Posts tagged with “Aus”
Namibia tour – further comments
In my previous post + the 5 that followed on it, I reflected on our recent trip to the southern part of Namibia. With this posting I make a few additional comments which I hope readers may find useful.
In my previous posts I have tried to paint the picture of the vastness of the landscape.
One may add that camping sites also need to be viewed a bit differently from, say, Mossel Bay in December. I thought I’ll try to give an idea what I’m talking about, courtesy of Google Maps’ 3D function.
Oewerbos.
It was a rather glorious evening, sitting on the banks of the Orange river with the sun setting. On a cable (seemed like the feed of a foefie slide) a few birds were sitting. The variety with real wings, I mean. One had caught a fish, which he had in his beak. The fish was still very much alive, and evidently not amused. So the bird casually bludgeoning the fish to death on the cable. It took a number of attempts before the fish gave up the good fight. Such is life, nuh?
[Source: Imagery ©2017 CNES / Airbus, Map data ©2017 AfriGIS (Pty) Ltd, Google, South Africa www.google.com/maps]
Border post
The experience had been swift and painless on both occasions (in and out). Not knowing where to go, I stopped at the first official looking office, where I was told where to park, “where you unpack”. Aag no! It thought. But it turned out the stern looking member of SAPS was just having a bit of fun with me. No unpacking.
From what I understood from Neville at Oewerbos, the hunting season just opened a day or two before. Or maybe on that day – it was 1 July. That probably explained why, on the day of our return, all the vehicles in our vicinity, ours included, got searched.
In an endeavor to maximize packing effectivity, my wife bought us each a R50 nylon zipper bag. They were enormous. You could pack an illegal immigrant in it with ease. We did not, though, just for the records. But on first blush, the rear of the bakkie did look as though it could have been packed with “goods”, with these enormous bags being very evident. Well, actually, it was not that evident. It only became evident once I removed the groundsheet that I had over it to protect from dust and rain. Given that there had been neither dust nor rain when we arrived at the post, it might have raised some suspicion. So the gentlemen from (I assume) SARS and SAPS opened each of these bags, and meticulously went through our clothing.
A docile looking dog that appeared to be half ridge-back and two-and-a-half some other things, stood by. I greeted him friendly. He showed no interest, but I took that as a good sign.
My wife was contemplating whether the combination of our packing system and the age of our vehicle might have counted against us. I think not, though. All vehicles that looked like it could accommodate meat seem to have been checked, and one could easily stack a few kudu’s into those bags of us, provided of course they were not alive any more, and also not in one peace.
But even the lady right in front of us with a midget Peugeot got checked. The friendly dog gave her more than just a sniff-over and she had to park elsewhere for a more thorough search. I did see here again at Klawer, though, so evidently there was just a bit of mis-sniffing that had to be sorted out.
Once in Namibia
My youngest had difficulties grasping the concept that we’re driving along a river in Namibia, but just about 100m away from us – you could swim there – was a completely different country. Ours.
On that road we at one stage stopped to see if we could pinpoint the De Hoop camping site on the South African side of the Richtersveld, but by then we must have been past that point already.
Rosh Pinah
Mmmm…. Well, I only filled up my bakkie, and did not take much notice of the town, other than to notice that it was being overrun by bakkies with CBR registration numbers. Montagu by the mine?
Aus
I have never been to Aus before. But for some reason I had a totally different picture in my head, and more in particular, I though the town was on the other side of the main road. It reminded me of Paternoster, it’s just a bit further away from the sea. At the fuel station people were queuing to fill up. It was a rather busy fuel stop.
We went past Klein Aus, but did not drive in there. I was just amazed that Klein Aus could be smaller than Aus. That’s now, judging by the name.
The road to Luderitz
Captivating. And more so the closer you get to Luderitz. The sand blowing over the road, the very strong wind, and a chilly evening in Luderitz gave a bit of a, well, windy feeling, but once inside things were perfect.
[Source: Imagery ©2017 DigitalGlobe, TerraMetrics, D SIO, NOAA, US Navy GEBCO, Landaat / Copernicus, Map data ©2017, Google, South Africa www.google.com/maps]
Feral horses of Aus
It’s not quite like the pride stud of some upstanding equestrian estate. It’s more like a Huis-Amper-Dood kind of retirement place for horses, only less luxurious than what the human version of such institutions would normally offer.
Gunsbewys
Gertrude Grabner’s vast knowledge of the dunes and what lives there, made this visit very special. A worthwhile visit.
[Source: Imagery ©2017 GeoEye, Map data ©2017, South Africa, www.google.com/maps]
Koiimasis
Each place had its own character. Koiimasis offered us a huge camping site, wonderful ablution close by, but with no warm water or electricity. Not that it is a problem, it just helps knowing it beforehand. There are a number of activities to do there, like among other things, horse riding. We only did the 5km walking trail.
