We had planned to go via Van Wyk’s Vlei, but after chatting to the farmer the night before we decided that it might not be a worthwhile detour. He had said the road was quite corrugated and it would also be about 200 km further, which at R2 per km is something that must be considered. So we decided to go to Vosburg. Our first stop was in Carnarvon where Marianne went to the spar for shopping. They did not have milktart, but recommended the local home industries that was just round the corner. We followed directions but it was nowhere to be found. We had a good tour of the town looking for it and did eventually find it after two more sets of directions from locals. It was still closed! The time was 8h15 and we hadn't realised it as we had got up early. Then we headed for Vosburg expecting a gravel road of dubious quality, but we drove the whole way on perfect tar. It was coffee time when we arrived and almost the first building we passed was a coffee shop called Die Ketel. We could not resist and enjoyed excellent coffee and shared a slice of cheesecake. We also learned from the proprietress that the reason why the road was tarred was because of the town’s proximity to the SKA – Square Kilometer Array - an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with a square kilometer of collecting area. The South African MeerKAT radio telescope comprising 64 radio telescopes and fully designed and manufactured in South Africa is already in operation and will be integrated into the SKA. A similar facility will be built in Australia, these two components and a number of peripheral radio telescopes in Southern African countries making up the total square kilometer. It is not possible to visit MeerKAT at present. From Die Ketel we went to the church and were lucky enough to be able to join a guided tour being given by the Dominee. Built in 1909 and designed by architect W H Ford it is an interesting of example of neo-gothic eclecticism. We drove slowly through the streets of the neat little village and Marianne took many photographs. Then we found our way to the Ko-Operasie. This had an amazing range of goods, virtually everything a farmer (or Stephen) might need. Tubes for Troopy were R 175, R25 less than we had we had paid in Kakamas and Marianne found a fire kettle with a folding handle that was promptly purchased! Our wandering around Vosburg had been great fun, but we had to carry on along the fine tarred road. Missing Van Wyksvlei gave us an opportunity to explore the Smartt Syndicate dam. We had seen the sign to this dam many times in the past on the Prieska road. The lady at Die Ketel had described it as being very easy to get to and we turned off at the Smartt Syndicate sign. The road was quite rough and corrugated and after about 8 km the GPS indicated that we were heading back to Vosburg! Turning back, we soon saw why we had missed the turnoff – it had a locked gate. So we went back to the tar and took the next turnoff. It did not look like the right way, but Marianne fortunately saw a sign that said “Besproeingsraad Kantoor” (Irrigation council office). We turned into the farm, but there was no one at home. Just as we were leaving a bakkie arrived and the farmer Stephan Kruger greeted us. He was responsible for looking after the dam and was able to tell us exactly how to get to it. So we set off, turning right through the unlocked gate at the dead tree, followed a twee-spoor track till we could saw the white house and drove past it up a steep hill to drive onto the dam wall (exactly like his route description). And what an enormous wall. The Smartt dam is big! It was originally built in 1923 by the Smartt Syndicate. This was an agricultural syndicate founded by Sir Thomas Smartt and operated until 1954. The original dam was destroyed by a massive flood in the Ongers River in 1961 and it was rebuilt by the government in 1964. The dam was last full in 2013 and is virtually dry at present. But there was enough water for an enormous number of water birds that unfortunately relocated themselves to the other side of the dam as we stopped. This is a fantastic place for birding, especially when flamingos are present as they had been the previous year according to Stephan. We had lunch on the dam wall – no shade but a fabulous view – and then decided to follow the road over the wall to try to drive out on an alternative road. We got to see kilometers of spillways, but got to another locked gate. So it was back over the wall and the route we had driven in. We stopped at the farm again to ask about camping at the dam in future. Stephan Kruger was quite happy to give permission, but would have to be contacted first, because the gate was normally locked. We saved his number (0724869364). Finally getting to see the Smartt dam had turned into one of the highlights of the trip! The next town along the way was Britstown. There was water lying next to the road and in pools in town. Later I saw on Facebook that they had had a torrential storm the previous day and water had been flowing in the streets! We drove in just ahead of an abnormal load vehicle and took a side street to see if the Old Mill Coffee Shop was still operating. It was, but we were now behind the abnormal load vehicle. Fortunately it was easy to pass the convoy and the drive to Victoria West was easy going. There were signs warning us of road works, but the roadworks had finished and they were painting the lines. However, at the entrance to Victoria West we hit a Stop/Go in the worst possible place – opposite the township. We were surrounded by urchins and were worried about the spade and other stuff not locked onto the car. All we could do was lock the doors and look threatening. When we eventually moved, we managed to find an organic butcher shop where Marianne bought meat, but the bottle store was on the other side of the stop and was a no go! So we carried on hoping to get something at Murraysburg. The big event on this stretch of road is crossing the N1, the main road between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Approaching it, one sees big trucks apparently driving “through the veld” from over two kilometers away. Murraysberg is in a far corner of the Western Cape, but more relevantly it had an open bottle store where we could get some beer. Now it was on to Graaff Reinet, dropping down the beautiful Oudeberg Pass to leave the high Karoo. We came across a lot of water lying in the fields next to the road here too. The rain had really been widespread. We got to Graaff Reinet just on 18h00 and had to drive through the town to get to the Camdeboo National Park. Fortunately Marianne had phoned ahead and although the office was closed all our documentation was at the gate. It had rained during the afternoon and the roads in the campsite were quite wet and muddy. Marianne had just said that she hoped to see the campsite hare and as we drove in there he was hopping off with something in his mouth. We were surprised to see how many sites were occupied and also how many very big campers there were. We went to the same site we had used a few months previously and soon had a fire going for our braai. This was excellent as usual, improved by the Murraysburg beer and organic lamb chops and wors. It was also a pleasure not to be deluged by insects. After supper we did our customary walk around the campsite and enjoyed hot showers before turning in. The showers were completely dry before we used them. We are always amazed that people in campsites never seem to shower before going to bed. We cannot imagine going to bed dirty as one must be after a day of exploring.

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