Newark California - 390 km

Another very nice sunny morning for travelling.

We made a fairly early start from Reno as we really weren’t sure how long it would take to get to Newark (near San Francisco) as there are so many traffic related variables. As it was we were here about 1 ½ hour sooner than we had planned as we encountered very little in the way of traffic delays – amazingly we actually never came to a complete stop at any time on the freeway.

The interstate from Reno to the SF Bay area traverses Donner Pass. Apparently the original explorers of the area led by a fellow named Donner were trapped by heavy snows  for an extended period of starvation giving rise to stories of cannibalism. It is a beautiful area. We stopped at Immigrant’s Pass for some photos and met a little lizard who was enjoying the warmth of the rock guard rails.

We are now are at friends in Newark for the weekend.

Sparks, NV – 349 km

Another day of great desert riding along the virtually deserted Cedarville-Gerlach-Wadsworth highway. About the only downside was one (and only one) gravel covered corner – unfortunately toward the beginning of the ride so we lost confidence in the rest of the road. Skies were mostly of the high cloud variety and temperatures ranged from 11C to 27.5C. By the time we reached our destination we were both stripped down to the mesh jackets only.

We made a number of stops along the way because there are some very interesting small towns. The first was Eagleville, CA, a small farming community where we met the owners of the Eagleville General Store which wasn’t quite open yet as they were renovating. We wished them luck. There certainly isn’t much around there to help keep their new business venture going so hopefully they have full support of the surrounding farmers.

Eagleville

At one of the many little private lakes along the way there were several trailers and a large contingency of ATV riders came out onto the highway making their way into the desert. We can image it must be fun exploring the backcountry that way. They were all geared up with the provisions they needed for the day – extra fuel, tires, water cans and we are pretty sure a good supply of beer and jerky!

Then we made a lunch stop in Gerlach, NV at Brunos. Bruno Selmi came alone to America on a boat from Italy at a tender age, leaving the post-war Old World behind for a life of better prospects. He wandered the States, picking up odd jobs and cooking for a living, until he settled in Gerlach and opened a restaurant. He then expanded into real estate, motel ownership, etc. The townsfolk of Gerlach seem to love him and his places. “Bruno’s a genuine Gerlach icon,” they say. “His ravioli is famous. He’s like our unofficial mayor.” Bruno was there today – asleep in the bar, with his head resting on one of the tables. After all he is 92 years old. We were going to say hi but he had awoken and disappeared when we finished lunch. Maybe he had gone to the toilet.  Anyway, he owns the town and has been trying unsuccessfully to sell it for a while now.

Next we stopped at Empire, NV. Well, we stopped at the general store in Empire because the company town of Empire is deserted, locked and gated. You see, Empire is Nevada’s newest ghost town since the gypsum company shut down in 2013. The company gave notice to its 95 employees allowing them to stay until the school year ended. The housing for all these workers was provided by the company and all the houses sit empty now. However, this area is kept alive by tourism because the Burning Man celebration once a year in August brings in 50000 people for a week. Sort of like our area’s Shambala we are guessing. We saw plenty of trailers and motorhomes waiting to be rented. There was also a reference to the support from “Burning Man” at one of the schools where funds had been donated to purchase a field of solar panels to economically power the school’s needs.

Comfy corner at the Empire General Store

Here we are ON FRIDAY at the Nugget. FRIDAY means seafood buffet with all-you-can eat Alaska King Crab. Which is why we are here! Tomorrow morning we head to the SF Bay area.

Alturas, CA – 311 km

Overnight lows were close to freezing in the high desert. The lady at the motel check in this afternoon covered or took her plants in last night just in case. We got a later start from Burns as a) it was cold and b) there is no rush as the couple we were going to stop in and see in Silver Springs, NV are going camping tomorrow and won’t be home. Result: we have plenty of time to get to Sparks by Friday afternoon. So much so that tomorrow we are going to take the Gerlach-Pyramid Lake road through northern Nevada. The last time Doug took this route it was quite a challenge so we shall see if things have changed in 25+ years.

OK, where was everyone this morning. We know it was cold but also such a beautiful sunny day you would think we would see some activity. All that seemed to be awake in this deserted part of the world was the occasional cow.

The first animal we saw on the road today was:

a.       A pronghorn antelope

       b.      An ostrich
      c.       A peacock
       d.      A coyote

If you answered c. you are correct. We think he was an escapee from a local farm outside of Burns. As we approached neither of us could decide what we were really seeing. First we thought it was a large turkey, then a dog so what a surprise when we got close enough to actually see it. It wasn’t even scared of Raindancer, just kept on strutting along the highway!

Our first stop was at Wagontire, OR – a bustling metropolis complete with international airport. Population 3. We did not see any of the 3 inhabitants, although there was an old pickup beside a mobile home. Apparently someone found a wagon tire near there spurring romantics to suggest that it came from a covered wagon attacked by Indians. 

 

We rode past Abert Lake, a very large lake area (alkaline slough) that the road curved around. It looked very pretty but whenever we got downwind was pretty odorous. No sign of life around it for good reason.

There were lots of gophers running merrily across the road becoming road kill and feed for numerous brown hawks we saw. These little guys seemed way smaller than what we see at home and run pretty fast, but sometimes not fast enough, hence the road kill part. We expect to see many more tomorrow morning as they will congregate on the warm pavement in the early morning sun.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was a pleasant sagebrush ride under clear skies with very little wind. We stopped early here in Alturas to get some laundry done and treat ourselves to a Mexican dinner out.

We are in the USA!

 

Burns, OR - 388 km

Sunny skies, smooth roads, mountain vistas, curves around and over rivers, virtually no traffic, crisp juicy apples and someone you love along for the ride. What more can one ask for!

This morning was one of our favourite roads over Idaho’s Whitebird Pass and along the Salmon River. The signs in Riggins told us the salmon are running which probably explains why every possible camp spot along the road was occupied and most of the motels had no vacancy signs. Having said that we saw very few people actually fishing. The river is running very fast and full so wonder how much luck anyone would have anyway. Lots of snags to be caught we are sure.

Our old bodies seem to be stiffening up faster than in the good old days so we seemed to be making more stops than normal and are grateful for the chance to stretch and get the old joints moving again. We had an older man walk by and comment on how he can no longer do this. Makes us both happy we still can and even more determined to keep at it until we really no longer can.

The afternoon took us into drier sagebrush dominated areas and through lots of lush farmland where there is irrigation. They are trying to get a handle on some of the invasive weeds as we are in BC.

Eastern Oregon's High Desert

It really was a very nice day until the last hour or so when the winds started to gust (70 km/h?) and the temperature dropped to 12C. We are in the mountain high desert so half expected this.
We are at one of the motels we have stayed at on two different occasions. It is well situated. We seem to be doing a sort of memory tour, though the road we traveled here from Idaho Norma has never travelled and Doug last took way back in 1988! Doug remembers staying in the Bates motel (really!) in Vale, Oregon (we went through there today) with two buddies from work who decided to give him a motorcycle escort to Berkeley. Doug stayed there to teach summer school and they rode back to BC. Both have since passed away. Today’s ride was for you Joe and Brian!

Remembering Joe and Brian

Grangeville, ID - 308 km

Surprise, surprise, we woke to sunshine! We think this might be a first for us when heading south through Worley. At any rate we were pretty pleased to see it and happy to have our ride start out so well. After spending a bit more of the kids inheritance in the casino we had a late breakfast and set out around 10:30 am. Actually Norma came ahead a bit at the casino and Doug's overall winnings totaled the $.05 he found on the casino floor!

After some discussion about returning to Spokane to replace our communications system we decided to avoid backtracking and to press on southward. The system worked all day today, albeit it's performance leaves something to be desired (it's days are numbered).

Just north of Moscow, ID there was an accident involving a semi which was in the ditch. The EMTs were there giving someone assistance. The traffic was also backed up out of Lewiston, ID for quite a ways indicating some sort of problem which we simply avoided by not going into Lewiston.

We followed the Nez Perce trail south most of the day.  This is a highway from Lewiston that we had not taken before. It meandered along the very swollen Clearwater river and eventually into a winding mountain pass locally called the Harpster Grade (ID Hwy 13). The farmland all along the way is really starting to green up and a crop duster, a very nice little bright yellow plane, was busy buzzing the highway making it's frequent passes over the fields.

Swollen Clearwater River near Orofino, ID

Ascending the Harpster Grade

We stopped a few times to read the history markers regarding ferries, Indian settlements, battles, etc. We also stopped in Orofino, a small Idaho town our friend John is from. We had heard about it but never been here before.

We stopped a bit earlier than we normally do, as we are not sure where we would find anything in the next hour or so. We have stayed at this motel before and sort of know the lay of the land.They also provide spots for motorcycles under cover right at the front door complete with traffic cones to mark your spot. The grocery store and dollar store are just a nice walk from here so we headed out, got a bit of exercise and enjoyed the nice warm sunny afternoon.

Worley, ID - 306 km.

Our annual spring motorcycle ride is underway and as always it started out in the rain. It rained hard all morning and was just beginning to clear a bit as we left home around noon. The afternoon was spent dodging rain squalls and the odd t-storm. We did have the rain gear off and on twice. Every time we tried to stop for a break another rain squall would hit. The worst part was the wind that picked up closer to our destination.

The US customs officer actually remembered us from previous trips, but searched the bike none-the-less. He found our huckleberry jam but did not confiscate it although I detected a bit of drool at the corner of his mouth. Maybe we should take him a jar next time – or would that be a bribe?

The memorial day traffic was a little heavy in some spots- mostly motorhomes, trailers and campers otherwise it was clear sailing, although our helmet to helmet communication system ceased working somewhere along the way. We will have to decide whether we want to go back to Spokane to replace it or forge on to Reno/Sparks and try there or just do without this trip. Doug is a little reticent to lose Norma’s eyes/ears/help, especially in urban traffic and we will see some of that on this ride.

We arrived at Worley about 4pm and Doug noticed Raindancer was acting a little strange – pulling to the right in the parking lot. Then we saw why. He wanted to park next to a nice looking BMW R1000. Take a look at the picture of his new friend – nice jugs!

We will spend the evening gambling and trying to spend or hopefully increase the children’s inheritance!! Or should we say increasing our holiday account as we have so many more things planned we hope to do and soon.

Weather forecast is better for tomorrow so we will see what lies ahead.

 

Parys, North West Province, SA – 371 km

Tuesday, May 13, 2014 Parys, North West Province, SA – 371 km

The temperature only dropped to 9 degrees overnight and quickly warmed up as we got going. Another day of prairie driving with nothing to see on the horizon. For some reason the area seems a little richer, not as many townships, bigger and nicer houses associated with productive farmland.

When we stopped for gas the station attendant saw we were from Canada and asked if we would take him home with us. A Canada sticker had to suffice, no room in the luggage.

We followed the map in our caravan book to find both of the two places written up (just outside of Parys – pronounced Paris) don’t seem to exist but we did end up at a lovely place by the Vaal River called “Smilin Thru” (spelled that way).  It is a very tranquil place where we enjoyed sitting on the river bank watching the cormorant and just generally relaxing. Being winter here the place is virtually deserted with only one camp set up across from us. We can just imagine how busy it can by with the location so close to a larger center. The manager told us they just closed up the restaurant last weekend as the business slows down. There is a real menagerie of animals here, from the pot belly pig who kept following us around, to the goats, the peacock, ostrich, cows and lots of ground squirrels. She told us they keep a skeleton crew on all winter due to the risk of fires and as we see all the dry grass around we can see why. The crew are busy painting and staining the wood, etc. getting ready for the next season it seems.

Norma's new friend

Cormorant drying wings

Vaal River

Local birdlife

 

We have good internet access here so we will make this our last post prior to flying to Calgary tomorrow evening.

As we look at the peaceful Vaal River flowing by we find ourselves a bit reflective as our trip comes to a close:

Reflections on South Africa 2014

Many months ago as we started planning this trip we kept hearing from family and friends about their concerns re our safety. Everyone seemed to have a story from a distant source of what could happen to us. However, we made a decision to work hard at not letting paranoia interfere with our trip and for the most part have succeeded. That does not mean casting caution to the wind, just to be street smart and trust our instincts.

We did find ourselves in a few out of the way places where we didn’t feel too comfortable but we just kept all the doors locked, did not stop and avoided eye contact as we made our way to perceived safer ground. In retrospect we were probably in no danger. People seem surprised and children excited to see this motorhome making its way through their small communities.

We have encountered many wonderful and helpful people, black and white, on our trip, most asking the same question. Why did we choose South Africa as a vacation destination? Our pat answer has been “it is something we have both always wanted to do”. In response to our mode of travel they would state “you have chosen the best way to see our country”.

Our travels have taken us into all 9 provinces, which was one of our goals. We have seen some differences in these provinces but also a lot of similarities.

We have experienced temperatures ranging from a low of 4 degrees C overnight to a high of 39 degrees C but mostly around lower 20’s. We have had wonderful sunshine and blue skies with only a day of rain and storm and a few days of heavy winds as we were driving.

In our conversations with black South Africans not one mention of racial tension has been made. Not so for the whites, it comes up in every conversation we have. We keep hearing the caution not to let our guard down. We, having grown up in a supposed anti-racist society, find this one of the hardest things to fathom. But who are we to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude? Would we be any different in a similar situation? Probably not. We can’t help but get the feeling that South Africans are uncomfortable and as a result somewhat unhappy in spite of living in their beautiful, fascinating country. One of the conversations we had had with a white couple from Cape Town was how their daughter and her husband had gone on vacation to Australia and how relaxed they felt compared to their home. A German lady who was one of our camp managers stated a very similar situation where her son and his SA wife decided to move to Australia to raise their two girls in a safer environment. We find this very sad. We wish we had a magic answer for these people to find some comfort. Perhaps time will be the cure – keep in mind that to 20 year old South Africans apartheid is basically a historic concept.

Another question we often get asked by South Africans is “how did we find the caravan parks”. The answer we give is “overall very good”. Although some of the ablution facilities have been old, we have yet to find one unclean. Prices have ranged from about $12 to $36 (strangely enough with the former being close to the best and the latter the worst). Average cost per night 18-20$ with seashore and mountain sites being the highest. We wish more of them had WiFi – something all could address very easily and we suspect they are getting a lot of pressure from campers on this as they all have their stock excuses e.g. “it’s not working right now” or if we pick up a wireless signal “I don’t know the password”.

