Steve, Arrisdrift is located some 35km upstream of the Orange River mouth (Publication of the Sperrgebiet National Park) and is a world-renowned paleontological site. Given the distance, it would place Arrisdrift just off the loop that the Orange river makes - the url towards the end of the email *should* take you there. One site at Arrisdrift was excavated in the mid 1970s by Corvinus and since 1993 by the Namibia Palaeontology Expedition. The latter was done at the invitation of NAMDEB (previously, CDM), have led to the recovery of several new specimens including adult hind-limb elements of springhares (Palaeont. Afr. 1997(34), 101-109). Some of the fossils discovered in the 1970's include a smaller type of elephant, rhino and a large type of ostrich. Many of these fossils and other excavated material can be seen in the Oranjemund museum or at the Geological research centre in Windhoek >From a geological setting, the site of Arrisdrift is located in the lower part of the Orange River in a fossil loop of the river which cut into Proterozoic rocks of the Gariep Group. In the article "A new species of Prohyrax.... from the middle Miocene of Arrisdrift, Namibia", MHF Pickford, of the Geological Survey of Namibia, states the following: "... Arrisdrift, a location close to the Orange River in the southern part of Namibia" and then goes on to say ".... Arrisdrift, ... east of Oranjemund, Namibia". A publication on the Sperrgebiet indicates that in 1886 Franz Adolf Eduard Luderitz outfitted an expedition to explore the Orange River area. He travelled overland from Angra Pequena (today's Luderitz) to the Orange River, and then travelled on the river in a collapsible canvas boat as far as Arrisdrift. https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-28.4773804,16.6874236,3797m/data=!3m1!1e3 Hope this is of some help Blessings Colin > -----Original Message----- > From: south-africa-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:south-africa- > bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Steve Hayes via > Sent: Tuesday, 17 March 2015 4:28 AM > To: afgen@yahoogroups.com; south-africa@rootsweb.com > Subject: [SOUTH-AFRICA] Arries or Arris Drift > > Does anyone know where I can find Arries or Arris Drift across the Orange > River between South Africa and Namibia? > > Google maps shows me Yale University or somewhere in Wales, so that's no > good. > > An ancestor crossed it in July 1862 taking cattle from Damaraland to sell in > the Cape, and I'm trying to see the route they took. > > > -- > Keep well, > Steve Hayes > Blog: http://hayesgreene.wordpress.com > Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/famhist1.htm > E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SOUTH-AFRICA- > request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the > subject and the body of the message

On 17 Mar 2015 at 18:22, Colin Pretorius wrote: > Arrisdrift is located some 35km upstream of the Orange River mouth > (Publication of the Sperrgebiet National Park) and is a world-renowned > paleontological site. Given the distance, it would place Arrisdrift just off > the loop that the Orange river makes - the url towards the end of the email > *should* take you there. Thanks Colin, and to all others who replied. Someone very lindly located a military map dated 1907, which showed the drift and wagon routes, with notes on whether they were stony or sandy. I was quite surprised, as the ord they took was quite far west of where I thought they had travelled, but it makes sense. In those days Namibia (1862) was divided into numerous statelets (which were sometimes at war with each other), and there had been lung sickness about, and several of the rulers forbade the passage of infected cattle through their territory. This westerly route would avoid trouble on that score, in case any of the cattle were to become infected en route. -- Keep well, Steve Hayes Blog: http://hayesgreene.wordpress.com Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/famhist1.htm E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk

On 17 Mar 2015 at 18:22, Colin Pretorius wrote: > Arrisdrift is located some 35km upstream of the Orange River mouth > (Publication of the Sperrgebiet National Park) and is a world-renowned > paleontological site. Given the distance, it would place Arrisdrift just > off the loop that the Orange river makes For those interested the map (kindly sent to me by Johann Claassen) may be found here: http://tinyurl.com/nqdz6xw -- Keep well, Steve Hayes Blog: http://hayesgreene.wordpress.com Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/famhist1.htm E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk