Day 5: Augrabies to Riemvasmaak

After breakfast we boiled some eggs for the road and filled up our Stanley flask.

First stop was at the Augrabies waterfall, where Jaco has never been before. Entrance is only R49 for South Africans. We photographed the waterfall from all possible angles and then drove to the moonrock. From there we drove to another lookout point over the canyon before exiting the park at around 12:00.

We took the clockwise route to Riemvasmaak via Blouputs. The tar road cuts right through the Augrabies national park, but it is fenced so one cannot get onto it from within the park.

After Blouputs the road turned to a narrow and very scenic gravel road. The rock formations and countless koppies were spectacular. We stopped next to the road for our egg and tea lunch. We took some more drone shots, when the drone suddenly disconnected again, and Hugo had to run up another steep hill to get it to reconnect.

We got to a closed reception at Riemvasmaak hot springs but continued down the very steep and bumpy road into the canyon. At the campsite there were someone who accepted our money.

Another group of campers with three caravans were already set up. It must have been a hair-raising sight to see the caravans coming down into the canyon and down the sandy river to the campsite.

The other campers finished their daily swim in the hot spring, so we had it to ourselves for the rest of the evening. A two cement pools were built next to each other with the square one being the hotter of the too. The water is comfortably warm like bathwater after a few minutes.

We stayed in the water for too long and had to get out in the cold evening air. For dinner Caro made her famous coconut milk, curried beans and rice dish.

The stars were super bright, so we did some star photography where Hugo lit up the mountain with the spotlight. The other campers saw it as a competition and started shining a light on the mountain, which made the timing of the photos difficult.