficult for me to switch off completely, so I first attended to a customer's breakdown problem. Crystal Springs Mountain Lodge at Pilgrim's Rest is always a beautiful place, so I didn't mind going there working on the first day of my holiday.
We left Nelspruit at 07:30 for Sani Top via Ermelo and Ladysmith. At Nottingham Road we took the road to Himeville, which soon turned into a dirt road. We had to speed up in order to make the border before 16:00. We arrived at the border at 16:00 and the officials started closing down. They quickly stamped our passports, and we were off again. Not for long, because only 500m after the border post I heard the not so very popular sound of a deflating tyre. This was the first of more to come over the next three days. We quickly changed the wheel and went on to be in time for the Lesotho border which closes at 17:00.
On our way to the top of the Sani Pass we had to stop to admire the view.
We reached the border post at Sani Top close to 17:00. The border official had already packed up and was on his way to his sleeping quarter. He opened up the office and stamped our passports. He was very friendly and helpful, however, he had an ace up his sleeve. He enquired about meat products regarding the ranging foot-&-mouth disease. I told him that we had some meat that we want to braai the same night at our sleepover place, Sani Top Chalet, only a 100m away. He was adamant about the meat not entering Lesotho. Ironically Sani Top Chalet is situated next to the road in the direction we just came from. Unfortunately one has to pass through the gate. He hinted that R20 would clear everything. When we departed he greeted with the following: "This is what they call bribery & corruption, my friend." I said: "Ja, Boet, this surely isn't Botswana."
It was cold and windy on top of Sani Pass. We had a warm welcome from our host and were told that we can pitch our tent anywhere on the premises where we can find some shelter against the howling wind. Unfortunately all the rooms were occupied so we had to opt for a rondavel that's still under construction. Images of being blown away by the wind and landing way down in valley came up in my mind, so I've decided against erecting the rooftop tent. We pitched the two two-man tents inside the roofless rondavel to seek shelter. It didn't help much.
I tried out my little Weber look-alike kettle braai, which I bought for R99 at Makro. It was the best option to have in such windy conditions if you want to braai. Pietro opened up a 2-litre box Johannisberger Red wine and soon we were in a cheerful mood. To amuse ourselves we pretended to have TV in our "luxury chalet". The doorframe without a door and the mountain as a background became our "National Geographic Channel", although the frame wasn't yellow. With heavy clouds rolling over the hills with severe lightning, I "predicted fine weather" pretending to be a weatherman. Then Anneri said that we must "switch" to the "Travel Channel" pointing to the two-man tents, then she and Schalk started to inflate the mattresses. With his Walkman's earphones on Schalk tried to sing along with the tunes, so he provided the "MTV". I then "switched" to the "Carlton Food Network channel" attending to the chicken inside the kettle braai. Just after midnight some shots were fired in the immediate vicinity, so I was woken up by a "crime movie". The rest of the night I was kept awake by noisy dogs and donkeys.
The view from the inside of our "chalet".
This Gelandewagen came all the way from its country of origin.
The view from the highest pub in Africa.
Distances:
Nelspruit - Ladysmith: 508km; 5hrs
Ladysmith - Sani Top: 251km; 3,5hrs
Accommodation:
Sani Top Chalet "campsite" - R60
Day 2: Monday, 18 December - Sani Top to Selabathebe
We left Sani Top at 07:30. I was a bit tired. We didn't travel too far when I noticed the temperature gauge rising above normal. I stopped and cooled the radiator cap down with water. I filled the reservoir again. I also bypassed the electric fan sensing unit. As we drove we saw wrecked cars along the road that for some reasons didn't make it. Almost everywhere we saw youngsters with their hands in a begging mode. We refrained from giving anything.
This waterfall is right next to the road.
The road was bad at some stages. The worst was the sections being repaired very recently with sharp stones sticking like Stone Age tools. I had to drive with caution. We went through rivers where there were no bridges,or where the bridges were under repair. The scenery was absolutely fantastic.
