Trip to Kgalagdi Transfrontier Park - Manfred & Kathy Feurstein

(Why mid-summer? We have previously been in January and it was wonderful – recent weather reports indicated some possible rain in the area – if conditions are right, many new-born animals – many predators - migratory birds)

Route: Cape Town – Sutherland – Kalahari Monate Lodge – Kieliekrankie – Grootkolk – Gharagab – Urikaruus – Twee Rivieren – Calvinia – Cape Town

Date: 05 Jan 2007 – 14 Jan 2007

Overlanders: Manfred & Kathy Feurstein

Vehicle: Landcruiser GX 105 Diesel (Ploddy)

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Friday 05 Jan – Cape Town to Sutherland – 387 kms

Early morning revealed a cloudless sky on the Atlantic seaboard. We packed the last bits and pieces, attached the radio aerial (just in case we came across a chatterbox along the way) while the 276C was searching for the satellites. The temperature was already a warm 23°.

We always try to travel north via Bain’s Kloof, one of our favourite passes in this part of the world, and this time was no exception. Through Wellington, and with the Dutch Reform church in our rear-view mirror we started the long climb up the pass. No sooner were we in the twisty bits when we hit unexpected mist which, by the time we got to the top , was similar to a (white) pea soup – a comfortable safe speed was about 35km/h on this narrow (particularly for a Cruza) road.

Descending towards the Breede river valley we soon left the mist behind. Breakfast was half-way up Michell’s Pass overlooking the Dwars river in the valley below with the Witsenberg range on the left.

breakfast on mitchell’s pass

Up Gydo Pass on the R303 towards Op-die-Berg where we would turn west towards Sutherland. We had planned to take a (short-cut) gravel road (shown on SA Streetmaps but not T4A) which met up about 6kms into the Sutherland road. Bad idea – we soon came across a ‘private road, sign (Streetmaps should indicate it as such) and made our way back to the R303. The road to Sutherland took us through the southern areas of the Cederberg, up the partially tarred (steep sections) Katbakkies Pass, past the turn-off to Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve, and then off the plateau (at 1200m) via Peerboomkloof Pass to the Tankwa karoo R355 (520m). A bit further north we turned west again (T4A shows turn-off in correct place – Streetmaps turnoff too far south), eventually crossing the Tankwa river (580m) and up to the escarpment via the stunning Ouberg pass. Ploddy took this in his stride – at times even in 2^nd gear J (1400m).

ouberg pass

Stopped for lunch and noticed that one of the screws holding the rear mud-flaps was loose. I had an IEF rear bumper/spare wheel carrier fitted by M$g$world a couple of months earlier and although had checked all the bolts holding this piece of equipment to the chassis, I omitted to check the flaps. A couple of the holes now appear misaligned – also on the other side. Grrrrr- still have to talk to the fitment centre about this. Earlier in the day we also noticed our after-market digital thermometer had packed up. We had to rely on my Tissot Touch – Swiss made – that wouldn’t let us down J.

Ouberg was a bit rocky in places but generally the gravel roads were in excellent condition. Oh, by the way, we also lost our rear number plate somewhere along the way.

In Sutherland we stayed at a quaint little B & B, - Primrose Cottage in Primrose Street (R200 pppn), run by Denise & Dave O’Hearns (if you can’t find the place just ask for the ‘Engelse vrou’) – Tel: 023 571 1087 – primcottage@mweb.co.za . The room was clean and well equipped with little extras making it quite homely – but the shower in one corner of the room and the loo accessed through one of the cupboard doors made the room somewhat odd to say the least. Dave is an amateur astronomer and conducts tours at the observatory. That night, standing outside before retiring, we could see he enjoys his hobby as he pointed out many interesting features in the pollution-free sky with his incredible pen-light sized laser beam.

Saturday 06 Jan – Sutherland to Upington (Kalahari Monate Lodge) – 588kms

We were up early next morning but after a leisurely breakfast only got away at 07:20 – a cool 14°. We would not see that sort of temperature again for some time. Ploddy took us along the R356 to Fraserburg – a clean dorp and relatively quiet for a Saturday morning. 20 kms out of town we turned onto the R361 taking us in a north-easterly direction to Carnarvon – a much busier place with the typical Saturday morning shoppers and hangers around….

