Ngwempisi: Don’t bring your Ford Fiesta

4am alarm. Kettle on. Last minute packing: toothbrush, books, sunscreen. Where are the head torches? Jump in the car. Watch the sunrise over Joburg. We’re going to Eswatini. 

The drive to Sandlane border was easy and we were through in 15 minutes. This meant we were on track to arrive in Manzini by 11h45. The Springboks were playing the All Blacks in their first game of the Rugby World Cup. Our friend Caroline was joining us for the first night and recommended we head to The George Hotel. 

We arrived in the lobby - after fighting Saturday morning Manzini traffic - to find a large family wearing Springbok rugby jerseys. Caroline’s advice had been spot on. We watched the game while we enjoyed a couple cold Sibebes and some great fries. 

The Boks were unlucky - they lost 23-13. Slightly subdued we jumped back in the car and headed back out of Manzini. After a quick stop for petrol, water and ice-cream (a mint Magnum, always) we hit dirt road on our way to Ngwempisi. 

“Everything is fine!”

We wound up and down valleys on a bumpy, challenging road through forestry land and streams. We popped out at a local school and thought the worst was behind us. After passing a homestead we drove onto a large rocky koppie with thick bush ahead of us. The road was not obvious, which was the first red flag. 

The route to the camp was some of the most technical and challenging offroading we have done. We battled rocky slopes, loose rock and at one point wedged one of our cars on top of a boulder. We got into sticky spots and had serious clearance issues. Jolene the Jimny did well. Chris’s Toyota Hilux, which is heavy enough, had the added weight of two rooftop tents. It struggled and he sweated. 

Caroline and Kate were in and out of our cars guiding Ben and Chris and moving rocks. It took us an hour to get down. Our friends who left their car at the top walked down in 15 minutes. 

It was a lot of (nervous) fun. Worth it but hairy at times. We arrived just in time for well earned sundowners. 

Neverland campsite

We arrived at Khopho Camp as the sun began to set. Beers in hand we clambered onto an enormous boulder and watched fires burning down in the Ngwempisi river valley. 

Caroline brought Prosecco - which had made it unscathed despite the bumpy journey. We popped it and enjoyed the fire. 

The camp was opened in 2007 with funding from the European Union. Whoever designed it had a special vision. The only way to describe it is a treehouse built into a tumble of boulders. There are different wooden platforms with stairs and viewpoints. You wind from sleeping areas with 15 bunkbeds to an open air kitchen and then onto a hidden shower with a view down to the river. 

Sadly it has seen better days. It’s quite run down and has not been maintained. There was a lot of rubbish - including a toilet seat hanging from a tree! We brought our tent but flat ground is limited. You can drink the water and there are flush toilets. 

We enjoyed our one night there. We didn’t have time to explore the hiking trails. Ben made it down to the river, which was clear and deep. Good for swimming and fishing! Be warned the climb is very steep and hard to find. 

The next morning we packed up and prepared to tackle the road again. It was a bit easier going up but still challenging. Jolene’s power and lightness really helped. 

We were charged R200 per person for the night,. We thought this was quite expensive considering the state of the camp and the basic facilities. We passed on our recommendations to the manager. 

It is a spectacular spot, with good 4x4-ing and tough hiking trails. A little investment and on-going maintenance would make us return. It is also possible to do multi-night hikes in the reserve hiking to different camps each night.

We dropped Caroline back in Manzini and headed east to Mbuluzi Game Reserve. Blog post coming soon.

How to book

There isn’t much information about the camp online. To book contact the manager, Nothkozo, on +268 7614 5863. He doesn’t have Whatsapp so you need to call. 

Mabibi Campsite: Far from everything

Mabibi Campsite has developed a mythical status in our family. Whenever we get chatting with friends over a few drinks, and the topic of camping in South Africa comes up, we always rave about Mabibi.  

It is not like a lot of other coastal campsites in this country, where people are packed in like sardines, with their generators and caravans. This is remote bush camping at its best. 

It's a community run campsite located on land owned by Sappi, a South African pulp and paper company. The camp is in the iSimangilso Wetland Park, the third largest park in the country and the country's first World Heritage Site. It spans 280 km of coastline, from the Mozambican border in the north to Mapelane south of the Lake St. Lucia estuary.  

If you want to get away from people, work, the city or life, then you should go to Mabibi. It's far away from everything. 

We left Johannesburg after work on a Tuesday evening and broke the journey by staying on the border with Swaziland, on a farm outside the town of Piet Retief.  

It was a tough journey after work. At Ermelo it started to get dark and we stopped on the side of the road for a breather. For the last few hours we had been stuck behind coal and forestry trucks and long trains of cars on windy roads.  

