Back roads of the West Coast

DAY 1: ARRIVE PORT NOLLOTH

Travel in your own time to Port Nolloth a town and small domestic seaport in the Namaqualand. Port Nolloth is 701 kms from Cape Town via the N7 and Springbok. It is 1 305 km from Johannesburg on the N14 via Upington and Springbok.

The port was previously a trans-shipment point for copper from the Okiep mines, and diamonds from the Namaqua coast. Since the 1970s the principal seagoing activities have been fishing and small-vessel tourism. Today the town is a sleepy commercial hub with a few holiday homes and a caravan park at the adjacent McDougalls Bay.

Ensure that you arrive by 17:00. Check-in at the hotel.

18:00 – Group members will meet the tour guide, Dudley Wessels, in the main dining area of the hotel. Dudley is from Koingnaas and are extremely passionate about the West Coast. It is not an exaggeration to say that Dudley is one of the most knowledgeable people on the West Coast and its vegetation. Dudley is described as “an extraordinary guide with unparallel knowledge about this particular part of our country”.

19:00 – We kick-off the tour with dinner at the hotel.

O/N Scotia Inn, Port Nolloth (or similar)

DAY 2: PORT NOLLOTH - KLEINZEE

Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out.

We will drive to Alexander Bay in the extreme north-west of the country. The town is located on the southern bank of the Orange River mouth. Occasionally it is possible to see the mouth of the Orange River … our journey will take us from the mouth of the Orange River to the mouth of the Berg River over the next couple of days.

We return to Port Nolloth for a light snack lunch and then proceed to Kleinzee. Time permitting visit the museum with its exhibits of shipwrecks, geological, paleontological, and archaeological finds.

O/N Houthoop (or similar) (breakfast, snack lunch, dinner)

DAY 3: SHIPWRECK ROUTE

Enjoy breakfast. After breakfast we enter the De Beers restricted area. Live the Journey needs to book this permits in advance. For this we will require a copy of your ID. We are going to drive the Shipwreck 4x4 route today and visit four shipwrecks. This is a particularly beautiful drive. Expect gravel roads, soft sand, pebble beaches and rock. In between the wrecks there are a series of historical, archaeological, and geological sights, but your guide will tell you more about this. Later in the afternoon on the return journey, there will be an opportunity to do some dune driving. Few get the opportunity to drive here in these white sands of West Coast. We can promise a memorable day.

19:00 – Dinner at the Houthoop

O/N Houthoop (or similar) (breakfast, picnic lunch, dinner)

DAY 4: HONDEKLIPBAAI DUNES

Enjoy breakfast and check-out. Today we will do some dune driving about 20 km from Koingnaas. You will deflate tyres and receive a dune driving briefing as a wonderful morning in the dunes await.

Enjoy dune driving with regular photo stops. Your guide will also point out archaeological sites and will tell you more about the Khoi-Khoi, the early inhabitants of the area.

Drive to Koingnaas for lunch and there will be an opportunity to top up on fuel. After lunch depart for Hondeklipbaai and arrive early afternoon. You will then have time at leisure.

It is believed that Hondeklipbaai got its name from a rock next to the police station that resembled a sitting dog. That was before it was struck by lightning. The village was originally used as a harbour to export copper ore from the mines near Springbok. Today the town serves the fishing and diamond-mining community. The diamond dredgers use the bay as their base.

Water is a scares commodity in Hondeklipbaai. In 2023 when the group arrived in the town the main waterpipe was off-line and there was no water for the duration of the stay. Due to this, we advise that you take fresh water as back-up with you for the overnight in Hondeklipbaai.

Dinner will be at the Rooi Spinnekop.

O/N Die Hondehokke – different self-catering units with some having shared bathrooms (or similar) (breakfast, packed lunch, and dinner)

DAY 5: GO OFF THE GRID

After breakfast we will depart on a beautiful, rugged route on the coastal side of the Namaqua National Park. The day will be relatively long, but we should be in time to watch the sunset in Strandfontein.

We will cross the border from the Northern Cape into the Western Cape between Brandsebaai and Groenriviermond. Our route will follow a tweespoor track via places like Brandsebaai, Malkopbaai, Abraham Villiersbaai, Groenriviermond, Kwaassebaai and Skuinsbaai until we arrive in Lutzville.

From Lutzville it is about 30 kms to Strandfontein our overnight stop. The group will be making use of different accommodation units in the town. All meals will be at one venue.

19:00 – Enjoy dinner. Meet Hilda who is famous for her catering and mouth-watering meals.

O/N Strandfontein – different self-catering units (breakfast, dinner)

DAY 6: STRANDFONTEIN TO VELDDRIF

Check-out and enjoy breakfast.

After a relaxed morning in Strandfontein we depart around 11:00 for Doringbaai. In
Doringbaai we stop for a wine tasting followed by a light snack lunch. Then we venture
further south along the West Coast. We will drive via Elands Bay and Dwarskersbos to
reach our overnight stop. Elands Bay is a typical West Coast town that draws visitors
during the flower season and surfers who are in search of the perfect wave.

Arrive late afternoon in Velddrif which is situated on the Berg River. The name Velddrif is
derived from a local farmer, Theunis Smit, who took his stock through a drift in the field
(Afrikaans: veld), to find grazing across the river. In 1899, a pontoon ferry was built to
cross the Berg River. The nearby estuary is an important bird habitat. The area is home
to 30 000 birds, including up to 80 species which are endemic to the Cape coast.

Our overnight stop is situated on the banks of the Berg River just outside of Velddrif.

19:00 – We end the tour with a delicious dinner.

O/N L’Ermitage Quagga Lodge, Velddrif (breakfast, snack lunch, dinner)

DAY 7: DEPART HOME

Depart on a morning game drive. The lodge owners breed, among others, with exotic
game (weather permitting). They are doing pioneering work that you will experience firsthand.

The quagga project is fascinating. It started in 1987 and is an attempt to bring
back an animal from extinction and reintroduce it into reserves in its former habitat.
For more information visit www.lermitagelodge.co.za/the-quagga-project.

08:30 – Breakfast and check-out.

It is then time for sad farewells as you will depart home in your own time.