S1 - Ep 234 - Alexander Bay - A Mining Town at the Orange River Mouth! 

Thank you for sharing those special memories! 👌🏻 Namibia is most certainly on our list, but only once we've worked our way across South Africa. 🚗🇿🇦

Timeline please, maybe we tackled each other?

@@angryres6632 1953 - 1964

I'm glad you could see birthtown again through our eyes. 🤩 It has always been a very intriguing place to us and it didn't disappoint. 😁 Because of its location, Brandkaros was my preferred choice, but they had no availability for our date. I was rather bummed about that. While in town, the locals seemed to think that our vehicle wouldn't have made it out that way anyway. We had done some pretty rough gravel roads by this stage of our trip and I wasn't going to expose the Kwiddie to more if I've been warned. 😏🚗

@@DustBugsTravel Jip daai pad is baie sleg,daar is borde opgesit wat jou waarsku dat jy 'n 4x4 nodig het daar

Thank you for your kind offer. 😎 We'd love to visit the USA again in the not-too-distant future and can only imagine the sight of the Mississippi River Mouth. We will probably not believe our eyes. 😳🌊 The fishing poles can stay in the garage, Sonia says. 😁

Absolutely fascinating, let me tell you! Mysterious almost too. We chatted to quite a few locals and surprisingly enough, all of them love it there and have even returned to the town after moving away for a period of time. They say the desert and isolation get into your blood somehow. The natural beauty is phenomenal, but I'm not sure I could live there permanently. My reason wouldn't be the desert though, mine would be the distance. I'm happy that you could also see Alexander Bay for the first time. 😁🚗

Thank you for your kind comment. 😊 We're so happy that we could take you back to Alexander Bay, your hometown back in the day. We agree the area is bare and barren, but for us as first-time visitors to this, up to now mysterious town, the area had a mesmerising beauty all its own. I can completely understand how you could spend a very happy childhood there.👌 We can finally say we've been to Alexander Bay and it was a treat from our arrival to our departure. We appreciate you coming along! 🤩🚗

I'm glad you enjoyed our video and that it brought back some good memories of your hometown, which you clearly still love dearly. We agree that the landscape is absolutely beautiful. Different, but beautiful all the same. 😍 Our videos aren't intended to provide the full history and information of a town or place we get to visit, we merely document our travels and our experiences as mostly first-time visitors to a specific area. We travel for enjoyment and find beauty in every single place or town we get to visit and Alexander Bay was no different. We had lost a good few sound clips in which we relayed a little more info which we found along the way as we chatted to locals, but we couldn't remember everything when we got to editing and would rather not provide info which we didn't obtain from a local person. We rely on our recordings to put together our videos when we return home and this time our mic had failed us. 😏 We appreciate you filling in some of the blanks. 🙂🚗 Oh, and we didn't find the town weird at all! Isolated and desert-like, absolutely. But definitely not weird.

Thank you for sharing those memories with us. 👌🏻 We had a very interesting visit to Alexander Bay, a town which has always fascinated us. 🙂🚗

We also found the area enchanting, that's a good word to describe the stark natural beauty here. We're glad you enjoyed the trip to Alexander Bay with us! 😁🚗

Greetings to you in Zimbabwe! 🤩 I'm so happy to hear that you enjoy our videos, it's great to have you tagging along! 😁🚗

Thank you for the info! 👍🏻 We thought strong winds may be the culprit, but were really not sure.

Yep. At the Sea Point Pavillion parking at Broken Bath Beach in Cape Town, all the trees look like that.

We left our Passports at home on purpose. 😁 For us, it's never a matter of just 'popping over'. We're really slow-coach explorers and wouldn't have gotten to our next destinations as we planned to if we dared cross that border. We lived in the US for a number of years and when we returned, we promised ourselves that we will explore our own country first before we do so outside the borders again. We intend to cover as much of South Africa as we can do safely, if that answers your question. 🇿🇦🚗

@@DustBugsTravel Ok I am off on Sunday to my favorite spot on the westcoast...will watch again in 2 weeks time..

