The journey to the Drakensberg.

When we arrived at Gariep the day before, we were again in need for medical care. Our Gastro patient  who we thought was ok, was again not ok and Dick had a "tennis cheek". It is nothing like a tennis elbow, but it looks like you have a tennis ball in your mouth. It had actually grown through the day and he was getting decidedly not well. We enquired about a chemist/pharmacy in the town of Gariep and low and behold, there was actually a 24 hour pharmacist in the town. We got 3 sets of directions as to how to get to him, all different, but we made it eventually.
Talk about a blast from the past. When we entered the house/place/ lodge we were instantly transferred to the days of our youth or maybe even the days of our parents youths. There were faded copies of the picture of that old man smoking a pipe. I am sure most homes had a copy of that in the 50's. There were old photos, older furniture and nothing vaguely representing the 21 st century. In a little, and I mean little "office" was the pharmacist. One sort of display unit with a few shelves, representing the front of the pharmacy and a safe with the prescription medication, or then schedule drugs not available over the counter. In true pharmacist style, he was an excellent diagnostician and knew what to administer for the condition. I had previously explained to my GP what we thought was wrong. Luckily we also have a very well qualified  nursing matron with us on the trip and she also diagnosed. Nurses are good at this, ask me, my mother is one as well. We never even got to see a doctor. Anyway, after this visit Dick was on treatment an on his way to improvement. Our other patient was less fortunate.
We left Gariep dam at 7.45 on Sunday morning, heading for the Medi clinic in Bloemfontein to try and get him sorted out. There were all sorts of plans to share driving and save time , etc. Well in the end, Dick, David, the patient and his wife stayed behind in Bloemfontein and the rest of us head off to the Drakensberg. Luckily we had shopped in Bloemfontein for food, etc, no wine, though as it was Sunday and had something to eat.
I drove our van and the other 3 followed me, all the way along the N1 to the turn off to Senekal, Bethlehem, Clarens and through the Golden Gate. This all went smoothly over mountain passes and windy roads and then we hit the roadworks and the potholes. I was "lucky",as I had a "pothole" monitor " in front of me. He virtually stopped at every pothole, of which there were many,examined the extent of it and then drove off SLOWLY.The scenery is fantastic  and the traffic was terrible. Trucks and more trucks and then more trucks and daylight dwindling and the day getting a little too long.
Just after 6 we arrived at Drakensville campsite, which is a stunning place. In no time the vans were neatly parked in a "laager", all leveled, thanks to our resident engineer, John and the fires lit for the evening braai, thanks to our resident pyromaniac, Ed. Dick arrived about an hour later with his big cheek and his patient,David and Irene. Other than travel weary, Dick was ok, David was finished and off to sleep and Irene, I think, was happy that they were safely "home".
Well, once the fires were burning, the wine was poured and we were all happily settled around the fire, life did not seem nearly as bad as it could have been.

More camping observations

We spent the night before at the Gariep dam where the Quella music festival was on. I am still not sure what it is all about, but the website said that it is to promote the Gariep. Well I suppose that it is a reason. It would appear that the target market was the local region, as in the Freestate and immediate areas, boy and did they arrive with their caravans, double cab bakkies, flat cars, oldish Golfs and then all and sundries, as in freezers, fridges, electric equipment and much more. There were "potjie" stands, skottel braais, weber braais and pretty much everything and I think even the kitchen sink, in some places. It must take a month of Sundays to pack it all up. This all looked like stuff collected over years and part of "camping equipment". No Yuppie designer stuff here, like at Addo. I think the folk at Addo would not be seen dead with much of the camping neccesities that the Gariep folk had.

Gariep en Quenna

Dis defnitief 'n Afrikaanse storie. Ons het vanmiddag so 3 uur hier aangekom. Die rivier is vo; die water stort neer oor die damwal en die trane het amper gerol oor die kampplek, want die Quenna musiekfees iss aan die naweek by die Gariep en dis net Boeremusiek en etlike Afrikaanse kunstenaars, onbekant aan my , maa rvir seker baie bekend aan die meeste van die plaaslike mense, want die kamp is vol FS en ander omliggende registrasie nommers. Nogal vreemd om die Engelse hier te he.
Die kinders jol, die manne sing en langs ons is mense met 'n kaal bolyf en 'n voel (birdie) op sy skouer en sy vrou me 'n klein apie in 'n mandjie. Freaky!!

