From the centre of Riemvasmaak, I’ll be heading west towards the Orange Valley, over undulating ground until the way literally disappears beneath my feet. 

 

This is the Molopo Gorge, the dramatic path of a river that hasn’t flowed here for generations. The cliffs eventually shorten and the valley widens as the river bed makes its way downhill to join the consistent waters of the Orange. 

 

Here is the lifeblood of the green Kalahari. And this is where one of South Africa’s least-heralded fruit industries resides. The vineyards here produce masses of grapes, more even than the famous vineyards of the Western Cape. 

 

But the grapes give way to untouched wilderness as my walk enters the national park and follows one of Africa’s most remarkable stretches of river. The Orange’s created an 18 kilometres gorge that gets ever deeper as it gets nearer to my walk’s conclusion, the tumbling waters of Augrabies Falls.