A Place Called Skilpad

Voetspore’s Johan Badenhorst visits one of the youngest national parks in South Africa and is reminded to be cautious about where you fill up.

- Johan Badenhorst

The flowers of Namaqualand are internationally known for their uniqueness and beauty. People from all over South Africa, and indeed the world, flock to this semi-desert during flower season in late winter, early spring, to observe nature in all its splendor. I’ve always thought of it as a must-see but probably for a day when I am over 75, traveling in a group by luxury bus, eating mostly stews during lunch and dinner, and going to bed at eight at night. Recently, however, I drove the Caracal Route in the Skilpad Wild Flower Reserve in a 4×4. What a pleasant surprise.

Skilpad is a farm purchased by the World Wildlife Fund South Africa in 1988 and has been managed as a wildflower reserve. A decade later, SANParks took over the management and the Namaqua National Park was formally declared on 29 June 2002.

In the recent past, the park grew with the acquisition of more land, and today stretches from the Groen and Spoeg rivers on the Atlantic Ocean to just west of Kamieskroon.

I started my journey in Kamieskroon on a Saturday afternoon. The town was as dead as a doornail. At the co-op, the fuel pumps were locked and the gates closed. As I had to refuel (my next destination was Hondeklip Bay, where there is no fuel), there were two options: drive to Gary or back to Springbok or fill up at the alternative pump in Kamieskroon, the one that was open despite the town being so quiet.