Kimberley and Douglas

The road from Mokala National Park’s Lilydale Gate to the N12 was very corrugated, resulting in a rather hard drive out of the park. When we got to Kimberley’s Big Hole Caravan Park Roger found a sheared bolt on the trailer’s A-frame! Spare bolts now had to be added to the list of things to get in Kimberley.

It was already rather late in the afternoon so we immediately went to the North Cape Mall to replenish stocks, and then to John Dory’s for their Wednesday Sushi and Graca special. Yummy… We haven’t had one of those for a while. The next day was spent doing the rest of the shopping as well as laundry and other housekeeping.

We did not visit all the tourist and historic sites because we did that on a previous trip, however, Kamfers Dam was on the ‘must see’ list. We therefore headed up the N12 to Kamfers Dam before going to Douglas, our next destination.

Kamfers Dam is one of only four wetlands in the whole of Africa where the Lesser Flamingo breeds and is one of the largest gathering sites for both Lesser and Greater Flamingoes in Africa. We were very disappointed to find that there are no bird hides and access to the dam for bird watching is extremely difficult, if not impossible. The only access is through private land and due to vandalism and stock theft the owner now keeps the gate locked. Unfortunately the island that was built a few years ago to allow the birds to breed without interference is still submerged due to increased inflow from the sewerage treatment facility. The closest we could get for a few photographs was alongside the busy N12. Despite that, the massed congregation of Flamingoes was spectacular! Read more about Kamfers Dam at http://showme.co.za/tourism/kamfers-dam-birding-kimberley-northern-cape/

The Douglas Municipal caravan park is about 5 Km outside of town but we found it to be so run-down, neglected and dirty that we decided not to stay. In town we spotted the Koeksisters Bakery and Café and that was where we had lunch. It was a good decision. The food and confectionery was delicious and beautifully presented. We were most impressed.

During lunch we decided to continue travelling until we found something more interesting as Douglas did not seem to have much to offer, or so we thought…

While sitting in Ufudu with the map, trying to decide on our next move, a very friendly gentleman walked up and greeted us by name, much to our surprise! He seemed to know us but we didn’t recognise him at all! It transpired that he and his mum had just finished lunch when we got to Koeksisters. He saw Ufudu parked outside and while we were having lunch he went onto our blog and read all about us. He introduced himself as Jacob Bosman and immediately offered for us to stay at his river house. We were bowled over by his hospitality! He then took us to his ‘town’ house where we were introduced to his mum. After showing us his vintage Citroen car collection he escorted us to his ‘river’ house on the north bank of the Vaal River, about 17 Km out of town.

Unfortunately Jacob, who is a medical doctor, was on call for the weekend and could not stay and socialise with us but he left us with the keys to the cabin, two bottles of wine and enough information about the area to keep us busy for a while!

There was enough time left in the day for a quick visit to the Landzicht Cellars for a wine tasting, and of course a resulting purchase of a few more bottles. Then we made our way to the Confluence of the Orange and the Vaal Rivers a few kilometres west of town. This is another landmark that Roger has seen from the air many times, flying between Jo’burg and Cape Town. The water levels are low at the moment but in flood it must be rather spectacular.

We found it most interesting to learn that there is a 24 Km long canal which diverts Orange River water into the Vaal River, upstream from Douglas. And even more interesting, the canal is named the Louis Bosman canal, in honour of Jacob’s father who was instrumental in its conception at a time when farmers were struggling to survive without enough water for irrigation.

And then there is the Herbert 22 MW Photovoltaic Power Station which lies half-way between town and Jacob’s river house. It is one of a number of similar installations across the country and rather impressive.

On Saturday morning we enjoyed our coffee in bed (as usual!), looking out over the Vaal River and watching the sunrise. It was beautiful! We went in to town at about 11h00 to buy some meat at the Vleispaleis but the trip took considerably longer than planned due to the funeral procession of a police sergeant that was taking place at walking pace. It was hard to imagine that there are so many cars in Douglas!

We went to the Pont River Restaurant at the Broadwater River Estate for lunch. The restaurant had burnt down and was being re-built so we ate in what seems to be a temporary venue. We are not sure if the offering is normally better but we did not enjoy the experience much.

We spent the afternoon at our ‘campsite’ and had an early braai before the cold set in.

We had a late start on Sunday morning because we had to wait for the pipes to defrost before we could do washing up and have a shower. We returned the keys and filled Ufudu’s water tanks at Jacob’s house in town. There we found a gift of Ghaap Boerdery oranges and pecan nuts from their garden, which Jacob left for us, on top of all the other wonderful gestures. Wow! We had lunch at Die Geel Huisie Restaurant, where we also said goodbye to Jacob and his family before continuing our journey. We left Douglas feeling happy that we were able to spend some time there and were able to learn more about the area. How wonderful to meet such friendly and trusting people on one’s travels, and what a difference it makes to ones perception of a place! Thanks Jacob, you made Douglas memorable! We will be back in summer to take you up on the offer of a cruise on the Riviera…