It was strange to emerge from the camper into thick fog. We could hear the thundering ocean, but we could hardly see anything. This was very depressing. Everything was damp and it was strangely moody. All we could do was to get out the gas out and get the kettle boiling. We quickly needed some warm coffee. Fortunately we noticed a glimmer of light slowly breaking through the fog and soon the sun started winning. We were very relieved. It seemed unnecessary to dowse last night's fire, but Marianne emptied the water from our hot water bottle onto the ash anyways, resulting in a loud hissing and lots of steam emerging from the ash bed. Our kelp fire was not as poor as we had thought. There was still plenty of heat left! By the time we were ready to leave, the sun had more or less dried everything and we set off looking forward to another lovely drive along the coast. We passed some of the other campsites and they were all occupied. We had been extremely lucky to find an empty one. By now we also realized that the track along the sea away from the main track continued from camp to camp so we stayed on the winding tracks. This gave us wonderful views of the shore, varying from rocky bays to long stretches of sand. And the big breakers still rolled in. There must have been a helluva storm out on the open ocean somewhere. The weather was now lovely with bright sunshine and it was pleasantly warm. We eventually arrived at the Groenrivier exit gate where a very friendly ranger checked our permit and explained the 4x4 route along the coast to Lutzville to us. We also managed to finally buy the excellent Namaqua National Park information guide. On all Marianne's previous trips to Skilpad this publication had been sold out. We decided to go to the bird hide near the mouth of the river for morning coffee, getting there at 11:30. Groenrivier is a very attractive place with the river mouth forming an estuary. There was a long boardwalk to the hide and it was quiet on the water, but red-billed teal and greater flamingos were about. Yet, when Marianne went to wash our coffee mugs in the river she startled all sorts of water birds that were sheltering along the edge. We picked up the track going south and passed the Groenrivier lighthouse. This is relatively new, being built in 1988, and the most recent lighthouse on the South African coastline. We were not sure whether this was the track that the ranger had directed us on, but it was a wonderful route with lots of turn offs and obviously good fishing spots and even several spots with marked sites, probably for camping. We drove through stretches with wonderful flowers. The colours varied all the time and one could not resist stopping to take pictures. At one lookout site there was a platform from where one had a wonderful view up and down the coast. We saw a strange object on the rocks from a distance and turned off to investigate. We found an abandoned caravan which must have been there for a while. While I investigated what could be "saved" from the "caravan wreck", Marianne wandered off to have a look at the strange looking structure on the rocks which we had seen from so far off. It was obviously part of a shipwreck and some investigation showed it to be the engine of the coaster Namaqua 1, wrecked in 1876. The very white appearance, which made it look quite modern, was due to bird droppings, it being a popular perch for cormorants. Interesting were a few shack settlements where the kelp harvesters obviously lived. We came across a tractor with some very jolly workers on the trailer it was towing and two very rusty kelp choppers along the track. We realized that kelp harvesting is an important activity along this stretch of coast. We were still unsure about this track and when a Land Cruiser approached coming from the opposite direction, we stopped them to ask whether this track lead to Lutzville. The couple in the Cruiser were most enthusiastic about the road and had indeed come from Lutzville. We were relieved and continued our drive, turning off to the camping area at the blind mouth of the dry Brakrivier for a lunch stop. It was very large and must have had about 50 sites. It must get busy in summer! At the Sout River crossing there was a large pool of water, but this river mouth was also closed. A bit further one, we started seeing a strange looking "hill" with monotone green cover. This puzzled us and as we approached, we realized that these were huge sand mounds at the Namaqua Sands mining company. It was a devastating sight. There was an attempt to rehabilitate these man made "sand mountains" with some monoculture vegetation which looked rather pathetic. Security vans were driving up and down the security fence. It all had a ominous feel about it. We were planning to continue along the coastal track beyond the mining activity, but it looks as if the route might be blocked. So we turned back and found the tar road to Lutzville. We now saw high black mounds and realized that they were mining heavy metals here such as titanium. We had a quick coffee stop alongside the road, pumped the tyres back to road pressures and then drove to Lutzville to fill up at the Agri. Here we found the cheapest diesel on our trip - R13.69 per liter. We filled both tanks! Then it was a quick stop at OK Foods and a scenic drive through the Olifantsriver Valley before heading the Van Rhyns Pass to Nieuwoudtsville. Marianne had phoned Willem about the campsite and he told her that although it was quite busy there were still sites available. What a contrast to four days ago when we had it all to ourselves. When we got there we found a site next to the road. This did not bother us as we knew how quiet the road was. Some children playing in the veld were rather noisy but they soon left for home. I got a fire going quickly again using our trekpad starter wood and we were braaiing in no time at all. When Marianne went to the ablutions she discovered no end of grumbles about no hot water. She quickly got it sorted by checking the fusebox and switching on the circuit breaker that was tripped. It was strange that none of the old oomies and tannies that were grumbling thought of doing so. It is always the first thing we think of if there is no power. Far better to fix it yourself than wait for someone to come. Marianne was quite the hero half an hour later when the water was warming up. The hot water in the ladies ablutions was still not working as had been the case when we were there previously. After enjoying our braai we sat around the fire enjoying our beers and then got the heater going. It was great sitting in Troopy thinking about a super trip that was coming to an end. Then we could enjoy almost hot showers before before turning in. It had been a good day.

Geschreven door Leartravels