Kgalagadi and the Kalahari

After our Orange River trip in April, we were heading to the Northernmost part of the Northern Cape via Namibia. The road was long and straight, with towns marked on the map being little more than 10 houses and a few goats in reality. Namibia is not known for its many people.

We reached Askham and to our relief, there was a gas station. I took a picture because we are probably never going there again. 

We stayed at Kgalagadi Lodge that night and drove through a tiny part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park the next day, a massive nature reserve in the Kalahari Desert region of Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. The Kalahari is a dry, sandy savanna area of southern Africa, semi-desert famous for its beautiful red dunes and 'wit grassies' (white grass), and it covers about 70% of Botswana, as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. It was the first time we've been to the Kalahari, and our timing was perfect - recent rains had transformed the dry area into its most stunning state. 

 Maarten bought a Bushman bow-and-arrow (two arrows, to be exact), and thus he was running around hunting imaginary lions that evening. 

Drifting Shongololo (the word shongololo is Xhosa for millipede). There are a lot of these creatures in the Kalahari - their tracks cover the dunes in the morning. 

The said tracks. It looks like a miniature 4x4 car dared the dunes. 

We arrived late evening and dad, me and the boys went for a swim while mom stayed behind at the campsite. As pitching our tents would have been tricky (it's hard to get tent pens into pavement), mom suggested we sleep open, but upon our return she had definitely changed her mind. It seemed there was a tame emu stalking the campsite, and when mom had tried to take a nap, this guy walked right up to her and stared. After much laughter, we pitched the tents (though flimsily), and I figured The Emu has earned himself a portrait.

Guess who's coming to dinner...

Upon entering Kgalagadi Park, there were plenty of lazy Gemsbok and Springbok but less of everything else. We were hoping to see lions, but got lucky and saw a sleeping leopard instead. Unfortunately I couldn't take a picture - she was beautiful though. 

 Red hartebeest and Gemsbok. 

Springbok lambs - adorable. 

We also saw baby Gemsbok - his horns look like thorns. 

All the animals were lazy and fat, presumably because of the abundant grazing. 

Birds there were many, including the 'Gompou' (bustard), the heaviest flying bird on earth. 

I love the ostrich on the right, staring at her reflection: "I'm so gorgeous!" 

We saw a few falcons and eagles too. 

The sighting of the day, however, was two beautiful 'bakoorjakkalsies' (Bat-eared foxes). These giant-eared, tiny foxes are nocturnal and rarely come out in daylight. 

We also met clients of my mom who had invited us to visit if we ever came to this area, and stayed on with 2 families for 2 nights each where we experienced the famed 'boere' generosity of the Northern Cape. On the first farm, we had a fantastic time with 'oom' Jacques and 'tannie' Rika in the Kalahari. On arrival we were almost immediately taken 'springhaas' hunting/chasing at night by oom Jacques. This crazy activity involves chasing 'springhase' (nocturnal, weird, miniature kangaroo-like rodents) with a 'bakkie' (pickup) at night, and needs someone to hold a spotlight on the victim until it tires, half blinded by the light. Then someone else who can (preferably) run very fast over bushes and sand dunes chase after the springhaas and tries to catch it to the great amusement of the driver and other people on the back of the bakkie. 

Only dad managed to catch one, after a terrific dive into the sand. The boys were very impressed. 

The next day we were shown around the salt factory. In the Kalahari, there are natural, big salt pans (soutpanne) where extremely salty underground lakes prevent anything from growing on top. 

To reach the lakes, big canals are dug. The water in these canals are more than 90% salt (the Dead Sea is 48%). Apparently you can sit upright in the water and it only comes up to your waist. You can't stay in for very long though...

In order to then harvest the salt, the water must be pumped into shallow areas and allowed to evaporate.This is done in acres, where saltwater is pumped and evaporated layer after layer for 2 years. On top of this layer of salt more water is pumped, and only then salt can be scraped off and harvested. 

A Town named Springbok

After the Cedarberg, we drove up into the Northern Cape, the largest province (with the fewest people) in South Africa. Through the barren Knersvlakte (literally translated 'gnashplain') and the distinct rock hills scattered with Quiver trees (Kokerbome) of Namaqualand (a dry, rocky region of South Africa and Namibia about 440 000 square kilometers big) we were headed for Springbok, the biggest town in the area.

Early springtime every year, the brown plains of Namaqualand undergo a stunning transformation and the veld is covered in colors - everything from daisies to succulents flower and attract tourists from all over the world. We've witnessed this phenomenon on a previous vacation trip, however this time we saw what the area looks like most of the year: a semi-desert.