Die "band" interact met die mense en almal geniet die naweek. Solank daar Klippies en Coke is en 'n paar los biere is almal gelukkig.

Camping observations

Addo is clearly a favourite camping destination for the local Eastern Cape folk who like to take a week end break.
During the week the camping fraternity is decidedly in the "retired" category, but boy did that change quickly on Friday afternoon and early evening. The "youngsters" arrived, with kids, bikes, fancy torches and really fancy equipment. The latest and the smartest camping equipment, from 4x4/off road trailers to tents that one only see in the latest camping magazines. Fancy and big SUVs and new double cab bakkies all rolled up late afternoon. Some guys still dressed in "work" clothes and it was clearly the wife's responsibility to get everything together and ready for when dad comes home from the office that we can just hook on and be off!
During the week you see old tipe Combi's, Autovillas, that takes you back a bit and  Camry's to tow the caravan. I suppose the week enders laugh at that lot and wonder how they manage without all the modern goodies. Do'nt matter, we "retirees" have mostly paid for our stuff, which I am sure all the newees are still busy doing.
Lekker to camp, regardless of your stuff, as long as you are out there. What is great is to see the number of families out camping. At least those kids start off with an advantage in life.

Stormsriver mouth to Addo

We  spent 2 nights and 1 full day at Stormsriver mouth. The morning started off clear and sunny, soon to be replaced with a thick sea mist which came and went for most of the day. In the morning we walked to the suspension bridge and crossed it and took the required pictures. For this event the mist lifted just long enough. It is beautiful there, with the lovely boardwalk all the way to the suspension bridge and all through the indigenous forest.Some of us were more energetic than others and some of us was even energetic enough to walk to the waterfall, which is part of the first day's walk on the Otter trail. It is well worth doing it, although the waterfall was pretty mush just a "fall" with hardly any water to go with it. The walk is deceptive as the first 1.5 km is a gentle walk through the forest but then it changes into pick a route over the boulders and along the rocks, definitely not for the faint hearted or unfit. Having said this, Dick did do it with some inner motivation as he wanted to take the picture of the waterfall. The 3 of us that went covered the full hike in 2.5 hours and the notice said it is a 3.5 hr hike, so we felt quite chuffed. We also felt that we had earned our supper and the wine that evening. The evenings on our trip is really pleasant as we all get together every night and we make a good fire and we braai and our group are good experimental eaters and Ostrich steaks are now high on the preferred braai meat list, as well as "boerewors" and even Mrs Balls.
Yesterday we booked into Addo Elephant park at about lunch time and as always in the park it is a "geskarrel" to get your own campsite. Here you are not allocated a specific site and it is a mad scramble to pick your site, as shade and sun movement is ever important. Never the less we all found a space and settled down for the day. The next big decision every day is always "where are we doing the braai tonight". Last night it was ion David and Irene's plot, as they had the best facilities. We made a huge fire and had to go to bed before it was even burnt out. While we were still sitting and chatting and having a last glass of wine, we were visited by a Spotted Genet. It is really a rare night animal, however this one sat around like she was on a photo shoot. Posed here and there and looked at the camera and away and eventually just left as soundlessly as she had appeared. She made our evening. When all had gone to bed, Dick and I still sat outside our van for a while only to be visited by a porcupine. He just walked across our site and went to scuffle and dig in the hedge next to us and then a little while late walked away as if it was his own property. I was so chuffed,as I have never seen a living , walking and snorting porcupine.
This morning we were up and off at 6am and spent the whole morning driving in the park, from the top to the very bottom. It was chilly and the animals were obviously cold and not ready for viewing. We even saw a huge Warthog lying down on a hole to keep warm and he was fast asleep, He was alive, as he opened one eye when Dick took a picture. We saw hardly any elephants this morning, but last night on our drive we saw lots and some really big herds.This morning we were also lucky to see 3 lions who had obviously eaten not too long before as they were so lazy and sleepy and just doing what lions do best. We got some nice pics, I hope.One thing about the park is that it is green and the vegetation is lush. There are hundreds of Kudu all around, as well as plenty big Tortoises and Warthogs. Strangely we have seen very little of the Flightless dungbeetles this time. When we were here in Feb. 2009, we  could hardly drive there were so many on the road.
Tonight our group is off on a Night game drive and tomorrow we are off to Gariepdam where we are spending the night and the next day to the Drakensberg.

