That railway bridge you saw on the N7 is the Saldaha /Sishen Railway line and where the train passes over. I was twice lucky to see it there, and then of course quite a few times at Elandsbay. The train is over 3km long. I drove so many times past that cultural centre and never ever saw anybody there. Pity about the school that burnt, I have read quite a few books by Gert Sarrisam , he grew up in those parts and the school and Garies featured in a few of his books. I dont know if you saw the roadsign on the N7 called "Douse The Glim"...I always wanted to know what it meant but when I got home I have forgotten about it. Last year I googled it.. ""A Scottish regiment was encamped here in 1902 during the Anglo-Boer War. To keep their location a secret, at dusk the sergeants would tell the troops to 'douse the glim', or extinguish their lights."" Thought it was very interesting.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

We would've loved to see a train, especially a long one like that, go over the bridge. That must be so amazing to see. I don't recall the sign now, but that is very interesting info about the Scottish regiment. It's such an arid area of the country and yet we found it so incredibly intriguing. Thanks for visiting Garies with us. 👌🏻

@desh7120

Жыл бұрын

I so enjoyed reading your comments, Deon.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My husband grew up in Garies and it was such a treat to visit familiar sites again through your video. With regards to Letterklip, some more interesting info that will make you happy you made the effort to visit it. Letterklip was also occupied from 1901 to 1902 by British forces during the Anglo Boer War. Various regimental badges and officers' names are engraved in the rockface there, hope you managed to see it. Safe driving.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, we're happy to hear that our video could bring back some memories of places well known in the past. It was our first time in Garies and it was fun exploring the town. Another viewer also mentioned the ABW connection to Letterklip and I find that fascinating! We were not aware of it at the time of our visit though, so I'm not sure whether I actually saw those names you're referring to, but it's possible and probably very likely. I sure I hope some of the names I saw were from that time in history. We appreciate the info so much! 😁🚗

Great travelog. My dad was born and grew up here in the 1920's. His father owned an hotel and a general store. The hotel is now Sophia's Guest House. I traveled there with my dad and brother in 2010 and he showed us around where he used to live and play and told us about the people and the characters from that Era. Fascinating. My dad is 98 years old and lives with us in Toronto Canada. Thanks for the memories.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Greetings to you in Canada! Thank you for watching and for sharing all those wonderful memories of your dad's hometown with us. I'm sure you saw Sophia's Guest House on our video as we passed it by. 🤩🚗 Please give our very best regards to your dad. 😊

Hello, watching your visit to Garies brought back fond memories, my dad's hometown. Visited the town in 2014, also stayed at the Garies guest house, while visiting the Namaqualand National Park during the flower season. Regards Andre Cloete

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Greetings! I'm glad you were reminded of good and special times by our video of Garies. We had a great time in town and marvelled at the rugged beauty of the Namaqualand region. Thank you for watching! 😁🚗

Oms was verlede jaar in Garies oppad Richtersveld toe... lekker wors gekoop by die slaghuis...die karavaanpark is maar vervalle..ons volg julle trip en geniet 👍👍

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

I thought you must've been there on one of your recent trips. 🚙😁 It was actually quite sad to see the caravan park totally defunct, it must've been quite a nice facility in its heyday and a great stop for many travellers on the N7. Happy to have you on the road with us again! 🚗👌🏻

i have never been to Garies. WE went up in that direction to turn off for Verneukpan. Real cowboy vibes there, Ye Olde Western! I expect Clint Eastwood to turn up any moment. Love the Memorabilia place, daar sal ek gerus kuier! So sad about the burnt down school, our school was very damaged by fire when I was in Std 2. Very shocking. Letterklip is truly amazing. What a spiritual vibe! I am sure it has meaning for the Nama Koi. Our own Stonehenge! Now that could be a tourist attraction. But how can people go scribble on it? That is so disrespectful! Gekke en dwase skrywe hul name op deure en glase! Awesome place to stay

@desh7120

Жыл бұрын

I also picked up on the Western vibes that you describe so vividly, Anna. And second your other observations.