We have seen very few black families enjoying the various parks. It is probably an economic factor as the National Parks are quite expensive and obviously you need to be able to afford camping equipment and the transportation to go camping.

Do we have regrets?

We maybe should have come in the dryer season as the animal sightings could have possibly been better, but we were still very pleased with what we saw. We should have avoided the school holidays. We didn’t realize the impact when we were setting our dates but now see the cities empty out on holidays and the surrounding areas are flooded with people.

Probably the main one was that we didn’t have enough time. It would have been wonderful to also have visited Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and seen more of Botswana (our few hours on the game drive didn’t give us a real feel for the country). In speaking to people who have travelled to all four that would have required a second month.

We will need to see if we can manage another trip once we have done some of the other things on our bucket list. This has been an excellent experience for both of us and we have such wonderful memories, like seeing the pair of leopards, being at knee height with a male giraffe just a few feet away from the front of the motorhome, watching the monkeys and baboons in the camp grounds to mention a few. We will cherish and share these with our friends and family for years to come. 

We have been told several times that it is more exciting and rare to see leopard which we were lucky enough so see in a pair!

But we didn’t see a lion! 

Reyneke Caravan Park (2 km west of Bloemfontein, Free State, SA) – 202 km

Monday, May 12, 2014 Reyneke Caravan Park (2 km west of Bloemfontein, Free State, SA) – 202 km

Being well into the fall here the temperature dropped to +4 so we had the heater on all night. It makes a nice soothing sound and luckily drowned out the roosters so we actually slept to 7 am. There was a mist over the river and you could see your breath! Made us think of how our summer is coming while people here are getting ready for their winter.

Our first stop was at “The Big Hole” in Kimberley, Northern Cape Province. This is the site of the old diamond mine. We had both wanted to come here as we are both familiar with Kimberley BC with Norma having grown up there and Doug working a short 20 minute drive from there for 30 years. They have created a replica of an old mining town along with an operational guest house, bar, shops as well as renovating some of the old homes and furnishing them with era memorabilia. Also available for viewing are two of the township-like corrugated iron huts. Now we know why we have been seeing people carting off cardboard. It is used as insulation on the inside of the hut. They have also created a viewing station directly over the Big Hole. It is amazing how they managed to work that deep in the ground (operations ceased there in 1914). There were also stations where you could pan for diamonds, but they weren’t offering that today with tourist season over coming into their winter.

 

We got back on the road with Bloemfontein as our destination for today. “Fontein” is a word you see very often in names of places. It loosely translates to fountain, or spring. When you see how barren some parts of the country are you realize how vital the access to water is.

We have now entered Free State, so we have now been in all nine provinces. We wanted a quieter day as we wind down from our month long adventure. Do laundry, etc. Today the drive was much like the Canadian prairies, fields turned over, crops being brought in, etc. Lots of sunflower plants ready for harvest. For the first time we actually saw a white hitch hiker!

We had heard about this caravan park from fellow campers last evening. We have our own very nice ablution block. There is an equestrian center next door and lots of chickens and chicks running around. We watched over the fence as two young girls were having riding lessons. Doug could just stand and see very easily but Norma needed the camper stool! The only thing is the railway tracks are right beside us. So far five trains have gone by so we will see. We imagine the heater will be on all night again so the noise may not be a factor.

We have been trying to use up all our provisions and carefully planning the next few meals to try and clean everything up. I am sure we will be seeking fellow campers to offer our few meager remains.
 

Riverside Caravan Park (32 km South of Kimberley, NC, SA)

Saturday, May 10^th, 2014 Prieska – 586 km

Again last night Norma heard rustling over our heads after Doug had gone to sleep. Was she imagining something, was it the birds in the eaves, mice or what? Well. . . evidence was left on the table by the mouse! No sighting but you can’t argue with the droppings!

Doug got some info from our neighbour this morning about the Mokala National park that we plan to visit tomorrow. Sounds like it will be a nice stop on our way back north. Got fuel before leaving the park and Doug gave the station attendant a Canada sticker. He was thrilled and said he was going to put it on his fridge.

Stopped at a bushman’s hut and bought a necklace he had made from porcupine, camel thorn seeds, ostrich bone and wood that is hand painted. Not sure it will be worn but will make a nice hanging. Unfortunately it was early so no little kids hanging around for pictures or a hacky sack.

As we were making our way south we passed the area we saw the four camels and they were in almost the exact same spot. It is a private nature reserve. We also saw our first herd of wildebeests. They were really frisky butting and chasing each other around.

Too bad we didn’t have the camera ready as we were driving as along came a 3 ton truck in the opposite direction holding as many standing children, estimated around 6 years old, as the back could hold. We would guess well over 30 of them all smiling and holding onto each other to stay on their feet.

Pretty barren drive again which seems to be the way it is in much of the Northern Cape. We stopped at Wimpy’s for our first and hopefully last fast food lunch but we chose this as it has Wi-Fi so we were able to post our blog.

