When you hike up the mountain, there is the
Orange River. Kayaks are left on the river banks because the local farm workers
spend their evenings fishing as the heat is bearable.
Across the river you find the vineyards. This
is the beauty that you seldom hear about in South Africa. No pictures or words
written can describe to you the beauty of a semi-desert surrounded by mountains
and a stone throw away there is a lush green vineyard.
I have been staying at the Damas Guesthouse
and Camping which belongs to the Damara family.
Now if there is a place with history, this is
it.
Damas is built on the land that the owner and
manager, Elisa Namases of the Riemvasmaak clan was born and raised. The Damara
family was forcefully removed from Riemvasmaak in 1974 and relocated to what
was then known as South West Africa. Now known as Namibia and my next
destination.
Riemvasmaak was earmarked as a military
retaining camp. The Xhosa speaking people were moved to the Eastern Cape.
Elisa’s family returned to South Africa from
Namibia in 1995 and received their ancestral land as restitution.
Elisa has built the Damas Guesthouse on the
rock where her grandfathers’ house once stood many years ago. Damas has been
built to take advantage of the growing tourism in Riemvasmaak.
While growing up, Elisa grew up playing under
a particular tree and as the years went by the tree roots have become the stem.
Today this symbolic work of nature stands
overlooking the lodge and camp site.
Damas is a self-catering lodge built and
designed how you remember your grandmothers’ house used to be. A fully equipped
kitchen with a gas stove enamel plates and cups. The lodge décor and
furnishings are made up of mostly the local resources such as rocks and logs.
There is no electricity but if you hate your
peace and quiet you have the use of a generator available on request. The water
used at the lodge is from the borehole but absolutely nothing can beat the open
air showers. You get to take a shower while star gazing – my kind of
multitasking.
The evenings around Riemvasmaak are very warm
and the stars complete the beauty of the evening, pack your sleeping bag as you
might just want to ditch your room to sleep under the magnificent sky.
Due to where the lodge is and lack of
infrastructure, you can only reach the lodge by 4X4. Shuld you not have a 4x4,
with prior arrangement, Elisa can pick you up and organise safe parking for
your car.
Some of the activities available close by include:
- Hiking
- Fishing (with the locals)
- River Swimming (with the locals)
- Star Gazing
- Natural Hot Springs (15km away from the lodge)
For bookings, call +2778 215 1634 or email damas.dgc@gmail.com.
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