Walking out in the Richtersveld
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 12:26 pm
Life generally has an ebb and flow to it, currently mine has a bit of flooding.
However, I have a bike and now a brand new, to me, Diesel SWB Pajero and I had a few days to spare. My excuse was that I have a whole lot of study work to work on and going someplace remote and quiet would be perfect to make a big dent in it. Also, this flooding in my life could benefit from the space too.
I’ve had a long history with the Richtersveld; first being a river guide there for many years, then meeting my wife there, and, lately I partook in a multistage Dakar style motorcycle rally last year through some of the more remote places. In my will, my ashes are to be scattered in the river. So the Richtersveld is has a strong spiritual pull.
The plan was to get into the Richtersveld, basically turning left at Garies for a suitable amount of time and then heading north parallel to the N7 to finally follow the stage 3 rally route. Then once I hit the river, right to the border and do some work for a few days at the Felix Unite camp. What could possibly go wrong?
Friday 4pm, I find out that the fan belts need changing. That put a dent in the early Saturday leaving. I finally got away at noon. It was cold and wet. Winter is definitely here.
Just past Vanrynsdorp, things were looking up.
40 litres of extra fuel in Garies, a few steaks and chops and a tin or two, some ice and a 6 pack and off I went to find a bed.
About 80k’s in after the sun had set, an old wind pump and broken kraal was perfect for free camping and just far enough off the road not to be bothered by passers-by.
Steak and vegetables in foil washed down with some of Namaqua’s finest.
Then, because this was a study trip, I made an effort to finish the book I had chosen to review. I usually prefer Astrix and Oblix, but there you go.
Bed for the night
Was up at 4. I’ve never needed coffee or tea to get me going in the morning, so a breakfast of champions that took but a minute to break out, Prof Noakes would be proud.
Then into the Namaqua National park for some sight-seeing. I only really have eyes for my new truck, sorry.
Then for most of the rest of the day was just brilliant. Mostly easy trails with stunning views, brilliant weather and a few tough climbs or down hills. I followed mostly the Buffels rivier 4x4 trail with a few excursions to see interesting stuff.
Homemade Garmin holder. My motorcycle mount didn’t work, so a few minutes with some wire and hey presto, a self-levelling, spring suspension and braced GPS holder, patent pending.
The pipe trail was a bit of a scramble. I had to break out the winch. I am sure I could have backed up a bit and tried a second time, but a new toy does need to be played with and, and, er what other excuse was needed?
The Nigramoep mine must have been quite big in its day;
As time was a bit few, I skirted the first bit of the rally section and went up the knersvlakte then came into the mountains from the West. I had seen a route on tracks4Africa
In the valley that I chose to go up, there was a spring perched on the side of the mountain. Amazing and quite out of place.
I considered camping there but still had light and wanted to be on the route. I also thought that, this being a desert, there must be quite a bit of traffic to the spring – small and possibly big toothy ones too, so carried on.
The climb up the side of the valley was pretty steep, a crawl. I was really loving this SWB. If I’d been on my bike, I might have been far faster but certainly a lot more sweaty too.
It was noticeable that there was only one set of tracks in front of me. It looked a few days old, and then prior to that was some tracks but they had been before the rains that had fallen a few weeks before. This was Sunday, the week after the huge bunch of public holidays so the chance that anyone else would be up here was very remote. Even less chance was that anyone would be coming along either.
As soon as I hit the Rally trail, I had promised myself a beer. I am used to riding these kinds of trails and having a beer is hard with a helmet on, so it was a huge novelty to crack open a frostily cold one and enjoy the late afternoon views whilst putting along. Yes driving and drinking….
Aha! I had in my mind’s eye the place I wanted to camp and it was down there
Perfect timing.
It’s really rugged country, I am deeply attracted to it.
Then, as I was pulling my head torch on, the retractable string broke. I tried fixing it in the headlights for about 20 minutes, then turned them off and tried again with the light of my cell phone.
I was engrossed in this when I heard a rapid tick tick tick from the truck? Hmmm, that sounds like a starter relay? Shit!!!!
I jumped up and tried the ignition. It wouldn’t even turn over.
Oops!
I was mostly angry with myself. There was nothing for it but to start supper and have another cup of wine neither of which tasted half as good as they should have. Being in the shit had put a damper on things.
So, on with the thinking cap;
Can’t push start the truck – it’s automatic and I’m on my own
I had nearly 20 litres of water.