As it was still pretty early we decided to continue south before finding a spot for the night. We couldn’t find anything and ended up keeping on going. Asked at a gas station but that was no help. We finally made it to a town called Prieska where we saw a sign for a caravan park, followed the road around through a residential area to what appeared to be a very nice spot. The only thing was no one was there and no one answered the bell. We saw a guest house around the corner so went there for help. They tried phoning the people including calling their cell number but no answer. He did say he knew they played lawn bowling so redirected us there to look for them. We had seen all the cars at the bowling greens when we made our way to the park. Doug got out and talked to people there but the caravan park owners, who are apparently very good lawn bowlers, were at a competition out of town. Their daughter was supposed to be looking after things so a lady got into her truck and tried to track the daughter down –no luck. The nice lady who tried to help us suggested that we perhaps should have booked. By this time we had lost the better part of an hour and were running out of daylight so we were stuck (no motorhome operation at night). The caravan park owners did not even have the decency to hang a closed sign out or even leave a closed message on their phone. No other camping in town. So we went back to the River View Guest House and checked in. We were ushered in to a very minimal room for $80/night soon to find out that neither the heat nor the TV worked.  But at least it had internet access. For about ½ hour. Then it quit. We complained about the internet first – oh, we can’t use it now either and the owner’s away and we don’t know what to do. Doug suggested he would fix their router for them but they did not know where that was either. Then it got chilly in the room so we complained about that next. After phoning the owner (!) their answer was to move us to another room. The guy led us down an outside dark, cobblestoned passageway using the light from his cell phone as a guide (really). Here the bedside lamps were broken and the heater buzzed loudly without putting out much heat – at least we couldn’t get much heat out of it as there were no operation instructions. Our camper, meanwhile, was sitting out on the street (too big to get into the enclosed parking) which worried us both so Doug finally ended a sleepless night at 3 am and went out and sat/dozed in it.

We find the cell phone “flashlight” ludicrous. Even the most tattered black person on the street will be carrying a cell phone. We have told a few people here we don’t have one and they look at us like we have two heads. We have had problems checking into campsites before because we don’t have a phone.

Bushman hut

Wildebeest

Camel thorn sunset

 

Sunday, May 11, 2014 Riverside Caravan Park (32 km South of Kimberley, NC, SA) – 426 km

After a shaky and fairly sleepless night we started our trek north. The first part of the drive was again very barren – in the first 128 km we only saw 3 cars!

Along the road there were many areas where farmers have put in the old fashion windmills to draw water, which is held in corrugated metal containers. Of course that is where we were seeing most of the farm animals. Today there were also signs to watch for horses on the road, which we did see in a few places. Not sure if these are wild or farm animals.

We seem to be seeing a few more motorhomes the past few days and they all are doing the “motorhome wave”. Reminds us of our time in Australia.

Our mission today was to get into the Mokala National Park. We had heard conflicting reports on the condition of the road into the park. Our neighbour from yesterday morning had told Doug the road was good but some people eating dinner next to us last evening told us it was horrid. We did find the 60 km of corrugated dirt road a bit of a shake for the motorhome. Maybe it is easier in a more appropriate vehicle.

We had hoped to stay in the park for the night but were unable to get a camp spot and have since learned there are only 8 spots in the entire park! Lots of chalets and they would have fixed us up with one of them but we decided to just make use of our “Wild Card” and gain entrance to the park for a drive through. When we got to the gate you had to use a two way radio to contact the reception desk and they then opened the electric gate. They were situated 6 dusty rough km into the park. We did manage to see wildebeests, warthogs, gemsbok, ostrich, monkeys (BTW we saw our first monkey as road kill today) and a few other things, but no sign of the giraffe and rhino that supposedly make this their home. We did discuss going back in again tomorrow but really don’t want to put us and the motorhome through that drive again. Boy, someone should get a grader business going here!

Our mission today was to find a spot to camp and set up camp before dark so Doug could cook a nice Mother’s day dinner.  We had seen the Riverside Country Club and Caravan Park in the book so headed for it. It is a very nice campground set on the river and associated with a farm. Norma even found two burrowing dung beetles, one dead and one alive. The dead one posed quite nicely for a photo op. What a great mother’s day present, or so Doug thinks! It is nice to be back in the motorhome after 3 days in rooms. We have visions of the roosters waking us but who cares.

Campground

Mother's Day present

 

Kgalagadi National Park – Northern Cape, SA

Wednesday, May 7^th, 2014 Augrabies Falls National Park – Northern Cape, SA – 328 km

Today is Election Day in South Africa. We were seeing polling stations, some of which were just tents at the side of the road, along the way. Virtually no traffic at the start of our drive through more barren, arid country.

