KALAHARI TO COAST

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,