I was up before the sun rose, because I was very keen to capture the early morning light onto the mountain and the vast plains below. It was rather fresh and it took a while for us to get going. Troopy led the way up the steep track. It was a very rough track and there was great danger of damaging our tyres. The low morning sun made it very difficult to see and impossible to take photographs. At some places the track had been concreted over, but this had now broken away and made matters even worse. Stephen took it slowly and very carefully. The track stops at the top campsite which lies just below the crater rim. It would have been a fantastic place to camp, but it would also have been reckless to drive up the track in the dark.

From the top car park and campsite a lovely path leads to the top of the rim. In places it had been blasted out of the rocks and the drilling holes and radial stress cracks were visible. From here one can drop into the crater floor or follow the path to the left that leads to the ruins of the research station. The weather was perfect and the early morning light now lent itself to some great photography. We marvelled at the beautiful crystals embedded in the rock as well as the many different colours and formations. It was fairly easy going and a very scenic walk. I was very excited when we finally got the abandoned ruins in sight. There was much more of the old observation station left than what I had imagined, but of course they were only ruins. It must have been an amazing experience being based there in the early 30’s. We learnt that our very well-known scientist and TV personality, Arthur Bleksley also spent 6 months based there. We keenly walked up to the rim and got a fantastic view down onto the vast and almost featureless plains. In the distance one could make out the historic village of Berseba which originated as a Rhenish mission in 1850. I found the flow lines created by little rivers in times of abundant rain fascinating. This reminded me of the view from the top of the Van Rhyneveld’s Pass down onto the Knersvlakte, where one also sees these similar flow patterns on an otherwise desert plain. We took a lot of photographs and I could not resist sending one to our Slipper group! (surprisingly we had internet and Paul’s hotspot worked). It was rather windy, but we found a wonderfully sheltered spot and enjoyed our naartjies and muffins while marvelling at the view. Then we went back to the ruins to explore some more. There had been some substantial structures. We guessed at the function of the various buildings and even found what must have been a well. A little distance from the roughly stone built structures there was a much more sophisticated building which was still largely intact. Inside the builders had blasted into the solid rock to enlarge the space and there were bars across the windows and a little sliding hatch which must have been built to protect the valuable instruments. There were pillars on which the sensitive instruments must have been mounted. All very fascinating! As we returned on the same track, I pondered over the way goods must have been brought up to the research station. I could only think that the rough path we were on had been a mule/ donkey track and that these animals had walked this way to transport the necessities. On our first visit so many years ago when we only got a glimpse of the crater floor, we spotted a white donkey (maybe a mule?) grazing on this crater floor and I have often wondered where it had come from – perhaps a descendent of the early pack animals???

Back at the junction where the path split, Paul, Petra and I opted to walk down to the crater floor, but Stephen chose to walk back slowly and start making lunch. It was a wonderful experience to be on the crater floor. The grass was tall and my socks were full of very prickly seeds. I luckily found a bit of a path which led to the rim of the dry waterfall. I had to be very careful not to lose my footing! I followed a steep path back to the top trail and then made my way back to the car park. I enjoyed walking back on my own and had a another good look at the beautiful crystals embedded in the rocks and the rock formations. Stephen had already started lunch and soon Paul and Petra also came back.

After lunch at this wonderful spot, it was time to drive down the steep track again. We slowly descended the tyre wrecking track and left the cute entrance gate behind. This time there we could stop at the bridge crossing he Fish River, which was still flowing strongly. Paul and Petra once again had to fall back because of the dust and back at the tar it was time to say goodbye. It was sad to see our good travel companions drive off. Paul had to be back on Saturday, but we could tally a bit longer. I was keen to go and camp at the fascinating Mesosaurus Fossil Camp outside Keetmanshoop. I had been there with a tour group and I have always wanted to go back there and show Stephen this fascinating place. Unfortunately we discovered that it was about 40 km out of our way and therefore drove to the Kokerbook Forest campsite instead. The lady was most unfriendly and would only offer us the full package (cheetahs, the Kokerboom forest and camping) even though I explained to her we only wanted to camp there and that I was a tour guide who had been there umpteen times! We just drove off and I quickly consulted iOverlander and found the Goibib Mountain Camp about 40 km from Grunau. This was an excellent choice. We got there just as it was getting dark and found a lovely campsite on a farm with wonderful facilities. A young lady received us warmly and got the geyser going at the campsite. We were the only ones camping there. The temperature was dropping and we decided to quickly make supper on the gas and eat in the car. We regretted not taking our little electric blow heater on the trip. There was power and we could have put it to good use on a number of occasions! Since we were going back to loadshedding and water restrictions, I opted to have a bath in the spotless bathrooms. The water was wonderfully hot and it was heavenly soaking in a bath with freezing conditions outside. Using the hot water bottle was a good idea and we tucked into bed with this “old-fashioned” source of heat. We lay in bed reflecting on a wonderful trip full of adventure and exciting experiences.

Geschreven door Leartravels