Richtersveld: Kokerboomkloof

During the night we heard the first drops of rain coming in behind the cold front, and when the alarm went off well before dawn, a quick peek outside the tent showed the weather had closed in on us, with low cloud and steady rain, as well as distressing signs of water leakage into my tent. No dawn photography would be possible today, and with a chill wind swirling outside, the sleeping bag deserved my full attention again.

By 9 a.m. the rain had lifted enough for us to walk around and start exploring. With the wind swirling, the clouds were moving rapidly bringing sporadic rain, but occasionally a small gap would open, and let a beautiful shaft of light through to illuminate the boulders with an incredible glow. Seeing the incredible changes in the light, we quickly scrambled amongst the rocks to find a good spot where we hoped would reveal a great view if a gap in the clouds would oblige us by shining on a particular koppie. Fortunately I had a full waterproof suit with me, so it wasn't too much of a problem to hang around in the rain.  Dave, on the other hand, had only a waterproof jacket, and had a pretty cold and soggy time while waiting.

It wasn't very long before the rain lifted enough for us to quickly pull the cameras out of their bags, set them up on the tripods, and compose our images in anticipation of the light. Alas, the rain arrived heavily again before the light, and the cameras were quickly put away, to wait for the next gap. Our patience eventually paid off with the rain lifting just before a beautiful glow of warm light illuminated the koppie that we were 'aiming' at. With moisture still heavy in the air, a subtle rainbow shone across the width of the koppie, resulting in one of my favourite images of the trip. Printed as a large panorama, i think this image may well land up on my wall at home.

Richtersveld: Rainbow on the kloof, at Kokerboomkloof

Over the next hour or two we had a great time exploring the kloof as the light changed minute by minute.

Richtersveld: Streaky Koppie at Kokerboomkloof

Richtersveld: Dying Kokerboom at Kokerboomkloof

Richtersveld: Multi-toned rocks of Kokerboomkloof

After an exploratory climb in the early afternoon, we decided that our late afternoon photo would be from the top of a koppie behind the camp site which had a particularly interesting tree growing out of a crack in the rock at the top of the koppie, and the changing light might make for an unusual image (you can see the small tree at the top of the koppie in the first of the three photos above). Having seen a sunrise photograph from Hougaard Malan which used that particular tree, I thought it made for a particularly compelling foreground.  Hougaard was kind enough to point us in the right direction, so we could locate it.  The last portion of the climb was particularly tricky, and with the rain still moving through, extra slippery. If I had been by myself, I would never had completed the last few meters to the tree, but fortunately Dave is a more adept climber than me, and kindly came back for my camera pack and tripod, so I only had to slither on my bum the last stretch and hoist myself over the edge to get to the tree.

The next hour was the same routine as the morning - waiting for a gap in the rain above our heads, to coincide with a gap in the clouds on the horizon to let the late afternoon sun shine through.  It was such a promising spot that even without the anticipated cross lighting, it was still worth a snap or two.

Richtersveld: Singing in the Rain at Kokerboomkloof

After a couple of mediocre photos, suddenly it all came together, with the rain moving off to one side, and the tree brilliantly lit in front of us.  This time an intense rainbow appeared, seemingly coming from right under our feet.  The light and rainbow were only there for a few seconds, but it was enough to capture probably my favourite image of the trip. 

Richtersveld: Warmth and Colour after the storm at Kokerboomkloof

A few minutes later, the kloof was clear, with mostly blue skies. 

Richtersveld: All quiet after the storm at Kokerboomkloof

The three images above were all taken within a span of about 20 minutes, giving some idea of the variable nature of the weather.  As quickly as it had cleared, the rain returned by the bucketful, and it was time to call it a day, and slither back off the koppie.

Cooking dinner in the rain at Kokerboomkloof proved a rather miserable affair. For some reason (probably the strong wind on the first afternoon), we had not put up the gazebo, so the only cover we could find was just outside the 'ablutions' (Kokerboomkloof of course being a complete 'bring your own water' site). Essentially a reed covering to protect against the scorching summer heat, it was no match for the persistent rain. With water well entrenched in the gas cooker heads, as well as my gas bottle seemingly running out of gas (after only 4 days!), we had to haul out Dave's backup bottle and take turns with the pots. 

