S1 - Ep 138 - Olifants River Settlement near Koekenaap!

As we came off the gravel road from Nuwerus, I spotted another small station called Landplaas which we had to go and see. From there we went to Koekenaap, a really small village which I have heard so much about. It's really a very small place! Then it was time for another gravel road through the Olifants River Settlement which is near Koekenaap. The big surprise on this road was the Sere Wind Farm and this was the highlight for Sonia. I could at long last show her the size of the blades on these amazing turbines. Then we took off to Elephant Rock Island, also known as Robeiland, and we basically followed the snaking Olifants River to reach the island. The wind was blowing so hard that we could hardly hear the seals on this rock island but I managed to get some footage to share. #DustBugs #adventuretravel #southafrica #southafricavlog #olifantsriver #koekenaap #elephantisland #landplaas #serewindfarm
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[@flodillon991]

That was fantastic I can't believe what I saw those wind turbine blades look long from afar but unbelievable up close, amazing also lived that seal island.Thank you for the journey.

[@DustBugsTravel]

That turbine blade blew our minds. I knew they were long, but not that long!! 😳 I loved the walk to the beach close to the island. It was super windy, but wonderful to see and hear the seals.

[@riagouws3211]

Baie dankie dat ek dit ook nou op my ouderdom kon sien en alles is so netjies❤😊

[@Torridon22]

Thank you so much for a great channel!

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you so much for your generous support of our channel! 😊🚗 It's great to hear you enjoy our videos so much!

[@debbiekruger9414]

I am gobsmacked!!! They look so small. We have so much space to generate good energy. Wow

[@DustBugsTravel]

We're still in awe when we think back to when we approached that blade! It was unbelievable and, although we always knew they were huge, it was still next level seeing it up close. 🌬️🌬️

[@petriburger5359]

They use to hunt seals, those structures at seal island were used to bring in the seals they took out, there were a cable network installed there

[@DustBugsTravel]

That's a terribly sad part of history. 😢🦭

[@SuddenStorm982]

A few years ago me and some friends took a trip up the coast (past those wind turbines) right up to the Groen River mouth, which is in line with Garries. We camped over next to the sea and just enjoyed nature.

[@DustBugsTravel]

That sounds absolutely blissful to us! You must've had an unbelievable time with the sounds of the ocean and nature being all around! 🏕️ That is what life is all about. We didn't quite make it up that far, but Garies and surrounds are definitely on our list for a future trip. Thank you for sharing your route, hopefully we get to the Groen River mouth too, sounds gorgeous.

[@walterfick157]

Last year we drove the same road coming from Brand se baai on our way to the Richtersveld...the corrugations were terrible on the road to Nuwerus.... thanks for the video 👍

[@DustBugsTravel]

ow, so you've visited Brand se Baai! We never even knew the place existed. The Richtersveld remains on our list, but somehow I imagine we'll need a different vehicle for that one! 🚙 The roads were terribly corrugated in this area, but the fantastic landscape and scenery were all worth it. Thank you for watching, much appreciated.

[@walterfick157]

@@DustBugsTravel yes last year April we "boondocked" there on our way from Cape Town to the Richtersveld ... Always wanted to see Brand se Baai and that was the ideal time for this... there you camp where you find a spot...no facilities but we saw an ablution block which was locked...

[@deonzar]

It is only when you see that blade lying on the ground that you appreciate the immense size of it. BrandseBaai is a nice camping site on the Westcoast where the campers and fishermen go the catch crayfish.

[@DustBugsTravel]

We (especially the female one of us 😁) were completely blown away by the size of the blade. I always thought they were huge, but seeing our car dwarfed next to it and being so close to it for the first time, gave it total new perspective. The name Brand se Baai gives me the vibes that plenty of good times are enjoyed there! ⛺🦞🍻

[@61sunset]

Those wind turbines might look impressive however they are responsible for thousands of birds dying who get hit by the blades whilst in flight. Apparently they make a lot noise too when turning.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Very sad about the birds, we did not know that. 😢 Just goes to show again that absolutely everything in life has its ups and downs. We were quite close to them and didn't think they made such a loud noise, but the wind was pumping, so might have drowned out some of the sound.

