Nick Yell follows in the footsteps of merchants of yore through the Karoo, peddling books as he goes

UNTIL the early 1900s, Karoo smouse (travelling merchants) plied the plains of the Karoo, ships of commercialism on a desert sea. Travelling in ox wagons and donkey carts, and later in trucks and station wagons, they sold goods ranging from Bibles to Zam-Buk.

My fellow writer and hastily trained book smous, Harvey, and I decided to emulate these salesmen on a six-day, 2700km back-roads trip in the Karoo.

ýDAY 1: Following a book delivery in George, we tackled Prince Alfred's Pass to Uniondale - part indigenous forest drive, part fynbos Karoo. Speeding on to Willowmore, we were seduced by Sophie's Choice, a restaurant-cum-collectables shop, where Harvey lightened our book load.

ýDAY 2: The smoky-orange sun rose above the Grootrivierberge at Bhejane Game Reserve just before our game drive, on which we saw eland in the valley and numerous birds at the river.

Leaving Bhejane, some peaks of the folded mountains of Swanepoelspoort looked like rocky waves threatening to break across our path. At the top of the pass, the plains of the Camdeboo rolled out unchecked until the foot of Aberdeen's Sleeping Giant Mountain, some 80km distant.

Selling books in Aberdeen and Graaff-Reinet proved rewarding and, after a celebratory lunch, we headed for Cradock via the R337 turn-off at Pearston. Beacons of red poker aloes guided us through the snow-tinged air as we climbed the flat-topped mountains in search of the plateau beyond. The summit of the Swaershoek Pass opened up a view of distant purple-shaded mountains, and then we descended steeply to Cradock.

The Victoria Manor Hotel and Tuishuis complex is one of those rare establishments that adheres to the elegant style of a bygone era, with good food and friendly staff.

ýDAY 3: After breakfast, we sold a few books around town, and then we were on the N10 to Hanover (tar) before our sublime dirt-track detour to "Booktown Richmond". One scene stood out: a dried-out dam displaying layers of different-coloured algae, chronicling the varying departure times of individual water segments after they'd returned to the sky.

The owner of three of the five bookshops we came across in Richmond was out of town, so our first sales call saw us buying rather than selling - a well documented occupational hazard for book smouse in the Karoo. Yet, the eclectically stocked Richmond Gallery took a few, and we left in the black.

On the 100-odd kilometres of good dirt-track to Victoria West, we saw horsemen herding sheep to their night-time kraals, springboks fleeing for the horizon and blockhouses planted resolutely on the ground - their imperial protectors long turned to dust.

Our first stop at the characterful Melton Wold country hotel, was the pub, the Deer and Pheasant, wherefrom the old dinner gong called us to a nostalgic dinner.

ýDAY 4: Passing tree-lined Loxton and the famous fossils of Fraserburg's Gansfontein paleosurface, we travelled the good gravel of the R356 and then the scenic R353 to Williston. The Williston "Mall" is a must-see. It's a scrapyard-cum-artistic emporium where you can marvel at their quirky sense of humour, eat, drink coffee, stay the night or simply buy a vetplant and move on. We did the latter, but, of course, sold some books first.

After the relatively boring blacktop to Calvinia, we met Alta Coetzee of the Hantam Huis complex. Although keen to get to our renovated Victorian up the road, my sales instincts took over when I noted the range of Karoo books in her shop. After a big sale, we booked in at the Blou Nartjie restaurant to celebrate. Enquiring how the restaurant got its name, I learned: "A local farmer's daughter wanted to marry a man her father thought unsuitable. He said she could, but only if she brought him a blou nartjie."

ýDAY 5: We visited the Coetzee's "Hantam Veteraan Garage" (it showcases all manner of old petrol pumps) the next morning; but, with the R355 (gravel) and three dramatic passes (Bloukrans, Gannaga and Oupoort) calling us, we needed to cut our tour short.

Getting punctures on the back-roads of the Hantam Karoo is a given. It's just a matter of when, and how many. Halfway up the stony surface of the Gannaga Pass one of our front tyres started hissing angrily. Luckily, we had two spares.

The Bo-Visrivier side-road to Sutherland was home to many birds of prey - the black-breasted snake eagle being a first for me. Sutherland lived up to its freezing reputation and we bought heaps of doringhout to heat our rented house on the hill. Rain sabotaged our planned tour to the observatory, so we decided to look around by ourselves. But even the 360° views of the countryside were not incentive enough to bear the icy air for long, and we soon raced back down the hill to the warmth of Perlman's restaurant.

ýDAY 6: The bakkie's canopy door was frozen shut that morning. Our hosts had told us people mainly come to Sutherland to experience the cold, but when they get here, they can't stop complaining about it. And, judging by the singular topic of conversation at the breakfast table next to us, I can vouch for this.

It was on to the Matjiesfontein book shop (R354 - tar) and then via Laingsburg and the Rooinek Pass to Montagu (dirt-track) past the Anysberg Nature Reserve. There weren't any book-selling opportunities en route, but with only three books left, we just enjoyed the scenery as the Great Karoo grew Little once more. - © Nick Yell

IF YOU GO

WHERE TO STAY

ýWillowmore - Bhejane Game Reserve: 044 923 1816 or www.bhejane.co.za.

ýCradock - Victoria Manor Hotel: 048 881 1650 or www.tuishuise.co.za.

ýVictoria West - Melton Wold. 053 621 0906 or www.meltonwold.co.za.

ý Calvinia - Hantam Huis complex: 027 341 1606 or www.calvinia.co.za.

ýSutherland - Ouplaas c/o The Galaxy: 023 571 1241 or www.wheretostay.co.za.

WHEN TO GO

Late winter and spring.

ESSENTIALS

Warm clothes and at least two spare tyres.