Friday 8 Nov 2013

L:  OPPAK!!  - So our holiday has come to an end and we need to pack up (oppak in Afrikaans) and head home.  I went outside to see what birds I could find for the last day, I so enjoy being out in the fresh air, early in the morning with the birds, but I must say 5.30am being woken up with the starling babies is still not fun. 

We are both feeling the effects of the bites we received down at the river last night, not sure if it was mosquitoes or miggies, but now as I write this – Saturday 2pm we have used anti-histamine tablets and lots of cream plus white vinegar and they are still driving us crazy.

S:  It is amazing how much we had unpacked from the car in the 2 days that we were there and now had to put back into the bakkie.  L: Most of it was to sort and also we bought cheese and wine, extra, to take home. 

On the way out we stopped in at the Tim Jan shop again to buy the “Wonder Juice” natural tonic made from 100% aloe and grape juice to cure all sorts of ailments, since we had spoken about it.  L:  (Wonder – how anyone can swallow it!!)  S:  Once you have had one shot of it, all you have to do is have it up on the shelf and when you feel down or ill you only have to look at it to feel better.......

From the Main Road we turned off down to cross the Breede River to visit the Bonnievale River Lodge camp site to have a look as Lesley’s sister, Linda and brother-in-law, Tony, really enjoy this place and have been here a few times.   We crossed the Breede River over a causeway with the water just over the bridge and turned up into the camp site.  We asked the owners if we could have a look around.  It is, indeed, a lovely location, right next to the river with lots of grass and shade and many facilities. 

The short road from Bonnievale to Robertson must be one of the most beautiful drives you could take at this time of the year.  The road is lined with white and pink roses and other colourful flowers for kilometer after kilometer.  This is also complimented by the many trees also displaying various shades of green.  It was nice to trundled along at 80km/hour on a beautiful spring day, watching the countryside go by.

Before long we were in Worcester and stopping outside my sister, Sharon’s house and enjoying coffee and cupcakes.  We spent a few hours there catching up and seeing her travel photos.

We then headed home and arrived to see our two daughters (and a hamster) who had missed us so much.  We wonder why.....It must have been tough for them doing all their own cooking, cleaning and washing......!!  Just wait until we are away on our long trip (Cape Town to Cairo to London) for over 6 months.  It was lovely to be home and to catch up with the girls and all their news, even though Lesley had kept touch via social networking. 

Some stats – for our 3 weeks away.

We did 2 760 kms at a moving average of 46km/hour and an overall average of 34 kms/hour (L:  So you can see- we went nowhere, fast!!)

Our maximum speed was 121km/hour and we spent 59 hours and 52 minutes in the car, driving.

L:  So this was a real test of how we will be doing our long trip and we tried and tested a lot of what Steve, and I, had done in preparation for spending up to 6 months away, living in and out (and on top!!) of the car.

S:  We averaged 7, 7kms/litre of fuel – with the bakkie so heavily laden and our rooftop tent which does not help the consumption too much.

S + L:  We have had an amazing trip, once again, and really enjoyed sharing it with you all, our family and friends.  Thanks so much for taking the time to read, comment and share our blog.

Until the next time..........Keep well.  J) 

 

Thursday 7 Nov 2013

L: Forgot to mention last night.....Steve found his wedding ring while we were tidying the bakkie yesterday. Yay.

I was woken up by the baby starlings, in the outside eave above our room, squawking for their food. They seem to eat non-stop in the daylight hours, what a noise. Steve managed to tune them out for a lot longer than me. So I potted around and went out into the garden. Besides the birds, we seem to have inherited about 5 cats which we don't want to encourage by feeding them.

When Steve was up we showered and had breakfast and set off to see the Mary Myrtle Rigg Church which is the only church in the world known to be built at the request of a child. Mary was one of the three daughters of Christopher and Lilian Rigg. She was, however, the only one who survived infancy, but tragically died of meningitis at the age of seven. She was a religious child and on her death bed asked her father to build her a church, which her father duly did. Unfortunately we did not manage to see inside this Anglican church, but explored the grounds where Mary and her family are buried.