It was time to turn north using the R361 to Van Wyksvlei – not to be recommended as a retirement place – apologies to anyone that may come from that part of the karoo – and with Verneukpan not too far off in the west, on to Kenhardt (and we all know Kenhardt L) on the R27. Approximately 12kms north of Kenhardt, Streetmaps shows a gravel road going off NW in a loop up to the Louisvale road (R359) connecting about 5kms north of Raaswater. We turned onto it and saved the route on our GPS as T4A does not have it. Again, the gravel road was also in excellent condition although not particularly interesting.

From there it was a toddle up to Upington (37°) where we filled both tanks and purchased the compulsory Skaapland biltong/dry wors at the new kiosk at the BP service station (the butchery had just closed at 15:00). A few bags of wood were also tied onto the roof-rack – with KTP one is never sure of availability of wood although Twee Rivieren normally has (but more expensive). 12kms further north, along the R360, we arrived at Monate (865m). One books in at Spitskop Nature Reserve on the right and then crosses the road again to the Monate camping ground and s/c cottages. We stayed in the latter (no RTT this time) which was a very comfortable and clean thatched cottage with air-conditioning nogal (much needed at this time of the year as it was 40° at 16:00) – cost, a very reasonable R170 pppn.

Kalahari Monate s/c cottage

Sunday 07 Jan 2007 – Monate to Kieliekrankie Dune Cabin – 284kms

Started out at 07:15 travelling northwards on the R360 with a pretty strong wind blowing from the west. Some 180kms further on, past Askham, at the Rietfontein intersection, we turned NW, past Molopo Lodge on the left, up the newly tarred access road – tarred now for 16 kms (eish!!! slow progress), and then the old, in many places still badly corrugated, gravel road to Twee Rivieren. After booking in at the office we continued up the Mata Mata side (saw oryx, wilde beest, springbok, ostrich) until the turn-off to Kieliekrankie came up. Turned east along the lower dune road for about 5kms, then SE to the cabins themselves (936m). It was still very windy - and hot. As we approached the end of the road we noticed that the last 500m or so is not correct on T4A – correction saved.for T4A. We wondered whether this last stretch of the road had at some stage been rerouted as T4A also shows the water hole to the north of the accommodation whereas it is in fact now to the south.

What a lovely setting. The 4 cabins (and 1 for the ‘tourism assistant’ – come on parks board, come up with a more appropriate name) – with well kitted kitchen, en-suite bedroom and good-sized wooden deck with typical skottel- braai, facing south and situated on one of the highest dunes around. This provides a lovely 180° view over the Kalahari dunes with the water hole down below, albeit some distance away. There is not much game around these parts but the wonderful setting and super accommodation makes up for it. The Mata Mata road is not far away if one wants to go on a game drive.

Kieliekrankie in the dunes

Sunset at Kieliekrankie

Monday 08 Jan – Kieliekrankie to Grootkolk Desert Cabin – 256kms

This was going to be a long haul - game-viewing speeds during the early morning hours along the Mata Mata road and then eastwards along the upper dune road at park speeds (50km/h) after which we turned north to Nossop. Other than some good bird sightings the cats had evaded us – Marie se Draai, a loop a short distance from Nossop, never disappoints with good numbers of oryx, ostriches, wildebeest, springbok, jackal and secretary birds, kori bustards, small jobs, big jobs and other tree lovers.

Secretary bird Swallow-tailed bee-eater

Pygmy falcon Colourful agama

At Polentswa water hole we came across a number of Bataleur, both adults and juveniles. What a wonderful sighting. We spent half an hour watching these lovely raptors – at the water, in the tree, flying off and coming back again – some just sitting – a juvenile watching the others while perhaps plucking up courage to soar into the skies.