The Orange curls like a serpent through the landscape.
Soon, not far from it's source, the Orange River flows strong due to the size of it's tributaries.
The most rewarding was the accent of the Matebeng Pass, a bit higher than the Sani Pass. From the top the view is breathtaking.
The Matebeng Pass at 3000m.
Once again the Pajero ran warm. I stopped in a stream crossing the road and cooled down the radiator again. I suspected a faulty thermostat or radiator cap.
Cooling down.
The view over Selabathebe Reserve and KwaZulu-Natal in the east.
Soon after the T-junction where the road turns left to Boesmansnek, one can enquire at "The Green Store" about the entrance gate to Selabathebe Nature Reserve. It is a very inconspicious farmstyle gate (twice the normal height) on the right, but most likely there will be some eager "pikanins" running to open the gate for a reward. Soon after entering the gate there is an overhanging cliff on the right where one can pitch camp if you do not want to proceed to the campsite that's much further. One passes the research centre and office and should just follow the "lodge" signboards to the campsite.
The rewarding scenic Selabathebe Reserve.
The refreshing pond at Selabathebe.
There were ablution facilities, but not approved by the women to use, so we made other plans. The Lodge, a typical farmhouse, is probably the best option if one doesn't have portable toilet and shower fascilities.
Distances:Sani Top - Selabathebe: 219km; 9,5hrs
Accommodation:Selabathebe Nature Reserve campsite - R40. Anywhere else on the reserve camping is for free (phone 09266-313760 to confirm).
Day 3: Tuesday, 19 December - Selabathebe to Aliwal North
The scene that unfolded here with the rising sun on the mountain peaks was absolutly stunning with the low sun, olive green landscape and a few horses browsing around our camp. The women freshened up with make-shift facilities, while Schalk and I went for the cool water in the pond. I was reluctant to leave this beautiful place. We were behind schedule, so we had to travel further. The packing up wasn't easy with the gusting wind. It seemed we didn't have enough hands to be able to tie down the luggage dust covers. I emptied the fuel in the jerry can and we left Selabathebe at 08:30.
Along the route there were no signboards indicating the towns' or settlements' names. Schools were in abundance and were well marked, but seldom had a reference to the townships' names. I didn't have a GPS, so we relied on the odometer reading and the distances indicated on the AA Lesotho map, and the built-in compass.
We got our second flat wheel at Moshebi and once again at Hill Top. Those Stone Age tool type road surface finally got me. I tried with the Back-on-Track tyre recovery kit to mend the holes, but the 1cm cuts on the tread made it difficult to seal properly. I had to stop often to pump the wheels with the hand pump. I didn't want to bother trying to get the tyres off the rims and to fit the mushroom type plugs. Time wasn't on our side.
We turned off to Qacha's Nek to fill up with diesel and also attended to the punctures with an air compressor available.
Heading 1
At Mphaki we got onto the tar road and from there we could put some kilos behind us. The winding tar road took us through some scenic areas along the Senqu or Orange River. At Moyeni we paid R2 at a "tyre merchant" to put some air into the deflating tyre. Soon we turned off onto a dirt road again to the Tele Bridge border post.
At Tele Bridge/Palmietfontein Border we went through and on the South African side the women investigated the toilet facilities, but were once again disgusted. In the meantime I attended to the deflating tyre and became aware of an audience. I was woried about the unattended contents in the car while I was lying on my side next to the wheel, so I thought that if I quickly press the internal door lock pin at the driver's door the central locking will lock the doors on the passenger side too. Then I closed the rear passenger door on the right, for I was working on the right rear wheel and could pay attention to that door. Then the rear passenger door also locked itself and there I stood realising that I'd shut myself out, with the key still in the ignition and the spare key in Pietro's bag, also inside the car.