S: After that we went to explore the town and went for a circular drive round the Bonnievale valley as it is so beautiful. We stopped to take several photos of the vineyards, river and colourful trees and flowers. At one point we crossed the Breede River on an old single lane steel bridge. It is a little depressing to see some of the farm worker's houses. They do have solar water heaters on the roofs and satellite dishes hanging on the walls but the structures look very run down in comparison to the affluent look of the surrounding farm lands and buildings.

After we had come full circle and back into town, we stopped at the Parmalat Factory shop and bought cheese, juice and ice-cream at bargain prices. The Tim Jan Wine Sales was next door so we decided to pay them a visit too. They offer a product made from Aloes and other ingredients which is said to cure depression, sleeplessness and variety of other ailments. We both had a taste and I managed to drink mine, but Lesley was repulsed by the taste and eventually ducked outside to get some chewing gum to take the after-taste away. I think it is the thought of having to drink it that cures you of whatever is ailing you at the time. L: You know the taste of Jamaica Ginger.....this makes that seem so palatable by comparison.

We bought some wine, olives, etc. and stopped off back at the house for coffee and to put the shopping in the fridge. We later went in search of some lunch, first stopping at the Weltevrede Estate which we were told does lunches, but discovered that they have now reverted to only opening during school holidays. So we went back towards town and turned in at the Arena which has a restaurant, a 9 hole golf chipping course and fly-fishing. All this will form part of a development that will include housing estates and private pastures.

The owner also breeds carp and trout. Trout is more difficult and can only be done during the cooler months. You can also bring your trout catch back to the restaurant and have it for your meal. If you are not successful with catching a fish with a fly they will give you a worm to try. As you walk in to the restaurant there is are steel gates secured with a large chain and padlock. It houses the owners wine collection and there are some bottles dating back to before 2000. He has some strange signs on the shelves saying 'Definitely not for sale', 'Not for sale' and 'Possibly for sale'.

We enjoyed the lunch there, which was fairly reasonable and left for the cottage and had an afternoon nap.

L: Then it was off to the river for a bout of fishing or ….ing as the only thing biting were the miggies which was making things very unpleasant. We slipped around on the river bank trying to retrieve our hooks stuck in the reeds and after losing several sinkers, gave it up as a bad job. We went home, covered in mud and had a quick shower to get rid of the miggies too.

Both of us were full from lunch so we decided not to braai tonight and just cooked what needed to be done from the provisions in the fridge and picked a bit.

Then it was blogging, reading and off to bed ….......

….........unfortunately our last night as we are heading back to Cape Town and home tomorrow. We will stop in Worcester to see Steve's sister, Sharon.

Night.

Wednesday 06 Nov 2013

S: We spent a leisurely morning having breakfast, reading and finally packing up. By this time the wind had started to blow so we were looking forward to spending a few nights surrounded by solid walls. After we had packed up it was time for a last swim in the warm pools.

While we were there a young couple arrived with their 3 and 4 year old and we spent an hour or so chatting and getting the kids more water wise i.e. teaching them how to make their way around the pool along the side to the steps and letting them move between us trying to get them to kick and doggy paddle. They were on holiday as well and they had just bought the same kind of vehicle as ours. So we had a nice time discussing mechanics and camping.

On our way out we stopped to hand in our gate disc and to go and see the animals. I walked out of the building, onto the bridge across to the outside eating area, and nearly had a heart attack as two black swans started squawking at me. It turned out they were demanding to be fed. So Lesley went back to the shop and bought some animal feed so we could quieten the swans. We also fed the Koi fish, they are huge, and the other ducks. L: I was so excited when I realised that they have a few Wood ducks!! They are from The States and are not expected to occur in South Africa naturally (these had been imported). My younger daughter, Heather and I had once seen two male Wood ducks on the greenbelt in Kirstenhof near our home. We had not managed to take a photograph of the pair that we had seen.

There were also Mandarin ducks and various other species.

S: Then it was on to the Alpacas who were tame enough to eat out of your hand. L: Your hand, maybe, I wasn't taking any chances.....The last time the Alpacas saw me, they started running away and snorking.

We did some more shopping in Montagu for bread and milk and then made our way to Bonnievale. We came in from the Ashton side to Boesmansdrift. A lovely old farmhouse. I had won a weekend away in a competition with Naudic Africa and changed it for a midweek stay to tack on to the end of our holiday.

