The beauty of nowhere

Exploring the beauty of nowhere, from Cape Town to Cape Cross.

The Amarok bobbed and weaved through the 7 am Stellenbosch traffic. As usual I kept everyone waiting and we left 30 minutes later than planned. My mind and body was on a go slow after the 12 weeks of studying and exams which had just passed. The last time I had a line in the water was 89 days and 14 hours ago, give or take a few minutes. Although this wasn’t a fishing trip of sorts, what true fisherman would visit the Namibian coast and not wet a line.

HP + Charmaine squared (this would be a fun explanation at border control) were off on a 9 day trip from the Cape to St Nowhere and back. Dad planned the entire trip with very little assistance from me. My only input was a requirement that we spend a night or two at the coast; Dad being a fisherman himself needed little persuasion.
Stuck in another roadwork at the Clanwilliam dam I found myself starring longingly into the water hoping for a fish to rise. We had been driving along the Olifants River and the clear waters with so much potential caused the old fishermans twitch in my hookset arm. I could just about feel the pressure on the imaginary fishing rod in my left hand.

We were traveling without a GPS and Mom designated herself the official map handler (yes you still get them, as in the paper ones). She would highlight the route as we travelled and inform us of any interesting tourist sights coming up or places we could talk about visiting ;-). Mom made sure we knew where we had to go along the main routes, but when we needed to head off the beaten track it became a little more difficult. Having four different people trying to navigate from 3 different maps had us nearly ending up at Douglas Green a couple of times. Dad had no problem asking for directions and on more than one occasion we had to admit defeat and pull an “excuse me meneer” on the side of the road.

After a quick coffee at the Wimpy in Springbok and saying hi to a friend from our Angolan adventure, we squeaked some takkie to our first overnight. Most of the towns on route through Namaqualand land are a blink-of-an-eye away from being missed. It’s a different life out there and many of the areas look poor with a barren and dry landscape, as Dad so aptly painted a picture of how the livestock peer over the land with a tear in their eye each morning.

Turning off the N7 at Steinkopf we made the last few kilometers to Port Nolloth. We stayed at McDougall’s Bay . The accommodation had all you needed and was super clean, but best of all was that you could hear the sound of the waves; sold! We were greeted by heavy fog which luckily cleared just in time for a sunset walk to get the driving stiffness out the legs.

We saw some beautiful flamingos doing the running man in the shallows, looks hilarious! They shuffle their feet in the sand trying to loosen up some food to eat.

We opened the first of the KWV Roodebergs and as the Karoo chops started to sizzle on the braai I finally settled into the holiday mood.
Back on the road we and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise as we entered Alexander Bay.

We did a quick drive-through, trying to get to the mouth of the Orange River, but once again nearly ended up at Douglas Green.

We headed east along the bank of the river; there were large mining camps everywhere. People were still actively searching for their fortune in diamonds. I must admit, I had my eyes optimistically searching the ground every time we stopped for a bathroom break; as if diamonds are just lying around.

Our breakfast stop in the middle of nowhere was pretty spectacular. The Richtersveld stretched as far as the eye could see, South Africa on the one side of the river and the huge sandy dunes of Namibia on the other side. Not much grows there and the hilly landscape was filled with scattered rocks and the odd little grey bush.

At Sendelingsdrif we had to cross the river on a pontoon/ferry. We had previously done this at the Kei River mouth as well as at Malgas crossing the Breede River, but it remains a pretty cool experience.

The border control at Sendelingsdrif went smooth (contrary to my initial anticipation); we added to the map collection…

One of the officers inspected the Amarok with a lot of interest, probably because he never sees any other vehicle than a Toyota. Everyone in Namibia drives a Toyota bakkie!

Once in Namibia we followed the C13 to Rosh Pinah. Someone had inside info that we should buy meat from the Spar there, apparently it is really good and then you do not need to bring any in from South Africa. We bought some steak and sides for this evening’s braai. Back on the road we made another pit-stop at Aus. Would it be considered stealing if you use the restroom without purchasing anything or paying the N$5 fee if not purchasing anything?