Within moments I proofed myself by suddenly acquire a new trade of a lockpick by merely wiggle a piece of "bloudraad" into the door handle and pushed the lock handle upwards. I ended up the laughing stock for being so stupid to lock myself out. I defended myself against the family that I am actually doing well for a guy whose head had been crushed between two Army Bedfords years ago, and once also swung through the air like a ragdoll in a motorcycle accident, head hammered against a lamp post, unconsious for days. Now this was nothing to the mistake I made at Alexander Bay that was still to come some days later.
The sun began to set over the Eastern Cape. On a pass near Herschell the wheel went flat again and I stopped for another exercise session. By this time the blisters inside my hand began to hurt. I have a nice heavy duty "ko-operasie" type 6-bar hand pump, but it still needed manpower. Another pump session near Aliwal North was the last for the day. We booked in at Aliwal Spa for the night and a brief thunderstorm welcomed us. The rest of the night there was no wind, comparing to the previous nights.
Distances:
Selabathebe - Qachasnek: 127km; 4,5hrs
Qachasnek - Moyeni: 169km; 3,5hrs
Moyeni - Aliwal North: 135km; 2,5hrs
Accommodation:
Aliwal Spa campsite - R85
Day 4: Wednesday,
20 December - Aliwal North to Gariep Dam
First things first. Coffee! Then I ventured into town to repair the tyres at SupaQuick. The tyres were taken off the rims and the three holes were repaired with mushroom plugs. I went back to the campsite and we decided to spend the rest of the morning there. For the first time Pietro and Anneri could enjoy proper ablution facilities. Schalk and I spent some time in the indoor sulphur smelling spa pool.
Just after lunch time we started to pack up again. I noticed the left rear wheel look a bit under inflated, checked the pressure was below 2-bar. After we left the campsite, I stopped at SupaQuick to check the tyre. A tiny hole on the sidewall just below the tread was repaired with a patch on the inside.
As a matter of interrest, I left Nelspruit with two Michelin LTX M/S on the front and one as a spare on the rear door. On the rear wheels I had two Bridgestone Duelers and one on the roofrack as a spare. The first puncture below Sani Pass was on the Bridgestone at the left rear. The Michelin spare went to the left rear. The other three punctures occurred on the Bridgestones in the right rear position. Only the Bridgestones suffered punctures, and the three Michelins survived.
We arrived late afternoon at the lookout point at Gariep Dam. It was very quiet. The dam wasn't 100% full, so no dramatic water feature like I've seen there before.
The Midwaters Aventura has nice lawn covered campsites and clean ablution facilities.
Distances:
Aliwal North - Gariep Dam: 180km; 2,5hrs
Accommodation:
Midwaters Aventura campsite - R146
Day 5: Thursday, 21 December - Gariep Dam to Upington
Pietro and Anneri spent most of the morning feeding coins into the laundromat machine washing our clothes. At last we could leave. A long stretch of road was ahead of us. Gert phoned and said that they will be on the road later and will drive through the night from Nelspruit to Upington. At first I planned to sleep at Boegoeberg Dam, but now we had some extra kilos to cover.
Soon after we left Gariep Dam I saw a movement on my right, and in the rear view mirror. I realised that the folding chairs and table came loose. As I stopped to turn around, Schalk opened his door to run for the chairs, not realising that I am about to turn the car around. I didn't see him and turned, then he fell onto the tarmac surface. We all got a fright and luckily there was no other traffic on the road. The four chairs survived the crash landing, but the wooden folding table was in pieces, beyond repair. Somehow a cable tie gave way against the wind and then the others also snapped. I used a bigger size cable tie from there on.
We followed the road to Colesberg, then the dirt road to Petrusville. We quickly had a look at Vanderkloof, went over the dam wall and back, and then we stopped at Orania. The Verwoerd memorial site was in a poor state, some residences and smallholings seemed to be well looked after, others not so good. I,ve expected a bit more development at Orania.
At Hopetown we visited the Old Toll Bridge (20 ton max) and Toll House. We followed a 100km dirt road to Prieska, where the vegetation and scenery started to change to semi-desert. Only the presence of the Orange River changes the harsh areas into green fertile land along the banks of the river.
The Orange River wine route starts at Groblershoop.