Richtersveld: Potjiespram to Kokerboomkloof

After a less than memorable morning photo session, and then packing up the camp site, we headed off to Kokerboomkloof. The route would take us well into the park, away from the park entrance and still operating diamond mines, over Halfmen’s Pass, past the 'Hand of God', across the Akkedis Pass, through Maerspoort, and on to Kokerboomkloof. 

Stopping in the middle of Halfmen’s Pass, we had a first glimpse of the incredible variety of plants dotting the hillside. From the car it doesn't look too interesting, but once you are out in the veld, and looking around, an amazing wealth of different species becomes apparent. And then to our surprise, we turned around, and there driving along the road, in the middle of nowhere, was a Telkom van. Where he would have been going to we have no idea (possibly another mine somewhere?), but with Gauteng number plates, we were not convinced this was strictly business!

Richtersveld: Halfmens tree at Halfmens Pass

Richtersveld: Flowers at Halfmens Pass

Richtersveld: Flowers at Halfmens Pass

Richtersveld: Flowers at Halfmens Pass

Richtersveld: Telkom van at Halfmens Pass

After the necessary tourist stop at the 'Hand of God', we drove on through Akkedis Pass. A narrow, winding, rocky road took us to the top of the pass, giving the Forester a bit of a warm up for rougher roads to come. Dave's Cruiser didn't even notice the rocks. At the top we stopped for lunch, to be greeted by a rather disdainful look by someone being ferried in a 'real' 4x4 tour vehicle. I could almost hear him say 'how can you come up here in a car like that while I had to pay big money for my space in a tour Cruiser?'. 

New kinds of flowers, different colours, all required more exploration with the camera.  Having consumed a bit too much time on the passes, we had to significantly lift our pace once we were on 'decent' dirt road.  A quick stop for a snap at the incredibly beautiful Maerspoort (this needs an 'early morning treatment' but its too far from any of our stops to be able to get back to) and its time to push on again.

Richtersveld: "Hand of God"

Richtersveld: Akkedis Pass

Richtersveld: Flowers on Akkedis Pass

Richtersveld: Maerpoort Pass

Another photo stop along the way, really in the middle of nowhere, and the next 'sinking feeling' - Dave's car decided not to start. Out came the trusty 'jump start booster', and all was well, and we were soon on our way again. But I am reminded why the Richtersveld is not the place to travel with only one vehicle - it could be a few days before someone else comes along this route. For the last stop along this route (at the "Big Toe'') both car engines stayed running as a precaution, before finally arriving at Kokerboomkloof in the late afternoon. 

Richtersveld: "Big Toe" near Kokerboomkloof

A cold wind was blowing, so we selected campsite number 2 which we hoped (completely incorrectly, as it turned out) would give us the best protection from the wind.

With the basics of the camp set up, we walked around the kloof to look for a good late afternoon shot, as well as try and predict a suitable morning location. Not a huge success, as the shadows of the surrounding mountain encroached a lot earlier than expected, and well before the last light of the afternoon.  We took the opportunity of the soft diffuse light to try out the macro lens on some strange looking plants.

Richtersveld: Otherworldly flowers at Kokerboomkloof

Richtersveld: Otherworldly flowers at Kokerboomkloof

Richtersveld: Potjiespram

The basics of the camp were hurriedly set up a short way from the river, protected from the wind by big trees, and then we were quickly out for a walk along the river to pick a spot for the morning photo.

Up well before dawn the next morning, we stumbled off in the dark to find our pre-defined spot and set up facing a mountain which we expected to catch the first glow of red morning light. And then to wait for sunrise. It wasn't long before we realised that, with the angle the sun would be rising, there would be another pretty large hill in the way, and by the time the sun would clear it, all the red colour would be long gone. Wasted morning.  It was a problem we were to have a few times. Moving every 2 nights, and surrounded by big mountains, it was pretty difficult to predict where we would get the first glow of sunrise, or the last glow of the day.