Juvenile bateleur

We had to stop off at Nossop to book in for Grootkolk – 33° this p.m. but no wind. The camping site had about half a dozen campers – mid-summer is obviously not too popular with campers!!

Much of the road today was badly corrugated.

Tuesday 09 Jan – Grootkolk

Other than going for game drives in the a.m. and p.m. we chilled out (in the heat) at the lovely wilderness camp. It turned into the hottest day so far – 43° at 17:00 - in the shade!! Still no kittycats but we did have some excitement before the end of the day. The ‘tourism assistant’ found a Cape cobra of close to 2 metres in his accommodation – and ran to the tourists calling for help – perhaps some training required? Fortunately one of the guests used to manage a game lodge in the Limpopo area and appeared quite at ease with the situation. He picked up a broom, held the snake’s head on the ground with the broom head and grabbed the tail. Wow, quite impressive. After photographs had been taken (I had left my camera at the cottage) he ‘brushed’ the snake to a bush some distance away and released it. The reptile slithered off without a backward glance.

Wednesday 10 Jan – Grootkolk to Gharagab Log Cabin – 61kms

We were on the road travelling north by 06:30 on a nice cool morning. Saw a very relaxed steenbokkie on the way to the main road north.

The terrain north of Grootkolk is always stunning and although the river bed wasn’t as lush and green as we had seen previously it was more alive than the regions further south. And our day had finally arrived. We had stopped for breakfast at Geinab water hole and who should come trotting along, nervously, but a ‘skollie’ (as we call them) warthog. We had seen a number of them on the Botswana side of KTP on previous trips but never this side of the river. ‘Skollies’ are very special to us and we were pleased to see one this far west – but why so nervous. Then we saw them – lions - lying along a low ridge – a big black-maned male and 2 juvenile males (yes I know, rather peculiar). We watched them for some time slowly coming closer but then they flopped down – as only lions can flop – semi-behind a fallen tree trunk. And that was it. But it made our day.

We carried on northwards deciding to drive on to Union’s End before turning back a few kays to the Gharagab turn-off. This is a twin-spoor sand track – the grass height on the middle-mannetjie not too bad - no seed-screen necessary. The ARB guard was also doing a good job deflecting most of the longer grasses and their seeds away from the radiator.

We arrived at Gharagab around lunch-time. It was another hot afternoon. I had left my Tissot Touch in direct sunlight and the ‘thermo’ function indicated 51° - but returned to a more respectable 42° in the shade. The cottages again were on a dune (1 045m), facing virtually east. The views over the water hole and across the Kalahari dunes were stupendous. We went for a game drive late afternoon just to give the auxiliary battery a boost for the night. A spotted hyena visited the water-hole that evening – cooling itself down by lying fully stretched-out in the water.

Gharagab Log Cabin

Thursday 11 Jan – Gharagab to Urikaruus Riverside Cabin – 206kms

It was 22° when we left at 06:30 and again took it easy the first few hours while ‘ploddying’ along the wilderness trail, enjoying the solitude, the wide open spaces and the natural beauty of the Kalahari. We had a wonderful sighting of ± 50 eland thundering through the dunes. Considering it is our largest antelope they really are very skittish. We saw this happen once before on the Botswana side of the river and find their action rather peculiar when compared to their smaller four-footed cousins.

Back on the Mata Mata road and travelling north towards the Urikaruus turn-off, we sighted a wonderful specimen of a leopard lying stretched-out on a branch in a tree about 60 meters from the road. This is what a trip to KTP is all about. Break the seal on the whisky stuff.

We arrived at Urikaruus at 16:45 with the temp still over 40°. This is a most wonderful site and in our humble view the best of all the wilderness camps that SANP has in KTP. They are right on the edge of the Auob river-bed overlooking a very natural-looking waterhole – a waterhole that is close enough to the accommodation to allow one to observe the animals closely without disturbing their ‘wonderings and drinkings ‘.

Urikaruus riverside cabin

Urikaruus water hole at dusk

As dusk was falling we again saw ‘the’ leopard, this time slowly making its way through the camp – came to within 20 metres. A magnificent creature – unfortunately too dark by the time I remembered the camera – what a dodo.