We enjoyed our cool drinks overlooking the dusty highveld at dusk and imagine the completely different world we would arrive in the next day. We got back in the car for another couple of hours of difficult driving and we descended the escarpment in the dark.  

We eventually arrived at our bed and breakfast exhausted and in need of a beer. Unfortunately, the accommodation was nothing special but we were tired enough to appreciate it.  

The next morning, after coffee and rusks, we walked down through fields and jumped over a stream into Swaziland!  

We jumped over a stream into Swaziland!

We still had another 4 hours on the road ahead of us to reach the beach. We headed down the N2 until we go to the Pongola Dam, where we headed off the motorway up over the Ubombo Mountains and into Jozini.  

Driving through the mountains we enjoyed spectacular views of the dam and Pongola Nature reserve bush. We stopped for fuel at the Jozini Engen, amongst the chaos of a small South African town.  

After Jozini, we got the feeling that we were heading into an increasingly remote area as we headed into the sandy flats of northern KZN. We stopped on the side of the road to buy wood and shortly afterward we turned off the tar onto an un-signposted track.  

The track passes through monotonous SAPPI pine plantations. The plantation finally ended and made way to sub-tropical dune forest and rolling grassland and, most importantly, we saw a signpost to Mabibi camp.  

Jolene the Jimny at the entrance to Mabibi.

We drove through soft sand and forest to our campsite, where Kate’s parents were waiting for us. We chatted while we pitched our tents under a lush forest canopy. In the excitement of arriving my parents left a window open in their car. The monkeys were quick to jump in and grab a few avocados.  

After camp was set up we walked down a long set of steps through the dunes down to the beach for a swim and sundowners. As the stairs ended in front of us we saw the wild, blue Indian Ocean in all of its glory. We looked left to see white sand stretch to the horizon. We looked the other way and saw the same. 

Our first dip in the ocean. 

We spent three days exploring the area, snorkeling, walking on the beach, trying to fish, 4x4ing, braaing and relaxing. On the Friday, we made the trek up to Black Rock beach, a renowned fishing spot.  

We drove through the park along sandy tracks and over dunes. We were very impressed by the Jimny’s capabilities in the sand. Apart from one moment where we were beached on the middle mannetjie and had to reverse and have another crack at getting up the dune. 

Black Rock was probably a bit too far for the day and we had a hard drive back, racing to beat the light. Based on the advice of a fisherman at the beach, we paid a local man to guide us back to the main road, via shortcut. It soon became apparent that he had no idea how to get us home. Luckily with the help of Tracks4Africa we made it back to camp just after dark. 

Black Rock Beach

On our last afternoon after a long walk along the beach we drove the short distance over the dunes and forest for sundowners on Lake Sibaya, a freshwater lake full of hippos. As we sipped out G&Ts we watched a pied kingfisher diving for fish and heard the distant hippo calling.  

The highlight of Mabibi is the spectacular snorkeling. Every morning at low tide we would snorkel and swim in a large rockpool, where water and sea life were trapped. It ranged from ankle deep to more than 2 metres in some spots. We saw lots of brilliantly coloured fish, a stone fish and an octopus.  

Best time to go: Winter (April-September)  

Website here. 

Taking the long way round: Joburg to Cape Town

Many people quickly dismiss the 1,500 km drive from Joburg to Cape Town, which crosses the Great Karoo in the centre of South Africa, as too long and arduous to bother with. Why spend 30 hours on the road when you can pick up a round-trip flight for around R2500? I differ - I love the freedom of the open road, the changing scenery and the ability to explore places off the beaten track.

In February, Kate and I stayed with my parents in a beach house in idyllic Churchaven, situated inside the West Coast National. As we are based in Joburg and had a wedding in Cape Town the weekend before we were due to rent the house, I saw this as an opportunity to explore the lesser known parts of South Africa by road. And as a bonus, my Mum asked to tag along.

We planned to do the drive over two days, with a shorter first day and a longer second. We set off from home at midday and headed south, crossing the Vaal River, entering the wide-open spaces of the Free State. Here we left the national highway and headed on side roads through a thunderstorm to the small forgotten Karoo town of Philipolis.

The road to Die Groenhuis in Philipolis

Philipolis was a former mission station founded in 1823 for the local Khoi people in the then-British held Orange River Colony, making it one of the oldest settlements in the Free State. A once prosperous agricultural town, it used the be on the main road from Joburg to Cape Town. When the national highway was constructed in the 1960s it just missed the tiny speck on the map, passing 60km west of the town and taking much of the trade and industry away.

It feels like the pause button was pressed when the highway was built, creating a quiet and haunting traditional South African “dorp”.

