Year in the Wild Blog

Early morning yoga session in Tankwa Karoo

There was a little shed constructed of mud and grass near my cottage at Varschontein...it caught the sunrise this morning, just as I was taking some photos. Thought I'd play around a bit! There's a real sense of freedom here in the Tankwa...it rubs off definitely!

Wow…my “home” in the Tankwa Karoo

After a day working with Garret and Lofty at the workshop fixing the fuel tank (well, I didn't really do anything...they did all the hard work!), I drove to the next place I am staying in Tankwa Karoo NP. It's called Elandsberg...WOW! I arrived as the sun was setting on the Roggeveld mountains in the distance. I am super impressed with the accommodation...have a look at the photos. One of the best I've seen so far! (Not sure I would call this very "wild" but hey, I'm not
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Tankwa Karoo Roads 1 – Year in the Wild 0

The gravel roads in the Tankwa Karoo are long, hard, corrugated and covered in sharp stone. My Goodyear tyres have coped really well (after deflating them to about 2 bar), but the long-range aftermarket fuel tank on my Everest developed a hair-line crack...so this morning I discovered a puddle of diesel underneath my car.

I headed straight to the workshop at Tankwa Karoo NP and Garret de Vries and Lofty Baadjie took it all in their stride. "Moenie worrie nie," Garret said matter of factly,
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Memories of the Cederberg…

I'm now in the Tankwa Karoo National Park, but I'm only about 50kms due east of the Cederberg, where I was last week. I can see the range of mountains from Varschfontein Cottage, where I have been staying the last two nights. It's strange to be so close to the Cederberg, yet the Tankwa is so very different in many ways. It's much drier, it's flatter (although there are plenty of koppies), and it has a different sense of wilderness - as impressive, but distinctive in its own way.

Here are
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First day in the Tankwa Karoo…spring flowers everywhere!

I've just spent my first day in the Tankwa Karoo National Park. It's about 50 kilometres due east of the Cederberg in the Western Cape, and it's one of the truly best-kept secrets in South Africa. At this time of year, the dry dusty Karoo veld explodes into colour...it's as if someone has flown through the cobalt-blue sky, sprinkling brightly coloured confetti everywhere on the ground below.

I often take too many photographs...but today I couldn't help myself. I don't think you can blame
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The beauty in death: Endangered Ceder trees of the Cederberg

I am still dreaming about the Cederberg...these places have a way of staying in my subconscious and unconscious! Well, one of the things I maybe haven't dreamed of too much is hiking to the top of Mied se Kop, which is one of the "easier" peaks to climb up. I wanted to photograph some of the rare Ceder trees which once covered this mountainous region. Dawie Burger from Driehoek Farm - which lies just outside CapeNature's wilderness area -
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