It's a long, long road

The small town of Springbok has long featured on a map of the Northern Cape, but I have no recollection of ever visiting there, although when we travelled to Namibia in 1969, we probably passed through it. As a 13-year-old, it's unlikely that my enquiring mind had kicked in yet to include rural towns. So our arrival there at the end of a long day's driving (more on that just now) allowed for only a cursory assessment: a narrow valley with one main road carrying all the traffic between the Cape and Namibia (a railway line would be preferable) and a couple of parallel side roads on the lower slopes where a variety of architectural styles housed the residents. Familiar shops revealed that all mod cons could be obtained if desired and indeed are probably the only source of retail therapy for the farming communities in the surrounding few hundred kilometres or so.

With no early memories, I was stunned by the topography - massive granite domes rose like bubbles across the landscape, which I always thought would be flat and arid semi-desert. This is the part of South Africa where minerals such as copper and zinc have been extensively mined, the lifeblood of the economy in the north. It was also the scene of clashes in the Second Boer War, with remains of stone walls still visible, should you care to clamber a kopje. We in fact stayed at the foot of the granite dome where they are found but resisted the call of history as we have seen many a relic of past conflicts in more accessible places. 

The main purpose of the trip, apart from a break from the daily grind, was to do a recce of the area for background knowledge on where to find birds, the condition of the roads and a general satisfying of curiosity for new places. Having left Kommetjie at 5am and not exceeding 100km/h but with no stops except for the thirsty fuel tank, we actually arrived in Springbok around 1pm. A quick stop at the local Engen to refill again allowed us to also refuel with the ubiquitous Wimpy road trip burger. Google Maps took us to our comfortable accommodation (not totally reliable, the GM) and then of course we were back on the road to cover as much ground as possible in the few days we would be there. The much-vaunted displays of carpets of orange and yellow had faded from their early glory and had little more than a week left as no more rain had fallen for weeks, so only small patches remained.

Our destination that afternoon was a dirt road leading off the N7 at Aggenys, some 150km away. Yes, the mind boggles. The target was the Red Lark. I once took a photo of one on a far distant bush somewhere near Sak Rivier; such a bad photo that only the stance and colouring identified it. The Frazzled Birder needed it for his life list, so distance was no object. I take a much more relaxed view of birding and try to combine every conceivable experience of nature into every trip. This involves flowers (much easier to photograph), fascinating geological features (of which South Africa has an abundance), clouds, the way light reveals folds in the mountains, the smell of the veld on a warm summer's evening, etc.

The road was long. The road was straight. Cars overtook us as though we were standing still. We left the granite domes behind and entered flatter territory with low hills and vast windfarms and solar arrays. The Northern Cape has fully embraced the power of nature. Soon a pair of Greater Kestrels with a nest were sighted on a telephone pole. Great excitement, stopped for innumerable photos. There were pairs on every third pole. There is no shortage of breeding pairs in that area. Another target for the FB was a Sociable Weaver, preferably with nest. Lo and behold! We stopped again for further photos. If we still used film that needed to be developed at CNA where we waited for two weeks to see if they were any good, I am sure no more than three or four photos would have been taken. The difference now with digital photography and multiple bursts is that two weeks is what it takes to sort, choose and delete the photos when you get home.

At last we approached Aggenys, where a colossal mine dump has grown over the last 10 or more years as zinc is mined from inside a mountain. The mountain is now a deep hole in the ground with the mine dump concealing Man's destruction. It has doubled in size since I was last there in 2019 and Google Earth will give you a bird's eye view.

We had reached our first dirt road since leaving home. Adventure time!