The Verneukpan in the Namaqualand is appropriately named … Verneuk is Afrikaans for trick , mislead or swindle , and on the pan , all depth and distance perception goes out the proverbial window . That ’ s because as far as the eye can see is literally nothing but the dry , flat surface of the saltpan . No trees or vegetation , no hills , no shade , nothing on the horizon to focus on , just the flat pan and all the many small stones strewn over its surface . It is actually quite easy to lose your bearings on the pan , which is approximately 57km long and 11km wide . And it gets really hot , too , sometimes over 40 degrees Celsius , with incessant daytime winds , so it really is an inhospitable place . But there is so much more to the Verneukpan , which lies about 90km to the south of Kenhardt in the Northern Cape . For starters , this is one of the quietest places on earth . No people , no noise , no cellphone reception , just the desert pan , and peace . It also offers spectacular sunrise and sunset vistas , and some of the most amazing stargazing you will ever experience . The Milky Way really comes out to play over the pan , and shooting stars arcing their way through the night skies add to the spectacular lightshow .
Sir Malcolm Campbell
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The Verneukpan is also recognised as a ‘ fast place .’ That ’ s why legendary British driver Sir Malcolm Campbell came to the Verneukpan in early 1929 with his Napier-Campbell Blue Bird car , to attempt to break the Land Speed Record , in what was dubbed the Flash in the Pan . However , the pan lived up to its name once again …
Chasing the Record
At the time of Campbell ’ s expedition to the Verneukpan , the Land Speed Record stood at 334.007km / h ) for a measured kilometre , set by American Ray Keech in April 1928 to beat Campbell ’ s previous record of 333.048km / h , set in February 1928 , also at Daytona . His target now was to reclaim his record , but bad luck beset the project . Firstly , Campbell was lucky to emerge unhurt when his aeroplane crashed into a tree on the way to the pan , and when his team began clearing a track across the pan , they had to contend with scorpions and puff adders as well as 42-degree heat . They found it was impossible to remove all the sharp stones from the prepared track , and those that were removed left holes in the ground that made the track just as bumpy , thus slowing the car .
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While these stones rapidly wore down or damaged the tyres Campbell had brought in for the various record attempts , he also found that dust devils were a major hazard , whilst the heat created mirages of phantom trees and ghostly men on stilts . When the scheduled record attempt was postponed yet again , the team jokingly named a tortoise found on the track ‘ Blue Bird II .’ While they were still waiting for ideal conditions and for the car to be ready , news arrived that British driver Henry Segrave had taken the record up to 372.459km / h at Daytona , so when Campbell eventually reached 352km / h in South Africa , it was six weeks too late to claim the record .
With just one set of tyres left , he then attempted the three-mile ( 5km ) and 5-mile ( 8km ) records , setting new records of 340km / h and 341km / h respectively for the two distances . He then promised to come back to Verneukpan in the future to try again , but never did . Instead he returned to the USA and broke the Land Speed Record five more times between 1931 and 1935 , going on to become the first man to go faster than 300 miles per hour , reaching 301.129 miles per hour ( 485.598km / h ) at Bonneville Salt Flats in September 1935 . Meanwhile , the Verneukpan was once again one of the quietest places on earth , and its legend grew .
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Images : Action Photo SA , Wikimedia & courtesy BrightRock Battle of the Sports |