[@61sunset]

@@DustBugsTravel probably one or two wouldn't be too noisy but apparently when there are quite a few it does. Yes unfortunately there are pros and cons to just about everything.

[@petriburger5359]

Guck hinab is actually an Italian that said guck hinab, meaning: kyk daars n aap, thats how the name came to be, also too long of a story to explain on here, the area passing the wind turbines to gert du toit bay, its actually skaapvlei and thats where our grandparents lived in matjies houses before moving to Lutzville, olifant settelment is where transhex mine is. My grandparents use to live there next to the river. They all worked at that mine

[@DustBugsTravel]

Very interesting info, thank you! 👍🏻 I believe there is a different account of how Koekenaap got its name in the book 'West Coast: A Tourist Guide' by Cornel Truter. According to this book, two German missionaries were on a visit to the area and, upon looking down into the Olifants River Valley, said 'guck hinab', meaning 'look down there'. The local, who served as their guide, accepted this to be the name of the place and the name was later familiarised to Koekenaap. Whichever version is accurate, they're both equally interesting. It's a fascinating area this. 🤩🚗

[@munesumangava9751]

Must have been a steep walk back from seal island yhooooooo

[@debbiekruger9414]

That island is lovely. I would never survive that walk

[@DustBugsTravel]

I was out of breath for quite a while afterwards, but just had to go and check out the seals. Although it was super windy, it was well worth it. I would still love to know how many seals there were! 🦭🦭🦭🦭🦭

[@gregorydavids5304]

Guck Hinab is German, look down along or something similar depending on the context.

[@DustBugsTravel]

That's very interesting, thank you for the info! 👌🏻 We didn't take a picture of the board, but we're almost sure it said it was the name of the town in Khoi. Will have to check when we're in the area next.

[@davidwilliamson2115]

don't forget to feed yourselves

[@francoisvanzyl962]

Sishen railway line to Saldanha.

[@sicko_the_ew]

The shells could well be the result of humans. Think 200 000 years of human activity, and there's time enough to make very big piles of stuff. (There are definitely lots of shell middens all along the coast. If you see a high concentration of shells, it was humans that did that, over time scales that make the Pyramids sound like they're from last week.)

[@DustBugsTravel]

Very interesting! I visited a 3000-year old shell midden in Stilbaai on a previous trip. Fascinating stuff. Check out Episode 20.2! 🐚🚗

[@sicko_the_ew]

@@DustBugsTravel That's older than most things people travelling to Europe to see "old stuff" will ever see. I enjoy the positivity and enthusiasm you guys bring to these videos. (I tend a bit toward negativity and apathy, so it helps set me right a bit. :-) )

[@riagouws3211]

Koekenaap se Eskom is baie intresant ek het dit nog nooit gesien nie maar baie intresant

[@davidjacobsen308]

One can find sea shells on top of table mountain, so the same question as in the video above how did they get up there? I don't know, it's a mystery for me too, lol.

[@DustBugsTravel]

I don't think anyone knows for sure! 🤷🏻‍♂️ My thought is we don't comprehend the enormity of floods that may have happened before we were around and the shells got washed up mountains and stuff. 🌊🐚 I also think there is a good chance that the broken shells we saw in this video came from the dredge hoses of the diamond boats along the coastline. We saw hoses lying around there and that would make sense to my mind. All speculation on my part though. 😁

[@riagouws3211]

In die wereld waar ek gebly het was ook n deel van Oliefantsrivier maar dit het seker n damgewees want die Rivier het nooit in my tyd water gehad nie net so kol kol en die Boere het kraale in die Rivier gehad maar dis in Namibia dankie ver van die Weskus pragtig pragtig 😂😂