2) Lazily succumbing to the mercurial flow of this ‘Great River’, with swirling whirlpools and eddies powered by summer downpours in the lofty #Maluti Peaks …
3) Sprawling on the sand in the shade of the #Gravity Bedouin tent, tucking into fresh salads and meals straight off the fire …
4) Ultimate Frisbee games on pristine river beaches, and then cooling off with a Waboba ball session in the tranquil river pools …
5) Popping your Bialetti on a smooth lava promontory at dawn, and brewing a coffee while the sun rises above the surrounding Acacia savanna …
6) Surging into the aqua chaos that is #HubblyBubbly, with towering waves jacking your raft metres into the air before you thump back in for a wild, bucking bronco ride down the rapid …
7) #ThunderAlley living up to its name, with lightning arcing across the night sky, lighting up your tent while thunderstorms strafe the volcanic outcrops along the river bank …
Watching the elation (and momentary trepidation!) as the kids get sucked into a whirlpool, and then shouting ‘Again! Again!’ as they charge up-river to repeat the experience …
9) Orange River #ButtGolf – where you have to negotiate a riverside obstacle course with a pebble gripped firmly between your butt cheeks – and laughing so much your stomach still hurts the next morning …
10) Reconnecting with old (and new) friends, while making lifetime memories with them and your family …
I can come up with a dozen more reasons why you should experience this off-grid #wilderness adventure, but for the next day or two, I’d like to keep pretending that I don’t own a cellphone. And that my tribe is limited to twenty-odd river rats, entirely governed by the natural world within which you’re immersed in that wide-sky space 
Huge thanks to Andrew and Marie-Louise Kellett (and their outstanding guides, Ian, Luke and Seamus); to Todd and Johandri at Witfontein Game Lodge for some proper #NoordKaap hospitality, and as always, ISUZU South Africa for safely getting us to this green desert and back home.
Click here to view the pics