My fourth Year in the Wild article for Leisure Wheels Magazine, with a great cover photograph, on the Richtersveld National Park, another of my favourite wild places in South Africa. Published in the April 2012 issue.
During my initial research for Year in the Wild, I was commissioned by Wild Magazine to photograph and write about two botanists doing excellent work on trees in both the Richtersveld and Kruger National Parks. Elsabe Swart has been studying and documenting the mysterious Quiver Trees (or Kokerbome) in the desert mountains of the Richtersveld, while Michelle van der Bank is one of South Africa's leading tree expert, and has conducted ground-breaking genetic testing of trees in the Kruger
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The Richtersveld didn't want to let me and Gareth go. On our last morning here, we left at 5am, and tackled the Helskloof Pass in full moonlight. It took us 6 hours to do 60kms, but as always, it was worth it! It's a truly spectacular, rugged area of the Richtersveld, and our Ford Everest and Conqueror Conquest 4x4 trailer handled it really well, but we did go SO slowly. There really is no way you could rush it...
I'm never good at saying goodbye to the people I love...and I don't think I'm
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Yesterday and today, we're on the banks of the Orange River at my favourite campsite in the Richtersveld, called De Hoop. And I can understand why it's called that. After a long, hot drive through some of the driest and starkest parts of the Richtersveld, this campsite on the river would restore the hope of anyone who has a parched throat, and a hot, sweaty body. I've been here before, once by myself for a week in the middle of summer, when I didn't see anyone...and again, I'm reminded why
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The Richtersveld is usually a very dry and hot place...receiving on average less than 40mm of rain a year, much of which comes from the fog which rarely rolls in from the coast. Yesterday we saw this incredible spectacle...as we were driving south to hike into the Oemsberg mountains, where there is a huge amphitheatre, a massive fog bank crept up over the mountains.
The hike into the Oemsberg mountains took most of the day. We made our way along the Hakkiesdoring River, which was dry (of
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Today we spent exploring the area around Tatasberg Wilderness Camp, walking along the river and swimming. It was good not to have to drive anywhere today, even if our Ford Everest has been so comfortable on the rough 4x4 tracks...it's been a few hot days on the road - winter temperatures here exceed 30 degrees Celsius on most days!
At one point, Gareth said something, and we realized that we hadn’t said a word for at least an hour. But it didn’t seem to matter…we both agreed that time seems
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