@annawitter5161

Жыл бұрын

​@@desh7120 hey, thanks

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

@Anna Witter We actually only realised during this trip exactly how arid this region is, so between that and the music I chose for this one, I completely get that you got cowboy vibes! 🤠 It's such an interesting part of the country though and really great to explore. Letterklip remains an absolute highlight for us, it was amazing! Thank you for joining us in Garies! 🚗😁

An evil enemy will burn his own nation to the ground.... to rule over the ashes. Sun Tzu

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

It was so sad to see large sections of the school burnt down. 😥

@normandubowitz1965

Жыл бұрын

Putin!

@modsa8901

Жыл бұрын

@@normandubowitz1965 Putin bad brought to you by the same criminal liars that brought you the COOF hoax and WMD and 9/11 and ... on & on. Wakey wakey

@vasti018

Жыл бұрын

@@normandubowitz1965 🤣

Sort of reminds one of that movie "Picnic at hanging Rock"

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

We're not familiar, but will add to our holiday movie list just to check out the rocks. 😁🎬

This was so interesting! I felt very lucky to be able to enjoy it without the intense heat, though (41degrees C - sjoe!)

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Wowzer, the heat was wild! Sonia had quite a tough time. 🥵 Because I film out of the window for the most part, the A/C serves no real purpose and the cabin never really cooled down, so the heat was an all-day thing. It was all worth it though, we found this area super interesting and completely different from what we've experienced before. 🚗😁

Great video Curtis and Sonia. The house when you passed Sout River is called "a Korbeel-huis", built of stone (no wood available) eldest form of houses built in the hinterland, 1730 +.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the info and we're happy to hear you enjoyed visiting Garies with the two of us! 😁 We saw several corbelled houses in the Karoo and I was even inside one outside Williston. It was quite a cool experience. Check out Episodes 93, 157 and 158! 👌🏻🚗

Curtis and Sonja, thank you for another wonderful video of the very special places you visit. For us living abroad in Perth your videos are just a lovely way of appreciating beautiful South Africa. We love your joyful sharing of your deep appreciation of experiences. Keep it up. Garies was wonderful! What a beautiful part of the world.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Greetings to you in Perth! 🙋🏼‍♂️🙋🏻‍♀️ Thank you so much for your very kind comment. It's great that you're accompanying us on our travels as we explore all these fantastic places. We love each one's uniqueness and find them all so incredibly captivating. We loved our visit to the Namaqualand region and its stark beauty and complete barrenness really spoke to us like few places have before. We look forward to taking you to more interesting places in the next few weeks! 😁🚗

We have a family farm next to the Spoegriver between Garies and Honderklipbaai so it's nice to see Garies on KZread. If you ever visit Kotzesrus, pop in at Nuwefontein Gastehuis. Kobus and Maritha Kotze will make your stay worth while.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching our video of Garies! We'll certainly make a note of Kotzesrus for a future trip back to the area. We found the Namaqualand folks extremely hospitable during this trip, so have no trouble believing that it would be a great experience. 😁🚗

Letterklip, the way the stones are arranged. Reminds me of Great Zimbabwe.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

I just looked up Great Zimbabwe. How fascinating! Letterklip was a great experience for us and we're so glad we went. ⛰️ We appreciate you joining us on our travels! 😁🚗

@munesumangava9751

Жыл бұрын

I said so too…. Bantu entanglements might be accountable for that!!

