We stopped at Van Ryansdorp for breakfast, in Springbok for diesel and for a much needed beer in Pofadder. We are not sure what the temp. was at the time, but it was well above legal beer drinking degrees. The Pofadder hotel is still a proper hotel, like you are only likely to get in rather remote "dorpies" a proper lounge and an outside area, where you are not allowed to go with swimming costumes, in other words, you have to be dressed properly.
We arrived at Augrabies at 38 deg C and immediately went to see the falls. Well, the actual main fall is impossible to see, as all the walkways were under water and there is water everywhere. Only the furthest 2 decks were accessible and the spray from the continuously pounding water creates mist, or more like a shower of rain. We were "sopnat" The sight is really awesome. It is impossible to describe the volume of water, the noise and the massiveness of the falls to anybody. There was water everywhere. The river flows so widely that the water just comes down into the gorge anywhere and everywhere, mainly on the opposite side of the gorge, which create a mass of water like Victoria falls. It is truelly a magnificent sight, when you can see through the "rain"and the wet glasses while protecting the camera, but it was worth it.
We camped at the Augrabies Falls Lodge on Saturday night, as the park was fully booked. Lovely campsite and each stand has its own ablution facility. It is right next to the road, which is not a big issue, however being there on a Saturday night meant that we were sharing in all the music of the local community, as it was clearly party time. Luckily I was tired enough to sleep through all of that.
On Sunday we decided to go to Kakamas and to travel along the Orange river towards Keimoes to see what that all looked like. Well, we were rewarded by some magnificent sights. First of all in Kakamas the main road was closed. It looked more like a river and those who had to get to the other side for work, etc. were ferried across by the SAPD in a rubber duck (a new term for Police Service). There was a festive spirit, with an opportunistic "worsbroodjie" stall and the nearby Pink Padstal doing a roaring trade. The kids were all "swimming" and having sort of animated discussions about what was happening. We took some pics of them, which gave immediate opportunity for some peer management and acting.
We travelled all the way to Keimoes on the only access road to Upington. It is gravel and it was rough, but all and sundry was using it, from Tazzes to bakkies to the biggest 4X4 and many Fortuners.
The river is everywhere and there are many "swimming" vines along the way. We saw the first bridge in Keimoes which was at least 1 meter under water and vines that was virtually under water and definitely not likely to be harvested any time soon. We chatted to local guy who told us the there were many people stuck on islands created by the river and that the local communities are assisting them with food, etc. We went for the "show" but one forgets that a lot of people are affected other than the grape growers.
The moment of the day for me was on this very rough gravel road, not too far from Keimoes. We were stopped by a "raisen faced" chap, with a car guard tipe jacket on. Across the road were some stones. We stopped and I opened my window to ask him why we must stop. He informed us that we have to pay R10. As it all looked a bit unlikely, I asked why. He informed me "vir die klippe" (for the stones). Needless to say we thought that was a bit steep. On our return journey he was gone (with his stones). Either the enterprise did not pay well, or better than expected.
