Day 25 - Calitzdorp Spa to Home Sweet Home

We were woken up by a crying baby at 2 in the morning. It went on and on and the parents did not seem to hear her. We realized we had been spoilt up to now with places with few or no kids.  We eventually got back to sleep to be woken up by people driving off to go to Oudtshoorn for the next day’s festivities.

We had to jump into the hot pools again before we left. After having to listen to a teenage boy who liked the sound of his own voice and seemed to have to regale his friends with non-stop nonsense, for an hour, we decided it was time to hit the road.

We stopped off in Barrydale for a bite to eat, first time for us. The service was slow and not good, but the food was delicious. The obligatory stop at the dried fruit shop in Montagu happened again, and then it was off home.

Nicole was really happy to see us, but we missed Ticky not being there. Heather had let us know that she and Kirsten had completed their 20km paddle safely which was a relief. She is only due home in a few days.

That’s all folks and I hope you enjoyed our ramblings and photos.  Thanks for all the support and encouraging comments. 

L:  Now it is back to the salt-mines so that we will be able to save up for the next of our travels…..We really are enjoying getting to spend some time, out and about, and experiencing new (and sometimes old) places. 

Cheers all.  X

On the way home

Sometimes it pays to drive the back road through a town - Montagu in this case.

We need to end on a sunset near Calitzdorp

Day 24 - Port Elizabeth to Calitzdorp Spa

It drizzled during the night but the threat of a thunderstorm over land fizzled out. Ooooh I seem to like the zzzzzzzs.

First port of call on our way home was to say hello to Heather in Plettenberg Bay. She was at the main beach where the surf ski races were being held for the weekend. 2 hours later we caught up with her and had a bite to eat. Saturday’s ski race was under way and we waited until the race was over. Fish Hoek paddlers did very well today with Dawid and Jasper Mocke coming in first and second and Kirsty Flanagan (15) winning the ladies race. Well done to them. Heather and her friend, Kirsten, were going to tackle a race the next day in a double ski, so she was very nervous about that.

After we left Plett, we had to track down Lesley’s Aunt Bessie and Uncle Boy next. They live on a farm in Calitzdorp but seeing it was the Easter weekend it was likely they were on holiday. So after a call to her Aunt Dawn in Johannesburg to get her cousin, Neville’s, phone number we found out that they were staying at Buffel’s Bay which is just outside Knysna. We got directions, there are apparently, only 199 houses allowed there and it was not long before we found them.

Lesley spent a couple of hours catching up with family gossip while I watched the surfers and walked around the place a bit. I had never been here but, Lesley remembers some family holidays here many years ago. It seems to be very popular with the local surfers as well as upcountry folk as the caravan park was packed. Lesley’s aunt and uncle have been coming here since 1965.

We had sort of planned to stay at Calitzdorp Spa initially but had not booked so we decided to take a chance there anyway as no-one was answering their phone.  The weather was cold and wet so if we had to camp, we, at least had hot pools to keep warm in. The drive through the Outeniqua Pass was in heavy rain at times with a lot of traffic heading to George. The KKNK (Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, Little Karoo National Arts Festival) was taking place in Oudtshoorn and there were a lot of people travelling to and fro.

Oudtshoorn had some detours to get through the town, but we got through unscathed. GPSs are wonderful sometimes. We carried on towards Calitzdorp and seemed to be driving out of the rain, but the sun was setting and made seeing the wet cement road, rather difficult. I was following the GPS for the turnoff to the spa when we went past the first turnoff. I decided to turn the bakkie around to go back to the turnoff and ….  What an amazing sight!  The way back was dark with a wonderful double rainbow. I think there is a life’s lesson in that. L:  Very deep, Steve, ha ha……S:  We had to stop and take a photograph.

Then it was a drive along the bad concrete road until we reached the spa where we found the place booked out except for the camping place, so that was what we did on our last night. At least we could laze around in the hot pools to keep warm, so we took full advantage of it and really enjoyed the warm water until it was time for bed.   

