Off The Grid

Riemvasmaak is a small community about 60km from Kakamas in the Northern Cape. It’s remote, bleak, and hot, but well worth a visit

- Des Featherstone

We stayed in the Augrabies area on our recent trip up to Riemvasmaak, partly to see the falls and partly because I had been unable to contact anyone at Riemvasmaak. I knew there was accommodation there, but phones and emails had gone unanswered.

I thought March would be a relatively cool month, but it wasn’t. Each day was a scorching 40°C or more. I spoke to one of the locals about the overwhelming heat, and was told that it was actually relatively cool − in the peak of summer, temperatures in this area can go over 50°C. Now, that’s hot!

It’s an hour-and-a-half from Augrabies to Riemvasmaak − the road starts offas tar and then changes to gravel. Riemvasmaak is a small, dusty settlement, too small to be called a town, and there’s very little infrastructure. A police station has been built, but has yet to be staffed. There are horses tied up outside small homes, and people lie on beds in the shade when it is too hot to be indoors. Children and goats play on the road.

When it’s open, the tourism office is staffed by the very friendly Clarissa Adams. There’s a sign at the office saying that children are not allowed to sell stones near the office, and just behind the office there are children selling stones. A small boy approached us with a tray of crystals and colourful stones for sale for R20 each. He and his family dig for them in the surrounding hills.