South Africa Map

                     

                        Southern Africa Map

 

latest picture: February 24, 2015

• click a picture to see details

001  View from the Goegap Nature

Reserve, 9 miles [15km] east of Springbok

over the semi desert of Namaqualand,

which transforms into a beautiful flower

carpet in springtime (mid Sept.→ Oct.)

002  No hectic: The little quiet

village of Kamieskroon in the

Northern Cape along the road

Windhoek/Namibia-Capetown

003  Chacma Baboons (Papio

ursinus) quench their thirst at a

little pond along the main road.

Monkeys never live far from

a water source

On the ride from Clanwilliam to the Cederberg Mountains, it crashes again – after only 2’312 miles [3720 km] since the first axle fracture

in Angola. The rear right wheel breaks off. Emil secures the spot with a triangle, followed by long hard work underneath the car

004  This time we are stuck again

without wheel after only 93.2 driving

hours in the middle of the road

to the Cederberg Mountains .....

005  ….. already in his “fatigues”,

Emil secures the spot with a triangle.

Fortunately it is on a straight

mountain stretch with little traffic …..

006  ….. then Emil starts his work

underneath the LandCruiser. At

least this time it is on stable ground.

Around a dozen cars stop

offering us help

007  At the small “Kleinkliphuis” Nature

Reserve in the Cederberg Mountains,

where we recover from the axle fracture

and its repair, the view reaches the

plain of the Olifantsrivier valley …..

008  ….. and shows nature at its

finest: A natural “window”

at a craggy rock formation

009  The “round plates” in the plain

of the Olifantsrivier valley near

Clanwilliam have been formed by

the method of irrigation of the fields

010  We set up camp at the small

private “Kleinkliphuis” Natur Reserve.

Emil is working on the laptop …..

011  ….. while Liliana hangs up

the clothes she washed by hand

012  We baptized it “Oscar”, the black

dung beetle (Circellium bacchus) that

in all our years of travelling shows up

on and off and became our mascot

The setting sun sets rocks, trees and the sky around our peaceful “Kleinkliphuis” camp on fire

013

014

015

016  A single tree towers over the rock

formations of the Cederberg Mountains at

the “Kleinkliphuis” Nature Reserve …..

017  ….. a desert cabbage (Kalanchoe

tetraphylla), a succulent plant, sprouts

from the rocky arid terrain …..

018  ….. half hidden below the scrub

golden barrel cacti (Echinocactus

grusonii) are growing

019  Our LandCruiser rolls over the

lonely and spectacular 3’025 ft. [922m]

high Pakhuis Pass over the Cederberg

Mountains, also a popular hiking area

020  Close to the Pakhuis Pass two

leafless trees stick out ghostly from

interestingly “silted” fields

021  On the “Sevilla Rock Art Trail” in

the Cederberg Mountains Liliana studies

the rock art flyer of the Bushmen at the

Brandewyn river. The three miles [5km]

long trail starts at the “Traveller’s Rest", 21

miles [34km] northeast of Clanwilliam

along the Wupperthal road

022  In a cave Emil takes a picture of rock

paintings of the “San” people – the Bushmen

who inhabited this area before ten of thousands

of years. Today they do mostly farming

023  On the 5km long “Sevilla Rock

Art Trail” in the Cederberg Mountains

we admire: The "archer" …..

024  ….. the group of dancing ladies …..

025  ….. various images of

animals and people

026  ….. and the zebra cub

027  A carpet with red succulents – a plant

that can store water – revives the rocky

landscape at the “Sevilla Rock Art Trail”

028  Shall we risk it or not? Emil is

inspecting the piste leading to the “Soldier’s

Head” in the Cederberg region …..

029  ….. the stone of the

“Soldier’s Head” (looks to the right)

030  Perfectly camouflaged lizard: A

southern rock agama (Agama atra) in the

stony terrain of the Cederberg Mountains

031  The Clanwilliam Dam Reservoir

staunches mainly the Olifants river and

irrigates the agriculture downstream. In

the background the Cederberg Mountains

032  Between Piketsberg and Porterville

in the Western Cape a small farm nestles

between the huge harvested wheat fields

033  Is there a more magic name than

“Peace of Africa”? The campsite

in Porterville attracts us irresistibly

034  From our camping “Peace of Africa”

in Porterville we overlook the Swartland plain

with clusters of trees, farms and ponds …..

