SANParks.org Forums

We are planning a trip to the Richtersveld Park in September 2008. This may seem like a silly question but I have seen nothing in the forums concerning the use of off road caravans in the park. Nowhere on the sanparks website does it say that they are not allowed either. I have a Jurgens Oryx which is the smallest in the range and I tow with a Hilux 4x4. Is this type of trailer allowed in the park? If Kombis and ldvs are allowed in then I would think a combination like this would be ok. My planned route is De Hoop, then Richtersberg, then Kokerboomkloof and out. The article in the latest Go! has really whet my appetite to visit this area and I think September will be a great time to go. The April 2007 Getaway also has a good article on this park.

Hallo Dave,
The Oryx and combination of towing vehicle should not pose any problems. Best is to contact the park at Sendelingsdrift to get the latest on the status of roads.

De Hoop to Richtersberg direct is a 8km 4x4 route and I would recommend that you rather take a detour when you tow a trailer/caravan.This road has patches of very fine sand and dust as well as narrow sections with sharp rocks, without any escape route.

There are two other routes to take. One of them may be closed from time to time as a result of flood damage. It does not rain that much, but from time to time they do have flash floods and as most of the roads follow dry riverbeds it does mean that the road is then washed away.

I have seen off-road trailers at all the mentioned camp sites.

We camped at De Hoop in September 06 in a tent. We went into the park with a Hilux 4x4, and would not recommend a 2x4 do to possible damage to the environment.
We got to the gate at 17h00 and was advised to sleep at Potjiespram for the night and make a early start the next morning. Big was the surprise to find a Jurgens Explorer under the tree at De Hoop. The owner told me they left early in the morning from the gate and took it very slowly over Akkedis pass in 4X4 low range and had no damage to the van or Land Cruiser. My advise is yes you will make it if you look out for sharp rocks and drive slowly, let down the tyres. I lowered mine to 1.5 bar and had no problem. Just remember there is NO WATER or FUEL in the park, only at the gate. We travelled 20 km in about 6 hours. So leave early and drive slowly

I've been to the park a twoo weeks ago. Because of the heavy rains in the week before i wouldn't recommend a trailer because we had to go from Potjesprom to De Hoop via the Hellskloof pass. The direct road via "The hand of god" was closed.
I would suggest that you call Sendlingsdrift and ask their suggestions a few days before.
We had bookings etc. and needed the permission from the field ranger to get to De Hoop because of the heavy corrugations.

Good morning to all,

I am planning a trip in October to the Richtersveld, staying 1 night in Sendelingsdrif, 2 nights at De Hoop and 3 nights at Richtersberg. I am towing a Conqueror trailer with 1 deep cycle battery that will last for only about two and a half days. So I need to provide for additional power facilities. One option is the use of a generator. I know this is a very sensitive issue, but nowadays you get super-silent generators that need a pilot light to tell it's running. What is the official SANPARKS policy w.r.t. use of generators in its parks in general, and in the Rictersveld in particular?

When I booked my campsites months ago, I asked and sanparks distinctly said no generators in the park. I have absolutely no problem with this and left my generator at home.
This rule is written in the info brochure of the park and it was also one of the donts I was informed about at reception.
Sorry, but I dont agree, there is no such thing as a super silent generator outdoors next to or near campers who drive a long way and spend a lot of money to find peace and quiet. Even though the noise of the river might be louder than a super silent generator a manmade noise is unacceptable and because you cant choose your neighbors, I bet anything that a confrontation is imminent.
I suggest that you accept the rule, like the fact that there is no tv/cellphone reception and go to Richtersveld with the view of enjoying the park as it is which include complying with the conditions of the host.

I find that the driving between different camp sites will charge the batteries again to allow for the fridge to keep things cool, even keep the meat frozen. Try and use gaslamps in the camp at night and save the battery for the fridge.

I have half the deepcell capacity you have and it keeps the Engel fridge OK for 2 days. After a drive, away from the camp it charges the car battery again to max and on return I connect my external battery to the car. No problems yet with batteries running down.

Hi Damdan and Afri-explore,

Thank you for your comments. The only reason why I have raised the question about generators in the Richtersveld is to find out and see (in print) what the official SANPARKS rule/policy is w.r.t. generators. I have raised the issue of a solution for my power needs for the upcoming Richtersveld trip in the SA 4x4 Community forum (http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/sho ... hp?t=38023) where it was and still is being discussed comprehensively (where you also participated Damdan). So, I don't want to question or argue the pros and cons of generators here again - I simply want to see what and where the official SANPARKS generator policy is stated. I have searched this SANPARKS Web site twice but could find nothing about it. I was hoping that one of the administrators of this Web site will comment and answer the question.

Hi Carl S,
I have done a search on the home page and found several references to generators Try here and a very warm welcome to the forums

Thanks, Dotty !
I also found this link, Carl :

Aah, there you are Dotty (as the moderator). Thanks for the welcome and the swift reply. I have found what I was looking for - nr 16 on your list which is the same as the reference that Matthys has sent me. Thanks to the two of you I now know more.

You are so welcome and thank you Carl S

My advice would be to buy a spare battery. You can pick up a decent one for around R1000. Connect it so that while you are driving it will be charging. The other one will be running the fridge in your camp. This way you will not offend anyone at all and it will cost you nothing to have constant power. Another thing that people forget is that you can get longer life out of a battery by not trying to get your freezer down to -20 degrees ! If you are running it as a frezzer then you only need to get it to minus 7 or 8 and it wont run all the time and kill you battery.

What works for my fridge/freezer is a setting of -2 during the day and 5 (or off) during the night.

I am planning to install a second battery in my trailer and complement it with 80w solar panel. BushPower tells me that the panel provides on average more power than what the freezer is using, meaning that the batteries should not run flat. However, this will be a new exercise for me and I will experiment with a number a things to make the available power last for at least 6 days, including carefully setting and varying the freezer temperatures.