We stayed at Die Groenhuis, a series of renovated Karoo Cottages set along a dirt road that leads out of town overlooking cattle fields. We were welcomed by Jens, who remembered me from when I passed through in 2013, when doing the same journey. He had lots of stories to tell about the delights of the small town and its history, which I think were the same stories he told me when I last visited.

We took a walk around the town when we arrived to stretch our legs. We got chatting to a local about the town and its history. He very proudly told us that "no white women had ever been raped in Philipolis" and we were completely safe. We didn’t really have an answer to that.

Restaurants in Philipolis are few and far between. Jens gave us the contact details for Elwina (+27 73 878 6820) who runs a small café, Sielskos. She does excellent dinners for travellers – strictly by appointment only – at her small café on the main street. We enjoyed a chicken pie and lamb, while we enjoyed a few drinks and listened to the nearby stream running in full flood after the storms

We ate in the courtyard of the café, which is also a monument to Laurens Van Der Post. Philipolis is the birthplace of the famous writer and conservationist. Coincidentally as part of his colourful life, he was also a dairy farmer near to where I grew up in the English countryside.

"I came to live my life not by conscious plan or pre-arranged design but as someone following the flight of a bird." - Laurens van der Post

The next morning, we had a quick coffee overlooking the wetland at the back of the cottages and hit the road. We re-joined the highway at Colesberg, where we stopped for the obligatory Wimpy bacon sandwich.

After Colesberg the Great Karoo opened up before us, with its vast spaces and imposing mountains. In colonial times, the Karoo formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town due to the hostility of the environment, extreme heat, lack of water and shade.

Today, it’s a magnificent drive through a desert landscape that has been largely unchanged for thousands of years. If we had more time an overnight stay at one of the many Karoo farms offering accommodation or at the Karoo National Park would be well worth it.

Nearer the end of the drive, we stopped for lunch at Matjiesfontein, a storybook town set in one of the driest parts of the Karoo.

The village is situated along the main railway line from the diamond fields of Kimberley to Cape Town and is just off the main highway. It’s a great place to stop for lunch and admire the Victorian architecture.

Matjiesfontein was founded by an entrepreneurial Scot, John Molteno, who created a Victorian health resort, based around the Lord Milner Hotel and the Karoo’s clean air. Again, a night at the quirky Lord Milner and a few beers at its pub is recommended, if you have the time.

Unfortunately, we had to press on with Cape Town in our sites. We left the Karoo behind us, crossing the Cape fold mountains via the dramatic Hex River Valley. In the space of two hours, we drove through vast open desert, jagged mountains and vineyards.

We eventually arrived in Cape Town glad that we hadn’t flown but had driven savouring South Africa’s landscapes.

The way back

On the way back, a week later, I was solo and went a different way. I headed back via the N12 and Kimberley, rather than the N1 and Bloemfontein.

This time round I could enjoy the peace and solitude of driving alone through the desert. The quieter N12 allowed me to relax and enjoy the view, rather than having to worry about constantly overtaking trucks.

I spent the night camping at Mokala National Park, South Africa’s newest park. I camped at Motswedi campsite, which overlooks a waterhole. There are only six sites at the camp which is set amongst camel thorn trees. Each has its own kitchen, shower and loo block, giving each camp some luxury and privacy.

The camp has a true wilderness feel. There is only an ankle high electric fence to keep buffalo out and the other member of the Big Five that call the reserve home.

I arrived at the camp, via flooded sand roads, in the pouring rain. I struggled as I put my new tent up getting soaked and cursing myself for not being more sensible and opting for a chalet at the main camp.

Home for the night at the Motswedi campsite. 

I retreated to the kitchen block to wait out the storm and then hopped in a hot shower thanks to the solar geyser. Eventually the rain stopped and I lit a fire. I sat on a picnic bench listening to the chorus of frogs where I enjoyed an entire borewors for myself, happy I had not chickened out and opted for a chalet.

Despite the rain, the inside of my tent was dry and the only thing to wake me in the night was a hippo munching on the green grass around my tent.

I woke up on the morning of my 29th birthday and drove through the park taking 4x4 roads, eventually heading out the park via the Lilydale Gate.

On my game drive, I saw Oryx, Springbok, Tsessebbe, Red Hartebeest, Eland, Kudu and Zebra, as well as plenty of unusual birds. I left Mokala feeling that it needs more exploring as part of another adventure. Perhaps some fly-fishing in the Riet River?

After leaving I headed north to Kimberley and then on to Joburg through driving rain, along flooded back roads of various quality and through endless fields of tall green mielie and forgotten farming towns.

Road trip reading list:

• Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux
• Leaving Before the Rains Come by Alexandra Fuller