We woke up to a beautiful morning and we packed up reluctantly. It was necessary to climb a hill to get to the ablutions, but that was minor. The tyre needed pumping again, being almost completely flat. We parked at the ablutions and Marianne walked to a viewpoint along the Samango trail from where she saw a boardwalk/jetty out into the lake. It looked very attractive, so we went to investigate. It certainly allowed us to experience the clarity of the water and gave fabulous views back to the shore. We stopped at reception to pay and sensibly the friendly lady suggested that we get permits for the Kosi Beach section and the Bhanganek 4x4 trail. They were free if one stayed in the park. Then we headed for the mouth of the Kosi Bay lake system. It actually consists of 4 lakes connected by channels and the last one opens to the ocean. Our first "road" didn't work as it got really narrow and sandy - 4x4 was very necessary - and lead to the channel between the lakes. There were lots of traditional Thonga fish traps and a strange canoe made of cane? Marianne asked a couple of locals if we could continue on the track. They didn't think it was a good idea as "the trees got too close". So we turned around and went to look for the correct road. Later on, trying to find our way through the maze of tracks further south, we realized how right they had been about the "narrow" tracks.
After asking for directions a few times we did find the correct and also fairly good gravel road. We soon got to the tar and then turned off to the park gate to the mouth. This was definitely 4x4 only. We also realized that a big advantage to staying in the National Park was that there was no need to pay entry fees. It was deep sand and very steep going down, but we were soon at the lagoon with the road weaving through wet areas. We passed a French group of tourists with a tour guide who had never been there before. They were all young and on their way to go snorkeling at the mouth. They were with a Quantum minibus which could not drive down the sandy track (4x4 needed) and so they had to walk. At the scenic beach parking area near the mouth we enjoyed our morning coffee. There were also some local guides and Marianne went to chat to them and get some contact numbers. I was quite worried about getting up the hill and reduced tyre pressure to 1.7 bar. The other Landcruiser parked there was petrol and more powerful than our Diesel while the Nissan X Trail certainly would not be short of power. The local guides didn't think we would have trouble with dropped pressures, though. We watched the groups walking to where the snorkeling happened and felt quite sad that we hadn't brought our stuff. We were in any case short of time. Then we set off back to the gate. The locals had told us about a lookout point that was worth going to, but we turned too soon and ended up on a narrow track that was going nowhere. So we made a multi point turn which was good practice for the next couple of days. About half way up the hill we found the correct turn and the lookout did give a spectacular view of the Kosi Bay system. At the gate we pumped the tyres back to road pressures. And the hill had been very easy, we sailed up in second gear, even stopping to let a descending car go by. We went back to Kwangwanase to buy supplies and the big group we had met at Ndumo passed us at the intersection on their way to the border. I stayed with the car while Marianne did the shopping at the Spar, but it was very all very friendly and I think the car would have been very safe. Then we drove off to look for the 4x4 route south. We turned onto the D1843 in town, got to a traffic circle and promptly got lost. A local fellow pointed out the correct road and we put Black Rock into the GPS as a reference point. It all looked very simple on the map. Straight down the gravel for about 11 km, then onto a sand track that would join the main track south. The problem was that there were other gravel roads and lots of sand tracks. The gravel road became horribly stony and we turned back. A young fellow came running across wanting to be our guide. He said we should go back along the stony road and that there were many tracks and we would get lost. We were starting to think we should have taken him along when we stopped two women in a car to ask for some more directions! When we asked them which way they basically said take any track that goes towards the coast and you will find the road!! So we turned left onto the first track we came to and began an up and down challenge over sand tracks that split and joined again and again. Some led to homesteads or just huts and others were probably made by locals on their way to the coast to fish. It was quite hectic and I was surprised how easily Troopy managed with hard tyres. Eventually we made a lunch stop in the middle of nowhere. I dropped the tyre pressures and on walking to the top of the dunes saw that we were virtually at the north south track. At least we now had an idea of where we were. Sadly we were south of Dog Point and Black Rock. Next time!
The track was now much easier, but still very sandy with some steep climbs. Amazingly, this sand track had a route number! There were some remarkable alleyways where the vegetation enclosed the road. It was almost like driving through a green tunnel. These dunes are considered to be the highest vegetated dunes in the world and much of it is serious forest. We also had to drive through a herd of cows who clearly preferred the road to the adjacent bush. We decided to go to look at Rocktail Bay Lodge, but the boom was locked and the place deserted. This meant a long reverse to a spot where we could turn and this was quite a challenge too! We got to a gate and we had to show our permit. Now we were on a proper gravel road for about a kilometer before turning off through eucalyptus plantations. This was very useful as thinning had been done and we picked up plenty of firewood. The rest of the track to Mabibi was easy and we got there just as the sun was setting at 17h00. Mabibi is a beach camp run by a private group as a concession. They have a lodge there too. We discovered a lovely campsite with only 2 sites occupied. We had a choice of 4 sites and chose site 4 with its elevated fire place and most importantly it was level. We set up camp and soon had a roaring fire going. The wors from Kwangwanase was excellent. The moon was full and it was a beautiful evening. After supper we did a bit of exploring and discovered that we were actually very close to old, but neat and working ablutions. We also went towards the beach, but that proved to be down a major flight of steps and we decided to wait until the next morning to explore a bit. After excellent showers, we went to bed well satisfied.

Geschreven door Leartravels