Kakamas

October 12, 2025

Today's ride took us along the N14 to Kakamas. It was much quieter today compared to yesterday but the miggies were just as irritating.

We encountered our first Sociable Weaver (Philetairus socius) nests of the trip today. These birds build large, compound, community nests that are used as habitation as well as for breeding. The nests shield them from the heat of the midday sun as well as the sub zero winter overnight temperatures of the Kalahari.

Sociable Weavers themselves are rather nondescript birds.

Camels ! Google say : "Camels were historically used by mounted police for patrols in the Kalahari but are now used for tourism and farming in the region. They were imported in the late 1800s and early 1900s from Sudan to patrol the desert borders before being replaced by vehicles. Today, they are a part of the local tourism industry, offering rides, and are also farmed for their milk on farms like Koppieskraal Guest Farm."

The last section of today's ride took us away from the river and over range of hills before descending to Kakamas.

Just before Kakamas we made an obligatory stop at the Pienk Padstal. We first stopped here many years ago to buy dried dates that are farmed in the area. Afterwards stocked up on groceries at the excellent Spar and then backtracked a few kilometers to Die Mas van Kakamas where we are camping tonight.

The walls of the farmstall are made of large chunks of pink quartzite.

The campground at Die Mas perches above the Garieb and is wonderfully shaded by large trees. As with last night, there is only one other couple camping here and we had a quiet and relaxing afternoon.

Once again the birds gave me a lot of enjoyment, in particular a pair of Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters (Merops hirundineus) that were using the trees above our campsite to hawk for insects.

No thunderstorm or wind this evening. Just a peaceful river.

Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 119 km (74 miles)

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