We took the turn-off to Luderitz and only thanks to Charmaine’s newly acquired map knowledge did we stop and turn around. We were meant to be on the C13, but somehow currently traveling along the B4, eish. By now the first thing on the checklist for the following trip was a GPS.

The landscape was beautiful and traveling along the gravel roads through the farms and mountainous terrain had the paparazzi snapping away. Although the roads were gravel, they were in great condition and you could easily average a speed of 100kmph, unless I was driving, then the average dropped a little as I was more concerned with the surroundings than the road.

We turned into a small settlement in amongst all the farms; this is where we would spend the night, Helmeringhausen. It is a privately owned/run/maintained town (not sure if it qualifies as a town though).

We popped into the hotel for their world famous apple crumble and a cup of coffee.

A big convoy of farmers were passing through and stopped at the Hotel for a beer or two. They were on their way to do some dune driving in the Namib. Guess what vehicles they were all driving… pretty funny to see the only one in the convoy that stopped at the garage to have a wheel fixed was a Nissan. His mates probably gave him horns about it. As the brandy called, they were off again.

There was no electricity power supply to the town and the house we stayed in had the lights and refrigerator running on batteries charged by solar panels. We had to light a fire in the donkey outside in order to warm water for a shower; brought back memories of the farm life, back in the day!

As darkness descended over the settlement so did the silence. It felt like we were the only people there. I lit the fire for the braai just as the sun set over the mountains; a beautiful picture, a great place to be. After listening to the Stormers thump the Cheetahs on the radio, it was time for the steaks; a good medium rare all-round. Did anyone braai a shoe by accident? Hmmm, the meat was super tough (and not the braaiers fault! Perhaps the inside info was not quite accurate), at least the wine was great and dearly needed to choke down the meat.

Later that evening we stood outside looking up at the stars; brighter than ever as the moon was nearly dark and obviously no other lights for miles. The silence was deafening only to be broken by a barking jackal in the distance. You really can’t describe this to anyone and it ideally needs to be experienced. Once in bed, with the lights turned out, it was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

We were back on the gravel road early the next morning.

A long day lay ahead, with much driving to do and much to see. We stopped for breakfast along the roadside in the NamibRand Nature Reserve. As we grazed on our biltong and cheese sarmies with a hot cuppa, we were joined by a herd of Gemsbuck also enjoying their breakfast next to the roadside; is it normal to feel a little guilty chewing on a piece of biltong?

We saw gemsbuck, rooihartebees, springbuck, kudu etc. I think we all had stiff necks from all the looking around. Especially when Mom spots something, she would exclaim, kyk daar is n kudu and no one would know where to look, resulting in us flying past the buck she saw and questioning her eyesight.

I was pretty amazed at some of the areas we spotted wildlife. These Gemsbuck have adapted to survive out here. Apparently they can go for months on end without needing to drink any water. They get all the fluids they need from the food they eat.

We passed by what we first thought was a mirage. Turned out it was… the Le Mirage Desert Lodge & SPA. Getting away from it all gets a whole new meaning if you book yourself into this place.

It was just before midday when we pulled into Sossusvlei.

The last 5kms required some serious 4×4 driving across the soft sand.

Once we parked under which was probably the thinnest tree in the whole area, Charmaine and I decided to do the 1.5km walk to the dead lake. Coming from a chilly Western Cape, the 30+ degrees was something to get accustomed to. The side of the dunes facing the sun were super-hot and our feet burned as we walked across them. I felt like one of those desert lizards that jump from foot to foot trying not to become semi grilled. There were hundreds of tourists, dressed to the T in their safari outfits, complete with vellies and khakis, worth a chuckle, although we probably looked a bit odd in our shorts and T’s.

The dead lake was a unique experience, and an odd thing to see in the middle of the dessert in between the sand dunes, worth a visit.

We were running a little late and needed to check into the house at the following destination by 4; about 4 hours to travel 350km’s along a gravel road and over two passes, right. We started off nice and easy, but after my dad asked me if I was looking for parking, I decided to put foot. I don’t remember much of this part, I do however remember blinking and being told we had just passed through Solitaire. After broadsiding a corner or two and the odd skid and slide on the gravel, mom in a bit of a panic, investigated the booking confirmation and exclaimed that we actually only need to check in at 5 (if all else fails, read the instructions). After everyone relaxed a little we pulled into Walvis Bay. It was just a pass through, but I have to admit, I did get a little excited when I saw the ocean.

