13 - 14 -15 May 2016 – Hondeklipbaai and St Helenabaai.

13 - 14 - 15 May 2016

We travelled from Augrabies Waterfalls to Hondeklipbaai and then on 14 May on to  St Helena Bay and on to Cape Town.

Raining at Augrabies.

We woke up at Augrabies 13 May and had some drizzle overnight.  








We left for Hondeklipbaai. We really chose place names from a map; and thought how much there is that we have not seen. Machu Picchu may be a life ambition, Hondeklipbaai was only a place on a map.  The drive was a very nice one.  We saw places with exotic names like Pofadder.  Pofadder actually is a quite nice little village.  

Last 3 days' trip.

We drove on and there were still clouds overhead and we could see a storm (a small one) brewing.  Then it rained.  We saw signs of this rain for a few hundred kilometers. It is a ‘blessing seeing rain in a 'desert’.

We reached Aggeneys, a mining village started about 1978.  This area is ‘desert’.  The town was well laid out and tended.  The town now is much more than an oasis.  If you think ‘barren landscape’, barren landscape is the area surrounding the town of Aggeneys, if you visit the town, however, it is almost a forest of trees.  Some species were poorly chosen (Silky Oak), but others were excellent choices, e.g. Apiesdoring. The Apiesdoring is standing 15-20 m tall.  This proves that a barren landscape does not mean barren soil.  Add water, and love via maintenance, and you can work wonders.  Well done Black Mountain Mining.

A 'worsboom', Kigelia africana, in Aggeneys.

Apiesdoring, Acacia galpinii. About 40 years old.

We really enjoyed some of the open landscapes, then rocky, the rain on the horizon, the low clouds, the cumulus clouds….sometimes it was quite dramatic.

Lucky to see many Kokerboom in flower.

All the towns looked vibrant; Springbok, Garies, Nuwerus…all clean and working.

Kamieskroon

Garies

Nuwerus

Lutzville

Papendorp

Strandfontein

We drove on to Hondeklipbaai (HKB) (Hondeklip Bay). It was actually named after a stone (rock) that was shaped like a dog.  But the ear was removed and the nose broken off by lightning; it is said.  

Old farmstead on the road to Hondeklipbaai.

We did not realise it, but it was around 80 km in to HKB, and same out, of course, this morning.  The gravel is quite good and the landscapes such that you have much to look at.

Typical farmscape on the road to Hondeklipbaai.

Hondeklipbaai has a fishing harbour, lots of small houses where the local coloured peopled lived and now European businesses, i.e. accommodation, pubs restaurants (I use plural liberally) interspersed.  This is the first true racial integration I saw.  More followed in St Helena and Paternoster and probably most of the former small fishing villages. 

Typical street scene late afternoon

Although Hondeklipbaai (town / village) has little to offer I am glad I visited this quaint village.  We stayed at ‘Hondehokke’.  Except for ‘no electricity’ and no view from where we stayed, I still enjoyed it. It has character, a vibe, and I enjoyed it.

Sunset at HKB.

We left Hondeklipbaai shortly after sunrise and drove in thick fog to the tar road (± 80km).  It was only mildly scary, at 80 km/h, with the fog, but also beautiful landscapes through the mist and sunrise.  We are on our way to St Helena Bay.

We drove to Strandfontein.  On its welcoming sign it says ‘Welcome to the jewel of …”  Strandfontein is nice.  
It has very nice modern houses and is a sprawling town.  

We saw the normal road signs.

We left for Doornbaai.  We followed an excellent road, marked ‘Private’ that runs next to the ‘Sishen – Saldanha’ rail.  Although it had 'all prohibited' signage, we drove it.  What a good decision. It runs straight, it runs along the coast.
When we got to Lamberts Bay, suddenly there was a boom, and security and we were asked for our permits.  I claimed to have got lost and were let through.  

If you ever have to travel north or south, here, follow this road and sort out the security later. Murderers walk free in SA, you won’t go to jail for driving here. There are also many entrances and exits; mostly without security.  I think security was only at Lamberts Bay as it is a large town.  

We passed Dwarskersbos and Velddrif.  All worth seeing and visiting. We arrived at St Helena Bay; we wanted accommodation in Paternoster.  We had little luck in Paternoster and settled on St Helena Bay.  Also a ‘small’ town, but now sprawling over a large area with new developments up the hills, mostly open erven still.  This is where our accommodation is situated.  It is very modern and well equipped. The shower is actually a ‘shower room’.  

View over St Helena Bay.

A room with a view.

We went to watch the rugby in a local pub.  Always nice to interact with the locals.  The Stormers scared us with their last minute draw against the Sunwolwes.  The town was probably a small fishing village before it was ‘discovered’.  The beach is sandy with round granite sticking out from the sea, much like the Clifton - Llandudno area. The properties next to the sea are either factories, old and often dilapidated) and the original small ‘coloured’ houses.  Today they are very fortunate to have these properties. 

The sun rose straight from the sea granting us a beautiful sunrise on the last day of our Namibia Trip.

Next few days we are visiting family and friends before arriving home on Thursday.  I'll post some statistics then, e.g., kms travelled, money spent, fuel economy, maps of route and, if possible, a downloadable kml (Google Earth) file.