Animal days

Yesterday was a "day at leisure" and with one gastro and one funny tummy and 2people off to Sedgefield to visit relatives, we had just that. Dick and I and John walked down into the town to do some shopping, etc and then walked back and then relaxed with the rest. In the afternoon we set off to the Kango Wildlife Ranch to do some animals.Our guide Ronny was really funny and witty and made the outing interesting. We saw little antelope and colourful fish from Malawi and funny birds from South America with little peacock blue bibs and continuously flapping wings. Looked like a seriously nervous habit but apparently it served a purpose. My Dad would not have kept one of them as a pet because he could not stand anything vaguely resembling fidgeting.
Then there was big fat and flat Nile crocs. They are scary ancient beings. Two young Brazilian guys did a cage dive in the pool, however they did not really get much reaction from the crocs. Clearly too skinny, the guys, I mean.
After all the water weardies we went to the cats. This was the thing that Mary wanted to do.She is such a fun person and so game to do anything and everything and she wanted to touch and stroke  the Cheetahs, so after the tour that is exactly what she did. She went into the camps, obviously with a guide and Dick as the cameraman. It is not really something I would have thought of doing, but to see the joy and absolute sense of WOW in somebody else's joy is well worth it. It has always been a desire of her so stroke a Cheetah and there was the opportunity to stroke adult and baby Cheetahs, as well as a tiger cubs and now she has the photos and the T-shirt as proof.
Today we set off over the Outeniqua mountains, through George to Knysna where we spent sometime stocking up, absorbing the scenery and having lunch at the Eastern head. From there we were off to the Knysna Elephant park and what an experience to walk with the Elephant, talk to the Elephant , touch the Elephant and for 2 of our party even ride the Elephant. Like touching Cheetahs, riding an African elephant was on Mary's bucket list and Ann decided to do the same. Well so they did and what fun they had. The pics and the DVD that they got, as in had to buy. will tell all. Again not something on my "bucket list" but what joy it brings to share in somebody else's dreams and to just become part of it.
Tonight we are in one of my favourite camp sites at the Storms river mouth. It is awesome!!You are just about on the rocks and it is a place of beauty beyond description and luckily we are here for 2 nights. The night is clear and with any luck we will see plenty stars .

The Swartberg experience

Today it was the Swartberg experience and aptly named it is for 8 f us and the hospital for David and Dick. David as the patient and Dick as the nurse/taxi/carer. Poor David was diagnosed with Gastro, alokg with about 2000 other people in the wider Montagu to Oudtshoorn area. He is now on the mend, which is good news. Dick has caught up with reading and other stuff, not sure what that all involves and he did the washing!!!!

We set off just after 9 with Jan Bester on the trip that would take us up and over the Swartberg and back through the mountain. Jan is so good and passionate about the World Heritage site and he shares just enough information to keep you interested. He shares history, plant knowledge, geological information all in little doses that settles somewhere in an over 60 brain, hopefully!!

The Swartberg mountains are like any other mountains,. They are big and awe inspiring and not to be messed with. The pass than runs over the top of the mountain was build in the 1880's by the master pass builder in S.A. in the late 18 hunderds, Thomas Bain and it took about 6 years, or there abouts. It has the most intricate dry stonewalling, which was built by hand after the local rock was "gun powdered" to break it and then chiseled and packed with no mortar on any other bonding material. Fancy that  and other than the bits washed away with the occasional flash flood, it is still all in place. Surely beats modern technology! It is a gravel road and since it is a World Heritage site it will always remain as such.

We saw Orange breasted Sunbirds, many protea species, fynbos and 2 Grey Reebuck along the way. After we had stopped at the "tea" stop we also saw 2 hiking Germans on the pass. This was a rare spotting as hiking is not     really allowed on the pass or in the mountains at the moment. Jan told us that the hiking trials should be opened again in March this year. It is an awesome place to hike in, tough and beautiful and challenging at best. The German couple was travelling through S.A.on foot, by public transport, bumming lifts and any other available manner. Surprising to me. They cannot drive and this is the  way they travel and in fact the 3rd time in S.A. I can hardly imagine travelling over the Swartberg and into the Hell without your own transport. well as they say, different strokes for different folks. Anyway we all agreed that it was ok to give them a lift into Prince Albert where we were heading for lunch..