Food for 2 days maybe.
Tomorrow being a Monday, the chance of anyone coming along in the next week is very remote.
A few knew where I was, sort of. I have an online tracking app that I had sent out, But the alarm would take a few days to go off.
It’s full moon.
It was clear I had two choices;
Get up a hill and check to see if I can get signal.
If none, then walk to the river 30.6km’s away.
The weather was cool for the desert so walking in the day was not going to be an issue. I didn’t want to go climbing up a hill at night even if there was a full moon. I’d had 2 beers and 2 cups of wine, so for at least till dawn I was going nowhere.
I pulled my computer out and called up Mapsource and traced the route onto some paper and left instructions about which way I was going to be going and to bring the car along if they found it.
I then pulled out the jumper cables, left the note in the jaws and left them on the radiator with the bonnet open.
Going to sleep I tried to think if I hadn’t missed anything. I even thought of trying to use the computers batter to jump to the cars! Yes my mind was like a till on pay day.
It was still nearly dark when I got up and packed everything.
Nope that didn’t work…
I nearly sprained my ankle on the way down. I gave myself a good talking to about that.
There was no use being sentimental, I packed my bag; I only had my material briefcase to hold all my stuff
3 litres of water
Sun cream
Camera
GPS
Spare batteries for GPS
Passport
Wallet
Beanie
Long sleeved top
A tie down
Leatherman
Umbrella
Cheese
Ham Roll
Two handfuls of pecan nuts
A took a long drink form the water can and, Cheers for now
It really was quite pleasant…
Until I did the mental arithmetic as to how long this was going to take
Lunch
Basically it was walk for an hour and rest for 10 minutes.
I was pretty certain that I could do 30k’s. I just hadn’t walked further than 5k’s since my time in the army. I was reasonably mtb fit so I thought I’d be ok. It was a pity I didn’t bring my MTB along it was an awesome track to have ridden…
After sometime of trying to sling the briefcase and then use the strap across my head, I used the tie-down to fashion a neat backpack. I should have done that from the start.
I had a lot to think about. I have a panel that will be testing me in a month and for a few hours I was having a word with them. I had ample time to sort out some of the things that have been on my mind. I also got a chronic case of helmet song. It’s the disease of the same songs going round and round in your head, only this time, no matter what song it was it was playing to a marching beat.
Towards the afternoon it started to warm up. I was using about a litre per 10k’s. At the 20k mark, I could see the Eksteenfontein road in the distance. Getting to it would increase the chance of getting a lift.
The umbrella had proved its worth.
Aha! The river and a house
There was a caretaker who took me to Oewerbos
From there, as I have some friends in that part of the world they organised that I meet up with Adam Bleach of Bushwackers. The nicest guy who when we started the negotiation on how much my rescue would set me back, he only wanted diesel money. I soon set him straight about that. The drive back with him was in the dark. It was a great chat and I didn’t remember it being so rough. Once back, after a few minutes, the truck started with no issues. I said my goodbyes at the river, got over the border post and into bed by 12:30am.
The rescue Bunny, Adam Bleach
The next day I was super stiff, but happy I didn’t have to do the rescue. I managed to get some of my work done before I headed back the following day.
My buddy, organiser and long time ago business partner, Carlos
Some thoughts.
I’m no expert in a 4x4. I’ve owned this vehicle for a month and it’s the first one that I can call my own. I have some 4x4 experience and a vast amount of off-road motorcycle experience for whatever that counts. I think my battery is just serviceable and I’ve subsequently found out it is 4 years old and not in peak condition. The vehicle has no issues other than that and ran like a top the whole trip.
There is always a debate about solo trips. I had a lot of time to ponder this on my stroll. There is a line beyond where a solo trip can become not so much fun, expensive and/or lethal. That shouldn’t mean that one shouldn’t do them though. I was reasonably prepared and confident. That part of the world is serious and remote, this adds a level to the place. My slight back up should things have gone really wrong was the tracking app for my iphone. It uses the internal gps to track almost real time and then when in cell range uploads the data to a website that others can then follow. The last entry was turning off the knersvlakte. At the least, they knew I was heading for the Rallye route and had headed up that valley. But the alarm would’ve taken a few days to have been raised
However, I really enjoyed the experience, (not that I would want to do it again anytime soon), it was soul cleansing and it was good to have to be on my own, not rely on anyone and have some edge to the game.
There were a lot of “if’s”, but I like to think, what if I hadn’t gone?
