Meob Bay

In memoriam to Gunter Kock 31/10/1938 - 06/01/2004 Kockie when we do this trip we will always think of you.

I was priviledged to go on a patrol trip of the Conception & Meob Bay area with honorary game warden Gunther Kock last weekend. We where joined by a team from the Walvis Bay Munisipality Gus Katiti, Piet van Niekerk, Willie van Zyl and friends of theirs Deon and Leon. We left Walvis Bay at 07h30 Friday morning and made or first stop at Rooibank where we deflated tyres and and made last checks to vehicles. We only left there just before 09h00 as Gus had some or other delay. Me and Gunther took the front with his Landrover Defender TDI next it was Gus and

Willie in Gus's Chev Blazer and covering the rear Piet, Deon & Leon in Piet's Hilux 2.7 D/C.

We headed though the Kuiseb river through the roller coaster dunes into the dune highway we made the first stop at the karretjie, a wreck what was left over of a car that broke down in the dunes many years ago. From karretjie we sped down the dune highway at 80 - 90 km/h for 40 km before we turned into the dunes heading towards the sea.

The next stop was at the petrified dunes the dunes where we inspected these dunes that was uncovered by the wind. From there the next few hours we we followed the paaltjie road, this is a poles that Gunther planted in the dunes in the last 15 years that he has been patrolling the area to make navigation in the dunes easier in the days before mobile GPS systems. We crossed a few dune highways and huge dune boundries on the edges of the highways, we reached the beach north of Conception just after 14h00.

We had a traditional shot of port to welcome us to the sea and to calm the nerves after crossing the +- 100 km of big dunes.

We headed south along the beach to Conception Bay and then to our camp site at Conception water. We set up camp next to Villa Nortwind a old wooden house that Gunther uses on his patrol trips the name comes from the last ship that Gunther worked on when he stepped off in Wavis Bay 38 years ago. After the camp was setup we helped Gunther to move is museum to the more protected

police station building. The museum is old tools and bits and pieces that he collected and kept at Villa Nortwind.

We settled down in the sheltered veranda of our "villa" and had a braai for dinner. I had to braai all the meat that we could not keep in our freezer so we had enough to eat for the next day as well. Gus kept teasing me with the question which 4x4 is the best the whole night and I hope that I could have convinced him that a Land Cruiser is far superior to anything else on the market (grin). The next day

we where up early and started packing only the neccessary for the next night at Fishersbrun where we would sleep in bungalows. We left the extra wood, fuel and tents behind at our villa and set off at just before 09h00.

Our first stop was at the wreck of the Edward Bolen a ship that stranded here in the early 1900s it is currently lying about a kilometer from the beach and looks like it will soon be covered

by a dune. The next stop was Meob Bay where we had a look at the old whalers that was used to bring supplies to the shore from the vessels that anchored in the bay. There are still parts of the old baking oven of the bakery that supplied the area with bread. We also found an old lorrie and some crates of supplies and equipment that was left behind when the Germans left the area.

From Meob we carried on southward along the beach past an area of a few kilometers littered with whale bones that washed up here. We arrived at Fishersbrun around noon time and we unpacked the vehicles, had a nice lunch and a bit of a look around and a rest. Fishersbrun is a fountain where the water that seeps through from Sossusvlei comes above ground. In the years when this area was

inhabited and the Germans Fishersbrun was the water supply point. The water was pumped to the towns up to 80 km from here in a steel pipe about 3 inches in diameter. The huts at Fishersbrun is currently being kept in a good condition by the guys of the Oranjemund angling club which comes to to tag and release fish in the region.

At 14h30 we took the road south to Langewand and to see if we could find the herds of oryx that frequent the area south of Fishersbrun. Langewand is a +-50

tide and of there was a heavy sea running for a few days some places the sand is washed away and it is only boulders which is very difficult to cross with any vehicle. Gunther told us that they got stuck there a few years back and they had to build a road for about 7 hours in water up to their hips at some times through these bolders to a rock just big enough to park their 3 vehicles above the high tide. He had a tarpaulin that they tied over the vehicles to keep the sea spray of the vehicles. He says this is a night that they had to drink all their booze to keep them warm as there was no place to make a fire.

We returned to our huts late afternoon and we where all very happy to be able to take a nice hot shower. Then we started the preparations for our braai for the evening. Just after sunset we had a visit from a "Strand Wolf" which came right up to us looking for food. We had the normal campfire banter till about 23h00 when we decided to call it a night. The next morning it was up early again

having breakfast, packing vehicles and having showers and off we went to look at the ghost towns that was left behind by the Germans when the first world war started. The ones that did not make it to the ships going back to Germany to go and fight in the war was captured by the South African troops and taken to the concentration camp at Aus.

The first town we visited was Grillental this looks to be the biggest of the three with workshop and a hospital. There is not much left over that the elements in this area did not get to. I found some furniture still in one of the houses which walls have not been blown away by the wind. Next stop was Charlottental which looks to be diamond production town as it only has 2 foreman's houses and then a lot of of worker's bungalows and lots of sifting machines. It is amazing to see the German presicion

in the placement of the bungalows and the sifting equipment all in a straight line.

The last town we visited was Holsatia it was also a production tow set up very similar to Charlottental. In one of the foreman's houses I found the pots and pans still in the kitchen just as they left it. From there we crossed the white dunes back to the villa Nortwind. We found all our stuff just as we left it 2 days ago. That night we braaied all the left over meat and made a bonfire with all our rubbish we collected over the last few days. The next morning it was up early packing all our stuff back in the

vehicles. We also collected all the rubbish that did not burn like tins and bottles

We made very good time on the way back through the dunes until the Chev started giving problems. It was finally decided that we would leave the vehicle in the dunes and Willie would come back the next day with a mechanic to repair it and then drive it home. We arrived at Rooibank about 15h00 and I think I am correct in saying that we all where a little sad that our trip was over as it was a very special experience. Thanks to Gunther that made this possible for all of us.

28 March 1993 Rooibank the convoy ready to negotiate the dunes	The remains of a stranded vehicle in the dunes at a water test hole	Airborne Willie, he tackles a dune with flying colours.	Petrified dunes
One of the many wrecks south of Conception bay note the green copper cladding.	The Edward Boulen high & dry at Conception bay	The "Langewand" route can only be made at low tide.
	A herd of Oryx	Camp and dwellings at Fishersbrunn	A diamond sorter stands abandoned.
Grillental the first abandoned mining village from the south.	Workers accomodation at Charlottental.	Abandoned diamond sorting equipment.	Abandoned Ox Wagon.
	Post Office & Police station at Conception bay.	Camping in the dunes.	Posing @ the end of the trip.