Lunch was a splendid affair at the Prince Albert Country store where Colleen served us the slow roasted lamb, with oven roasted veggies, garden salad(out of her own garden) and home baked bread, all to be washed down with the local Bergwater wine. Life just gets better every day and the best part is, when it is all over, there is no back to work on Monday!!!!

The trip home through the Meiringspoort was low key, due to the heat, or the wine and the food. That is also a lovely trip following the flow of the river that consists of  about 24 crossings over the drifts, all with names relating to some incident that took place, like Gun powder drift, Wild horses drift and many others.

I just love this part of the world. 

Another day of Hell in Africa!

We stayed in the Bontebok National Park last night after we started off in pouring rain at Onrus, overcast weather through the Overberg, a lunchtime downpour in Swellendam and then a clear evening in the Park. This was all after a night of celebration for Dick's birthday the night before.Enough said and he is now definitely 61.
Today we left the Bontebok park and drove to Montagu to do the tractor drive up the mountain to Arangieskop.  It is really an awesome trip and some breathtaking views all the way up and from the top.It is a hugely popular outing and mostly supported by local people, as in South Africans. It is on a Protea farm and we were lucky today as the King proteas are beginning to bloom. The height at the top is 1500 mtr above sea level, which is somewhat higher than Table Mountain. The guy did say how much, however that info was filtered out.The tractor ride is followed by a Potjiekos lunch, with vetkoek en jam, home baked breads and lambcurry potjie , waterblommetjie potjie, chicken and veg and a chocolate pudding to die for. The bread alone is a meal for me.
We left there at about 13.30. One of the guys were not feeling well and it sounded like traveler's tummy and he did not feel fit enough to drive. His wife is a small "vroutjie" and the van is a bit big for her to drive, so Dick drove theirs and I drove ours all the way from the farm to Oudtshoorn , just to bloody scrape a guy's car as I turned in to park. Is sommer die bliksem in vir myself, but what happens happens and hopefully the unemployment pays out to cover the damage. If not, I will have to go out and do some serious "los werkies" The damage is not much, but the "omie" already told me that his car is his baby and on top of all he is a butcher and he told me he knows how to use a knife. So best I do what I have to do.The van is also a bit damaged, but that is now not my problem, yet! The problem is of course that the van's dimensions are somewhat different to that of my Opel and just as I thought that I have done a great job driving over several mountain passes, old Murphy was there for me again.
Anyway, I am coping with my "disaster" with a glass of red wine

The first 24 hours!

The first 24 hours of the trip always seems to be the worse.People do not know the campers, they don't know the roads, they have never experienced the driving style of our local transport providers and the campers always have something that does not work correctly and there is always one person in the group that has the ability to attract all the misfortune. Well no exception this time. we had the "vrot " water solved by a super chap who came from the Maui depot last night and sorted all those problems out. His name is Siphiso and his real job is to travel with groups of campers and to be their backup support. His 27 years old, has a wife and a camper home and they travel all over South Africa , Namibia, Botswana and wherever groups of more than 10 campers go. I mean how bad can that be?
Well in the first 24 hours we had the water issue, 1 failed battery which was replaced along Clarens drive in a gale force South Easter and one packed up kettle,which we will replace in Hermanus tomorrow. Now we are in Onrus and ready to open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate Dick's birthday.

We are on the road again!!

Happiness is .....picking up your camper van from Maui, stopping for your shopping, unpacking all your goodies and hitting the road and that is exactly what we did today. 5 Camper vans with us and 4 other British couples.
We spent the day before with them as well on the Scenic Cape Peninsula route, so we were already a bit better acquainted today.  The first day with the campers is always the most testing, because regardless of the preparation, the checking and the double checking, as in Murphy's law, if it can go wrong it will go wrong, so there is always a hitch of sorts. True to his law, old Murphy did come into play at our first stop in Stellenbosch. The water in the tanks were smelling off, as in "vrot".Luckily we are only about 30 km away from the depot and poor old MC, the general Mr fixit, is on his way to come and do what needs to be done. Mind you this is a huge improvement on the previous time, when two of the vehicles had problems with their turbos. We had to do major fixing and swopping of vans in Stellenbosch.
Anyway , the mechanic is on the way, the braai fire is just about lit and the wine is about to be poured, so how bad can it be!!
Tomorrow we are off to Hermanus, via Clarens drive to spend the night at Onrus.