SUPER Curtis and Sonja thank you for another gem in your travels bringing everything to life. WONDERFUL.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much, glad you enjoyed this episode of our trip to Namaqualand. The beauty is harsh and stark, but still incredible to experience. 🇿🇦🚗

Curtis, you disappointed me by not having a braai. 😄I regularly braai here in Perth. No BBQ.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

😁 Let me tell you, travelling is hard work! I am just too bushed in the evenings to braai. Add the heat on this particular day and it was a complete non-starter. 🥵🚗

@SirLesMeyer

Жыл бұрын

@@DustBugsTravel Point taken. And let me say that I do appreciate the hard yards that you put into the travel. I know you enjoy it, but I can appreciate the 41 deg heat. It is excruciating at times. I know al about 40 deg heat. Last summer we had 6 days in a row over 40 deg. I wish you and Sonia only the very best for all the future travels. 😃

Great video, I'm from England but passed through Garies in 2001. I remember staying in that campsite and running on that rugby field - seemed like it had been deserted for a long time even then! A trip down memory lane, thank you.

Went through Garries in 2016 on my way to the Groen River mouth on a sink plaat road 😳. Unfortunately the mouth was closed with sand but it was an enjoyable experience. There is also a camping site right on the sea. I liked the solitude, nice place to retire 😊

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

That sounds like a cool trip. 😎 Corrugated gravel roads in this part of the world are par for the course as we also discovered! 😁🚗

Garies! Camped in the GOOD days at that caravan park and then hunt on the Groenrivier farms next to the Atlantic Ocean..... best meat ever! Also that rugby veld had some good stories attached to it....Students from SWA those years hitch hiking back to WIndhoek from Stellenbos would play a rugby match there waiting for a pickup on the high way just next to it! Sort of having a man short in the team. Then Letterklip was maybe used as a mailbox - but it served a serious watchpost in the ABO.... either the British or Boers camped there... cannot recall which.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Serious memories that you have of the area, thanks for sharing! 🚗😊 Interesting to note that Letterklip was used as a watch post in the ABW, I had no idea. We appreciate you watching our video.

Wow Letterklip…..awesome!!!! Trees growing on the rockface!!And the stone walls👍 Like the Zimbabwe ruins!

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

I believe so! I only learnt about the Zimbabawe ruins at school, but have never visited them in person. Letterklip was a fantastic end to this day, the first day of our trip. ⛰️🚗

A lot cleaner than the cities.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

It was a great little town to visit! 👍🏻🚗

Hi guys has warmed up a bit here only-1today your video warmed me up lovely little town sad about camp site and the school burning down but at the authorities acted quickly putting up prefab classrooms letter klip was very atmospheric could imagine the old guys sitting around the camp fire smoking their pipes as per usual lovely accommodation the hotel was great with all the old furniture etc could see myself going in there ordering a ice cold beer 🍺 thanks for the video cheerio till the next one

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Hello again! The Garies Hotel is most definitely a place for some cold ones, no doubt about that! 😁🍻 What a contrast your weather is to what we experienced that day! It was a real scorcher! 🥵 Letterklip was a highlight for us, those rocks are absolutely huge and the story about what reportedly happened there a long time ago, very intriguing. You can look forward to visiting more warm places with us next time, we'll see you then! 🚗

Apparently you can find some very good non franchise meatpies ìn Garies. Pitty you missed that one!

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Lucky for us we found some stunning toasted sandwiches! Our fave! 😁🥪

Letterklip is beautiful. Wow

Your wife must drink enough fluid in that heat. You too. Had a feeling you would do Klawer this video, but I see you already did that and Vanrhynsdorp previously. Will look back at those two videos one day soon. Interesting rock formation. Definitely worth a visit one day. That railway is the Sishen Saldanha line I think. One seems to cross it often in that neighbourhood. If a train came past, it would take a few minutes to go by.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Yup, the empty two-litres were piling up in the back, but that didn't even help her that day. I think she had borderline heat exhaustion, with chills, goosebumps and all. 🥵 Only the A/C in the room that evening made her feel better. We visited Klawer and Vanrhynsdorp in May, so the heat was no issue back then. I hope you enjoy those two too. I think you're correct with the Sishen / Saldanha line, I believe the train is like 3 or 4km long with hundreds of cars. I so wish we could've seen that! 🚆🚗

Hotel was amazing loved the lead glass door panels inside, watched my daughter making some of thise very beautiful. That restaurant was lovely. That old post office was a fanatastic part of history, lovely. The heat must have been pretty awful. Once again thank you for this episode.!!!