We fell asleep to the deafening sound of the waves

My beautiful wife doing what she does best

Plettenberg Bay ski race paddlers

Dawid Mocke winning Saturday's race

Surfers enjoy Buffel's Bay

This photo just does not convey God's beauty

Day 23 - Badfontein to Port Elizabeth

Good Friday

6^th April – Happy 13^th birthday to Hannah in Ladybrand.

We were up very early and after a quick breakfast and packing up left at 08H00. It was a long drive to Port Elizabeth and some of the regional roads are quite bad. Some of the streets in the towns we pass through are also in bad shape. It seems the state of roads in South Africa has deteriorated and the municipalities are just not doing anything about them.

We stopped in Cradock for lunch and refuel and to do some more blog updating. Just as we exited Cradock we went past an open display of what is referred to as Karoo Art. Everything made out of wire. Windmills, motorbikes, helicopters, guitars, etc…..

We bought a windmill and took some photos to put on the blog.

We passed a farm stall called Daggaboer. Why it is called that, who knows? We were speculating that maybe he is licensed to grow dagga for medicinal purposes but it is more likely that it is just to attract attention to the farm stall.

Port Elizabeth beach front was packed and we later learned that it is because of the Splash Festival, whatever that is. We are here to visit Lesley’s aunt, May. She is the one we mentioned earlier that had broken her hip. We stopped off at a nearby Pick ‘n Pay to buy provisions to take and have supper with Aunty May. It was nice to catch up and show her some of our photos.

We finally took our leave at 19H00 and then it was another 36km to find our overnight spot at Beachview Holiday Resort. We had booked a camping spot with its own kitchen and bathroom. When we got here we found that the key to our unit had not been left at the gate but we were eventually given the key to another one.

We have a lovely view of the sea and will go to sleep to the sound of the waves.

Our bush camp

Sunset over the Orange river

The best art from Cradock

Day 22 - Malealea to Badfontein, Aliwal North

Last night was rather special. While the fire was burning for a braai the choir and band came to perform again. We were a bit busy during the choir performance but were able to sit down and watch the band. They use homemade guitars and drums and one of the guys plays something I have never seen before. It is a tin with a pole attached which has a string stretched between the two and he uses a short stick with a piece of string, like a violin bow, to play it.

After the band had finished their repertoire Lesley asked them to play Happy Birthday for me which they duly did.

It is the 5^th of April today and we think especially of Arthur and Doreen Haddow who celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary – Congratulations.

Today we are also leaving Lesotho and to make the most of it decided to take the dusty back roads to get out. We discovered a whole different part of the mountain area with pine forests everywhere and the most spectacular views on some of the passes. The area did not seem very populated except for a taxi here and there weaving across the road to avoid the huge potholes and ruts in the road. It seems the only vehicles on these back roads are taxis and busses.

We finally left Lesotho at Maholes Hoek and entered SA on a gravel road with about 45km to go to get to Zastron. We were planning to stay over at a place called Badfontein near Aliwal North but had not actually booked. We drove over the Orange River bridge which is a single lane now as the bridge has been damaged. The one lane is cordoned off but there is no sign of any repairs yet.

The Orange river is actually brown as it is in flood. We stopped off at a pub and grill just after the bridge for lunch and post the blog. We thought we were back in the 80s with steak, egg and chips for only R30 and a 500ml pot of coffee for R12. Beat that. We were deliberating about whether we should try and find space at the local warm water baths and a couple near us told us to avoid it as there have been bodies found floating in the baths. We decided to head straight to Badfontein.

22 km further on and 5 gates later we arrived at Badfontein guest farm which is right on the Orange river. It is a bush camp but has hot water and electricity and we were the only campers. And when they say bush they mean bush. A little way away they have a lapa at a sulphur water swimming pool. The pool is mostly natural rock. It has a smell to it and bubbles keep popping up from the bottom. It was a little green and greasy but was a welcome relief after the hot weather.

We had a braai and saw an amazing sunset over the Orange river.