[Source: Imagery ©2017 DigitalGlobe, Map data ©2017, South Africa www.google.com/maps]
What you’re looking at in this picture, is 4 camping sites on the far side of the little koppie, with a …
Namibia Tour 2017 – Part 1
Gate crashing a tour
When I met up with my cousin Lizette earlier this year, first on a funeral and the next day on a birthday (the birthday was the happier of the two affairs) she told me about their planned trip to Namibia in July. Due to a combination of over eagerness, loud family interaction and a slight hearing problem, I understood her to invite us to join the tour – something she afterwards denied having done. We are still, however, on speaking terms, chiefly due to Lizette’s innate kindness.
But this is how it came about that on the morning of Saturday July 1st, we departed from Durbanville heading north, with my Mazda bakkie’s odometer indicating 310 001 km’s. In between these two dates, of course, a lot happened, such as satisfying burocrats at Home Affairs, getting my twenty year old noble steed properly serviced, and acquiring some necessary camping equipment. Mine was a party of four, which included my wife Marga and our 15 year old son, and a friend, Mariki. We would join a convoy totalling four vehicles, us included.
The route would roughly cover the area as on the map:
[Source: Imagery © 2017 Landsat / Copernicus, Data SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO, Map data © 2017 AfriGIS (Pty) Ltd, Google www.google.com/maps]
Each made it on their own time to our first rendezvous point at Vioolsdrift. As we stopped at roadworks just before Klawer, the vehicle that pulled up right behind me happened to be Lizette and Adriaan’s Colt double cab. We travelled further in convoy to Oewerbos, some 13 kilometers north-west of the Vioolsdrift border post, but on the South African side. About a half-an-hour later, Toit and Christine arrived with their Toyota double cab. Then we were three cars.
It was a busy day at Oewerbos, with rugby on the big screen, and lots of people in the bar. Apparently there had been an annual church bazaar, Neville behind the bar counter explained. And the following day a church group would be moving in, he said. I could not help but wonder when Neville would find the time to restock the bar for the church group of the next day, but it was evident that nothing could seriously unsettle Neville. Not even a number of his guests absconding after ordering off a tab.
We had a drink on the river bank, watching the sun set. There was a cano available, and I quite liked the idea of rowing to the middle of the river just to get a feel of Namibia. That is now assuming the international border to be in the middle of the river.
[Picture: Mariki Stassen]
We then retreated to the two-bed bungalows where we were staying. Wors braai and two minute noodles with mince got our field kitchen started. Not having to set up camp would give us an early head start the next morning. Brother Johnie and his wife Rose were waiting at Ai-Ais, where he already had a puncture. They would meet us the following morning where the C37 from Ai-Ais meets the C13 that runs along the Orange river to Rosh Pinah. But there was no South African cell phone reception at Oewerbos, so we had to leave the final arrangements for the next morning.
Day one in Namibia
Sendelingsdrift, Rosh Pinah, Aus, Luderitz
[Source: Imagery © 2017 Landsat / Copernicus, Data SIO, NOAA, U.S. Navy, NGA, GEBCO, Map data © 2017 AfriGIS (Pty) Ltd, Google www.google.com/maps]
We made an early start the next morning, and were the first travellers at the border post. Formalities were swift and painless. At the first garage just across the border we filled up with Namibia’s substantially cheaper fuel, and bought MTC sim cards. We could then make contact with my brother Johnie to arrange for the rendezvous. Him and his wife Rosie were now the outstanding parties. They were at Ai-Ais already, and we had pretty much the same distance to travel from our respective points of departure. We arranged that we would wait for them where the C37 from Ai-Ais meets the C13 running alongside the Orange river to Rosh Pinah. The bit of waiting for them set the mood for an unhurried trip – with Adriaan always happy to stop for a picture or food or just because. I found this refreshing, as I am one of those guys who, once I started driving, I want to keep going until I reach my destination, rather than to stop next to the road.
After meeting Johnie & Rosie with his Land Rover Freelander at the junction, we now had the full convoy complement.
It is a lovely gravel road running along the Orange river. The scenery is much the same as on the South African side of the Richtersveld.
[Picture: Mariki Stassen]
Six kilometers upstream of Sendelingsdrift we stopped at the Sendelingsdrift weir gauge. The weir gauge is intended to determine flow rates and water volumes over time. It made a beautiful sight, watching the water flow.
[Picture: Mariki Stassen]
At the t-junction a short distance on, Adriaan aimed to the left instead of to Rosh Pinah. It turned out that, apart from being the lead vehicle, Adriaan would also be the chief negotiator. He arranged for permission at the border post for us to drive down to the pont station to see what it looks like.
From there we headed to Rosh Pinah where some of us filled up. More often than not, I was the one doing the filling up, with the others waiting for me. The 3.4 liter petrol engine of my Mazda is not kind to fuel stops.
If the gravel road between Sendelingsdrift and Rosh Pinah is an indication of what the road from Rosh Pinah to Aus looked like before it was tarred, we can only count our blessings for asphalt. We stopped at Aus, 178km further. The fuel station was extremely busy, but I am happy to report that this was one fuel stop that I managed to skip.
