Greg's Namaqualand Trip - 9th to 11th August 2007 Since 2002 I have organised a trip, no, more an experience to somewhere. The initial participants were Hein, Malan and myself, just three vehicles, no passengers and a willingness to drive all day and explore. In 2006 I invited a big group with co drivers and although it was fun it was too many people. This year I planned an adventure to Knysna to explore the forest and as things happen our permits were a problem and so the trip was put on hold until another time. The itch was still there and so I called Hein and Malan, yep they were both in again..."where do you want to go?" I asked. "Ons ry agter jou aan" was the answer. One more call to Christoph and we were ready to go. At this point I must say that there are traditions behind "Greg's trip". It is not a club trip and it is by invitation only, you must drive a capable vehicle, either a Cruiser or Defender, you must be able to drive well and have years of experience, you drive alone.. no ladies or any passengers, we drive all day and explore, you must be easy going. Once again with my ability to sleep very little we decided to leave after work and drive until midnight, set up camp and leave early the next morning. We arrive at Garies camp site with everyone asleep. We have some coffee and finally creep into bed at about 1am. It is cold, about 3 degrees but we are excited about the trip and no one notices. We wake early, more coffee and fill up with petrol ...yep, three petrol Cruisers probably emptied their tanks. Christoph puts in a sniff of diesel and he smiles! We drive Cruisers for a reason and that is NOT because they are light on fuel. We turn off the tar and while deflating tyres one of Hein's customers stops to say hello. We move off again and after a long while we turn onto a unfenced gravel road. We find a big rock that calls louder and louder..."drive me" and so as a track leads to the rock we oblige and drive this way and that, having fun. Christoph brews some coffee and we soon move on. The flowers are starting to become more evident and soon there are large patches of flowers everywhere. Our initial plans were changed and we turned onto a "tweespoor" which took us to the ridge of the mountains, and then followed the ridge until we could see some houses in the valley below. We started the descent, probably a grade 3 and soon had a group of the local kids at the vehicles. Once in the valley we followed the track past the village and soon we crossed a river. The rivers all have water in them after the rains and the crossing was a breeze. Malan calls on the radio, using a PDA with 1:50 000 maps he sees we have gone off the track and so we turn around and find the river we crossed was actually the road. OK! We get into the river bed and follow the GPS track and then we see the real river. I guess the river was 100 meters wide. Down to undies and walk the river.. the water was only knee deep except in one spot where it was a bit deeper. BUT since we all have capable vehicles we decide to cross. Deflate tyres and off we go. The crossing was uneventful and soon we were on the other side and on our way again. As it is getting late we look for a spot to stop for the night. I always drive a bit fast and I manage to clip a rock with my rear tyre and write it off, yes and the rim is dented. Hein, Malan and Christoph all jump in to help me and soon we are on our way again. We turn onto a great gravel road and find a spot to camp on the river. Hein gets the braai drum positioned and soon the fire is blazing. It gets rather cold and after a great braai Hein makes the traditional coffee and before long we go to bed. The next morning is overcast and drizzling... but we decide that the shower is too much effort and that the river would be a better option and so towel in hand we approach the river. As your feet enter the water they go numb and you have to look now and then to check that they are there. With all the rain the river is a bit muddy and so we end up with "rasta" type hair. We stop in Springbok for a breakfast. The Wimpy is busy, but we wait for our Wimpy coffee. On the road again, different direction this time. My friend is not at home on the mine and so we go on, exploring every river bed we find. Soon we find a plateau that is almost flat, I guess 3km long and 1km wide. We carry on, more dead ends and soon I spot a hole in the side of the mountain. We stop and explore, we are convinced it is an unknown crater and I take lots of pics. To jump ahead a bit... I sent the pics to an expert on craters who says that he has never seen a structure like this before and would like to investigate it. A hole does not form naturally on the side of a mountain and so the kidney shape and fossils indicate the presence of water which would have caused the shape to change. After exploring the area we try various routes out but all are dead ends and so back to the river bed. We find a great campsite in a river bed. The evening is cold and soon the thermometer is at 3 degrees again. The flames are dancing from Hein's braai drum and our circle of chairs gets tighter around the drum. Another great braai and even desert and coffee. I wake up at 6.30am but it is still chilly and creep deeper into my sleeping bag. I finally surface at 7am to 2.8 degrees, the sun's rays are licking at the tent, but even in the sun it is bloody cold. We finally get going and wonder on, over Musca pass and into the valley. As we are halfway through a narrow gorge, Hein sees a leopard and it disappears into the scrub. Evening approaches and we get near a tar road. Should we camp another night or should we go home? We talk and decide to call it a day and drive home, missing the long weekend traffic the next day. We leave the mountains and adventure behind and travel home. Another year has passed and the sixth annual adventure trip is over. Well there is 2008 to dream of and then of course there is Knysna. A special thanks to Hein, Malan and Christoph.