Band's drummer at Malealea

On the way out

Oops, thats a tight squeeze

Amazing landscape

Sulphur pool at Badfontein

Day 21 - Birthday at Malealea

Today is my birthday, I am 15 years old. I had retrieved some wrapped presents out of the depths of the bakkie last night which had been buried for three weeks. I had the pleasure of unwrapping them this morning and found they were still all in one piece.

Lesley made me a lovely breakfast of sweetcorn fritters, mushrooms, last night’s rump steak, eggs and onions washed down with 100% orange juice. Yum! It was a leisurely breakfast and afterwards we had cappuccinos at the coffee shop. While there, we watched a turtle dove doing a mating dance and a scruffy looking woodpecker (Crested barbet) chasing them all away. The peacocks and peahens where also scratching around.

It was 10 o’clock by the time we set out on our next recommended drive which was into and around the gorge formed by the river. The road starts off narrow and hugs the mountain, passing huts, cattle, horses and sheep. It eventually winds down into the gorge, across the river and then climbs back up the mountain on the other side. The views from there are magnificent. We then opted to keep on going around in a sort of circle back to Malealea. It was 12H30 by the time we got back and both of us were feeling rather tired so we went for a short nap.

Then it was time for tea and getting up to date with the blog. Tomorrow we are back in SA so we can update the website again.

Cappucino for your birthday, brew.

Scruffy little crested barbet

New breed of dalmation

Did we come along there??

Malealea in the distance

Please remember to only drink water upstream

Day 20 - Ladybrand to Malealea

We were up early after another good night’s sleep. Andrew had to go to work so he left at 08H00 after saying goodbye.  He, Mandy and Hannah have been fantastic hosts and we really enjoyed our time catching up. 

We showered and packed the bakkie with fridge and freezer contents that we had stowed in their fridge.  We were so happy that our washing was up to date now as we have been on the road for 3 weeks living out of suitcases.

We popped in to the local Spar in Ladybrand, as the meat we had had was really tender.  We found everything that we needed and were very impressed with the availability and prices.

My phone, Vodacom, has finally cottoned on to the fact that I have International Roaming and somehow never seem to go over my allowable amount, so I needed to make calls to catch up before entering Lesotho.  I called the girls and chatted and got all the news.  Then I tried my Aunty May in Port Elizabeth again as we are wanting to visit on Friday 6^th April on our way through.  I have been trying to get hold of her for weeks and becoming very concerned.  I finally got to speak to her after waiting quite a few minutes for her to get to the phone……..

I was so shocked to hear that Aunty May had fallen and broken her hip while on holiday in the Drakensberg, she had returned home yesterday and has a carer.  What a shock.  We will pop in on Friday and take her supper.

We headed for the border, once again and without too much time, we were on our way – we bypassed Maseru – it is a tar road and in good condition so we made good time.  This part of Lesotho is very different to the part of Lesotho that we travelled last week.  The land is flatter and there is much more agriculture and more densely populated.  Everywhere you look you see meilie fields and now and again, there are sunflower plant plantations.  We turned off the tar road onto a gravel road through a notch in the mountains which is called the Gates of Paradise – on the way to Malealea.  Malealea was originally a trading store that was started by Mervyn Smith – there is a plaque on a rock at the top of the pass, bearing the words he used to utter every time he returned home. “Wayfarer pause and look upon a gateway of paradise”.  It is a truly beautiful view of the valley and this was our welcome.

Our welcome was to get better soon as when we entered Malealea Lodge we met Michael at reception who gave us a guided tour of all the facilities etc and then uttered the magic words…….”I have up-graded you” - we were shown to a lovely rondavel with en-suite bathroom, close to the communal kitchen, coffee-shop and evening entertainment and braai area.  We are not sure why we were up-graded – either because our Besotho hut was next to the rowdy bunch of Free State 4 x 4’ers or because we mentioned Andrew’s name (he knows them all here) or because I mentioned that it is Steve’s birthday tomorrow – whatever the reason – YAY – it is lovely!!!!

