From Vioolsdrift to Alexander Bay the Namakwa 4x4 trail takes in the spectacular Helskloof, and ventures into the Richtersveld Community Conservancy, a declared World Heritage Site.
Vioolsdrift to Alexander Bay is quite an adventure. Okay, it's not really up there with the likes of Cape to Cairo, but it's good, double-rugged fun. Look in any atlas and you won't find a road to journey on, unless you go via Steinkopf and Port Nolloth. The only other way is along the Namakwa 4x4 trail.
Near Vioolsdrift, we'd booked into Aquacade Camp on the banks of the Orange River. Most other folks we met on the first night were going river rafting the next morning but for us the slow circular drive through Helskloof awaited.
Due to the very rough terrain and snail's pace progress along the Helskloof route we'd heeded the trail recommendations and planned Helskloof as a separate day outing. We first stopped at the nearby Rooiwal Winkel, where we filled the tank with what must have been the most expensive diesel in the country, and set off into the Nababiep Nature Reserve.
The first thing we looked out for were petroglyphs etched into huge boulders along a kilometre stretch of track. These are believed to have been the work of the San people more than 1 000 years ago. Unfortunately, among the engravings, there was also a lot of graffiti left by more modern but definitely not more advanced individuals.
In the route description provided with our trail permit theHelskloof is referred to as the Kristalberg Route, which turns off the main track to Eksteenfontein. The trail passed through incredibly rugged scenery, all the time hemmed in by ridges of barren rock in deep autumn colours. At the view site, which is the ultimate destination in Helskloof, the panorama was more than worth the ride, and we were mesmerised by the intertwining contours of the landscape as they drifted off into an undulating sea of ridges.
The circular route offers some challenging off-road driving with the terrain varying from steep uphills and sharp entries and exits on the dry river crossings to some interesting rock obstacles. The going was rough and slow and took us five hours to complete.
On our second morning we were greeted with a thick bank of clouds approaching from the west, their heavy underside propped up by a rainbow. Setting off along the trail we passed the turnoff to Helskloof and a little further came to the first point of interest, an area dubbed the "tower field". Here travellers had left a sign of their passing by balancing rocks one on top of the other and, in so doing, have created a curiosity using natural materials, which has a strange, almost mysterious atmosphere to it.
Zeroing the trip meter we continued on the trail - resetting the meter at each junction or landmark was recommended to make it easier to follow the route map and hopefully not get lost.
Soon the rain started and by the time we reached the small town of Eksteenfontein the downpour had settled into a steady drumming on the roof, and the low clouds, which obscured the surrounding mountains, promised much more.
We had now moved into the winter rainfall region where flowers were out in abundance; instead of the barren landscapes we had become used to, the area was cloaked in green.
Eksteenfontein is the gateway to the Richtersveld Community Conservancy, which attained World Heritage Site status in 2007. In the small tourist information office we met Volenti van der Westhuizen, who gave us a bit of background on the area.
"People think we're part of the national park but in actual fact we're totally different," Volenti explains.
At 160 000ha, the Richtersveld Community Conservancy, although adjoining the Ai/Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, is a separate entity lying outside the southern boundary.
It's one of only 34 Biodiversity Hotspots worldwide as recognised by Conservation International, and one of only two in a desert.
The dominating landscapes consist of mountains, valleys, and quartz fields, which contain the highest botanical diversity and rates of endemism of any arid region on earth. It supports more succulent flora than anywhere else, and in order to survive the harsh environment, these plants have adapted accordingly to conserve water and shield themselves from the sun and strong winds.
We were spending the night inside the conservancy in the guesthouse at Rooiberg, about 17km from Eksteenfontein. The house was built in 1974 when mining operations took place on top of Rooiberg itself, the miners being flown to the top of the mountain and back each day by helicopter.
It had rained throughout the night - an unusual occurrence here - which, in places, made for some interesting driving conditions on the way to Tierhoek bush camp. Many of the rivers had water in them and the trail was extremely slippery in places, causing the back end of the vehicle to break away.
Once into the network of narrow tracks even zeroing the trip meter didn't help us in finding our way.
We had, however, given ourselves plenty of time to reach the campsite so we settled back to enjoy the ride. We eventually found Tierhoek more by chance than through trying to match pointers on the ground with the route instructions. The campsite was nestled in a natural amphitheatre of massive boulders, balanced randomly on top of one another to form caverns and passageways.
On the way to our last campsite on the trail, at Bakkranse, the track seemed little used and became vague in places, on occasion being obliterated beneath thick carpets of flowers. The Bakkranse are easily identified by the two large shallow caverns weathered into the cliffs of a gorge, and they make a good shelter for a campsite.
As evening fell the surrounding rocky slopes came alive with small mammals collecting sticks and food before retiring for the night. We wondered whether this was their natural time to become active or whether they preferred the fading light to try to escape the beady eyes of a couple of jackal buzzards that were nesting on a rock across the gorge. It was like watching nature's version of The Bold and the Beautiful.
From Bakkranse the tracks offered some of the fastest driving on the trail so far until we entered the Holgat River, which provided some good sand driving and fantastic scenery. The meandering course of the river was at first flanked by towering red dunes dotted with stands of flowers, and gradually, over the next 10km, the landscape flattened out.
At a place called Sukkel, a windpump stood below a ridge of white cliffs, struggling to suck water from deep underground into an old bath to sustain livestock in a land that, during the height of summer, must be inhospitable. Once we left the river the track again offered a faster ride and the slight corrugations smoothed out at 60km/h.
Five days after setting out we reached trail's end at a place called Beesbank on the road between Alexander Bay and the Ai/Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. According to the odometer we'd covered around 415km, quite a bit more than the trail distance of 284km - getting lost can add up.
If you want to lose yourself for a while, the Namakwa trail is a good place to do it.
And, at the same time, it takes you into some of most isolated reaches of our country.
If you go...
- Where to Stay: In Vioolsdrift Aquacade Camp offers self-catering chalets at R400pn for up to four people, well equipped grassed campsites at R50 per site plus R60 per adult and R20 per child, and their river trips are priced according to length and requirements starting at R150 for a half-day trip, tel 027 761 8777 or cell 084 291 8833; www.aquacade.co.za. For accommodation in Eksteenfontein call Volenti van der Westhuizen on 027 851 7108. The campsites at Tierhoek and Bakkranse are included in the price of the trail.
- What it costs: The trail is broken down into two sections; the first, from Pofadder to Vioolsdrift costs R150 per vehicle for up to four days, and the second, from Vioolsdrift to Alexander Bay, costs R150 per vehicle for up to five days. The sections can be combined. Maps and a route description are supplied.
- Who to contact: The trail can be booked via Namakwa Tourism information in Springbok tel 027 712 8035/6.