As we got further inland we started to see lusher plant growth including a beautiful display of very fragrant purple flowers. You could see the purple hue for several kms along the hill sides. There were also some spectacular social weaver bird nests as well. They build these multifamily dwellings on the telephone poles and trees, covering the entire top on some and extending downwards, with many openings for easy access by whichever family.

Again today we say the roadside grass trimming crew. We think this might be a make work project as there were, and have been when we have seen it before, half a dozen or more men walking along with big gas weed eaters cutting grass at the edge of the road. The closer we got to the Orange River the more signs of orchards and vast expanses of grape growing area. We also saw the raisin factory, which didn’t seem to be very active today. Our guess is the grapes are all in now. There were also cemented areas with drying racks above them where grapes were sorted and sun dried.

As we entered the park we almost ran over a leopard turtle slowly crossing the road. Whew!

Upon settling in the caravan park and enjoying the bird activity around the motorhome while we ate lunch, we decided to go for a walk to see the falls (Augrabies = the Place of Great Noise). We had to do the “Australian wave” all the way as the non-biting flies are thick and very annoying. We now know why there are so many birds.  It was a warm walk (34 C). We decided we will return to the shop later for ice cream! There hasn’t been much rain the past while so the falls aren’t as full as they can be. There is a picture display of 2011 where the viewing towers were destroyed, so we could only imagine how full the river must have been. At night the falls are lit up for a few hours so we took our torches (flashlights) and make our way there again at 8:00 for a night view.

There is also a baboon family here who were “yelling” at each other and running around doing the baboon things, picking each other, scratching, digging, etc. There are many cute yellow mongoose and dassies to entertain us. The lizards here are also very neat to look at. They are multi coloured, red, green, etc.

We had sort of an entertaining afternoon. The garbage cans in the campground are all supposed to be animal proof with lids on a pole that you need to almost use two hands to open. They may be “animal proof” but not “primate proof” as along came a big male baboon making his rounds of all the cans, easily opening them and checking them out. Doug chased him away as he got to ours. Next he went INTO a trailer through an open door. Soon there was a lady, broom in hand, yelling and chasing a heavily laden baboon out of the trailer where he ran three footed until he had to drop his booty. That didn’t deter him much as he spotted a shade tent with a storage bin and other stuff under it, broke into the bin and came away dragging a bag of sugar that he proceeded to rip open and try to eat. Later he came back and got into our garbage (fortunately only a tuna can from lunch that we did not want in the motorhome). So even we got to clean up a bit. They do warn you not to feed them and even have a graphic picture of a dead and bleeding baboon at the reception as once they start to be camp pests they must to be destroyed. Seems to us they should develop a baboon proof garbage system first then worry about the campers.

Thief

Answer to last post’s quiz: the arrows indicate that the passing permitted dotted line is ending soon and you should pull back into your proper lane (keep in mind we drive on the left here).

Rock Dassie

Thursday, May 8^th, 2014  Kgalagadi  National Park – Northern Cape, SA – 380 km

As we followed the Kalahari Red Sand Dune Route the red sands of the Kalahari Desert, the great expanse of nothingness, the Bushmen eating insects, it’s all here. Well except the Bushmen are selling souvenirs on the side of the road, but they are probably eating flies like the rest of us. We saw evidence of their bush huts along the road. Really cute little kids too, and families in their donkey drawn carts. We plan to stop and see what they are selling on our way back from the park. We still have two Canadian hacky sacks to give away so this might be the best opportunity.

Initially whenever the road got near the Orange River, there were vineyards for as far as you could see. More barren uninhabited areas followed but a very good road considering the last 55 km were on the road that had been paved on the dried bed of the Nossob River. This road sits right on the border of SA and Botswana. One thing we have noticed is how all the highways have a km sign posted every 10 km so you always are aware of how much farther you have to go. Sometimes that 10 km can seem like a long way. Again we were sighting numerous social weaver bird’s nests, some so huge they had actually killed the tree they were on or pulled down the telephone pole!

We keep seeing interesting things that don’t register until we are past them so Doug has gotten really good at putting the motorhome into reverse and speeding backwards up the highway. Today we saw 4 camels grazing by the side of the road. This was another first for us, and another reverse required as it was such a surprise it took both of us a few seconds to register what we had seen.

Each time you leave a SA National Park you need to have an exit permit that you hand in. Today, at this park it is even more technical than that. You hand in a permit that they keep, then if you go on a game drive or leave the park at any time you must report in to them so they mark it on your permit and “go looking for you” if you don’t return.  We wonder if it is purely a safety measure as they say or a way to control cross border travel as the park’s name indicates, it is Transfrontier – South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.

Doug has been wearing his Blue Jay’s baseball cap and getting lots of looks and comments including one fellow telling us about his visit to Toronto and attending a game. Today was the ultimate though when the gas station attending thought Doug should give it to him “so I can remember you!” He didn’t seem impressed when Doug gave him a Canada sticker instead.

