Kimberley - They say in the Northern Cape that when you fall in a river, you should get up and dust yourself off. It is true this province has more sand than most countries in the Middle East – from the shifting red sands of the Kalahari to the stubborn mountain stoniness of the Richtersveld and the soft, thick powdery sea sand that runs along the West Coast from the Namibian border towards the Cape.
Here, expect thaumaturgical landscapes and plant life – koppies plastered with giant red boulders and shiny specularite, strange plants like the halfmens (“half person”), covered in spines which, when you run your finger along them, click a little akin to the way an old Nama person speaks, in clicks and tricks of the tongue.
You’ll discover weird plants like the Medusa’s head (Euphorbia caput-medusae), which sprouts heads like the mythical classical creature and deserves a spot on a Star Trek set. This is the land of kokerbooms (quiver trees) and the mighty Gariep River (more commonly recorded on maps as the Orange River), and of breathtakingly red sunsets and desert animals such as the gemsbok, springbok and ostrich.
The Northern Cape covers about a third of South Africa and has the equivalent of less than half a person per square kilometre (though even this is misleading, as most of the province’s population lives in the small cities of Kimberley and Upington, and other small towns).
In the top left-hand corner of this rugged, desolate province, which many of the few who venture here argue is South Africa’s most beautiful, you’ll find Namaqualand – named after the Nama people who have lived here for thousands of years, and a memorable destination on its own.
The area is vast and fascinating, and you could spend weeks restoring your soul and sense of self here, but here are two highlights of the area to consider on any trip to Namaqualand.
DIAMOND COAST 4X4 SHIPWRECK ROUTE (near Kleinsee, Namaqualand)
It was a bad time to develop engine trouble, that stormy winter’s day along the deserted coast of Namaqualand in 1943.
The ill-fated SS Piratiny, a 5 000-ton Brazilian steamship, was headed for Cape Town with a cargo of shoes, clothing, rolls of material and tinned sardines when its engine spluttered and failed.
The wind drove the steamer against the rocks on the edge of this harsh and lonely land, and the Piratiny broke in two. Luckily, all crew were able to scramble to land safely. They were picked up by the diamond police who patrol the coastline regularly, and taken to the little outpost of Hondeklip Bay.
Local salvage company Globe Engineering helped to recover about 75 percent of the cargo, but about six weeks after it was wrecked, a major storm blew up and smashed the ship, and the remaining cargo was strewn along the coastline – literally a windfall for the scattered communities of wartime Namaqualand, who helped themselves to whatever they could find.
In a little cove a few hundred metres away from the Piratiny, you’ll still find old leather shoes among the masses of mussel shells and fragile desert plants – 70 years later, this metal ghost still reveals its secrets, little by little.
Apparently for years after the wreck, children in Namaqualand villages had clothes all made from the same material – and that some Namaqualand old-timers had so many tinned sardines in their youth that they refuse to eat sardines to this day.
Local legend has it that the Piratiny was torpedoed by a U-boat. However, it met its end, today its rusting carcass is an evocative monument along the beautiful Diamond Coast Shipwreck Route, a 4x4 route along sandy, little-used roadways between the small towns of Kleinsee and Noup in the Northern Cape.
The coastline you’ll travel on the Shipwreck Route is owned by De Beers (our guide told us that about nine percent of all South Africa’s coastline is owned by De Beers), which is wrapping up diamond mining operations in the area. De Beers has extensively mined the seabed along the northern Namaqualand coast for decades, but has left the coastline pristine – a delight for travellers today.
The seabed here is rich in diamonds that have been swept down the riverbeds over millennia from the country’s interior, where they were once embedded in towering, hardened volcanic kimberlite pipes that weathered away over time, releasing the precious treasures.
Kimberley, the Northern Cape’s capital and 750km or so to the east as the jackal buzzard flies, is world-renowned for its diamonds.
Here, there are five kimberlite pipes in close proximity (an unrivalled number), and no doubt some of the diamonds from these pipes ultimately made their way into the Namaqualand seabed.
