September 2020 lockdown level downgraded to level 1 – This is what we have been waiting for! We decided to load the “Beast” hit the road and escape the confines of our home and re-visit the idea of being free.

We provisioned with enough coffee, food & booze, just in case we got marooned in another part of the country.

Our plan was to head North to the Richtersveld. News was filtering through that the wild flowers were putting on a fantastic display after the winter rains so we took a meander through Namaqualand first. The landscape was transformed into carpets of radiant colours. The town of Kliprand normally a dustbowl, was engulfed in orange daisies. A visual spectacle from the vault of dreams.

All camping trips have their stories, we got rained out on our first night at the Taaiboskraal farm. The next morning it was still raining, so like drowned rats we sought refuge at the very authentic Springbok Lodge & Cafe. As we enter, the manager stands behind what can only be described as a captains bridge, and he is clad with a plastic mask wielding a microphone in one hand. We shuffle past him, the extensive mineral collection and curated books, to the diner styled restaurant with vinyl seating, sporting fancy granite tabletops supplied by the local mine. Piped through the speakers we listened to elevator music while deciding on some hot food. It’s a time capsule with elements from each decade. With our bellies full and our tail between the legs we spend a night at the lodge.

The next day it was our last chance to stock up on biltong-before-wilderness.

Our cooking arrangements worked well with our travel companions who also loved to cook on fires. We alternated each night so everyone had a chance to shine or shirk.

We discovered shirking with a G+T in the hand is a guilt free pleasurable pursuit around sunset.

After some lazy days and long hot showers along the banks of the Orange River it was time to head into the Richtersveld.

Now ready for some wild camping we headed over Helskloof pass through Eksteenfontein. The towns name, inscribed on the mountain above, is  larger than the town itself. One S T O P street later, we were already on the other side of town.

We had to pass the final Covid test at the Richtersveld Transfrontier Parks checkpoint upon entering, and then we were in South Africa’s only true desert. We still had a long way to get to the river on a twee spoor in 4×4. It was slow going but it gave us the opportunity to appreciate the landscape and plants albeit a bit bouncy. We finally reach the Orange River and were surprised with the amount of other Covid escapees that were already hunkering down. Luckily for us we found a little spot right on the waters edge near a rapid. It was magical with fairy lights and fireflies. We spent 4 glorious days completely off the grid slowing down and observing nature. The weather was balmy and we read, cooked, swam and caught some fish. Towards the end we even knew when to expect the call of the Fish Eagle. Mornings were about making coffee and observing the Heron hunting for breakfast in the rapids…sublime!

Leaving the Park we returned to an organised camp, for a taste of civilisation. Once you have dialled down to the rhythm of the Orange River the world seems normal again.