Later in the evening a spotted Hyena came down to quench its thirst.

Friday 12 Jan – Urikaruus to Twee Rivieren – 177 kms - via Mata Mata camp

Early morning while packing the car we saw 3 lions come down to the water hole - and they drank and drank and drank – must have been a good meal.

Early dawn thirst at Urikaruus water hole

At 06:00, with the early rays of the sun now hitting the river bed, the 3 lions were still around. They would wonder a short distance away from the water, lie for a while, but then soon get up again to drink and drink and………………. yes drink.

Sunrise and still thirsty at Urikaruus water hole

We eventually departed at 06:30 and made our way northwards to Mata Mata to see what it looked like these days. On the way there we again were very fortunate – came across a herd of wildebeest which suddenly took off …… thanks to a cheetah that was going for a calf. She was unsuccessful but whew, was it exciting! We also saw a total of 8 lions at various places along the way. A most successful morning in the KTP

Mata Mata campsite was also not very busy but clean and quite a lot of shade under the numerous (now taller) camelthorn trees dotted around the area.

Our return journey back to Twee Rivieren was uneventful except for the wise old owl that kept us enchanted for a while………

Giant eagle owl

but of course its all about the wilderness experience and we always enjoy travelling the scenic Mata Mata route.

We stayed in one of the air-conditioned cottages J and enjoyed a relaxing last evening in KTP

Cost of cottage at Twee Rivieren – R276 per night

Cost of cabins at the wilderness camps – R660 per night.

Saturday 13 Jan – Twee Rivieren to Calvinia – 661 kms

It was 29° when we left at 07:00. The auxiliary tank (we had only been using the auxiliary since filling up in Upington 6 days earlier) fuel gauge light came on while travelling back to Upington – 1,269 kms on the tank. With say 10 litres left in the tank this equates to 13.4 l / 100 kms JJ .

We refuelled in Upington, bought some more Skaapland goodies, and continued down the R27 via Keimoes, Kenhardt and the boring stretch to Brandvlei and finally Calvinia, arriving at 16:00 and 32°. We stayed at Annie’s Cottage, old but nicely renovated with secure parking. It belongs to Hantam Huis Accommodations and costs R450 per night. We spoilt ourselves and had an early evening meal out at the Blou Naartjie just down the road from our accommodation. It was very quiet (even on a Saturday night) and some items on the menu were unavailable – but what the hell, its Calvinia.

Sunday 14 Jan 2007 – Calvinia to Cape Town – 385 kms

We pulled out of Calvinia just before 07:00 - at an unaccustomed 16° - across the Oorlogskloof river along the R27. About halfway to Nieuwoudtville we turned south onto the R364. We know this route quite well having done it some years ago. Its very scenic and well worth the deviation off the well-trodden path if one has some extra time available. The good gravel road takes you down the steep Botterkloof pass and along the valley with the folds of the northern Cederberg in the distance.

The scenic R364 to Clanwilliam

One crosses the Doring river via a single-lane bridge and then climbs again until one meets up with the Wuppertal road. We took a right past Travellers Rest and then up/down Pakhuis pass to Clanwilliam and the N7.

The N7 was relatively quiet easy going. Table mountain came into view sooner than expected and we were home, unpacked and sitting down with a sundowner well before sunset J .

Conclusions

Getting off the main routes enables one to see parts of the country which are breathtaking in their splendour, and the solitude away from the rush of the national roads is very special – kms of good gravel roads with some quaint dorpies along the way – mountains and valleys – running rivers and dry river beds – take your time, include the journey in your holiday and experience a whole new world out there.

And Ploddy performed faultlessly once again.

Tracks4Africa is advancing in leaps and bounds and is a pleasure to use as a holiday planning tool as well as keeping you informed of your whereabouts.

Total trip: 3,457 kms

Total fuel used: 468.72 litres

Consumption: 13.56 l/100kms

Cost of fuel: R2,772.12

Cost of accom: R4,766