However, I have a bike and now a brand new, to me, Diesel SWB Pajero and I had a few days to spare. My excuse was that I have a whole lot of study work to work on and going someplace remote and quiet would be perfect to make a big dent in it. Also, this flooding in my life could benefit from the space too.
I’ve had a long history with the Richtersveld; first being a river guide there for many years, then meeting my wife there, and, lately I partook in a multistage Dakar style motorcycle rally last year through some of the more remote places. In my will, my ashes are to be scattered in the river. So the Richtersveld is has a strong spiritual pull.
The plan was to get into the Richtersveld, basically turning left at Garies for a suitable amount of time and then heading north parallel to the N7 to finally follow the stage 3 rally route. Then once I hit the river, right to the border and do some work for a few days at the Felix Unite camp. What could possibly go wrong?
Friday 4pm, I find out that the fan belts need changing. That put a dent in the early Saturday leaving. I finally got away at noon. It was cold and wet. Winter is definitely here.
Just past Vanrynsdorp, things were looking up.
40 litres of extra fuel in Garies, a few steaks and chops and a tin or two, some ice and a 6 pack and off I went to find a bed.
About 80k’s in after the sun had set, an old wind pump and broken kraal was perfect for free camping and just far enough off the road not to be bothered by passers-by.
Steak and vegetables in foil washed down with some of Namaqua’s finest.
Then, because this was a study trip, I made an effort to finish the book I had chosen to review. I usually prefer Astrix and Oblix, but there you go.
Bed for the night
Was up at 4. I’ve never needed coffee or tea to get me going in the morning, so a breakfast of champions that took but a minute to break out, Prof Noakes would be proud.
Then into the Namaqua National park for some sight-seeing. I only really have eyes for my new truck, sorry.
Then for most of the rest of the day was just brilliant. Mostly easy trails with stunning views, brilliant weather and a few tough climbs or down hills. I followed mostly the Buffels rivier 4x4 trail with a few excursions to see interesting stuff.
Homemade Garmin holder. My motorcycle mount didn’t work, so a few minutes with some wire and hey presto, a self-levelling, spring suspension and braced GPS holder, patent pending.
The pipe trail was a bit of a scramble. I had to break out the winch. I am sure I could have backed up a bit and tried a second time, but a new toy does need to be played with and, and, er what other excuse was needed?
The Nigramoep mine must have been quite big in its day;
As time was a bit few, I skirted the first bit of the rally section and went up the knersvlakte then came into the mountains from the West. I had seen a route on tracks4Africa
In the valley that I chose to go up, there was a spring perched on the side of the mountain. Amazing and quite out of place.
I considered camping there but still had light and wanted to be on the route. I also thought that, this being a desert, there must be quite a bit of traffic to the spring – small and possibly big toothy ones too, so carried on.
The climb up the side of the valley was pretty steep, a crawl. I was really loving this SWB. If I’d been on my bike, I might have been far faster but certainly a lot more sweaty too.
It was noticeable that there was only one set of tracks in front of me. It looked a few days old, and then prior to that was some tracks but they had been before the rains that had fallen a few weeks before. This was Sunday, the week after the huge bunch of public holidays so the chance that anyone else would be up here was very remote. Even less chance was that anyone would be coming along either.
As soon as I hit the Rally trail, I had promised myself a beer. I am used to riding these kinds of trails and having a beer is hard with a helmet on, so it was a huge novelty to crack open a frostily cold one and enjoy the late afternoon views whilst putting along. Yes driving and drinking….
Aha! I had in my mind’s eye the place I wanted to camp and it was down there
Perfect timing.
It’s really rugged country, I am deeply attracted to it.
Then, as I was pulling my head torch on, the retractable string broke. I tried fixing it in the headlights for about 20 minutes, then turned them off and tried again with the light of my cell phone.
I was engrossed in this when I heard a rapid tick tick tick from the truck? Hmmm, that sounds like a starter relay? Shit!!!!
I jumped up and tried the ignition. It wouldn’t even turn over.
Oops!
I was mostly angry with myself. There was nothing for it but to start supper and have another cup of wine neither of which tasted half as good as they should have. Being in the shit had put a damper on things.
So, on with the thinking cap;
Can’t push start the truck – it’s automatic and I’m on my own
I had nearly 20 litres of water.
Food for 2 days maybe.
Tomorrow being a Monday, the chance of anyone coming along in the next week is very remote.
