Going to the Northern Cape slowly - the complete story.

[nan]

yes
ready

[Duke]

Skilpadjies

[Guinea Pig]

Skilpadjies

And a midnight drive for just the 4 of us! That was fun...

We rented a Terios 4x4 for our trip. I had never used a 4x4 before... Red Sands Lodge has a self-drive game drive...a 4x4 self-drive game drive... All went well until I happily cruised DOWN a steep incline and realized the road stopped at the fence. Nobody told me going UP would be the problem. But I learnt how to use 4x4 mode in a couple of minutes! This is the easy part of the drive:



We stayed in a bungalow but loved the campground so much, we'll be camping there on our next trip. You have your own solar-powered bathroom/kitchenette and lapa with braai plus each stand has a big tree:



Before we left for Augrabies the next morning, we were talking to a couple camping there on their way to Hentiesbaai. The lady warned me - if you love Augrabies, you'll love Namibia. I think she may just be correct.

With temperatures hovering around 42 degrees when we arrived at Augrabies, we decided to rather go for a drive with open windows than get stuck in the airconned bungalow:







As we were driving back to camp the weather started looking ominous with some totally awesome light play:





Saw some young giraffe and vervets on our way:





We wanted to see the falls of course and the paw-paw struck the fan:



A cloudburst hit as we were watching the falls from the viewing decks. We, and many others, got soaked to the skin. Duco tried to protect his camera but when he tried to photograph an eagle owl sitting just outside our front door later that evening, he got an error - the camera refused to work. There we were, in the middle of nowhere, the 15th of December.

Did get rewarded with a beautiful sunset rainbow:

[nan]

a real regal ... not for the camera
thank you

[Toko]

Love these skies

Has the Red Sands Lodge chalets, too?

[Guinea Pig]

Has the Red Sands Lodge chalets, too?

They do yes. We stayed in one on this particular trip. It's a Bed and Breakfast arrangement.

[Toko]

Looks nice

I think I need a stopover for my next trip. Will have a closer look. Thank you

[Duke]

Beautiful pics GP

We stayed at the Red Sands after your recommendation - perfect place for a stopover to KTP from JHB/PTA area.

[Mel]

Beautiful scenery and those two little ones are too cute for words.

[Guinea Pig]

Beautiful scenery and those two little ones are too cute for words.

Augrabies is all about the scenery. Definitely not for the Big5 hunters and absolutely not for those allergic to extreme heat. Sjoe, that place gets hot and humid. Temps averaged 43 degrees while we were there. Camp is busy with people using it as an overnight stop and the viewing decks at the falls itself gets busy, but as we found out the next day, the rest and especially the western section after going under the public road? Heaven on earth. In 8 hours we saw all of ONE car...

"Swart Rante":



The "entrance" to the Western Section:



Beyond hot with NOTHING in sight. At this stage Duco was using my camera body. His would work for say 20 photo's and then error again. He wasn't happy. We never managed to make all the photo's we wanted to but had to do with what we had.



I've forgotten the name of this picnic site now. Silence is golden.



Did get an awesome mammal tick - the Cape grey mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta):