HIKE
Did you know that Namaqualand has its own canyon? The Schaap River Canyon is a distant cousin of the Fish River Canyon further north in Namibia and it's in full bloom in spring. I had no idea, but here I am, walking through it.
The directions to the start of the Namaqua Flower Hike, a five-day slackpacking trail, led me through Springbok to a turn-off 24 km north of town. I drove through the settlement of Bulletrap and followed a dirt road for 30 km to the farm Nigramoep – the canyon is on this farm.
I met the rest of the group around the dinner table. “Do you know Jopie Kotzé, owner of Springbok Lodge? His grandfather built this house many years ago,” said Suzette Louw. She lives on Nigramoep with her brother Marius Dirksen van Schalkwyk and his family.
“The farm dates from 1899 – the first owner was a man called Jac Kotzeé, with two ‘e's. Somewhere along the way, it changed to Kotzé.”
Nigramoep, which means “place of the black water” in Nama, was an important farmstead in the area in the early years. “It had