A few knew where I was, sort of. I have an online tracking app that I had sent out, But the alarm would take a few days to go off.
It’s full moon.
It was clear I had two choices;
Get up a hill and check to see if I can get signal.
If none, then walk to the river 30.6km’s away.
The weather was cool for the desert so walking in the day was not going to be an issue. I didn’t want to go climbing up a hill at night even if there was a full moon. I’d had 2 beers and 2 cups of wine, so for at least till dawn I was going nowhere.
I pulled my computer out and called up Mapsource and traced the route onto some paper and left instructions about which way I was going to be going and to bring the car along if they found it.
I then pulled out the jumper cables, left the note in the jaws and left them on the radiator with the bonnet open.
Going to sleep I tried to think if I hadn’t missed anything. I even thought of trying to use the computers batter to jump to the cars! Yes my mind was like a till on pay day.
It was still nearly dark when I got up and packed everything.
Nope that didn’t work…
I nearly sprained my ankle on the way down. I gave myself a good talking to about that.
There was no use being sentimental, I packed my bag; I only had my material briefcase to hold all my stuff
3 litres of water
Sun cream
Camera
GPS
Spare batteries for GPS
Passport
Wallet
Beanie
Long sleeved top
A tie down
Leatherman
Umbrella
Cheese
Ham Roll
Two handfuls of pecan nuts
A took a long drink form the water can and, Cheers for now
It really was quite pleasant…
Until I did the mental arithmetic as to how long this was going to take
Lunch
Basically it was walk for an hour and rest for 10 minutes.
I was pretty certain that I could do 30k’s. I just hadn’t walked further than 5k’s since my time in the army. I was reasonably mtb fit so I thought I’d be ok. It was a pity I didn’t bring my MTB along it was an awesome track to have ridden…
After sometime of trying to sling the briefcase and then use the strap across my head, I used the tie-down to fashion a neat backpack. I should have done that from the start.
I had a lot to think about. I have a panel that will be testing me in a month and for a few hours I was having a word with them. I had ample time to sort out some of the things that have been on my mind. I also got a chronic case of helmet song. It’s the disease of the same songs going round and round in your head, only this time, no matter what song it was it was playing to a marching beat.
Towards the afternoon it started to warm up. I was using about a litre per 10k’s. At the 20k mark, I could see the Eksteenfontein road in the distance. Getting to it would increase the chance of getting a lift.
The umbrella had proved its worth.
Aha! The river and a house
There was a caretaker who took me to Oewerbos
From there, as I have some friends in that part of the world they organised that I meet up with Adam Bleach of Bushwackers. The nicest guy who when we started the negotiation on how much my rescue would set me back, he only wanted diesel money. I soon set him straight about that. The drive back with him was in the dark. It was a great chat and I didn’t remember it being so rough. Once back, after a few minutes, the truck started with no issues. I said my goodbyes at the river, got over the border post and into bed by 12:30am.
The rescue Bunny, Adam Bleach
The next day I was super stiff, but happy I didn’t have to do the rescue. I managed to get some of my work done before I headed back the following day.
My buddy, organiser and long time ago business partner, Carlos
Some thoughts.
I’m no expert in a 4x4. I’ve owned this vehicle for a month and it’s the first one that I can call my own. I have some 4x4 experience and a vast amount of off-road motorcycle experience for whatever that counts. I think my battery is just serviceable and I’ve subsequently found out it is 4 years old and not in peak condition. The vehicle has no issues other than that and ran like a top the whole trip.
There is always a debate about solo trips. I had a lot of time to ponder this on my stroll. There is a line beyond where a solo trip can become not so much fun, expensive and/or lethal. That shouldn’t mean that one shouldn’t do them though. I was reasonably prepared and confident. That part of the world is serious and remote, this adds a level to the place. My slight back up should things have gone really wrong was the tracking app for my iphone. It uses the internal gps to track almost real time and then when in cell range uploads the data to a website that others can then follow. The last entry was turning off the knersvlakte. At the least, they knew I was heading for the Rallye route and had headed up that valley. But the alarm would’ve taken a few days to have been raised
However, I really enjoyed the experience, (not that I would want to do it again anytime soon), it was soul cleansing and it was good to have to be on my own, not rely on anyone and have some edge to the game.
There were a lot of “if’s”, but I like to think, what if I hadn’t gone?
)
I now use a normal cranking battery as auxiliary under the hood.