We went on an amazing trip to the Northern Cape and Namibia discovering the orange river. On this trip we visit the magnificent Augrabies Falls and stay in a remote campsite in the Richtersveld. Then go on a river rafting adventure on the Orange River and visit the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park .
The Route
We travelled in our Discovery 3 and our route took us out of Gauteng to the Augrabies Falls National Park. Then on to Richersveld. Here we left South Africa crossing the Orange River into Namibia. We travelled along the northen bank of the Orange River to the Felix Unite River Camp at Noordoever. Next we went up to Ais Ais in the Fish river Canyon and across to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier park then back home.
Augrabies Falls
We travelled with neighbours Monty, Yolanda and Michael. We headed South West from Krugersdorp to the Northern Cape . First we camped at the Augrabies Falls National Park for a couple of nights.
The Khoi people called it “Aukoerebis”, or “place of great noise. This powerful flow of water is unleashed from its rocky surroundings as the Orange River cascades down the 56-metre high waterfall.
There are lovely walking trails where you can get right onto the rocks on the riverbank. You see the falls from lots of different angles. Even with the water levels quite low, the noise was incredible. I can only imagine what it would sound like in full flood.
Richtersveld
Then we headed further west via Alexander Bay on the Diamond Coast in the extreme north west of South Africa. Here we entered the Ais Ais Richetersveld Transfrontier park, where we camped alongside the Orange River at Potriespram campsite.
The Richtersveld is a true wilderness area in the north western corner of South Africa, bordering on the Orange river. Hauntingly beautiful and seared by a blistering sun, the lava mountains and sandy plains form southern Africa’s largest Mountain Desert Park.
This extremely dry area receives less than 50mm of rain a year and nurtures some 30% of all South Africa’s succulent plant species. This is a harsh and unpredictable land where water is scarce and life-sustaining moisture comes in the form of early morning fog – called ‘Ihuries’ or ‘Malmokkies’ by the local people . I was on the lookout for the ‘half-mens’ Afrikaans for “half man” trees keeping vigil over this rugged landscape.
The Orange River is like an oasis in this mountain desert and we took full advantage, swimming in the river. It was a small taste of what we would experience just a couple of days later.
Orange River Rafting
After a couple of days we made our way back to Sendlingsdrift where we took the pontoon across the river into Namibia. Next stop was the Felix Unite river camp at Noordoever in Southern Namibia. We had booked a 4 day paddling down the Orange River and were all super excited.
We had to take our own camping stuff and drinks and were each allocated a 20l bucket to pack our stuff into which was packed into the 2-man canoes. This guided trip was great for the whole family and the guides did an amazing job looking after the kids, keeping them entertained and showing them what river life is all about.
We would paddle for most of the day but had many stops to take in the scenery and rest a bit. Although the paddling was not very strenuous you could feel it by day four.
This was a wilderness experience like no other and my first river trip and I absolutely loved it. For 4 days we saw no one else, it was just us and the river. At night we setup camp along the river with no facilities and no fancy 4×4 camp luxuries. All you had was what you carried in your canoe.
The evenings next to the campfire looking at the lightning from the distant storms and the quiet surreal mornings with the sunrising over the mountains will stay with me forever.
Paddling down the river we had to negotiate several sets of rapids, all of them with numbers and names. Even the most tame looking rapid was a potential for disaster as a few of our canoes capsized on these. The guides were excellent in getting us novice paddlers through and were always on hand in the most crucial spots.
Fish River and Kgalagadi
The weather was fantastic and after 4 days of an experience that I will absolutely do again we headed for the Fish River Canyon. We just spent one night here at Ais Ais before continuing on to the Kgalagadi Frontier National Park.
Those distant storms that we had seen on the horizon while on the river had left pools of water in the road as we made our way to the park.
This park borders 3 countries, Namibia, South Africa and Botswana and so at Mata Mata we left Namibia and reentered South Africa and the park at the same time. We spent one night at Mata Mata before heading south to Twee Rivieren where we spent the rest of the time.
It is a beautiful National park this with the trademark red sand of the Kalahari and is full of amazing wildlife. All of the roads in the park are on dirt but accessible by normal or high clearance vehicle with some designated 4×4 routes.
The park was lush and green as we were there in April after the rainy season with water from recent storms still on the ground. And we were to experience more of that later. At Twee Rivieren we unwisely chose a campsite in a slight depression only to wake up in the middle of the night to a torrential rain storm and find our tent in the middle of a massive puddle. After relocating campsite to higher ground in the morning the kids made the most of the water pools.
This was also my first time in this park and we only got to see the Southern part. I am keen to return to see the rest of it. All round it was a fantastic trip with some amazing memories of small towns, wild places open landscapes and national treasures.
Checkout the full video on our YouTube channel The Overland Legend
