What stands out about the trail are the majestic hills of the Namaqua National Park and the general landscape, which make for a very beautiful and scenic drive. The region is semi-desert so we saw lots of scorpions in the area, the park attracts lots of fauna, in fact, the speckled padloper, which is the smallest tortoise in the world, can be found here. We also saw ancient rock engravings from the San people—this area is rich in ancient rock art from the indigenous people who once inhabited the land.

We drove about 22km northwest to the small town of Kamieskroon, where we decided to settle for the night. The town is more or less in the centre of the Namaqualand region and lies at the foothills of the Kamiesberg Mountain Range, among the granite rock formations. The town is very busy at this time of year because of the impending Spring and flower season. We didn’t get to explore much of this town because we arrived late and had to leave quite early in the morning. We did, however, manage to visit the Kammieshoogte Pass, which gives you a stunning view of the mountain range.

Next, we will make our way further south along the banks of the Orange River to take on another challenging 4×4 route; the Kheis 4×4 route.

Join us in part eight of our ongoing blog series as we explore all that Southern Africa has to offer as we Unleash The Explorer in You!