Have a fantastic time! 🚙⛺ Travel safe!

We just loved both the big river and the desert. There appears to be nothing in the desert, but sand, but there is still this mystical beauty which we couldn't overlook. We're still blown away that someone offered their house for us to stay in for the evening, otherwise we would've had a slight problem and might've just had to sleep in the car! 😁🚗 I'm sure you'll love the next destination too, you might want to get out your easel so long! 🎨

It was really a kind gesture to provide us with accommodation for the evening, we so appreciated that. The Orange River is indeed extremely impressive, even when the skies are grey like they were on the day of our visit. I'm so glad you noticed the murals on the bus shelters, we thought that was so cool! 😎🚌

Funny how everyone assumes it's a lady. 😁 The person was indeed very kind and we felt right at home from the moment we arrived. It was a special experience. 👌🏻🏡

Hello again! That's very interesting that you got flown in to Alexander Bay from the Cape Province! I understood from other viewers too that the wind was responsible for the trees lying flat like that. It must've been some pretty strong winds because those were big trees! 😳🌳

Interesting! I thought they were meant to act as barriers for the wind, but a viewer explained that wood is used instead of iron because wood doesn't rust. Makes sense. 👍🏻

We don't really visit that many tourist destinations, since with those come a whole lot of people and vehicles and that's exactly what we run away from every few weeks. I'm glad we could provide you with a glimpse into the town which is Alexander Bay. 🙂🚗

It sounds like you visited the town when it was still a closed mining town. The booms have obviously been removed and everything, for the most part, is accessible to the general public. Perhaps when you visit again, you'll have a different experience. 🙂🚗

I'm.glad you came along! We look forward to seeing those gemsbok in Oranjemund one day. 😍🚗

Very sandy probably because the Namib Desert starting on the other side of the mouth. The real Sperrgebiet is just north of here. Those trees were possibly claimed by the wind and desert.

Curtis, you receive so many requests to put a face to Sonia’s refreshing voice. I have an idea. Here is the plan, why don’t you take a photo of her, make a puzzle of the photo and strategically place pieces of the puzzle in future episodes. Placing the last face revealing peace in an episode when Sonia gives you the go ahead. Maybe not a good idea.

That's certainly a novel idea and something I will definitely consider, but only when Sonia gives me the go-ahead. She gave a wry smile when I read your comment to her, so her reaction wasn't an immediate 'no', which is encouraging. She will still not put a timeframe on it though. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Those are certainly grand plans! I take my hat off to those folks who make a living in that harsh environment. I hope you're able to put all your thoughts into action! Keep us posted. 😎

The landscapes of this north west region also reminds me of the Judean Desert. I love it. I imagine the local climate could be perfect for growing olives and saffron. Maybe also dates? I like your project idea.

As for dates I did some quick research and saw that among others the Karsten-group grows dates in this part of the world for the local and international market. At Klein Pella along the Orange River.

@Stanley Robson We did indeed see many date palms in this area! 👌🏻🌴 You may see some more in the next episode!

@@DustBugsTravel That's awesome! Safe travels!

Indeed very sad what happened there. 😥

Thank you for trekking all the way to Alexander Bay with us! 😁🚗 It is indeed a unique place with people who understand the harsh environment.

NASA could send rockets and rovers there.

@Frederik Brits I had always just looked at Alexander Bay on the map, it was high time I got up there! 😁🚗

Thank you for sharing that memory! 👌🏻 There was a time or two on this trip that we were also grateful for sections of tar. The gravel roads were really rough in some areas, and I would imagine especially for us in a sedan. 🚗🇿🇦

Glad you enjoyed. 👌 Your decision entirely. Different strokes for different folks, as they say. It works perfectly for our purposes. 👌🏻📱

Only crime there is the occasional IDB (Illegal Diamond Buying). I left there in 2020,and up to the time I left,I never locked my vehicle or my house if I went somewhere. My vehicle was standing in my driveway or even sometimes in the street in front of my house during the night,with the keys(and sometimes my wallet also) in it