From Rosh Pinah to Aus I could not help but become concerned about the wellbeing of the town Montagu. I counted no less than seven vehicles with CBR registration numbers overtaking us. Who was left to look …
Namibia Tour 2017 – Part 2
Kolmanskop
Mariki was up early to climb the rocky koppie just meters away from Zum Anker. It provided a nice bird’s eye view of Luderitz.
We were the only newbies to Luderitz. As the rest of the touring group had all previously done Kolmanskop, we went there on our own. This was one of the two primary objectives of my tour, and we did not intend missing this.
Due to high numbers of tourists, we were divided in three groups. English, German, and Afrikaans. Our guide was very knowledgeable, and her presentation very good. Space would preclude a complete rundown of the history of Kolmanskop, but you can read more about it at http://kolmanskop.net/
But in short, diamonds were found there in 1908. It was so prevalent that it was picked up in jars, even at night with diamonds identifiable in the moonlight. Amazingly, each house in Kolmanskop at that time had electricity and a telephone, with ice blocks being delivered to each house every morning to be used in the “top loader” fridges to cool down food. The complex even sported a pool which looked about25m x 25m and about 3m deep. However, in 1928 even richer diamond deposits were found at Oranjemund, and everyone then flocked there, simply leaving their homes at Kolmanskop. Easy come easy go, I guess.
I’d prefer not to stay in this one.
The railway line between Luderitz and Aus, which had been in rehabilitation for more than ten years now, had been built at that time within an amazing ten months by 1908. It is scheduled to re-open again this year. It seems like an uphill battle, though, as there are places where whole sand dunes became settled across the tracks.
Johnie hoped to go on a tour to Bogenfels, but apparently these tours require two days’ notice, for which we did not have sufficient time. We took a drive around the Luderitz peninsula, instead. We managed to see Kleiner Bogenfels,
and also went down to one of two fjords. The rather bad smaller roads caused us to thereafter rather aim for Diaz point, where the wind was blowing that I believe would meet the criteria of “fresh”. Sommer very fresh.
Water over a troubled bridge?
Down below from Diaz cross a young man had a spot of bother with his Nissan bakkie. After a picnic with his girlfriend, he got stuck. Under Rosie’s command those of us close enough not to be able to ignore his plight, were all commanded to assist in pushing the bakkie back to dry ground.
It turned out that, independent of our group, my remaining brother also arrived in Luderitz sometime during the day. Just after dark we happened to pass each other on the road, and he recognized my vehicle. Well, he should, I would think. I’ve had it for the past 17 years.
I took him along to Barrels, where the rest of our crowd already convened for dinner.
We might have arrived there a bit late, as the place was full, and we were taken through the kitchen to what seems to be a breakfast corner. This was a lot quieter than the hustle and bustle of the main restaurant and bar. We also met up again with the gentleman with the Nissan. He still had the same girlfriend.
We had to wait rather long for our food, but we were advised that, due to the popularity of the place, if you’re not there by six in the evening, this is bound to happen. We in any event were not in a hurry.
Day three
The horses of Aus, Tiras Mountains, Gunsbewys
We could once again get on the road fairly quickly, as we only had to pack our bags, with all the camping stuff having remained in the bakkie for the two nights we stayed at Zum Anker.
Before we left we visited the campsite at Shark Island. It looked rather nice, but I understand Shark Island (as the rest of Luderitz) to have a bit of a reputation for being windy. Shark Island was a concentration camp between 1905 and 1907 where Nama and Herero prisoners were held. A monument with several plaques had been set up to commemorate a rather grisly bit of genocidal history.
[Picture: Mariki Stassen]
Now having mobile phone contact with each other, we left before the rest of the convoy. Apart from Kolmanskop, the feral horses of Aus were the other item high on our bucket list and we wanted to spend time at the Garub viewpoint about 20km’s before Aus.
The history of these horses is unclear. Different theories had been put forward, such as that the horses came from the Duwiseb breeding station, that they originated from a 19th century cargo ship, or that they became scattered from South African Expeditiary Forces during the first World War. Whatever their origin, they adapted to the harsh environment.
Due to ongoing drought (now apparently in its fourth year) steps had been taken to provide limited support of the horses in terms of feeding and water. More information could be found at http://www.wild-horses-namibia.com.
When we got to the viewpoint, two rather lame and skinny horses were hanging around. They came to within touching distance of us, but remained wary.
[Picture: Mariki Stassen]
We overlooked the plain below where a number of Gemsbok could be seen.
Shortly thereafter more horses approached the water hole, and some came up to the viewpoint. At one stage a mare approached the viewpoint, causing a flurry of two other mares neighing and rearing, with one of them then departing. The remaining two mares then came together, necking each other.
This was really a site worthwhile spending time at.
The rest of our convoy joined us, and from there we departed for Aus. This was our first hot day with temperatures measuring 32 degrees.
I had to fill the bakkie up at Aus. We in any event had to go back to the shop at the garage just to check on something. When we passed through on our way to Luderitz, I took a travel brochure from the magazine rack. Going through it in Luderitz, however, I spotted what seemed like a price on the back cover of the book, …