We arrived in Swakopmund with time to spare. We checked in and quickly popped into the grocery store to buy some goodies for tonight’s braai. We decided to stay clear of the red meat and opted for some chicken that ended up going down very well.

The following day we explored Swakopmund and ventured down to the famous Paaltjies beach. We took the fishing equipment along to make a few casts. It was quite a drive to get there, traveling through the active salt mines. Now we didn’t really know what the paaltjies at Paaltjies looked like, but they were hard to miss once you spotted one, however until then every stick or piece of drift wood along the beach was a possible paaltjie. The beach is pretty straight with a gully running parallel to the side as far as you travel. Unfortunately the sea was quite big and there was a massive pull along the gully. It made my 6oz sinker seem like a float. Being avid fishermen we couldn’t resist making a couple of casts as we continued down the beach, but there was not much chance of anything happening. It was good to get out to the water again; glad I remembered how to cast a line.

Back in Swakopmund we prepared for an evening at the Jetty 1905 restaurant. A lovely experience with great food, but be prepared to pay for it, they aint cheap, worth it though! You sit about 200 meters out onto the water and watch the waves build below you; a pretty daunting sight.

The next morning I took Mom and Charmaine for a visit to the Kristall Gallerie while Dad had a Wimpy coffee and read the paper. The biggest quartz crystal in the world can be seen here.

We stopped at the Spar in Henties bay to stock up on some supplies. We were informed by the lady at the tackle shop that the fish weren’t biting and that there are even BIGGER seas ahead for the next few days, peaking on the last day of our visit. Not the nicest news before a 3 day camp at the beach for some fishing.

We made our way along the salt road and just couldn’t pass by the Fishermans Inn, a bar in the middle of nowhere, shucks, if those walls could talk.

A quick beer later, we were off again and stopped at Cape Cross for a look at the seals. The smell was just as bad as I remember, but still pretty incredible to see all those seals gathered together. They must eat quite a number of fish every day!

Finally we reached our destination for the next three days, St Nowhere Spa & Campsite. Not so sure about the Spa… but you get to camp, or rent a cottage right on the beach, what more do fishermen want?

We were trying to spot the “SPA” but not to sure what we were looking for…

The cottages are “refurbished” from the days people use to stay there while doing salt mining. I suspect more than 3 days of this would be pushing your luck if you have the fairer sex along with you. If you are here to fish, braai and kuier, then the manne can stay here for weeks.

We made a quick cast at Blare just to get supper organised. Dad was on in no time and fresh fish was on the menu.

That night the wind blew gale force, drowning out the sound of the ocean which was only about 150meters away. At one time I thought we might lose the roof of the cottage. Luckily everything was still intact the next morning. A thick fog hid the sea from us but I could hear it was upset, waves pounding in the deep and white water rolling in from far out.

We travelled to the fence and made our way down to the water. It was slow going due to the corrugated road, but who cares when you are surrounded by such unique beauty.

The tide was almost low and probably our best opportunity to get a fish. I baited up my 14ft rod with some pilchard we purchased at the tackle store in Swakopmund.

Most of the time you do not need to cast very far in Namibia, so I sent the bait flying with a gentle cast.

Not long and I hooked a nice little kobbie, a few small headshakes later it was on the side. Good to get onto the scoreboard. These guys are full-up all year round and can easily be found by driving around a bit.

At low tide we ventured a little down the beach to skuinsrif. Unfortunately the water was too rough to get onto any of the rocks and there was not much chance for the fish to come in close to the side either. When the visibility in the water is very bad, it is sometimes good to use the belly of the sardine as the extra smells will help to better attract a fish to your bait.

Success on the belly bait.

With very little success (I think only dad managed another small kob and the rest of us just a couple of barbel) we traveled along the beach back to our accommodation.

I investigated every known spot and scouted for potential new ones, but the sea was just too big. We acknowledged defeat and decided to have our final casts for the day in the bay before Blare.

We had an inquisitive visitor begging for a barbel or sardine to be passed on to him. He/she made the ladies pretty nervous when they needed to visit the little girls room behind the bossies.

