On twin tracks through the Kgalagadi
They often visit the Kalahari, but decided to tackle the Nossob 4x4 Eco Trail for the first time just before lockdown started, says Grové Koch of Riversdal.
For the past 15 years, Grové and his wife, Marguerite, have been visiting the Kgalagadi at least two or three times annually to experience and enjoy everything this special place has to offer. On these trips they always stay in Nossob, even though they often make the wrong early morning decision when choosing whether to drive north or south. Grové says it has happened so often that the big cats are spotted in the north while they drove south… and vice versa. This year, they decided to add the Nossob 4x4 Eco Trail to their itinerary as you don’t get to choose a direction to take on this route. They made the booking 11 months in advance, as soon as the bookings opened, and the rest of their stay in the park was planned and booked around the three nights on the trail. The Nossob 4x4 Eco Trail is a guided north-to-south tour done every second month on a twin track among the dunes (Nossob to Twee Rivieren). Every other month, the trip is done in the opposite direction. The park had a really good rainfall in February, and within two weeks, the usual red sand dunes transformed into a green oasis. Grové tells us more about their trip…
Around noon we noticed clouds gathering in front of us in the southwest, causing rain showers here and there in the distance
Our longtime friends Peet and Drika Coetzee decided to join us, and so, on a Monday morning in mid-March, we left Nossob in our two vehicles. Our capable guide, Hanel Franken, accompanied us as we drove in the direction of Polentswa. Just before turning east on the 4x4 trail near Polentswa, we found two lions next to the road behind a tree and quickly took some photos. We hadn’t exactly expected to see lions on the trail and so made the most of this opportunity. We were proved right, but what we would experience over the next four days more than made up for the absence of lions and other cats. The road was so overgrown with grass that we missed our turnoff to the south. We had to turn around after about 5 km to go look for it. We finally found it among the tall grasses where you could just about make out a narrow twin track. This is where the trail actually starts. Hanel stopped regularly and allowed us to get out of our vehicles so she could tell us more about the environment and the vegetation along the way. She showed us the black thorn that allows you to move forward, but the barbs on the thorns that prevent you from retreating along that same path. Believe me, that’s something you’d rather hear about than experience. She also shared how the San people used the three points of the three-thorn rhigozum as an egg whisk. There’s lush vegetation along the roads – you can brag about those scratch marks on your vehicle later. Everywhere along the road we heard bustards calling from the sky to draw our attention away from their homes, and we also saw loads of steenbok running away in fear when they saw our vehicles. Around noon we noticed clouds gathering in front of us in the southwest, causing rain showers here and there in the distance. At 15:30, the rain hit us as we were driving. What a pleasant experience to get some sudden rain on a hot day in the Kalahari! We stopped for lunch at a lookout point with a beautiful view of the Nossob Valley in the northeast and the open plains toward Mata Mata in the southwest. We were about 14 km away from our first campsite and the world around us was covered in flowers – yellow, white, purple and red – with the large Kalahari crinum lily scattered around everywhere.
We couldn’t stop looking at the Kalahari’s extraordinary scenery and got to our first campsite, Swartbas, at 17:00. We quickly set up camp before dark – roughly 92 km from our starting point in Nossob. Each campsite has a long drop and shower cubicle with a water bag. After a delicious braai under the stars, the clouds started gathering again. Sure enough, we woke up at 01:00 with heavy thunder and a proper rain shower.