@Ronny Kenny Yes, our observation too. Only those wooden fences for the most part which we believe are there to act as barriers against the fierce winds in the area. 🌀

That's a good thing! I'm so glad you're tagging along to all these fantastic places! 🚗😁

Agreed! What a kind and generous gesture that was! 😊🏡

We're very happy that you managed to come to Alexander Bay with us! 😎 Our host was indeed very gracious and kind to give up their own lodgings so that we could have a comfortable place for the evening. The Orange River Mouth was absolutely gorgeous and we're so grateful that we got to experience it up close. 🤩🌊

Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying our trip through the Namaqualand region! You're much closer than we are and you should really go and explore the province. We still have quite a bit of the province to cover ourselves. The landscapes are truly amazing! If you hit the road soon, travel safe! 😁🚗

Anytime! 👌🏻🚗

Nope, my Mrs wouldn't have been happy with that suggestion! 😳⛺

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed our visit to Alexander Bay. I guess the desolation and the desert landscape would resemble the Australian outback, but I've never been to the outback personally, so can't say for sure. 🤷🏼‍♂️ It was our first visit to Alexander Bay and it was indeed an experience. If you ever get the opportunity to go, do it! You'll be fascinated by what you find. 😁🚗

That is so interesting that you didn't wear shoes! I'm glad we could take you with us back to your birthtown, which is an intriguing place. 🤩🚗

@@DustBugsTravel The reason we did not wear shoes is that your soles became tough from walking on the hot sand. You could actually walk on thorns without feeling a thing.

We thought the natural beauty in this area was stunning. Stark, but stunning all the same. 🙂

Interesting observation. 🙂 We saw many other colours too. 😍🚗

We've never been to Namibia, so look forward to exploring Walvis Bay one day too. 🤩🇳🇦 I believe the area is very similar to the areas around Alexander Bay and Port Nolloth. We love barren desolation!

You should definitely make a point of visiting Alexander Bay, it's a unique town and a unique experience. 👌🏻 I film with my everyday cellphone, a Samsung S22 Ultra, mounted on a regular selfie-stick. That is totally sufficient for our purposes. 😁🚗

Thank you, glad you enjoyed this episode. 👌🏻 We will certainly explore Namibia once we've worked our way across our own country. 🇿🇦

We will most certainly return to the area to explore the Richtersveld and Sendelingsdrif will almost certainly be included. 👌🏻🚙

I believe that is indeed so! 💎

Hello there! I'm doing just fine, thanks! 👌🏻 I'm not sure how many of our videos you've seen, but we don't own any of the cars you'll see in our videos. We rent a vehicle every time, so that's why you'll see a variety of colours too! 😁🚗

You're very kind, thank you! 😊 We'll most certainly visit and explore Namibia once we've worked our way across this country of ours. 🇿🇦🇳🇦

We somehow find 'pretty' in every place we visit. 😁🚗 Oranjemund and the rest of Namibia will follow once we've worked our way across South Africa. 🇿🇦

I have no idea. 🤷🏻‍♂️

No, I had no idea. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Alex was a dustbin to the rest of south africa. but not for a kid @@DustBugsTravel

I'm totally happy missing out on the 5% of roads that we can't go on. A 4x4 isn't necessary at all to do what we do. 🚙😁

How kind of you to take the time to point out everything we missed in Alexander Bay, we appreciate that so much! 🙂 You may be new to our channel, so I'll point out a few things to you. We're two random travellers who document our travels to and through a place or town on the random day we arrive. Our video reflects what we saw, not what you or anyone else saw or wanted us to see. These videos are our memories of our travels, which we choose to share with those who are interested. We have no problem that we miss things in every place or town, since it's simply impossible to include everything. That is not the goal of our videos either and will never be. Instead of focusing on what we missed, we choose to focus on what we manage to see and we're just so grateful that we had the opportunity to experience Alexander Bay through fresh, unjaded eyes.

It's a place with such a unique natural beauty, we actually found it quite amazing! The folks who live there and who we spoke to, said they're very happy there. 😁🌊