We settled into our new home and once unpacked decided to do the 4 X 4 sundowner drive. I think we missed one of the turnoffs and ended up taking a different road, it was still a track, but took us along the edge of the gorge. It was slow going due to the state of the track. Imagine my surprise when I realized I was following a 25 seater bus which was dropping off passengers along the route. I could not believe this track was a regular bus route. The track eventually ends and we had to turn around with the bus on our tail. On the way back we found the correct track to turn off on and it was worse than the first one. It was getting late so we did not go too far before we turned around and drove back to Malealea. When we got back the choir was already in full swing and when they were finished, were followed by a band using homemade instruments. I had started a braai while they were busy performing and we enjoyed matured rump steak for supper. The avos we bought in Durban nearly 2 weeks ago are now ripe so we have started enjoying those as well.

There are not many people in the lodge at the moment so it is very quite which we hoped would ensure us a good night’s sleep.

Mervyn Bosworth Smith's famous words

Malealea rondawel and coffee shop. (Note the kettle solar heater in the middle)

View from the stoep

Tack room

Perched on a cliff

Goats with velcro feet

Steve's sunset

Day 19 - Ladybrand, Maseru

Andrew had put in a day’s leave for today, which was Monday, so that he could spend some time showing us around Maseru and taking us for breakfast. We had a wonderful night’s rest and after Mandy had seen her clients, she still had to work, we got into his bakkie and he took us down the road to a place that had a coffee shop and also did breakfasts, Cranberry Restaurant – really nice breakfast, thanks Andrew and Mandy.  Lovely Swiss Hot Chocolate too.

The property looks quite insignificant from the road but is very interesting, once inside. Aside from the coffee shop there is a lot of garden with paths, a pond with ducks in, a pond with koi fish in, accommodation units, little conference area, a wellness centre with spa and a gym and probably some stuff that we missed.

We headed for the Lesotho border in Maseru where we had to do the passport thing again, silly us, we should have got a 3 day pass as we were coming back on Tuesday through to Thursday and that would have saved a lot of effort.

Andrew has worked in Maseru for many years, off and on and so knows the area really well.  He showed us the route we could take to by-pass Maseru for our trip to Malealea on Tuesday.  On the way we passed the Pope’s podium where the Pope delivered his address to the crowds when he visited recently.  He showed us the Chinese-built and sponsored Parliament buildings for the Lesotho government, which are not yet occupied as there is apparently a dispute as to Lesotho’s side of the deal.  We were amazed at how much foreign aid there seems to be in and around Maseru.

We also stopped off at the Lesotho Sun Hotel and had a walk around (or limp, for poor Mandy, who has a cast on her foot after suffering a broken ankle).  The view from the pool deck was great and a bird’s eye view of part of the city.  You can see business blocks, traffic as well as local street-vendors.  It is pretty noisy, but fairly clean.

Andrew showed us his office as well as the several homes that he has lived in over the years.  They range from modern to really old stone homes in the suburbs.  Our tour ended at Lancers’ Inn, Rendezvous Restaurant where we had a drink in the very pretty garden.  Their friends, Catherine and Johnny, own the hotel and Johnny is the Dutch Consulate in Lesotho.  They were invited to join us for supper that evening.

After a very busy tour, we had to head back to Andrew and Mandy’s home as she had appointments in the later afternoon. 

We had a lovely evening with good company and great food, Andrew did lamb in the Weber and Mandy took care of all the trimmings…….We were spoilt rotten and shooed out of the kitchen when we offered any help, thanks Guys.

Our gracious hosts - SMILE

A duck with houding (spunky!!)

New Lesotho parliament buildings

Maseru mayhem

Pope's podium

Day 18 - Golden Gate

Last night we had a visit from some students asking us to fill in a survey about SANPARKS. I filled it in but they did not come and fetch it like they said so I handed it in at the reception when I returned the key. Breakfast had been eggs, toast and leftover thinly cut pork ribs. We packed the car and eventually got it started. It has been battling to start due to altitude and the cold I think. When it did start it put out an enormous smoke cloud which just happened to drift past a family sitting enjoying coffee and rusks outside their rondavel. Oops! 