There are still diamond-dredging boats operating in this area – each morning, six boats operated by Benguela Concessions go out to pump up “diamond gravel”, which is brought back to shore by rubber dinghy for sorting.
It’s a long, lonely coastline, though, and you’re more likely to see endangered black oystercatchers than you are diamond boats.
What you’ll also find is a world of extremes: life and death (extraordinary plant life and layers of death, from the rusting shipwrecks to piles of shells and whalebones, and stone tools once used by the Khoi hunter-gatherers who once lived along this coast); heat and cold (the burning desert sun is tempered by the mist that rolls along the coastline); scarcity and abundance (there is almost no fresh water here, yet as part of the Succulent Karoo Biome this area is home to some of the richest plant diversity on Earth); and harshness and beauty (inspect the giant boulders down by the shoreline closely, for example, and you’ll find them beaded with red garnets, or delight in a tiny yellow flower, growing out of the sand).
Along the Shipwreck Route you’ll also see the small diamond-recovery boat, the Surveyor, wrecked in 1994 in what may be the world’s most undramatic shipwreck – the crew didn’t tie the boat up properly after a day’s work.
It came loose in the rough seas and was wrecked by the time they got to work the next morning.
More imposing is the Border, which was built in 1899 and wrecked in heavy mist on April 1 (yes, really), 1947. She was carrying a cargo of petrol and explosives for the Namaqualand mines, and although no human lives were lost in the wreck, nine donkeys died while rescue workers tried to salvage the cargo.
Her rusted frame still pokes skywards, while the floor of the wreck is covered in giant mussel shells. We even saw a tiny Namaqua dwarf adder beside the ship – one of many species endemic to the area. It was just one of many surprises on this wonderful trail.
NAMAQUA NATIONAL PARK
South of Kleinsee and south-west of the main Namaqualand town of Springbok, you’ll find the Namaqua National Park, another Mecca for 4x4 enthusiasts, nature lovers, or anyone looking for a digital detox and soul cleansing.
It’s a relatively new national park, proclaimed in 2001, and has little infrastructure – one of the aspects that makes it so appealing.
Of course, this park is most beautiful in the legendary “flower time” in spring (anywhere from late July to mid-September), when billions of orange, yellow, pink, purple and white blooms carpet the landscape. Then it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime wonder to behold.
Out of flower season, the park is just as alluring and even lonelier. Look out for species such as the Cape long-billed lark, strange, dark-coloured springbok among the ordinary ones, duiker, steenbok, hartebeest and the diminutive klipspringer. You’re also likely to see ostriches (no doubt with chicks of ranging sizes in spring and early summer) and Cape fur seals galore, and, if you’re lucky, the world’s smallest tortoise, the Namaqua speckled padloper.
You can camp along the seashore at simple campsites, not dissimilar to the way the Khoi people must have camped here thousands of years ago, or stay at Eagle’s Nest guest house, located in the interior of the park, among the bushy succulents for which this area is famous.
Unlike many other national parks, you are welcome to walk wherever takes your fancy. This is a land of contrasts: vast landscapes will hold your attention until a tiny succulent or beetle catches your eye. There are an estimated 3 500 plant species, 1 000 of which are endemic.
Yes, it’s a place where you really should stop and smell the daisies. - Sunday Tribune
l Tara Turkington was the guest of South African Tourism in Namaqualand.
If You Go...
DIAMOND COAST 4X4 SHIPWRECK ROUTE
Contact local tour guide Dudley Wessels, tel: 083 286 7080/083 305 2569
Website: www.noup.co.za
You’ll need: a 4x4
What to take on the tour: camera, walking shoes, your own food and drinks
Where to stay: Die Houthoop guest house, near Kleinsee. You’ll eat the best seafood you’ve ever tasted. Tel: 083 236 2152
NAMAQUA NATIONAL PARK
Contact the Namaqua National Park directly on 027 672 1948, for reservations or enquiries, contact SANParks reservations on 012 428 9111, or visit www.sanparks.co.za
You’ll need: a 4x4 and camping gear (if not staying at Eagle’s Nest guest house in the park or elsewhere outside the park)