We stopped at Groblershoop for refreshments. I drank fresh orange juice that was the best I've tasted for a long time. It was already dark when we pulled into Die Eiland holiday resort in Upington. It is a neat place and the camping area is covered with lush lawn, situated on the banks of the Orange River. Unfortunately it is too close to town, so we could hear the loud music, cars revving and tyres spinning, followed by sirens. We quickly pitched camp and had a braai afterwards. Just before we went to sleep, I phoned Gert and he confirmed that they were near Vryburg at that stage.
Distances:
Gariep Dam - Upington: 616km; 8hrs
Accommodation:
Die Eiland Holiday Resort, Upington - R56
Day 6: Friday, 22 December - Upington to Augrabies
Gert and his family sneaked into the Eiland Resort at about 3am in the early hours of the morning. The Colt's diesel engine woke me up, we had a brief welcome and went to sleep for the few hours still left of the night. At 6am I made coffee for all of us, the women made some breakfast later and then we packed up. We ventured into town to replennish our grocery stock at Pick&Pay and "something for the thirst" at a store nearby. We also bought some extra mineral water, for it was a 45deg.C+ day. I thought that if Upington is this hot then we're going to roast in the Rightersveld. I bought some extra 25 liter mineral water for the few days ahead. We bought meat at Skaapland on the way out to Augrabies. At Trappers Trading I got a new aluminium folding table for a better price than I've seen anywhere at home. It fitted neatly under the rooftop tent's cover.
We pitched camp in the shade under some trees in the Augrabies Falls National Park. It was hot, scorching hot. The forever present and irritating "muggies" made the situation worse, so we went for one of the three swimming pools, the one closest to the falls, and spent the rest of the day there. Later that afternoon I took some photos at the falls.
That night the temperature didn't cool down. Me and Schalk wanted to shower to cool down, but the water out of the cold water tap was as hot as the water coming out of the hot water tap.
Distances:
Upington - Augrabies Falls: 128km; 1,5hrs
Accommodation:
Augrabies National Park campsite - R105 (8 persons)
Day 7: Saturday, 23 December - Augrabies to Vioolsdrif
Early that morning after breakfast we packed up at Augrabies and went to the same pool again to cool down. We were reluctant to get out and carry on travelling in the heat. We stocked our cooler boxes with ice cubes.
Wayne and Schalk having some fun with a horse next to the roadside.
At Pofadder the store keeper advised us not to take the dirt road to Goodhouse, for he travelled that road the week before and it was in a poor state, very much corrugated. The Richtersveld Contimap indicates it to be a tar road.
The store keeper told me about a remarkable church building in the town of Pella, so I decided to take the dirt road to Pella and see what the town looks like. Then we returned to the tar road to Springbok. At Springbok we got some ice for the cooler boxes.
The corrugated dirt road to Pella.
Anneri taking pictures of the church in Pella.
"Indians scattered on dawn's highway, bleeding
Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind."
Near Steinkopf we witnessed a scene reminiscent of the lyrics by Jim Morrison, as I thought what was going on in Schalks's mind that moment. Medical aid had just arrived to what must have been a gruesome head-on collision. We didn't stop. Perhaps three cars involved, I couldn't tell. Car pieces, chunks of metal were scattered over hundreds of metres. We saw human bodies lying around, one underneath an overturned car, blood oozing from the body. Speed did kill indeed.
I drove on and we were all quiet for a long time.
Orchards on the Orange River banks near Vioolsdrif.
Late that afternoon we arrived at Peace of Paradise Camp. Now this is one of those camps where you really want to roll out your sleeping bag and spend some time. This is a well established and maintained campsite. Peter, the owner keeps his hands on his "baby" by personally attending to the lush lawn at each campsite soon after the guests left, to be ready for the next guests. A network of sprinkler systems eases his task watering the lawn.
Each campsite has a perimeter wall made from reed, covered with Morning Glory creeper. A "baraca" also made from reed provides shelter against the sun. Each campsite has a zinc basin with running water and electric lights with 15A power socket outlet.