035  ….. and enjoy the beautiful sunset …..

036  ….. and the mystic mood at

sundown over the Swartland plain

Views from the 1'760 ft. [536m] high Piekenierskloof Pass,

which lies between the Olifantsrivier valley and the Swartland plain:

039  A flock of African sacred ibises

(Threskiornis aethiopicus) gather

on a mound in the dried up steppe

037  Eastern view towards

the Cederberg Mountains

038  Southern view

towards the Swartland

040  View from the beach at Milnerton,

about 7 miles [11km] north of

Capetown, to the Table Mountain

– the landmark of Capetown

041  “Shall I go into the water or not?”

– A little girl with a frizzy mane

of hair is looking to the sea

042  Alexandra on the fruit market

near Milnerton: Grapes, plums, peaches,

apples, pears are sold in 5kg boxes

for 20 to 30 Rand (=US$1.80-2.70)

043  The owner of the “Cologne

House” in Milnerton allows us

to camp in his garden …..

044  ….. Emil’s favorite place for

computer work is the summer

house with its African mural

045  Serej and Manuel from Switzerland

visit us on February 17th, 2015, on our

„Ou Skip” Camping in Melkbosstrand.

We were their guests in Goroka Papua

New Guinea on October 24th, 2010

 

After the loss of the wheel in Angola, Emil studies our old and the sponsored axle housing at the workshop of “J.B’s Auto Repairs” in Capetown.

Our LandCruiser is jacked-up and Johann, the workshop owner, is getting ready to replace it. The complete repair is free of charge.

A huge thank you to our supporters of the LandCruiser Club Southern Africa

046  Our damaged and the donated axle

housing: Our axle casing ran over 442’733

miles [712’509km] (= 19’719 driving

hours). How many miles might

have the donated one?

047  Our LandCruiser is jacked-up by

Johann jun. of J.B.’s Auto Repairs and

his workshop employee. Johann sen. is

supervising it

048  A huge thankyou to our supporters

regarding the axle housing in the workshop

of J.B.’s Auto Repairs: (from right) Bennie

Smit, Ellen and Adolf Hüster and

Johann sen. In front: Johann jun.

049  At the Bloubergstrand with its

garden restaurants we meet members of the

LandCruiser Club Southern Africa …..

050  ….. the waitresses of “our” restaurant

in Bloubergstrand are ‘mixed’,

as is ‘right and proper’

051  Bloubergstrand is famous for

kitesurfing – here the Red Bull

competition on February 15th, 2015

052  People enjoy the sunny day and

the entertainment at the Bloubergstrand,

15½ [25km] miles north of Capetown

053  Nelson Mandela is looking down

from the Civic Center to Capetown’s

southeastern city center

054  Robben Island (2.00 sq.mi. [5.18 km²]):

At its (political) prison, Nelson Mandela

was jailed for almost two decades in a

43 sq.ft. [4m²] small solitary cell

055  Loud cackling geese are on a stroll

at the “Chapmans Peak Caravan Park” in

Sunvalley, 16 miles south of Capetown

056  ”Hello, here we are again”! The

turkey mother with her two chicks shows

up regularly to beg for food …..

057  ….. also the cute squirrel

can be spotted now and then

058  Delicate flowers blossom on this

wild “Violet Trumpet Vine” (Clytostoma

callistegioides) – a flower from the

violet family (Violaceae)

059  A golden spot in the green bushland:

A bright “African Bush Daisy” (Euryops

chrysanthemoides)

060  Long-stemmed water lilies, also

called “star lotus” (Nymphaea nouchali)

raise their heads towards the sun

061  Smiling African faces on the

Ubuntu mural of Lisa Martin

in Noordhoek

062  We stop on the „Glencairn Expressway“

to enjoy the panorama over Simon’s Town

at the shore of False Bay in the east

of the Cape Peninsula

063  View to the „Cape of Good Hope”,

the southwestern most point of the

African continent.

