Kalahari To Coast

[ Travel ] Riemvasmaak, Goegap Nature Reserve, Hondeklip Bay.

- Richard Van Ryneveld

I guess that most of us die-hard campers have a dream campsite that seems to have avoided us for years. For me, Riemvasmaak in the Kalahari is one such place. But I was determined to get there, come hell or high water!

I was booked to join Jannie Rykaart of Protea 4x4 Adventures on his yearly flower trip to Namaqualand. Jannie had arranged a brand-new Mitsubishi Outlander which I would collect in Joburg, and then head out with him and his wife Ansu to Kakamas where we would meet the rest of our tour group.

I spotted a possible gap for some extra camping... if I could get the Outlander a few days early, I could finally camp at the magical, mystical Riemvasmaak.

I phoned Jannie, and he managed to get the Mitsubishi five days earlier than planned.

When boarding my flight in Cape Town, I realised I was in trouble – my throat felt like I’d gargled with wasps, my nose was streaming and I was coughing like a 30-a-day Texan Plain smoker. But, if I can camp, I’m going to camp!

It’s quite a long way from Johannesburg to Kakamas, just south of Riemvasmaak, so I stopped over at the Boereplaas Holiday Resort on the Mafikeng Road, some 19 kilometres from Vryburg.

I was feeling ill, and was lucky to meet an angel here by the name of Catherine Snyders.

A born-and-bred daughter of the red sands of the Kalahari, she grew up in the tiny settlement of Mier. Catherine also brims over with human kindness, and when she saw my sad state, immediately said: “Sir, you need some ACC 200. I’ll go and fetch some...”

It’s expensive stuff, yet this kind lady was willing to share her medicine with a total stranger. I was sad that I was leaving the next day, as I would have loved to spend more time talking to this kind-hearted woman about her life in the Kalahari.