Travel makes one modest; you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world - Gustave Flaubert

21 March 2019, Springbok to Steinkopf, 52,4km
Hollywood Guest House R350

Originally called Kookfontein, Steinkopf was established as a missionary by the Rhenish Missionary Society in 1818. Around 95% of the population is coloured*. We were, to our knowledge, the only whites in town. We were accommodated by Letitia Louw in one of three rooms in her backyard; a comfortable room, and pleasantly cool. A friendly mutt named Hitler shared the backyard, sleeping placidly through the afternoon heat, but waking late in the day to say a friendly hello.
Knowing we would be camping and cooking for ourselves once we crossed into Namibia, we thought it best to “test drive” our unused Trangia stove, a beautiful Swedish design that runs on methylated spirits. I cooked pasta into which I tossed a small tin of baked beans and a pasta sauce. Not gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but easy to emulate in the wild using ingredients that won’t melt or rot in the heat.
We departed Springbok more heavily laden than ever before on the bikes, “test driving” our ability to carry enough supplies to camp wild between Namibian towns placed too far apart to reach in a day. It was a beautiful ride; not particularly easy, but by no means too tough to enjoy. The road follows parts of the old “copper trail” along which mules and horses pulled carriages that ran on tracks, transporting copper from the Okiep mines to Port Nolloth on the coast.
Once in Steinkopf, while I shopped for supplies at OK Foods, Charl fell into conversation with a local man. Aged 59, he had been a boilermaker on the mines until he was retrenched a couple of years ago. Now he buys, mends and resells cars for a living. He told Charl he had over R2 million invested in Sanlam and a pension of R1,700 per month. And complained that ten years ago there were no blacks in town, but now they were “taking everything”.
And at Hollywood we met Willem, who had come into contact with Letitia via a radio programme she was on. Willem had left school after Standard 1, lived on the streets of Cape Town for many years doing drugs and “bad things”. But at some point he pulled his life together, and got a job with Midas Paints. One of his bosses persuaded him to save R20 per week out of his weekly wage. Initially he did so to please the man, but soon began to understand the value of money that works for you. Since then he has bought two vehicles, and run his own business. Down on his luck at the moment, and out of work, he has plans to restart his business in the Springbok area. His biggest concern is hi 19 year old son who is showing signs of becoming a gangster.
Two people today asked if we were cycling for charity.
*”Coloured” in the South African context means people of mixed blood. Despite 25 years of the “rainbow nation”, sadly race remains an issue in South African society, politics, the economy. Many “non-white” (a horrible apartheid term) South Africans still reside in “townships” outside what used to be exclusively white towns and cities. A coloured town in its own right is a rarity.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…