Arriving in Springbok, we camped at Springbok Caravan Park for a few days while looking for a place to stay for 3 weeks (until we go raft the Orange River April 20th). We enjoyed the camping despite a cold wind preventing us from doing school, and went on a few nice walks (the boys enjoyed exploring the veld a lot). We also went on a road trip to Port Nolloth (the nearest coastal town).

My explorations - experimenting with my new camera (thank you ouma and oupa Venter!). 

The road to Port Nolloth. 

Diamond-searching, giant-vacuum-cleaner boats at Port Nolloth. They are basically filtering sand and sediments coming from the Orange River, looking for any precious stones. 

When we finally found a place to rent, it was fully furnished and perfect for our situation. The only quirk was that the house is situated in Springbok's industrial area which turned out to be really safe, comfortable and quiet. To our surprise a truck arrived with mining equipment a week after we moved in, and since then we have been learning more about how to look for different types of stones.

It's amazing to see the variety of stones present in sample loads of soil taken from different farms around the area. 'Oom' Daniel, Ferdie and Dawie are working on sorting and processing the stones every day, and the boys have enjoyed helping them a lot. They even took dad and the boys to a Stock Car racing event that they (of course) thought was awesome. It also inspired new possibilities for the future.... Maarten and Theuns are already planning on the building of their future stock/pipe car (oh dear).

The squad. 

Sorting. Maarten is using a magnet to get the iron out. 

Waiting cars. Watch a video here. 

Pipe car. 

Springbok itself is not extremely interesting, but it is well located as a stop-over to Upington, Cape Town, the West Coast, the Richtersveld and Namibia. There is a nice church as well as the well-known Springbok Lodge, where a very big collection of rocks/stones/minerals (collected by the owner over 37 years) is permanently exhibited.

The sandstone church. 

Admiration. 

We also discovered a monument where an old smelting furnace used to be.  

A noteworthy evening outing was a drive through the Goegap Nature Reserve, a very busy place during flower season, but rather bare the rest of the year. There are many kinds of beauty however, and we had a surprise encounter with a Gemsbok, when we drove around a corner and the creature was standing right next to the road.

Scenery. 

A few faraway Gemsbok seeking shade beneath Quiver Trees. 

Seven Days in the Cedarberg

After leaving Kruistementvlei Farm (see the previous post) in March, we drove to the stunningly situated Algeria campsite in the Cedarberg (sometimes spelled Cederberg) mountains for a week long retreat. The Cedarberg mountain range is named after an endangered tree found only in the area (the Clanwilliam Cedar), and the mountains are rather famous for strange, dramatic rock formations and San rock art. Our grandparents 'ouma' and 'oupa' Venter joined us for a few days as well, and on the 21st of March we celebrated mom's 45th birthday! Dad did some work, but thankfully we had no school to do so we just relaxed, read books, hiked some really cool trails, camped, and visited with ouma and oupa.

Exploring the mountain stream running through the campsite. 

Glued to the pencil. Gran taught the boys (especially Maarten) to draw 3D objects. Here, they are drawing the Land Rover. 

For mom's birthday, we hiked the 2-3 hour waterfall trail near a big crack ('skeur') in the mountains. With chocolate, mountain champagne, and then real champagne later, it was a fabulous way to celebrate for her and we really enjoyed it.

Imagine the forces which tore this mountain apart...

At the waterfall. Granted, there were more algae and plants than water, but oh well. 

Fascination with frogs and tadpoles never cease. 

We love you, mom. 

A longer but very impressive hike we did another day is the Wolfberg (literally, 'wolf mountain') Arch which took us about 6 hours. It was absolutely worth it, not just because of the Arch, but also because of the rocks and boulder formations along the way.

First sighting. 

Revived by lunch after 3 hours of walking. 

Smile! Not that anyone can see if you don't...

 Strange rocks.

Swellendam, Struisbaai and Southern Tip (of Africa) In One

We are on the move again. Names of places in South Africa often get very interesting, considering the variety of languages it originated from – from Hotagterklip to Suurbraak, Barrydale, and Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa. Here is some of what we did and where we were 28 to 31 December, 2015.

On December 28 we left the Kammanassie and drove to Swellendam, where we pitched tent for 2 nights. On the day of arrival, we tackled Swellendam (the third oldest district in South Africa) as proper tourists and visited the Drostdy Museum (check out their website).

The Langeberg mountain range (literally translated 'long mountains'). Picturesque views. 

The massive church in Swellendam. 

The Drostdy Museum's main building - typical old Cape architecture.  

Lock picking - an old safe with 3 different keys and locks. 

Transportation. 

The Craftman's Yard, where old trades were exhibited and explained. Did you know that making casks used to be a highly specialized trade called coopering ('kuiper' in Afrikaans)?