Richtersveld: Sunrise at Potjiespram campsite

Arriving back at the campsite we were not amused to discover a baboon raid in progress, and a smug looking baboon scrambling off with with a full carton of milk under its arm. The camping boxes had had their lids taken off and the internals scattered around, but the boxes had not been knocked over! Bite marks in the firelighters and a hole in the briquettes bag were signs of deliberate sampling of the goods before choosing their loot! We even saw one of them trying to open one of the car doors, which fortunately was locked.  They were a real nuisance - very persistent, ringing the campsite and waiting for any slip-up and lack of attention, and one of them would dash in through whatever gap they had exposed, and steal something from the table.

Dave's air suspension was looking a bit worse for wear (the left side was a problem from the beginning, but now the right side is also looking pretty low). Pumping up a leaking air suspension is not much use, so some running repairs (consisting of duct tape and more cable ties) were attempted, but weren't too successful, so the rest of the trip happened  without the benefits of the air suspension.

Dave trying to repair his air suspension

With the strong, direct, sun making for rather flat and lifeless landscape images, so much of the day was rather spent exploring the neighbouring hills, and photographing unusual details.

Richtersveld: "I can see you" 

Late afternoon was for reflections in the Orange river, and for exploring the red and green tones of the somewhat otherworldly mountainside rock formations. 

Richtersveld: late afternoon at Potjiespram

Richtersveld: reflections in the Orange River

Richtersveld: "Which planet did you say we were on?"

Richtersveld: Johannesburg to Potjiespram

Leaving Joburg well before dawn on Saturday morning, the mission for the day was to reach Springbok by nightfall.  The trip almost came to an abrupt halt before really getting under way when Dave had a mishap outside Ventersdorp in the dark, resulting in his Cruiser being planted sideways in the barrier, facing the wrong direction.  Apart from being a bit shaken, there was not too much damage to the vehicle (well, nothing that couldn't be tied back on with a cable tie or left behind on the roadside!), and we decided to carry on. 

It's a long drive to Springbok, with a lot of roadworks (with many of the dreaded 'stop and go's) and large mining vehicles, making for slow progress (15 hours in total). The last section between Upington and Springbok had a huge headwind coming off the coast, and fuel consumption was at least 30% higher than normal, giving me some nervous moments. With driving rain also arriving in the last hour of the trip, we were very relieved to finally arrive at our destination - a chalet at Jakkalswater Guest Farm (outside Springbok on the Nababeeb road).  

After a hearty breakfast the next morning, we headed north towards the Park, through Steinkopf, Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay. We made a quick stop at Port Nolloth to smell the ocean, and take a few snaps of the fishing boats, and then a last stop for fuel at Alexander Bay (there's a disappointment for a town!), before heading off inland about 90 kms on the well maintained dirt road to the park. All mobile phone coverage ends shortly out of Alexander Bay, so there would be no more communications until we were out of the park and back near Alexander Bay.

Fishing boats at Port Nolloth

About 20 or 30 km before the park entrance, we stopped beside the road at the well known Cornellskop and Wondergat. Wondergat was not a big highlight for me, but walking over the hill revealed the Kokerboom of Cornellskop, and a beautiful sprinkling of the first blooms of spring flowers, which gave us the opportunity to pull out the macro lenses and start getting into practice. And then it was on to the park, first signing in at the park entrance (near the Hellskloof exit), booking in properly at the Sendelingsdrif Reception, and finally on to the  Potjiespram campsite, arriving mid-afternoon.

Kokerboom tree at Cornellskop

We soon discovered that our two way radios that we had brought along to help with communications while driving wouldn’t work with each other (a rather basic thing that should have been checked weeks before in Joburg!), which meant we would have to keep the two vehicles much closer than planned while driving, and communicate via the hooter!

Trip to Richtersveld National Park

As with most of my trips, the intent to go to the Richtersveld for a photographic trip started at least two years before it actually happened.  Due to its isolation and unforgiving environment, this is not a park to travel in alone, so it requires not only detailed planning and preparation, but also at least one other suitable vehicle.  A first attempt to travel in April had failed due to conflicting schedules, but this time, in mid August, one other couple is available, and the trip is on.  This may turn out to be a better time to travel, with the start of the Namaqualand flower season often around mid August, depending on the winter rains.

