group tried unsuccessfully for two years to obtain land in Namaland and Hereroland, they had to abandon this idea. By this time they were still unsure in which direction they should trek. Shortly after this they would merge with the trekkers of the second and third treks and continue their difficult sojourn through the unknown regions of southern Africa for a further three years. Even before the first trek group had left the Transvaal, the first trekkers of the second trek began to trek from the districts Pretoria and Rustenburg in April 1875. After they reached Limpopo in May 1875, they aimlessly roamed around along the river while hunting to pass the time for two years until 1877. From time to time newcomers joined them. The Ngwato chief Khama, across whose land they had to trek at that stage, was still sympathetic towards them and gave them permission to trek through the Thirstland. In March 1876 they missed a golden opportunity to trek. It would seem as if this group of trekkers at that stage still did not know in which direction they wanted to trek. By April 1876 the first cases of malaria broke out among them and in July 1876 the first of more than 160 persons who would perish of this disease, passed away. In the same period the region was drought stricken while discord among the leaders surfaced. The relations between the trekkers and Khama also deteriorated. Khama withdrew his offer that they could trek across his region, presumably because of the grinding draught that made it impossible. It is estimated that at this stage the group comprised a total of 116 white families with 586 family members, apart from the unknown number of “mak volk”. Second Trek The second trek group eventually left the Limpopo on 10 April 1877 and trekked along the Mahalapye River without permission. A delegation from Khama, comprising the missionary Hepburn, the trader Alfred Musson as interpreter, and seven council members tried in vain to convince them not to take on this dangerous journey. There was suspicion about Kham’s motives and his good advice that they should break up into smaller groups to trek across the Thirstland. The trekkers thought he wanted to divide them into smaller groups because it would then be easier for him to kill them in these groups. Despite an agreement the trekkers reached the previous evening