Pietro, Schalk, Wayne, Carol, Gert, Ursula & Anneri sharing a joke.
Distances:
Augrabies Falls - Springbok: 324km; 4,5hrs
Springbok - Peace of Paradise camp: 151km; 2,5hrs
Accommodation:
Peace of Paradise campsite - R385 (8 persons)
Day 8: Sunday, 24 December - Peace of Paradise to
The Richtersveld National Park
The Echo Cliff on the Namibian side of the river.
Peace of Paradise = Oasis in the desert.
The view from the showers.
The open communal ablution facilities have the same reed cover. There are no doors, just a "no entry" sign attached to a rope spanned in the reed walled passage when a shower or toilet is engaged.
Soon after we left Peace of Paradise Camp, Helskloof Pass waited for us.
On the summit of Helskloof Pass.
The Helskloof Pass gave us an idea of what the Richtersveld could be like. I had enough of "smooth" roads since I left Lesotho, so Gert and I were keen to challenge the ruggedness of the Richtersveld. We took the road through Eksteenfontein (ideal place to hide from the sherrif) and at Holgat, near Torkop we joined up with the main road from Lekkersing to Kuboes.
The road to Sendelingsdrif was in a poor state. Corrugated and potholes. At Helskloof Gate, an entry gate, we luckily saw a signboard warning about a permit necessary to enter. A permit is only obtainable at Sendelingsdrif and not at Helskloof gate. We proceeded to Sendelingsdrif, paid for entry permit at the Parks Board office and filled up with diesel.
The corrugated road to Sendelingsdrift is not a tarred road as indicated on the ContiMap.
From Sendelingsdrif we travelled through amazing scenery to De Hoop. The rugged looking mountains are absolutely fantastic with shades of green, charcoal, slate, oxide colours, giving this harsh area a unique appearance.
The scenery in the Richtersveld is absolutely breathtaking.
Schalk and I climbed onto a hill to get this photo. Wayne took a video shot.
This magnificent scene awaited us at De Hoop camping spot.
De Hoop campsite has nothing, but pure wilderness and amazing scenery. There's not even a longdrop toilet. There were two other parties also camping in the area. We set camp on a grass covered area next to the river. Schalk dug a hole for the bush toilet some distance away. Gert set up his bush shower for the women to use. The men went for the river.
Distances:
Peace of Paradise camp - Sendelingsdrif: 154km; 4hrs
Sendelingsdrif - De Hoop: 40km; 2,5hrs
Accommodation:
De Hoop campsite, Richtersveld National Park - R360 (8 persons)
Day 9: Monday, 25 December -
The Richtersveld National Park to Alexander Bay
Early morning. Time for coffee, the crowd still sleeping.
Having a hair-cut, bush salon style.
We've decided that Pietro must give me a hair-cut. She once cut my hair under a coconut tree in the backyard of a house in Matola, Mozambique. Once also on a farm in the Kalahari.
We didn't go far on the route along the river to Richtersberg, when a guy in a Land Rover advised us not to go further, as the level of the river has risen to such an extend that at some places the normal route wasn't negotiable, and that some of the alternative detours had some major obstacles. Although the little Venter behind Gert's Colt ran a bit higher with it's 13" wheels it might have created problems further on. We've decided against it to go any further and turned around. As this route was one of the hi-lights on this trip and we could not do it, we decided to drive around in the inner section of the park end exit at Helskloof Gate.
The scenic Richtersveld with Namibia in the distance.
The Orange River flows through the desert on the way to Alexander Bay.
Obtaining some information at the security checkpoint to the mining town's entrance.
We kept all our rubbish from the Richtersveld in a plastic refuse bag and dumped it in a dustbin in Alexander Bay. The town was quiet. It was Christmas Day. No shop or café open.
Following the fishermens' route to the mouth.
The mouth of the Orange River - fishermen at Oranjemund, Namibia on the other side.