We stopped at one of the road side sites for lunch. While we were there we decided to cook up the last of the Mozambique shrimp to have them in a salad for dinner. This way we could get rid of the heads, etc. in the garbage there. As we were finishing, the roadside cleanup crew came by, emptied the garbage and sat for lunch. Doug gave them the bag of heads, telling them it was waste, thinking they would just add it to the garbage but instead they opened the bag and became all excited, then carefully put them in the cab of the truck. Our guess is they are going to use them for fish sauce or stew.

The Water Hole - Nobody home!

As we were heading north to the park we knew there were more SA opportunists vying their trade to the tourists as they were selling the usual firewood for the braai but also this time stacks and stacks of different size tires as we understand the roads in this area can be pretty hard on them. In fact the reception desk told us we needed to go to the petro station before heading out on the roads to have the tire pressure deflated and then back there upon our return for reinflation. We went for a walk and stopped to ask the station attendant about this and he says you do this to help protect the roads, softer tires = less damage. Our motorhome insurance doesn’t cover much area in this park so we will be doing a game drive in the morning and take it from there. That will give us a chance to see what the roads are really like and hopefully see a lion as that is the one thing we have missed so far.

Last November when we were making decisions around where we were going on this trip we saw this particular park/camp area was totally reserved. We waited until last week to book hoping we would see some cancellations, and we did. We are staying in a chalet for the next two nights as our motorhome sits outside resting. The chalet is a two room, thatched roof duplex with our own bathroom, and kitchen area with fridge, microwave and two burner hotplate. Pretty basic but at least we are here and able to see the sites. We have since learned you need to book a year in advance as there is precious little accommodation for the popularity and size of the park. A day drive in and out is pretty much out of the question as the nearest town of any note is 250 km away.

Chalet

 Friday, May 9^th, 2014  Kgalagadi  National Park – Northern Cape, SA – 0 km

We sat outside last evening and watches a wonderful lightening display over the desert. We had been seeing the dark clouds and rain in the distance as we were driving here. Today it is a beautiful sunny, cloudless day so we are hoping that is the end of the rain.

Our day started earlier than usual as we had booked a morning game drive at 6:30. We piled into a rather wet Landrover safari vehicle and set off into the sunrise. We were the only participants. Although we did not see a lion on this trip we did see springbok and gemsbok (lion prey) and a variety of birds including secretary birds, kori bustards, weaver birds and African hoopee, all strange and wonderful creatures not paralleled by anything we are used to. Our driver, Robert, worked here as a student and now is employed full time by the park. He knew our request for a lion viewing and did his best but not a predator to be seen. We stopped by a usually popular water hole, but as there has been so much rain the past few days there is water everywhere. He did take us off road into a restricted area where the guides are allowed to go, followed the old river bed, but again saw only springbok, gemsbok and birds. We also saw a millipede crossing the road. It was about 10 inches long (see truck tire track for reference). Apparently the Bushmen use them for stitches if they are self-treating a laceration (somehow they break the segments apart and use them like staples to close a wound).

Large Millipede

We spent a leisurely afternoon in the rest camp, went for walk – limited area to walk within the fenced area, and sat outside all afternoon watching the bird life. The local mongoose kept coming up to the door looking for food, we guess. He did run off with something from the neighbours only to be back again in short order looking for more. We have been sure to keep the door closed, even though we are sitting beside it. The starlings do not like them and attack them – they probably steal the starlings eggs.

Gemsbok

At 5 pm we joined another game drive, the sunset one, with the same driver but more people. New sightings for us were jackals, a spotted eagle owl and some bat eared foxes (that were not road kill). Unfortunately no lions out tonight. Our route did cross the border into Botswana, so we can now say we have been to that country. It always amazes us how quickly it gets cool here, but then we are in the desert. We went armed with fleece and jackets and had them on as soon as the sun went down. It is a clear sky so lots of stars visible as well. Again tonight we witnessed a beautiful South African sunset.

Tomorrow we head south to begin our trek back to Johannesburg. We have lots of time to do it so no rush. We may stop over at another game park on the way to get our final fill of giraffe and zebra but think we are going to be going home lion-less.

Secretary Birds

 

Again at Springbok Caravan Park, Springbok, Northern Cape, SA – 159 km

Tuesday, May 6, 2014. Again at Springbok Caravan Park, Springbok, Northern Cape, SA – 159 km

One of the most interesting weather phenomena happened last night. As we mentioned the wind was howling enough to rock the motorhome last night and it was cool – we even had the heater on. When we went for a walk we were bundled up in our jackets, bending into the wind and blowing sand.

When we awoke it was 26C with a slight offshore breeze! There were flies everywhere – especially on the beach during our morning walk. It was very pleasant being able to walk in shirt sleeves, upright and not fight the blowing sand. Doug was enjoying poking through the tidal drift examining the seaweed. The big kelp beds here are very similar to those off the coast of BC, but are dominated by a different species. This morning the waves are just breaking over the reef but last evening they were well over 20 feet which is what was bringing in the huge pieces of kelp.

