i don't know why i always want to go there, because when i get there a certain sadness overwhelms me, yet when i'm home, i long to be there!? So, i mentioned to Anton that i'd like to take my Dakar to that place where i'm happy to be sad...he agreed that he'd like to go there with me, but he recently saw the South African movie "Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer" that was filmed in the tiny Kalahari "town" named Noenieput.
Yes, i never heard of that place either! i then saw the movie as Anton prompted me to do and he also said that once i've seen it, i'd go further than Verneukpan, and join him all the way to Noenieput. That's when the dream was born. Noenieput was all we spoke about. We would joke about it all the time...whenever we see each other, we'd say: "So, are we going to Noenieput next weekend?" But business is tough, the economy is down and we kind of knew in our hearts that it would be unwise to go on a bike trip, besides the fact that it feels a bit selfish in a way. Days and weeks turn into months and Noenieput seems to disappear off our map.
Then one day Anton tells me that we should go the next week, but i thought he was joking, as usual. Well, the next week came and Anton got his things together and told me that we're leaving the next morning at 9am. I laughed, but agreed, seeing that it's a joke to me. That Tuesday evening, Anton phoned me and told me that he's dead serious, we must leave the next morning. I was a bit confused. Anyway, so i started to get my things together and as the evening progressed, i phoned Anton and told him that i won't make it due to financial reasons - i just didn't want to put unnecessary stress onto our household just because i want to ride my bike. Anton agreed and we left it there.
The next morning i was up early, setting up lights and props for a photo shoot i had in mind for a while and as i'm about to start, my phone rings...by now it was already 9am. It was Anton. He told me to pack my bike and join him on this trip to Noenieput - he'll sponsor the petrol. Long story short, i packed all my photographic gear away, got all my biking things together again, packed my bike and finally, by 12pm, we left. We generally want to stick to the basics, but this time, the basics got even more basic, yet, it was my most memorable trip to date. Here's my side of our story.
Wednesday 12 September 2012, day 1, Knysna - Van Wyksvlei, 590km.
On our way to De Vlugt, we stopped here for a quick bite.
This stretch was our first taste of tar...
Black stuff all the way to Beaufort West.
They don't bake bread everyday in the Karoo, so you take what you get.
From Loxton we pushed on towards Carnarvon and from Carnarvon to Van Wyksvlei, where we wanted to sleep the night. On the road between Carnarvon and Van Wyksvlei, we saw a little Steenbuck that got hit by a car not too long ago, seeing that she was still warm. We stopped and decided to take her with us. She'll make part of our lunch the next day. Living off the land!!
Day 2, Van Wyksvlei - Noenieput, 410km.
We went into the local neighbourhood in order to bless a family with the meat and we just took one of the legs with us.
All packed and ready to leave.
As soon as i met Saartjie, my heart instantaneously longed to be with my daughter. I just thanked God quietly for giving my daughter the life she's got and for making me her dad!
It's hard to describe the way i felt when my eyes locked on Saartjies eyes - my heart yearned to comfort her in some way, i wanted to hold her and tell her she's worth fighting for - you know, just in case nobody has told her that before!
Anton & Gilbert
My friend & neighbour in Rheenendal baked a beautiful brown bread which we enjoyed here. Thanks Marcé!!!
Tabasco compliments the venison magnificently.
Tabasco compliments any meal. (full stop)
We also had Robertson's Steak & Chops spice.
What's your combination?
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: "Well, after a meal, there's nothing like a good 'cigar'."
Please don't climb on the motorbike!!
Here we're standing at our very first visual confirmation that the dream has come true!
Destination reached!!
Kalahari Sending
While we were trespassing, Nons came out and gave us a legal tour. She was house sitting for Barrie.
What a warmhearted woman!!
my visual reminders...
We wanted to sleep on the red dunes for a true Kalahari experience and when we saw a remote enough spot, we drove about 50m off the road behind the first dune, and camped there. There were no fences. Nons also made us clever by telling us that in the Kalahari, tracks mean everything to them - that's how they operate. So, after we parked our bikes behind the dune, we came back to the farm road and Anton got an old branch with which he's going to wipe our tracks, in order to remain undiscovered. Now when i saw him doing this, i knew that my chance is around the corner, to finally catch him looking like a criminal, seeing that he's got a photo of me where i look like a "criminal" on one of our previous trips.
Anton telling me: "This is how you do it, you brush lightly, not too hard, but gently so that it blends in with all the other markings. You don't want to draw attention with the "new" markings either. Then, once you've done this - YOU RUN!!!"
Just beautiful!! The golden hour really is golden here!!
I was really hoping to hear the call of a Red Jackal that evening...i know it's not the type of sound that these farmers like to hear, but for me it would just be special...didn't happen though!
