We love desert landscapes and, after reading about the Richtersveld National Park in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, the only mountainous desert in South Africa, we searched the web for tour operators and came up with Conrad Mouton of Aukwatowa Tours. He met us at Scotia Hotel in Port Nolloth and we had three wonderful days in the park.
The main centre at Sendelingsdrif beside the Orange River is a beautiful spot and has a magnificent collection of succulents, curated in partnership with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) which studies these fascinating plants. Amazingly, they are under threat from poaching as there is a huge demand by unlicensed collectors.
The accommodation there is comfortable and excellent catering is provided by Conrad and his partner, but you can only buy snacks, cool drinks and ice cream at the centre so it is essential to specify any dietary requirements in advance (and to bring your own alcoholic beverages;
After leaving the centre, you enter a very remote area and there is little or no cell or SatNav signal. We could have coped with most of the roads in our Suzuki Jimny 4×4 although the descent of the Akkedis Pass would have been very challenging. We hardly saw any other vehicles and if we had a breakdown (or two punctures) we might have been stranded for hours or even days. Conrad’s big 4×4 Toyota HiLux was an ideal vehicle for the terrain. The iconic Quiver Trees are of course easy to spot, but the real advantage of travelling with Conrad was his intimate knowledge of the exquisite tiny succulents, the geology, the animal and bird life and the history and traditions of the Bushmen who once lived in southern Africa. At night, there was no wind, absolute silence and no light pollution to spoil our stargazing.
If you visit this wonderful National Park with a guide, you will see far more than if you travel alone and we doubt you will find one who is better equipped or more knowledgeable than Conrad Mouton.
David ad Susan Hall (dates visited – October 20-23 2025)