We finally found a fish shop in Port Nolloth thanks to some directions from the caravan manager – nothing fresh but a huge variety of frozen items to choose from. We bought very large prawns, heads on, from Mozambique. For $14 we have enough for two feeds and they fit in the freezer! Doug put them on the braii (BBQ) and they were delicious (after breaking off the heads!).

All along the highway they are busy putting in a pipeline heading to Namibia. We are not sure what it is supposed to carry. Again the drive was pretty windy and we were glad we weren’t fighting it on Raindancer. The road is very narrow and has no shoulder therefore no room for error. We took a side road through the small desert village of Steinkopf. Sort of desolate with lots of blowing sand which at least helps cut down the height of the speed bumps (which are EVERYWHERE in SA, by the way).  But still there are people about, children playing in the school yards, etc.

Steinkopf

Steinkopf

We have returned for another night at the Springbok Caravan Park. It is really pleasant here, grassed sites and very clean ablutions with live plants, etc. Unfortunately the weather is a bit unsettled. We did have one big cloudburst and are pretty sure there will be more. The past two days we have not travelled far. It has been nice to have some down time, walk about and just relax. On a walk around we saw some yellow mongooses and some rock dassies (hyrax).

Yellow Mongoose

Tomorrow is SA national election day but we will be spending it in the hinterlands – the biggest town we will be going through is Pofadder which in Africaans means. . . are you ready: “puff adder”. Duh – the poisonous snake.

By the way, the African bicycle trek we blogged about (Cairo to Cape Town) costs $15,000 US. We looked it up.

In the evening we chatted with Ron and Maria, our camping neighbours from Cape Town. They are in their early 70s and have been out for 30 days in Botswana, Namibia, Malawi and Zimbabwe in their Land Rover pulling a camping trailer. They also have one of the “tent on top” rigs that are not uncommon here, theirs being of a design to withstand the attentions of the odd elephant in “wild” or unfenced camping environs. They were telling us how in Zimbabwe they had been stopped at 41 armed road stops. We thought the armed guards were wanting money but they wanted to do a vehicle check and make sure they had reflectors everywhere, reflective vests, fire extinguisher, etc. They did say it was a bit intimidating and had friends who tried it and just turn back after going through one of these encounters with the arrogant guards.

We are using Wimpy’s again for our 30 minutes of free internet. This will likely be our last post for the next three days as we head inland to Augrabies Falls National Park and then into Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park. There is limited power so we are pretty sure there will not be internet. It is probably also our last chance to see lions so we will take a game drive again and keep our fingers crossed. We have been told by two separate SA’s that it is a very good place to sight them.

What does this road marking mean? Answer in next blog!

Port Nolloth, Northern Cape, SA – 162 km

Monday May 5^th, 2014 Port Nolloth, Northern Cape, SA – 162 km

After a leisurely start to the morning and a quick grocery shop we started the trek to Port Nolloth. Before leaving Springbok we stopped at Wimpy’s (fast food franchise) to use the free internet (30 minutes only!). We did buy breakfast too - $6.00 for ham and eggs for both of us! The drive was along a very barren, very windy, unpopulated area with red/pink tinged hills in the background. We are at the edge of the great Kalahari Desert which stretches up into Namibia/Botswana and beyond. We had seen the wind sock sign on the highway but at one point weren’t prepared for the sudden gusts which pushed the motorhome sideways. As there are virtually no trees in this area we were seeing lots of bird nests on the power poles. As we got closer to the coast you could see Port Nolloth from over 15 km away .

Port Nolloth was a point for shipment of copper for the inland mines and for offshore diamond mining from the Namaqua coast. Since the 1970’s the principal activities here are fishing and tourism. It is a sleepy little town with numerous holiday homes and lots of take-out places – good old fish and chips. We think we may have finally found a fish shop. Will see tomorrow.

This will likely be our last night camping on the ocean. We are pretty much as far west as we can get here are at McDougal Bay, which is 4 km south of Port Nolloth. The wind blows continually here (we’re guessing 70 km/hr. just now) so the sand is flattened off and so dry it doesn’t even stick to our shoes. We can feel the motorhome rocking in the wind. The waves are spectacular – 20 ft. high just off the reef in front of us. This would be a great place to collect sea shells if you were so inclined. There seem to be an abundance and a great variety.

There is a group in campers next to us from Cape Town travelling up the coast. Their rigs are very typical of the SA camping crowd – very well equipped tents with what appear to be utility trailers which then fold out into a kitchen, etc.

This is not as secure a campground as some of the others thus this evening we had our first encounter with “being bothered” as a beggar knocked on the door just as we sat down to dinner. It is two days until the SA national election so besides the ubiquitous elections signs we have been seeing for weeks this evening we were startled by a mobile election rally – horns honking, people yelling, etc.

Kalahari Desert

Port Nolloth Wharf

South African Camping

20 ft Waves