South Africa’s longest river has its source in the Maluti Mountains and flows into the ocean near Oranjemund. What could be more thrilling than following the Orange River’s course? By Ernie Blom

“A river of legend.” That was the title of the piece on the Orange River that sparked the idea of our overlanding trip. At the beginning of 2023 I read this article about the river also known as the Gariep and I was immediately intrigued. The article described its course from the source in Lesotho to its mouth on the border with Namibia. I could see the potential for an overlanding adventure. After discussing it with my wife, Elna, and our regular travel companions, Paul and Maryna Eloff, we decided to do this trip.

Following research and perusal of the Tracks4Africa maps, we decided to add another leg to the trip. We would start the journey in Scottburgh, thereby also travelling from South Africa’s east coast to the west coast.

After much planning and settling on a combination of camping and chalets, we set off on our Orange River adventure on 12 September 2024.

Day 1: Johannesburg to Scottburgh

Our first day was all about getting to the departure point for our coast-to-coast trip. In

Scottburgh we stayed at the Cutty Sark Hotel, which has been completely renovated. 

Here I filled a bottle from the Indian Ocean to eventually pour the water into the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 2: Scottburgh to Mokhotlong

An early start saw us leave Scottburgh, direction: Sani Pass. We drove via Ixopo and Himeville where we filled up with diesel. After breezing through the South African border post, we tackled Sani Pass, which we found an easy drive. Luck was on our side: three days later, heavy snowfalls blanketed the whole area. As we all know, many vehicles got stuck on Van Reenen’s Pass and in Lesotho.

After another seamless entry into Lesotho, we stopped for lunch at Sani Mountain Lodge at the top of the pass. From here we continued to Mokhotlong for our first night in Lesotho, at El Paso Guest House. 

Day 3: Mokhotlong to source (return)

The next morning, we were up early again. Our goal was to drive to the source of the Orange River, which in Lesotho is known as the Senqu River. To reach the source of the Senqu, we had to drive from Mokhotlong past Thanyuka village: a distance of 84km. That might not sound far, but driving to the source and back took us nearly six hours. This stretch of road made Sani Pass look like a highway. The state of the track made for extremely slow going.

Day 4: Mokhotlong to Semonkong

Rather than following the river straight towards the South African border, we deviated from the route to go to Semonkong. We wanted to see the Maletsunyane Falls, reputedly the highest falls in Africa. (My son-in-law would eventually correct me on this.) We stayed at the well-known Semonkong Lodge, which offers various activities at the falls.

Tracks4Africa says: Maletsunyane Falls is in the Guiness book of Records as the longest single-drop commercial abseil in the world.

Day 5: Semonkong to Lady Grey

After a detour to see the falls, we left Lesotho via Telle Bridge Border Post and travelled to Lady Grey. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived at the Blue Pepper Guest House, which also has a lovely restaurant attached to it. That night the weather turned: it poured with rain and there were heavy winds. It was part of the unseasonably bad weather that hit the country in mid-September 2024.

Day 6: Lady Grey to Vanderkloof Dam

We left a cold and rainy Lady Grey, after stocking up with provisions, to head to Maletswai (Aliwal North) and onwards to the Vanderkloof Dam. It was our intention to visit Tussen die Riviere Nature Reserve to see the confluence of the Orange and Caledon rivers. Unfortunately, because of bad weather, the reserve was closed. However, we stopped at the massive Gariep Dam before continuing to Vanderkloof Dam, where we spent the night at Oppidam. 

Day 7: Vanderkloof Dam to Riemvasmaak

The first order of business for the day was to see the dam wall, which was most impressive. From there we followed the Orange River onwards to Douglas, Hopetown and Kakamas. 

It had always been our ambition to visit Riemvasmaak as we have been to Augrabies Falls and the Richtersveld – and loved both. Now the trip offered us the ideal opportunity to visit this oasis in the desert.

Riemvasmaak was an absolute delight and a visit is highly recommended. The natural beauty, campsites and freshwater springs made our stay one that we will always remember.

Day 8: Riemvasmaak

We spent the day exploring the area, swimming in the springs – both hot and cool pools – and relaxing from the continuous driving. There is no question about it: we will return to this arid corner of the country. Riemvasmaak, Augrabies and the Richtersveld are special indeed.

Day 9: Riemvasmaak to Vioolsdrift

Although it is possible to drive along the Orange River on the Namakwa 4×4 Eco Trail, we didn’t have time to spare. So we returned to Kakamas and travelled to Vioolsdrift via Springbok. Some 20km from Vioolsdrift, we camped at The Growcery, which is on the Orange River and has great camping facilities. The name is a nod to the camp’s gardens where they grow herbs, vegetables and indigenous trees.

Day 10: Vioolsdrift to Oranjemund

Early that morning we left South Africa to cross the Orange River into Namibia. Both border posts – Vioolsdrift Border Post in SA and Noordoewer Border Post in Namibia – were a breeze.

From the border we followed the river through the Richtersveld to Oranjemund. It was a lovely drive on good gravel roads and we enjoyed looking out over the river and seeing both sides of the Richtersveld.

Just before we entered the town of Oranjemund, we turned south and drove to the mouth of the Orange. Standing on the shore where the river joins the ocean, I poured out the bottle of Indian Ocean water. Journey completed.

 

We overnighted at Oryx Guesthouse and were treated to a lovely braai by the management.

Days 11–13: Oranjemund to Johannesburg

Our coast-to-coast expedition completed, we started the long trek home. We crossed the border at Alexander Bay, making our way to Kakamas via Port Nolloth and Springbok. We spent the night at Peaceful Garden. Day 12 saw us driving from Kakamas to Vryburg, where we stayed at a lovely place called Game View Lodge. On our last day we travelled home to Johannesburg.

This trip was definitely one for the bucket list. We started our journey on South Africa’s tropical east coast and ended it on the windswept shoreline of Namibia. Except for the rain we had in the early stage of the trip (at Lady Grey), we had blue skies but strong, chilly winds throughout. We traversed mountains, meandered along valleys and travelled into dramatic gorges. We saw the different faces of the Orange River, from a mountain stream in Lesotho to a vast dam in the Free State to a broad ribbon in the desert. It is indeed a river of legend.

Summary

Total distance travelled: 5,037km
Fuel used: 438 litres of diesel
Cheapest diesel: Prieska @ R20.60 per litre
Most expensive diesel: JHB @ R22.90 per litre