Day 3, Somewhere in the Kalahari dunes - Somewhere between Verneukpan & Brandvlei, unknown distance.
The next morning we were all packed and ready for action and we got to Pierre's farm just after 8am. He obviously wasn't expecting us, but we drove into his yard and introduced ourselves and told him that we drove over a 1000km just to meet him, so he felt reluctant to invite us in for a good cup of coffee...in fact, they offered us breakfast as well - very kindhearted. They treated us as if we were old friends.
We told them about our trip and where the inspiration came from. Then we asked him our 20 questions about the movie, what was fiction and what was true. Very interesting to hear about the whole process that took place and how it came to be. In my opinion, Pierre is way cooler in real life than what is portrayed in the movie. I asked him how it feels to have a movie made about his journey at that time of his life? But he's so down to earth, that it almost doesn't seem to be much of a big deal, but rather a kind of appreciation for the great tool in which people could be reached, influenced and enriched through it.
After coffee, Pierre asked us if we wanted to meet the Real Tornado? He just happened to be on his farm and we were very excited to see this horse and the healing that took place is evident, with his 2 year old daughter on his back! Tornado is calm and content.
After this guided tour, it was time for us to hit the road again. Pierre blessed us with a good helping of Gemsbuck biltong, a great snack at any given time!! Then we prayed together and off we went. From his Farm we took a road that took us to Upington, instead of going back the same way as we came. It was a beautiful road.
When we got to Upington, the sudden change really got to me. From the wide open peaceful spaces of the Kalahari, with no people, to a buzzing city with sirens screaming at the top of their electronic lungs, traffic lights and 8 lanes of traffic, bridges and fly-overs, malls and mass production - i was mad, instantly. We had to stop at the Pick 'n Pay, to get some lunch, and while i was waiting for Anton to get back, i had a look at it all, and it suddenly didn't make any sense to me. As we drove out, we were looking for an appropriate spot to enjoy our lunch. Anton was in front, and pulled over underneath a little tree, a designated pull over "picnic" spot...as we stopped, i just saw KFC boxes, trash and human feces...and my rage was clear to Anton, so we pulled off and took a left, to Kanoneiland.
A tiny little spot. We saw a big tree with a big scraper parked underneath it, and pulled in. It's a small agricultural town.
Anton got us some curry fish and buns. He asked me to sprinkle some water on the base of scraper and he washed it with his hands. He then chucked the tin of fish out on top of it. Rough - the way we like it!
We were just about to eat, when a school bus stopped right there and suddenly we were crowded by children aged between 7 & 16. They looked at us as if we were the last two Rhino's on the planet. I thought it was funny!!! Then they saw our lunch table...two young boys started to giggle and Anton asked them why they're laughing. They answered still laughing: "We pee against that scraper..." Anton replied by saying, yes, and that's why we washed it first!! ...but i don't think they believed him and they still thought we were a bit crazy. We chatted to them and then we pushed on towards Kenhardt. From there we shot through to Verneukpan, and boy, was i happy to have my Dakar finally standing at the gate of the famous pan and my heart's destination. We didn't plan to sleep there, but wanted to push on to Grootvloer Pan, it's bigger than this one, but it's still about a 150km away and it was getting late in the afternoon already, so chances were good that we won't make it.
Anton ran out of fuel just 5km outside Kenhardt...on the previous trip, the same thing happened to him, just from the other side of this town...strange? So he took this beautiful self-portrait while i went to get him some petrol.
Here we took our first and only bath for the trip. We had wet wipes to clean all the essential parts, but this was our first real contact with water, shampoo and shower gel.
Happy to be Sad.
The Gate to our Camping Grounds. No need to drive to reception, they leave the keys in the locks for your convenience.
We were checking out for a spot to camp, when Anton saw a dam wall, where he figured we could camp behind it. Little did we know that the dam was empty & dry, so we could camp right in the middle of it. Making it a safe and concealed campsite.
Day 4, Somewhere between Verneukpan & Brandvlei - Prince Albert, unknown distance.
After missing our turn-off, we almost went halfway back to Kenhardt...fortunately, there was a road that links up to the Swartkop road where we wanted to be and we saw a whole new part of the Karoo which "normal" circumstances wouldn't have allowed.
Day 5, Swartberg Pass - Knysna, ± 150km.
We stopped in Oudshoorn to say hi to my aunt, whom we woke up just after 7am on a Sunday morning, so that she could make us Bacon & Eggs for breakfast!!
She was happy to see us!! ...but she still loves me!!!
Legend Trip!
Thanks again Anton!!!
Thanks to everybody who was praying for us, especially my wife.
Also a special thanks to my brother, Chris.
Pierre & Marietha with the actors, Lean van den Bergh & Quentin Krog.