In the foreground the Diaz Beach

064  Here it does not go any further:

Liliana in front of the rock “Cape Point”

that forms the ‘end’ of the Cape Peninsula

065  Crowds are wandering up to the

“Cape Point” lighthouse, erected 1859

and lying 780 ft. [238m] above sea level

066  For a remembrance picture

we also pose (like everybody)

behind the “Cape Point” sign

067  To the Fynbos vegetation

of the Cape region belongs also

the beautiful protea …..

068  ….. as well as this flowering bush

Bruniaceae (Nebelia paleacea). It

grows in southern South Africa between

Port Elizabeth and Lamberts Bay

069  The permanently blowing

fierce wind bends the trees

on the Cape Peninsula

070  Cape cormorants (Phalacrocorax

capensis) and Cape fur seals

(Arctocephalus pusillus) have

settled on the windswept offshore

rock at the Cape of Good Hope

071  On 28.2.2015 our LandCruiser stands

for the second time at the “Cape of Good

Hope” on our epic journey, before we

drive North on Africa’s eastern side. The

first time was on 5.3.1992, after we arrived

on the western side from the North

072  Smile! Chinese tourists position

themselves for a remembrance photo

at the “Cape of Good Hope”

073  The Fynbos kingdom in the

Cape Region is a real treasure box

074  An eland (Taurotragus oryx) makes

 its appearance at Buffelsfontein in the

“Table Mountain National Park”

075  The diversity on South Africa’s

Fynbos plants is high, about

9’000 species can be found

076  View from the coastal road

over Kommetjie – the most southern

townlet of the African Atlantic coast

077  The 111½ ft. [34m] high Slangkop

Lighthouse lies south of the Noordhoek

Beach near Kommetjie on the western

side of the Cape Peninsula

078  The play of the waves

at Noordhoek Beach

079  The “Chapman’s Peak Drive”

between Noordhoek and Capetown follows

the Atlantic coast and offers magnificent

views: Here to the “Monkey Valley Resort”

and the 5 miles [8km] long Noordhoek Beach

080  Liliana and Emil enjoy the

views to the Noordhoek Beach

081  The sheer drops up to 525 ft.

[160m] to the sea are a scenic highlight

along the “Chapman’s Peak Drive”

082  View from “Chapman’s Peak

Drive” to the lovely Hout Bay. It was

built between 1915 and 1922

083  Blue umbrellas shape the picture of Camps

Bay, a popular but rather ‘cold’ beach resort

southwest of Capetown. The water temperature

is during the whole year only 56°F [13°C]

084  The mountain peaks of the

“Twelve apostles” – part of the

Table Mountain range –

tower over Camps Bay

085  Cape Town’s “Waterfront” with

the backdrop of the Table Mountain

is popular for strolling and shopping

086  A paraglider sails from the 1’150 ft.

[350m] high Signal Hill to the coast

087  View from Signal Hill

over Cape Town’s harbor

088  The Cape Town Stadium, built

for the World Cup 2010, was holding

64’100 people (currently its 55'000).

It is the eye-catcher from Signal Hill

089  We drive up to Signal Hill and

admire Capetown’s city panorama

extending below us. The city has a

population of about 3.8 millions

090  Magnificent view from Signal Hill

over Cape Town’s city center

and the Atlantic

Continuation to the next South African page: South Africa Part 2 – February 24th to March 13th, 2015, from Capetown to Tsitsikamma National Park

 

The African trip 2013-15:

CapeVerde: Santiago/Praia part 1 – November18th to December 13th, 2013

CapeVerde: Fogo – Dezember13th to 23rd, 2013

CapeVerde: Brava – December 23rd to 26th, 2013

Cape Verde: Santiago/Praia part 2 – December 26th, 2013 to February 28th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Nicolau – February 28th to March 13th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 1 – March 13th to 20th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Eastern side part 1 – March 20th to April 7th, 2014

Cape Verde: Santo Antão/Western side part 2 – April 7th to 10th, 2014

Cape Verde: São Vicente/Mindelo part 2 – April 10th to 29th, 2014

Namibia Part 1 – from Walvis Bay to Windhoek

Angola Part 1 – September 26th to October 4th, 2014

Angola Part 2 – October 4th to 22nd, 2014

Namibia Part 2 – from Windhoek to the Angolan border, back again and on to South Africa

3rd Major Repair of our LandCruiser FJ60 - 1982  (due to two broken sideshafts)