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

I also loved the stained glass windows of the hotel, especially that they're original! Letterklip was such a fitting way to end that day. We were happy to he inside with the A/C that evening though, it was a super hot day! 🥵🚗

Vanrhynsdorp-Garies bridge built by Thomas Bain in 1883. Lettersklip unique rock formation was fortified by dry stone walling; it was occupied from 1901 to 1902 by British forces during the Anglo-Boer War. Various regimental badges and officers' names are engraved in the rockface.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info. 👍

Thanks for Garies. Was there many years ago. Sad about the school.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Super sad about the school, especially the original stonework building. 😥 I can't help but think Garies must look much different today than how you remember it from your last visit. Thanks for tagging along! 😁🚗

Neat hotel👍

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Loads of character! I believe it's for sale if you're interested! 😉🏨

it looks almost if someone purposely put those rocks there

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

True, we had that exact same thought as we were driving up to them! ⛰️🚗

Might be out of step with your travels, but now you are in my old haunt Garies. Used to visit a farm down the road after Garies on the way to Kamieskroon. Town looks much larger than I remember it in the 70s. It certainly did not have a tar road. I do beieive that the hotel is where the Jowells mail bus used to stop. Enjoy your trek through the country. Thank You.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

You're definitely not out-of-step, we remember our visit to Garies as if it were yesterday! 😁 We were actually expecting a town bigger than the one we found, so it's really interesting that you say it's much bigger than you remember. It must've been very small in the 70's! Interesting info about the mail bus, we haven't heard that before! 👌 We so appreciate you travelling with us! 🤩🚗

Love the guitarists music .Makes one very nostalgic. Your videos are delightful constructs so fresh naively lovely.Please keep them coming .

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, I'm always happy to hear you enjoy our content, including the tunes. 😊 There is no room for skepticism and cynicism in our vehicle when we travel. We become like two kids again who are in awe of everything and anything we see and experience. That will never change. 🤩🚗

Lodgings look great. Everything you need in there!!! That guesthouse is pretty!

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

We really had a restful night and the air-con was just the right medicine after that incredibly hot day! 🥵🚗

Greetings from Johannesburg. I just came across your videos and I am really enjoying them. Keep up the great work. We are traveling with you visually.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Hello to you in Johannesburg and welcome to our channel! We're excited to have you along for the ride and look forward to taking you to many more places with us! 🚗🇿🇦

About reviving the camp site, the Municipality could clear and tidy it up and for a small fee let passersby camp overnight or make a stopover site🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Agreed, but I think the cost to restore that facility now, may not be recovered by camping fees. And sadly there's always the possibility that it will be vandalised again. I heard it may be made available to private persons to renovate and manage, but they again fear that the local authorities will take it back again once they've invested a lot of money. I'm not sure what the solution is here. 🤷🏼‍♂️🏕️

A bridge ontop of a bridge😍

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

And we just love bridges, so the more the merrier! 😁🚗

Northern Cape is hot! I was dealing with heat of 40 degrees + when I basically live in a fridge, so yeah the transition was something else. Turned me into a Nocturnal creature!!!!Daytime is not to be played with😂🤣🤣

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

I don't blame you, it's so much cooler and bearable after dark! 😊 We're not used to that kind of heat since we live on the coast, so it was really tough! The townsfolk must've developed some kind of immunity to the heat because quite a few of them were out-and-about and it didn't look like the heat was bothering them! 🤷🏼‍♂️🥵