So here at the river mouth our Orange River journey came to an end. A feeling of compassion came over me, as we turned south towards Port Nolloth to spend the night there.
I'll always remember this West Coast Namaqualand Town called Port Nolloth for several reasons. We could not find a place to sleep anywhere in neither a guest house nor caravan park. McDougall's Bay was full. No space left for our tents. The Richtersveld Experience accommodation was full. At another guest house in town we enquired about accommodation, and they were also fully booked, but the lady there phoned a place called Muisvlak Motel and they got space for us at a very reasonable price. We had to go back about 8kms towards Alexander Bay.
The Muisvlak Motel is a refurbished mining hostel turned into a privately run accommodation facility. A church group occupied most of the rooms that day, and they were in a festive mood singing gospel songs and making music.
There is a communal bathroom/toilet shared by ladies and gents. In the kitchen one can prepare food on the industrial type stoves and ovens using the bulky kitchen utensils. We've decided against the use of the kitchen, as another guest was busy cooking a sheeps head in real African tradition, leaving the kitchen to smell worse than SAPPI's Ngodwana paper mill.
We drove up and down in town, but all the restaurants and take-aways were closed. It was late and too windy to make a braai, so we rather opened some canned food. Surely an unusual Christmas dinner. Bully beef and bread. We all went to sleep.
I don't know why I always turn out to be the stupid @sshole in the family. Everyone else slept in their sleeping bags, except me who got into the sheets and blankets supplied. I regret it for the rest of the trip. There was something with me in that bed, and for the next two weeks I was itching all over and often scratched myself bleeding.
The next morning we discovered that some of our clothing were missing. When I dumped the Richtersveld rubbish into the dustbin at Alexander Bay, I also dumped the clothing we wore for the past few days, which Pietro put into a black refuse bag to wash at the next laundromat available. Some of the clothing were worn only once. My favourite Mundo's t-shirt was also gone, came all the way from the Indian ocean to end up at the Atlantic ocean. We saw it in a festive Christmas spirit and hoped that the garbage collectors will be wide awake and find it for themselves.
Distances:
Richtersveld National Park(Helskloof Gate) - Alexander Bay: 94km; 2hrs
Alexander Bay - Port Nolloth: 88km; 1hrs
Accommodation:
Muisvlak(Luisvlak) Motel - R90 for 8 persons (R30 per room; max 3 persons/room)
From Port Nolloth we went to the Cederberg to spend a few days there at Sanddrif and celebrated Gert's birthday on the 27th. We visited the farms near Lamberts Bay on which our father and grandfather were born, and also Langebaan where I was born. We booked in at Ou Skip Caravan Park in Melkbosstrand for a few days to spend some time in Cape Town. From there we spent two days at Witsand and another two days at Hartenbos before returning back home.
The downside of this trip where I wanted to take in and experience as much as possible in very limited time, is the fact that there were too many hi-lights on the way that actually left a vacuum inside. I wanted to explore more of Lesotho. Spending only two days in the Richtersveld surely wasn't enough. I really wanted to find out more about the history of the Burgers originated from the seaside Steenbokfontein Farm near Lamberts Bay. I needed some time to explore the Cederberg on foot.
Maybe next time.
Many thanks to those who helped to make this a memorable 7250km journey:
my wife, Pietro - for being a fantastic overland travel & camping companion and proven navigator,
my daughter, Anneri(15) - for taking some photo's and keeping diary of our daily experiences,
my son, Schalk(11) - for assisting me with changing tyres, packing the roof rack, inflating the mattresses,
my brother, Gert - for advising me not to travel the worst routes available,
his wife, Carol - for very tasty food (and enough leftovers for me to consume),
his daughter, Ursula(16) - for not playing loud music,
his son, Wayne(13) - for showing us that nice pool in the Cederberg,
his son Gert(Golf Bravo junior) - for staying at home running Gert's business,
myself - for waking up early and making real "moer"-coffee
Some pictures of the rest of the trip.
Cederberg
Cape Town
Southern Cape