DAY TWO HAD us packing up camp early that morning. After coffee and rusks, we left at 09:00, heading to the next campsite, Rosyntjiebos, about 48 km away. That journey would take around six hours of driving. All along the road we saw gemsbok in the dunes, but also hartebeest and steenbok that scurried away rapidly – only to come to a stop a few metres later to look at these visitors who had entered their domain. Hanel showed us the candle thorn bush and explained the origin of its name: its pods stand upright the way candles do. The bush was also used by the San to protect them against wild animals by taking refuge in the middle of it and closing the entrance to their shelter. Lions also love lying under the candle thorn. Yet the signs of the recent big drought were clearly visible – we saw many carcasses and skulls of gemsbok and eland lying in the veld. After driving for 18 km, we stopped for lunch at Eileen-se-pan. Here, Hanel warned us about Big Bertha – a large and steep dune we’d have to face on our way to Rosyntjiebos. Around 17 km before the campsite we arrived at Big Bertha at 14:00, but after repeated attempts we had to sound the retreat and take the detour (much shorter and easier), with our tails tucked between our legs, to our campsite for the night. Our excuse is that other guys ahead of us dug it up so badly that the tourists in front of us had also damaged the track so the crisscrossed holes and loose sand in the hot sun made it impossible to ascend. We didn’t want to damage our vehicles, so we rather withdrew. We arrived at Rosyntjiebos at 16:30 and pitched camp under the blue sky with the sun busy burning its way down in the west in a cloudless sky. While chatting around the fire at dusk, we noticed a cloud bank building
up in the southeast, but we didn’t pay it much attention as it didn’t seem too threatening. By 21:00, when we had finished supper and were ready to go to bed, we realised the stars weren’t visible anymore. And sure enough, just before midnight, a thunderstorm broke, the likes of which I’ve rarely seen. It’s was a barrage of lightning and thunder, something that would lead many Capetonians to think the day of judgement had arrived. The storm calmed after about an hour of heavy rain, but then we heard a sound in the distance we couldn’t identify. Ten minutes later we were hit by the heaviest wind I have ever experienced. With a bang I heard one of my tent posts breaking and then the whole tent collapsed. The wind was so strong, I couldn’t even get the zip open to see whether I could fix things outside, and Marguerite and I had to try and lift it somewhat from the inside. Meanwhile, Hanel couldn’t get out her rooftop tent, while Peet’s tent on the ground also suffered quite a bit of damage. He, at least, could emerge to help us get out from under our flattened tent and fashion a spot for us at the back, under the bakkie’s canopy. After fastening the flat tent as firmly as possible to the ground, we crawled in for an uncomfortable few hours of sleep until sunrise. Peet and Drika could also sleep in a section of their tent after the wind calmed down. It went so quiet, we couldn’t believe a storm had destroyed our camp just an hour or so before.
BEFORE SUNRISE, WE crawled out to inspect the damage and, where possible, start repairs. We managed to get both tents fixed enough for us to be able to sleep in them again that final night. We departed later than planned. We tackled the third leg of the route on our way to the last campsite, Witgat, about 61 km away. After 8,5 km we crossed the upper dune road that meets up with Dikbaardskolk, and enjoyed lunch at Kameelboom, an old campsite. Our progress was slow as we drove through the changing landscape of tall grasslands and typical Kalahari dunes. It almost felt as though we were participating in the Dakar Rally. About 5 km before our last campsite we all
And sure enouh, just before midnight, a thunderstorm broke, the likes of which I’ve rarely seen
stopped and climbed up a dune to get a lovely view of the jagged dunes we’d just crossed. This is a popular landmark that’s also featured on Tracks4Africa. We arrived at Witgat at 16:30. It’s a stunning campsite among the dunes with a beautiful view over a waterhole about 200 m from the campsite. We set up camp for the last time and started a big campfire under a cloudless sky with glittering stars in the sky. A beautiful sunrise greeted us on the last day of the trail. We had 49 km to go to get to the Nossob-Twee Rivieren main road and 91 km to Twee Rivieren. On the way, we stopped at a giant Matoppie (also called a shepherd’s tree) where Hanel finally led us up a dune to look down at the Nossob Valley below us. She also showed us a blister beetle flying out of the yellow devil’s thorn, and explained how this insect causes big blisters to form on your skin when it comes in contact with it – something none of us were keen to experience. The last section of the route again weaves through hip-high grassland and we saw gemsbok and blue wildebeest – well, only their heads that were visible above the grass. We arrived on the main road at noon. This is where the trail officially ends, about 42 km from Twee Rivieren. Here we said goodbye, knowing that thanks to Hanel, we now knew so much more about the Kalahari and its plants and animals. It was an experience that money simply cannot buy. Upon our arrival at Twee Rivieren, we heard about the COVID-19 pandemic. What a contrast to what we had experienced that week! Fortunately, we got home just in time for lockdown. Maybe it would have been better to have been stuck in Witgat with Hanel for the duration.