Hello, this is amazing to see Garies my very first time seeing this town now...gorgeous, the heat that side must have unbearable. thank you for this experience 🙂 i will put this town on my wishlist for sure.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Hi there! It was super hot that day, wow! 🥵 It's great that your first visit to Garies was with us! Definitely worth a second visit sometime, maybe when it's a little cooler. 😆🚗

Wonderful 👍👍👍

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! 😁🚗

@stefanopaione3502

Жыл бұрын

🤗🤗🤗

I was born in Garies's hospital/ clinic in 1955...yet I don't know anyone there.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

You should visit your birthtown again someday, you'll love it. The people are so friendly, you'll very quickly get to know a few people. 😁🚗

Have you been to Eureka Dustbugs Travel? It's another Afrikaner autonomous community like Orania and Kleinfontein.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

We haven't been to Eureka or Kleinfontein yet, no. I've never even heard of these two places before. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I see Eureka is close to Garies and we were there just a few weeks ago as we were travelling through the Namaqualand region. We chatted to quite a few locals while in town and no-one mentioned Eureka, so we had no idea. We're still working our way across the country visiting all the small towns and haven't reached Gauteng yet. I note Kleinfontein is near Pretoria.

@elizabethnovak4088

Жыл бұрын

😕

Hi there while you are around northern Cape can you please cover Kleinzee also please 🙏🙏🙏

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

This trip was a few weeks ago and we're back home already. You'll have to keep watching to see which places we all got to visit. 😁🚗

Thanks so much guys. Would love to see you guys chat with the locals!

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Oh, we chat to the locals all the time wherever we go. The vast majority of them don't want to appear on camera though, so we have to respect that. Thank you for watching. 🚗😁

@TheCubicleReview2

Жыл бұрын

@@DustBugsTravel I assumed so, I know I wouldn't even ask someone to film them, I am too shy, let alone do it :-D!!! Thank you so much for this channel, it give me and my partner a chance to see the South Africa we wouldn't get the chance to see. Looking forward to seeing more vids, safe travels!

Do you have a cooler box for important things, like beer and Biltong in the car?

@DustBugsTravel

6 ай бұрын

We do indeed! 👍 The biltong never makes it in there though! 😁

Love your travels, but why dont we ever see Sonia

@DustBugsTravel

4 ай бұрын

Sonia is just not keen on being filmed, so I'll respect that until she hopefully changes her mind one day. 🥰

Hallo. Ek wil graag weet waar is die wit kerk wat in die begin van die video s is. Outjo in Namibie se NG kerk lyk presies net so..

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

Hello to you! If you're referring to the church in the intro of the video, that particular one is in Fauresmith in the southeastern Free State. I hope this answers your question. 🙂⛪

@johannesvanderwesthuizen9962

Жыл бұрын

@@DustBugsTravel Baie dankie vir die terug antwoord. Dit is daardie kerk ja. Ons geniet julle videos baie.

Thank you for the awesome videos. Show a photo of your wife please.

@DustBugsTravel

Жыл бұрын

You're very welcome, we're so glad you enjoy them! 👌🏻 My darling wife refuses to be photographed or filmed for our videos. I'm nagging quite a bit, so let's hope by next year this time she would've relented. Until then, her laughter and voice will have to suffice. 😍🚗

they look like desert towns?

@DustBugsTravel

3 ай бұрын

Garies is indeed located in an arid area. 🚙🏜️

are all these ghost towns ?

@DustBugsTravel

3 ай бұрын

No, they're not. 🤷🏻‍♂️

where are the people who live in these towns ??

@DustBugsTravel

3 ай бұрын

Doing what they do in 40+C weather. We don't travel to see or film people. 🤷🏻‍♂️

You guys totally cut out the coloured neighborhood. What a shame. It's sad. 😢

@DustBugsTravel

Ай бұрын

We didn't cut anything out. In case you haven't noticed, I film out of the vehicle window and I will only film where I feel my camera is not at risk. You're welcome to visit the area yourself! 😀

TAALMONUMENT OF GARIES. B/DORP