After camping, mainly, for so many days, it was really special to open the front door and see that the farmhouse has all the comforts one misses so much while on the road, living in a tent. There are 4 bedrooms, 2 are locked as we are only two people, with a huge lounge, dining room, kitchen, scullery and 2 bathrooms. A lovely braai area outside in the prettiest garden with no back gate into the orchards which stretch for kilometers down to the Breede River. There are lovely vineyards, peaches, plums, apricots, apples and a multitude of other fruit trees. Couldn't see for certain as the fruit is only just budding. How special. (If you stay here in season, you are welcome to pick from the trees).

We took a drive down to the river after we had unpacked most of the contents of the bakkie. The river is very fast-flowing so it is best not to swim here. The wind has picked up quite a bit now too. There are a lot of birds, but seems mostly that they are starlings. We hear noises in the roof and they are nesting in the eaves, the joys......early morning baby birds wanting to be fed, seems our lot. Ha ha.

We are now braaiing and catching up on the blog while the sun goes down.

The most enjoyable thing is to be able to sit on a sofa, out of the wind tonight and relaxxxxx (with a glass of red wine). Cheers.

Tuesday 05 Nov 2013

L: So, I was up early again and off on my search for horses, birds, buck or anything that moved.......In the meantime, poor Steve was still trying to sleep, but that was not to be – the hadeda ibises collectively walked and flew past the tent and set off a cacophony of noise, waking him instantly. After they died down, the office workers arrived and started hooting their hooters to call each other – this all before 6am!!

As soon as we were away from the protective netting of the tent, those awful horse flies started biting us – we had now had enough of Anysberg!! It didn't take us long to decide to pack up and head off to our next destination – Montagu........

S: We only had about 80km to do today and the road out of the reserve was not too bad. The people staying at one of the cottages had done the trip a few days ago and they said it took three hours. We did it in about two hours and we were taking our time. I think it must be that I have the tyres deflated to 1.8 bar as well as the air springs which make the ride a lot more comfortable. A lot of the uninitiated don't know to deflate their tyres when travelling off the tar roads as it makes the ride more comfortable and a lot safer.

On the way out of the reserve we saw some Gemsbok again but it seemed like the same herd we had seen the previous day. There were also some Springbok and a few ostrich. The reserve advertises zebra but we did not spot any in our time here.

At a junction where we turned off for Montagu there were the remains of an old railway line. The rails are long gone but the cutting and remains of the railway bridge are still there. It would be interesting to find out the history of this. I know that we had read earlier that in the early days of the Addo elephant park the ranger used old railway line rails and old lift cables to construct a fence to keep the animals in the area, especially the elephants who were destroying the farmer's lands.

We exited the reserve through the grand looking south gate and continued to Montagu through the Ouberg Pass. As we were heading to a lower altitude we only went down the pass but I can imagine what it would be like coming up the pass in the wet. The road up is very steep and the gravel would soon turn to mud. There are also no bridges along the road once out of the pass, only causeways, so once the water starts running out of the mountains after rain there are plenty of places to practice river crossings. L: Yes, Steve and you sure need lots of practice.....

S: The gravel road outside the reserve is extremely well maintained, so it did not take us long to reach Montagu. We only made one stop in the town which was at the Montagu Fruit and Nut Farm Stall. It has a dried fruit and nut shop, restaurant and wine shop. After having paid a visit to all three we headed off to the Montagu Guano Cave farm for the night. I must say that the restaurant was the first place that we did not have to pay for wi-fi access, at a place that had it, while trying to upload our blog. All the time up to now I have used my phone to connect except in Knysna where we used our friend's PC.

We have camped at this farm before and really enjoyed it here which is why we are back. The farm gets its name from the large cave up in the mountain from which guano was collected in the late nineteenth century. The upper cavern of the cave is said to stretch back a kilometer into the mountain. There is a tractor pulling some small carriages which, at a price, you can take to get to the cave. They also have a lovely picnic spot with four small pools ranging from cold to hot. The camping area has lots of shade but there are only a couple of sites with grass. That is to be expected as grass does not grow well in the shade. Instead the whole area is covered in broken nut shells. There are also a lot of animals which is nice for kids as you are allowed to pet some of them. Some unusual animals here are Alpacas and emus.

