Over the easter weekend I was fortunate enough to do the West Coast Eco Trail with the Western Cape branch of the 4WDCSA. The initial group should have been 7 vehicles but one dropped out and the other, a landy, only got as far as Clanwilliam when they had a puncture and couldn't get the wheel off because of those fancy locking wheel nuts which refused to budge, and had to be put on the back of a flatbed truck. The rest of the group consisted of a Defender, a Disco, a Triton and a Cruiser... me being the only petrol.
I left midday Thursday afternoon on my own, unfortunately having to leave the wife and little one at home, making my way to the Garies municipal campsite where we were all to meet and camp for the night. It was an uneventful trip but a word of warning when travelling to some of these areas. I filled up in Garies, only to find my garage card was declined for some unknown reason. Garies has one functional ATM, so I was relieved to find it worked!
On the Friday we packed up and headed for the first stop at Hondeklip Bay, some 90km away, airing down when we hit the badly corregated gravel road. We started off in bright sunny weather, but about 3km from Hondeklip we hit the typical west coast fog, which was to haunt us for the next day or so. We got into Hondeklip at around 10am and then spent the rest of the morning exploring the beach and what's left of the harbour.
Hondeklip is a ghost of its former illustrious diamond self, and even the wreck of the Aristea is slowly becoming a sad unrecognisable pile of scrap metal.
The last time I saw it on a trip to the Richtersveld it was still quite recognisable. Getting to the wreck involves a short stretch of gravel, or a short stretch of thick sand. Thick sand that proved too much for the Disco II TD and its trailer - I got the impression the Disco couldn't pull the skin off a bowl of custard, but tyre pressures and a badly overweight trailer proved a hard task for the Defender with us as well.
Having got the trailer out we made our way back to the start of the west coast trail, a small insignificant gate on the Garies road, signposted Eagles Rest. From there it was a slow drive through to the Spoegrivier Caves which were stunning, where we had a short stop.
There we discovered the Triton had a puncture, and the spare was soon popped on. The rest of the day was spent meandering along the coast, marred by the thick fog, and the Disco and trailer getting stuck...again. The afternoon wore on and we were getting quite concerned that we weren't going to find a campsite, with every one we came across being converted to some kind of tent city. The west coast is quite a popular Easter destination!! Note to self - never do this trail at Easter. The area of the west coast between Hondeklip and the Groen Rivier is largely controlled by SANPArks, with many of the old tracks having been closed, with proper demarcated camping areas. They have also provided basic pit latrines, which I guess is better than finding a convenient bush armed with a spade, a bog-roll and a lighter. We eventually came across a member of the Land Rover club who was only too keen on sharing his site with us, so we quickly set up camp and settled in for the freezing cold evening.
In the meantime the owner of the Triton received a lesson on snotplugs and the repair of tyres. My home made Limoncello was an instant hit but it got klapped in the first night, leaving none for the rest of the trip.
Despite the cold fog, there is nothing better than hunkering down in your sleeping bag with the sound of the roaring waves lapping at your toes.
The following morning we packed up quickly to leave our Land Rover Club host in peace and we headed south. We were still hounded by fog, even as we passed Groen Rivier lighthouse.
And again we had to wait for the Disco and it's trailer, which again got stuck in thick sand - sand everyone else sailed though. I have always toyed wth the idea that an offroad trailer would be rather covenient and simplify our trips.. this trip killed every idea I had. Sorry - too much schlep in my mind.
Eventually the fog started clearing and we found ourself near a magnificent beach, edged a by a point which was decorated by a wreck which I have yet to identify.
It was on this beach where some idiot in a Pajero spoiled a photo opportunity by driving onto the beach, and getting stuck. I have already mentioned this
here, but the fact that it was a Pajero and a Colt was very disappointing. I guess it takes all sorts. Later that afternoon we found a perfect camping site which we decided would be so good we stayed there for Saturday and Sunday nights. The rest of the saturday was spent vegetating around the campsite, sleeping or exploring the seashore.
The fact that we didn't have to worry about an early start on Easter Sunday saw most people enjoying a bit of a lie in. The weather had improved considerably and it was a bright day. We generally spent the day relaxing, going for a walk, doing some birdwatching, and a couple of us spent some time collecting mussels which I would cook for starters in the evening.
As we had to head off on the long drive back to Cape Town the following morning, it was an early start.
We were also trying to avoid the rush but still got tangled up with the huge group of the Cederberg 4x4 Club. We got to the Salt Mine at around 10:30 which meant the official end of the trail, although it was still several km to the tar road at Namaqua Sands where we would air up, say our goodbyes, and join the frantic rush back to Cape Town.
Overall it was a very nice trip, although marred a little bit by the litter, and illegal driving on beaches
Total Km 1111
Avg Cons 6.15
Best Cons 7.14
Worst Cons 5.4
