We finally got away at 9h30 after some chatting and a relaxed breakfast. Eleanor did not have to fetch any workers and no guest were checking out. Stephen picked a bag full of naartjies, lemons and the very juicy tangelos to supplement our Addo naartjies. We would have plenty of vitamin C on the trip! The trees were laden with fruit. We filled up at the Agrimark (R16.13 for diesel compared to R17.93 for petrol in Clanwilliam). I bought a cute little rooibos tea caddy to replace my battered one at home. I also went into Spar for some supplies. Clanwilliam was bustling with locals on a Saturday morning and it was noticeable that there were many more black people than previously. Eleanor had mentioned that there were many illegal immigrants from Lesotho in town. They were running taxis and creating a lot of problems. The crime rate had also gone up. I bought some medicine from the pharmacy. Contrary to when we drove down into Clanwilliam from VanRhynsdorp, it was a sunny day and there were flowers everywhere next to the road. The Knersvlakte was actually looking green! We had a pleasant coffee with date loaf stop next to the road at a Maskam gypsum mine turnoff and enjoyed the pink vygies and many other flowers all around us. To get a good picture I had to climb through a barbed wire fence! As we drove further the vygies changed from pink to white and yellow and then they came to an abrupt end for a while. We passed the familiar Sout River Sishen Saldanha rail bridge and tried to figure out how to stop there when we pass by here again. There were strange fluffy white clouds contrasting with the deep blue sky. As we drove further north there were more sporadic patches of flowers along the N7. Later we drove past vast fields of flowers alternating with very dry patches. The rain must have fallen “plek-plek” here. We could not resist a stop at the Garies Padstal and we were relieved that it was operating this time (it was closed last year because of the lockdown). We ordered their chicken and venison pies with filter coffee. The pies were delicious and we ordered another one to share. The coffee was great too. The cute young waitress was very keen to chat when she discovered that I am from the Netherlands. She is hoping to work there as an au pair and she has already done her research and contacted an agency. We were very impressed that a girl from Garies is so “with it”. We finally made contact with Paul and Petra. They were still behind us, but were catching up. It was wonderful to drive through the scenic Namaqualand hills again and it brought back memories of our trip there last year. The road was fairly quiet and it was relaxed driving. We filled up at the BP garage in Springbok and bought two bags of wood. We suggested to P&P that we meet at the top of the Anenous Pass, but it was cold and windy when we got there. We waited a bit and watched locals having a drinking party. I have memories of finding some graves from the Boer when I was there with my tourists, but we could not find them. The ruins of the once important Kookfontein Hotel are less and less visible with every visit. The impressive old round watertank is now very rusty, but still stands proud on its stone base. Clara the steam locomotive used to be able to fill up with water here. We decided to move on to Port Nolloth. Once down the pass, one drives through a desolate landscape and I remember when there were still signs warning one that it was “forbidden territory”, because it was a diamond mining area! The signs are gone, but the devastation caused by the indiscriminate mining is still there. We left a message on their phone to tell P&P that we would wait for them in Port Nolloth and they fortunately received it. We had a quick look around the little “port” and then waited for them at the T-junction with the beach road. It was not long before the two Troopy’s “met” (18:05) and we could now really start our Richtersveld adventure. The tar road to Alexander Bay is rather featureless and one sees mind dumps everywhere along the coast. The iOverlander app had a suggestion for camping in the Holgat River Canyon. It was already late, but the sun sets a lot later than in PE (more north and west) and we made it to the turnoff before dark. We were so surprised to find this very scenic river bed with steep sides and wonderful scenery. We drove along the riverbed a little and then settled for a level sandy spot with steep cliffs on the one side. We both had home made meals ready and in no time we had eaten. Now we could take in the beauty of our surroundings. It was full moon and the world around us was lit up almost as if it was daylight. A magic atmosphere hung over the Holgat Canyon. We went for a walk and we really did not need our headlights. The Holgat River was the ideal place to camp and our adventure had finally started!

Geschreven door Leartravels