As can be expected during the week and out of school holidays the place is rather empty which is just the way we like it. We were told we could stay on our site till lunch time and we only had to be off the farm by 17H00 which suits us as our next stop is only 30km away and we can not arrive there too early.

On our way to the camp site we were escorted by a gaggle of geese with five tiny goslings trying to keep up at the rear. Rather funny to watch.

We spent the rest of the day doing the normal camping things, swimming, reading, braaiing and sleeping.

Monday 4 Nov 2013

S: We are stuck in mud. Another one of those calculated risks. All four wheels churning and we are going nowhere, forward gear or reverse gear.

The morning had started rather strangely. Woken up by the sound of horses hooves and nostril blowing. This place provides horse trails and the horses had been let out onto the camp site. All ten of them. That was fine, but while drinking our coffee all we heard was “Oupa”, “Ouma” over and over again from a youngster. Calling is not a problem, but I wish the grand parents would answer the grandchild, for Pete's sake.

We decided, after coffee, to head for the hills for some peace and quiet. Tracks for Africa's GPS map shows a 41km 4x4 trail on the mountain, but the office here says it is not open yet and they are still fixing it, whatever that means. So we decided to head for the other marked trail to a place called Tapfontein. As we headed out, I glanced at the clock and it was only 07H30. It felt like we had been up for hours. L: We had, the horses came out at 05h30.....!!

S: The going was fairly slow, but we were in no hurry. Along the way we caught glimpses of Red Hartebeest and Gemsbok. We stopped at a sign indicating rock art and went in search of it. It took a lot of looking and all we found were 3 small figures.

A bit further was Tapfontein. There is a ruin of a farmhouse and the place now has a few 'wendy house' like cabins for two people. There is also a shower and loo with a view. The place is used for overnight horse trails and anyone else who wants a bit of peace and quiet. We decided this was a good place for brunch and cooked up some eggs and sweetcorn fritters.

After brunch we headed back along the circular route trail. There were Gemsbok along this way as well and this herd had a few young with them.

Near the end of the trail and close to the camp site there are 4 large dams where you can hire kayaks to use. We turned off to go and have a look. We got to a parking area and there was a chain across with a sign that said you could not enter without a permit. Our camp site form is considered a permit so we decided to carry on.

The road looked alright, it always does, albeit a bit wet so I carried on. Then the rear started to slide and after that it was all downhill. I stopped, put it in four wheel drive and tried to reverse. And that is how we came to be stuck.

So, I got out and started packing stones behind the wheels, fortunately I had not dug myself in too much. I then got back in and managed to move the vehicle back a meter. I packed some more stones and got back in the bakkie, then by rocking the bakkie backwards and forwards in reverse gear, using the clutch, I was able to bump myself slowly out of trouble. Once I got momentum, I just kept going, until I was clear of the mud field. Lesley walked back to the vehicle. L: I had got out as soon as we got stuck, less weight and also I did not want to be in the vehicle when it was going backwards, as fast as possible and slipping and sliding. Also, with camera in hand. (I felt a bit guilty as I had agreed that we should go through the mud – I hadn't yet been blamed....!)

S: We went back to the car park, where we should have parked and went up to go and look at the dams. They are beautiful and so much water, supplying all the animals and birds.

L: By this time, it was noon and the temperature in the car was reading in the high 30's up to 40 now and then so we decided to go back to camp and swim in the dam at the camp site. It was super and now not nearly as cold as when we arrived as the weather had turned really HOT.

We met a couple from Pretoria, Pieter and Carol and chatted for a couple of hours in the shade at the dam. Later we followed a trail that they had suggested, but turned around at the hiking part as it was just ridiculous to walk in this heat. I managed to take photos of yet another bird of prey, not sure what it is yet, very black with a white head, much like a Fish Eagle.

Tonight, we are making a lamb potjie, but once again these horse-flies are killing us. Ugh. I could make a stew of all the killed ones, they are piling up. It is the one negative about the camp site – having one toilet to share is nothing. We have the camp site to ourselves tonight as our neighbours have left. Not sure about the horses though …......