Orange River road trip, Oct 2020

1. Orange River: from (almost the) source to the sea
Orange River expedition October 2020 1
October 2020 Music by Bill Joel: River of Dreams

2. Leaving Irene,
Gauteng at the start
of our Orange River
expedition,
everything looking
clean.
Orange River expedition October 2020 2

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First stopover Zastron
Beautiful mountains of the Eastern Free State

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First view of the Orange River at Sterkspruit

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Onto the Gariep Dam

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And then the Vanderkloof Dam

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Overnight Sandspruit below the Vanderkloof Dam

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Just had to visit the quaint town of Orania
The only known monument to a koeksister?
Recovered busts of previous Afrikaner presidents

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A slight divergence to the beautiful Mokala National Park, 1

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A slight divergence to the beautiful Mokala National Park, 2
Cape Cobra: you should know the rest!

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The confluence of the Orange and Vaal Rivers and my old stomping ground

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Two significant dashboard readings on the way top Prieska
40 degrees Celsius
Passing 350,000 km in my trusty Prado

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Overnight at the Boegoeberg Dam

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Sampling the wines and overnighting at Die Mas in Kakamas

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Detour to Augrabies Falls, 1

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Augrabies Falls, 2
Sunrise
Sunset

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Starting the Namaqua 4x4 Eco Route
An abandoned farmhouse

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My favourite place, Ramansdrift, our overnight stop 1

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Ramansdrift 2
Magnificent scenery and fishing for yellowfish and an idyllic campsite

20. Finishing the Namaqua 4x4 Eco Route, it was tough!
Orange River expedition October 2020 20
Quiver Tree
Graves at Goodhouse

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Overnighting at Vioolsdrift, Bushwakka Camp
Quiet campsite on the Orange River

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Then onto the Richtersveld National Park, 1
Sunrise over the Richtersveld hinterland
Halfmens Tree

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Richtersveld National Park, 2
Sunrise close to De Hoop campsite, the other side of the Orange River is Namibia

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De Hoop Campsite in the Richtersveld National Park
Dinner with a view, which is hard to beat

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Alexander Bay, where the Orange River meets the sea
Namdeb’s Mining Area No.1 tailings dumps

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On the way home: Springbok, Modderfontein Guest Farm
We were the only ones camping at this beautiful site

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On the way home: Kuruman, Red Sands
View across the dry veld

28. A huge thank you to
Chris van Niekerk of
BlueRhino Safaris for
leading the tour and
being such a gracious
and generous host.
Orange River expedition October 2020 28
Safely home after 4,069km travelled of which c.1,000km was on dirt roads or tracks