We decided that we would fish until the sun started to set; a beautiful sight to see the sun being swallowed by the ocean in the distance. Dad landed a monster blacktail, 42cm.

For a moment there I thought we might be into the fish, but feeding blacktail cannot really be considered as fish biting and are more of a by catch. We caught and released a couple of good sized ones and they were great fun on the light tackle.

We arrived back at the cottage with our tail between our legs, punished by the days wind and cold, ready for a shower and nice warm fire.

The swell became progressively bigger and ocean more aggravated during the night. The strong winds coupled with the spring tide made for a perfect storm. We landed one or two fish that day, but the fishing was almost impossible.

The waves surged far beyond the high-water mark and we had to move the Amarok a couple of times in fear that it might soon double as a boat. We managed some more blacktail. This one a bus…

And they made fun on the light tackle, landing then one after the other.

We headed home early after losing all hope of catching any more fish that day. I was bitterly disappointed and had really hoped to be able to smash a couple of kob on lures these two days. Well, at least there is next time; perhaps we will get better seas in October when we visit again. Perhaps next time, I thought as I sipped a port and listened to the fire crackle; the warmth comforted the disappointment; at least I was having a great time.

We had left St Nowhere behind and were on the road to Uis. We heard on the radio, that the big seas had crashed through the Jetty 1905 restaurant where we had been 3 days ago. My mom (who is not a big fan of water) would probably not have survived if it had happened while we were dining. The 5 meter swells had been the biggest the area has experienced in more than a year; typical to happen when we were so eager to go fishing, silly Murphy.

We travelled inland with the vista of the Spitzkoppe in the eastern background. Free roaming springbuck and patches of grassland filled the picture.

We passed the White lady and made a first stop in Uis at the tea garden. Refreshed and ready for the road we put foot for Okahandja. We took one of the back roads, traveling through the farms. The road took us through the Erindi private game reserve. We were fortunate enough to see an abundance of wildlife, with the highlights probably the elephant and giraffes.

I was pretty relieved when we arrived at the Okahandja lodge where we would spend the night; a nice warm shower and a good bed. We were recommended the steak and once again fell into the trap of ordering Namibian meat; tasty, but tough as leather. We had not arranged accommodation for the following night and Dad had to use his contacts. We wanted a place to stay as close to the fish river canyon the following evening. That would be our final destination before heading back into South Africa. We managed to get accommodation near Grunau at a guest farm.

It was a long drive from Okahandja to Grunau. We drove through the centre of Windhoek, taking in some of the sights from the luxury of the Amarok. From Windhoek to Grunau there isn’t much to see and the road seemed a little unending. After spending a lot of hours on the road the last few days, a boring road seems so much worse. On the farm we had a stroll around and took in a beautiful sunset.

The evening we were fortunate enough to catch the rugby before supper. Sheep was on the menu and the meat lived up to expectation. We are really blessed with some good meat in South Africa, especially from the Karoo.

We travelled through the Gondwana national park on our way to the Fish River Canyon. One thing is for sure, you are treated to a variety of game where ever you go. The Fish River Canyon was amazing. It is so big and your mind wonders on the possible magnitude of water that must have caused this insane erosion. A sight you would probably only visit once in your life, but worth the trip. We added a rock to the rock pile in remembrance of our visit, “ons was hier”.

A final dash towards the mighty Orange river saw us passing through a desert rain storm. Supposedly a seldom sighted event. Needless to say, the Amarok was looking more like a dust ball than the its white former self. We reached the border in good time, but still had a big distance to travel for the day. After crossing back into South Africa at Vioolsdrift, the reality of the trip coming to an end suddenly descended upon us.

Everyone was pretty quiet on the ride back to Cape Town; minds still caught in the amazing sights witnessed the last few days. I would do this anytime. Arriving home in a cold and rainy Somerset West brought us back to reality in no time. Luckily memories can last forever.

A wonderful time spent with the family -1; a time I will treasure forever! Namibia is an incredible place and I cannot wait to return. There is so much more left to explore and so many hours still to be fished. I might just be fully persuaded to join the fishing trip at the end of October.