BEHIND THE SCENES

François Haasbroek and his wife Marilize visited one of the hottest places in the country in the middle of summer – while she was pregnant! Here’s what François learnt in the Richtersveld. (See page 32 for the story.)

The heat is merciless. When I travel, I don’t usually pay much attention to advice about the best time of year to visit. For example, winter might be the best time for game viewing in the Kruger Park, but that won’t stop me from going in summer. There’s always something new and exciting to see. However, our visit to the Richtersveld in November last year forced me to reconsider my approach. Marilize and I experienced some extreme climatic events: chilly drizzle on Helskloof Pass and relentless, gusting wind in Kokerboomkloof that ripped the flysheet off our tent and carried it into the veld. The drizzle and the wind were manageable, but the heat almost became too much. We wouldn’t have survived without the aircon in our Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. In the Richtersveld, you hide from the sun when it’s up. Hurrah for home remedies… A month before our trip, Marilize and I found out we were expecting our first child. But she was feeling great – somewhere along the N7 we even joked that she’d sidestepped morning sickness. Oh, the optimism of newbie parents! The first time I had to pull over for her was on the road between Akkedis Pass and De Hoop. The next two days featured regular such stops, including on the 4x4-only Domorogh Pass, where we spent more time next to the road than on it. It was then that I remembered an old home remedy from my childhood: Lemon can be used to treat nausea. I drove to Sendelingsdrift and bought a bottle of Brookes lemon juice at the kiosk. Marilize added a few drops to her water bottle and it made the rest of the driving much more bearable.