Day 214. Monday 24th July. Springbok Caravan Park to Die Mas Winery and Camp Ground.

Guess who chose this evenings camp site?

Back to this morning.

Up at first light, 8.30am and while I went for a shower Jen got chatting to our camping neighbours. A retired couple from Cape Town but originally from Middlesborough in the UK. Bob Mortimer’s home town. Who’s Bob Mortimer, I hear you ask? Google him. A brilliant comedian who featured regularly in my favourite TV show. Would I Lie to You. ..:)

With any luck we will catch up with our neighbours, who’s names we failed to get . They are towing a camping trailer behind their Toyota Highlander, or similar.

Leaving the camp and Springbok at 10.30am we hit the road. Progressively, during the day the countryside became drier and with sparser vegetation. We passed several bulk carrier trucks that we learned are transporting zinc from the Gamsberg mine to the port of Saldhana.

Tonka Toys..:)

Overburden from the mine.

The Gambsberg open cast mine is a huge operation. We are told that the zinc deposits here are the largest in the world. Why they don’t run a rail line to the port, like the Iron ore miners have, is best known to them. Here is one of the trucks.



Along the road there are birds nests of huge proportions, built atop power or telephone poles. Can anyone tell us what kind of birds are building/inhabiting these nests? They seem quite different to the Weaver birds from yesterday’s photo. What industrious, meticulous, weavers they are.

Running repairs in Pofadder

On arrival in Pofadder I decided to have the wheel alignment checked as the inside of the front tyres were showing scuffing. In a tin shed, with power being supplied by a 2cyl diesel air cooled Petter engine, the mechanic reset the toe-in via the most modern piece of computerised equipment I have seen. The generator was powering the garage because of Load Shedding!!

Our destination for the day was going to be Augrabies Waterfall, but Jen decided we should carry on another 100k’s and head for Kakamas where this camp site is and she could top up the larder at a larger town.

Our camp for the night. Die Mas

Having set up camp beside the Orange River, Jen decided she wants to walk 200meters back to the Tasting shed. Die Mas is a vineyard that also makes Brandy and Gin. While Jen tasted the 4 varieties of gin, I drank bottled water and later guided her back to the camp..:)

Again, we think South African camps are the best in the world. That we have experienced, anyway. Oh there are five start holiday parks in other countries but even they do not match the camps here. As mentioned earlier also, they are not glitzy but they have the important stuff.

I wish we had a fishing line/rod, as there are big fish in the river, right behind our vehicle.

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