BORDER PATROL

At around 600km, the Namakwa Eco Trail is SA’s longest and most remote 4x4 trail. We went in search of solitude along the Orange River

- Andrew Middleton

Having read about it over four years ago on a forum one evening, the Namakwa Eco Trail has been eluding me ever since. While living vicariously through the photographs of others’ adventures is better than not at all, we simply had to go ourselves. Through all my travels with SA4x4, no other trail in South Africa promised to be so remote, long, and beautiful, so off we went, hunting silence.

The route technically starts along the N17 highway at a tiny settlement called Witbank on the Orange River near Pofadder. Instead of this standard direction, we decided to do the trail backwards, beginning on the coast at Alexander Bay. From there we’d pick up the narrow tweespoor track that characterises most of the trail and follow the backs of old ‘Toyota’ and ‘4x4’ signposts, while occasionally consulting an outdated T4A map and the provided pamphlet.

The trail should take two to four days, depending on what you’d like to see and if you’re in a convoy or not and, while there are some very tricky sections requiring low-range first gear, all of it is doable in a standard 4x4 bakkie or SUV on decent rubber.

While the trail delivers almost unlimited scope for impromptu campsites and endless sightseeing, there are no facilities in the traditional sense of the word, and much of the going is extremely remote. During Part Two of the trail (as listed on the provided maps) you may not spot another traveller for days, and you can choose camping options ranging from canyons to caves, riverbeds, and rocky swimming spots. Only much further along the trail do you come across demarcated spots where a fee is exacted.

Derelict Alexander Bay