Since most people I talk to about the trip say "And where exactly is the Richtersveld?", the map below shows where the park is:

Richtersveld National Park location

Four sites within the Richtersveld National Park are in the plan - 2 nights camping at each of Potjiespram, Kokerboomkloof, and Richtersberg, and ending by one night at the Gannakouriep Wilderness Camp (chalets).  Thereafter my travel mates will return to Joburg, and I will stay an extra couple of nights around Springbok to try and catch some of the flowers in either the Goegap Nature Reserve just outside Springbok, or further south in the Namaqualand National Park,

Much planning went into the preparation of this trip - reading magazines, other peoples' trip reports and paper maps, consulting the Garmin and Tracks4Africa maps, as well as plenty of time studying the terrain using Google Earth.   All the accommodation in the park was booked online directly on the SANParks website. My vehicle is a Forrester, and my mate Dave 'cable tie' Hill  will be driving his LandCruiser. Apart from the standard camping equipment we have 2 spare tyres for the Cruiser (but only one my Forrester), tyre repair kits, radios, sand tracks, plenty of drinking water (there is none in the park), and extra fuel for the Forrester. The Garmin is pre-loaded with all the junction markers (RT1, RT17, etc.), as well as pre-built routes between campsites. We will also be carrying paper maps (much better for getting a sense of the space and general directions).

The short weekend trip to my favorite mountain

It's a bit late, I know, but I did get down to Royal Natal for the weekend in mid June.  I left Joburg quite a bit later than planned, and with all the holiday weekend traffic, only arrived well after dark.  Setting up camp in the dark is not my favorite, but at least it wasn't raining. 

Having arrived late on the Friday evening, there was no time to pre-survey the morning sunrise spot, so it was a case of targeting a previous location. Heading out at 5:30 am in mid winter was pretty chilly (below freezing if I remember well), but an hour's walk gets the circulation and internal heater working! 

In June there is a lot less water in the Tugela river, so it is easier to stand on rocks in the middle of the river to get effect of the flowing water. But it also means the stones are a lot more exposed, and it is much more difficult to find a spot where the river actually points towards the Amphitheatre.  Anyhow I found a suitable spot and was blessed with a beautiful 'red mountain sunrise'  The sun in winter is much further north than in March / April when I have previously been there, and the sunrise lights up the complete width of the Amphitheatre, rather than just the buttresses.  Compare this photo with the others in the gallery to see the difference.

Royal Natal Amphitheater winter sunrise

After the sunrise was well over, I used some time looking for an alternative sunrise view of the Amphitheatre from the Policeman's Helmet, but it wasn't viable.  By the time I got back to the camp for 'breakfast' I had already walked nearly 15 km up and down hills, and was pretty exhausted!  Unfortunately I used up too much time and energy in the morning, so I didn't succeed in reaching my afternoon's planned location of 'The Grotto', which was a bit disappointing, since I was trying to use this trip to look for new locations.

Sunday morning was another early morning, this time looking for a vertical shot of the Amphitheatre.  Obviously it needed a much further back location, which I found even more difficult to find a suitable spot with the river pointing in the correct direction.  With the low water levels the stones take on much more prominence, and being winter the green grass has been replaced with brown, making the photos look very 'warm'. 

Royal Natal Amphitheatre winter early morning

Later that morning I went for another walk in a new direction, but again being exhausted and needing to pack up and head home, I didn't complete that plan either.  I did find, however, some interesting rock formations, lichen, etc. so decided to stop and explore theses instead.

Royal Natal Lichen on rock

So overall a bit of a mixed bag of a trip - I was happy to get the prime pics I had planned to get, but didn't get to see some of the new places I have been wanting to explore for a while.  I guess that just means another visit will be required some day!

There are several more pics in the Amphitheatre gallery

Trip to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon

Sadly, due to insufficient people signing up for this trip, it had to be cancelled.  Fortunately flights etc. have not yet been paid for, so there is no financial impact.  One day I’ll get there!