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In early April along with some family members, Umvoto’s Junior Hydrogeologist Kevin de Bruin took an off-road trip into the vast openness of the Northern Cape. From Johannesburg as a starting point, they completed Part 1 of the Namwaka 4×4 Eco Trail which took them from Pella to Vioolsdrift along a remote and tricky 4×4 route. Without any infrastructure or cell phone signal along the Eco Trail, all food and water rations had to be prepared and accounted for. For someone with a background in geology, the trail is truly a dream. Rather than a full explanation of the route, Kevin has shared some well captioned photos to show some of his highlights and interesting sitings.
Riemvasmaak is a geologist’s dream. The area is rich in hydrothermal deposits with artisanal quarries of fluorite and quartz amongst others. A) The campsites are way down in the dry Molopo River bed. You can see what might be the best braai you will ever have, built into the smooth, water-cut hollow in the gneiss outcrops. B) A pegmatite vein boasts tourmaline crystals larger than 30 cm in length. C) The hot spring rock pools which Riemvasmaak is famous for provide for some good sundowners but it’s not the best place to cool down. D) A hillside composed solely of massive rose quartz scree, free for easy pickings. Yes, that’s a double cab bakkie for scale [Photos by Kevin de Bruin].After Riemvasmaak the next destination was Melkhoutboom camp on the Orange River. A) Like a desert oasis, in Klein Pella there is an international award winning date plantation. There are never-ending rows of trees in the middle of the desert landscape. B) Along the way we had a relatively rare siting of two Namaqua Sandgrouse adults with two chicks. These endemic birds are special because the male will fly up to 25 km daily to the nearest watering hole, saturates his feathers and, like a mobile reservoir, flies back to provide his chicks with water. During their early discovery, it was thought they were birds with mammary glands as it seemed the chicks were suckling underneath their wings. C) The days travels were topped off with a fiery sunset on the banks of the Orange River at Melkboomhout [Photo by Kevin de Bruin].The next stop offered the best camping spot of the week on grassy banks of the Orange River with resident Kingfishers and Fish Eagles. A) Climbing the mountain offered a spectacular view into Namibia. B) After forgetting his fishing rod, nothing stopped Luke after he found a piece of Christmas lint in the caravan and an old hook and sinker stuck in a tree. With captured grasshoppers, he out-caught the actual fishermen with three barbers and two mud carps. We could not believe it [Photos by Kevin de Bruin].The next leg took us down a treacherous river gorge, with some tricky sections to navigate, to the T’kamgap Camp. The banks were quite washed away due to the recent floods and offered no good camping sites. A) We did have to stop at the river for a quick swim and a bite to eat, though. B) Thereafter, we trekked back up the Oernoeprivier valley which was riddled with salt deposits of all the hydrothermal seeps. C) We decided to camp right there on the meander under a full lit moon. This was my favourite spot of the whole trip [Photos by Kevin de Bruin].The next day we reached Vioolsdrift and it was time to head home. A) Our halfway stop was at Witzand Nature Reserve near Olifantshoek where there is a slither of roaring sand dunes which are roamed by Gemsbok and Sables. B) Another spectacular sunset topped the day off at the pool. C and D) The next day, while doing somersault on the dunes my little cousin stumbled upon a weird formation. I soon realised that he had stumbled upon a rare piece of fulgurite. Fulgurite is formed when lightning strikes clean sand, and the intense heat pulverizes the sand and turns it into glassy remnants. This was definitely the coolest find of the trip, a good way to end it off [Photos by Kevin de Bruin].