There are two game viewing drives which we planned to do. There are a few species of buck and black wildebees to see as well as some bird species. It was a nice drive into the hills but game was a bit scarce. One of the viewpoints looks over a dam and we spotted a white breasted cormorant in the water. We saw a black wildebees fairly close and then spotted something in the distance. It was too far away to identify so we used the camera to zoom as far as it could to take a photo and then enlarged the picture. It was very blurred and looked like a donkey as it had long ears. Then I thought that maybe it was an oribi (buck) as the pamphlet we had got mentioned them and we had never seen one before. I googled it on my phone and that confirmed that we had just seen an oribi albeit very far away.

Towards the end of the second drive we encountered some baboons. It was a very large troop and very scattered all over the hill, each doing its own thing. One seemed to be digging like a dog. After the drive we decided to head towards Ladybrand as we were to stay there for the next two nights at my cousin, Andrew, and his family. We still had a little time so we stopped off at the van Reenen family cemetery just outside the resort. That family started Golden Gate farm and owned it until the parks took it over. It was interesting to discover the graves of two people from the family who were killed by a lightning strike on Mount Aux Sources in 1932.

Then it was off towards Clarens. Andrew had said to us we should have breakfast there but we did not realize the significance of the suggestions. With time in hand I decided to drive through the town to see what it was like. The main street turns into a square and it was like another Greenmarket square. The place was humming. There are shops everywhere selling just about everything. Food, art, clothing, beer, property, antiques, you name it. We had to stop and look around. It was lunchtime so we had to find some food. We settled on the Clarens Brewery. I know, it sounds like we have a drinking problem but they offered a German sausage and cheese platter with pickles, gherkins, relish and a few things we could not figure out but tasted good. Ever heard of onion marmalade? They also offer a tasting of their beers and ciders before you buy anything. Very convenient.

After lunch we had to go in search of some onion marmalade at the local grocer. Then I had to drag Lesley away as we still had an almost two hour drive to Ladybrand. We eventually arrived in the town and drove around trying to remember the directions Andrew had given us. We were astonished at how potholed the streets are. The municipality has done nothing to fix the roads. We eventually called Andrew to rather come a fetch us as it would be quicker. He has just finished building a new house in a newer area of the town. He arrived within minutes and we followed him home. Lesley and I remembered doing the same thing 26 years ago when we were in Pretoria and camping in a park. Andrew was horrified that we were there as somebody had been murdered in the park recently and he insisted that we stay at his flat. That time it was a little more difficult trying to follow him through Pretoria.

It is the 1^st of April today and I said to Lesley that maybe we should phone Andrew and say we were not coming as an April fool’s joke but she said I could not be so cruel. We were made very welcome by Andrew, Mandy and Hannah. Hannah has even given up her double bed for us for which we are grateful. The rest of the evening was taken up with catching up on family news and holiday happenings. Andrew made a braai of matured rump steak that he had got from the local Spar and it was really tender. We decided to make a point of stopping there to buy some on the way out.

Then it was off to bed on a really comfortable mattress.

Golden Gate vista

Black wildebees

Whats dung is dung!

Hi - stop apeing around .....

I wish my car had a sign like this

Lunch is not just lunch in Clarens

Railway blast from the past

Day 17 - St James Lodge to Golden Gate

I woke up once during the night and the rain had stopped but when I got up at five it was raining again and when it started to get light we could see snow on the mountains around the Sani pass area. We got up the pass just in time.

Based on the advice we had got and the fact that it had rained all night we decided not to take the road east to Katse dam but instead to head north along the A1 to the border and see how it panned out time wise. Our fellow travelers had travelled along this road the previous day and said it was a good tar road. To get back to this road we had to go down a steep pass into the valley and then out the other side on a now wet and slippery road. So it was a slow drive in four wheel drive down and up.

The tar road was very good and I was considering pumping my tyres up again. That thought went out the window very shortly when we started hitting the potholes. We were going up Tlaeeng pass and the tar road deteriorated into just gravel. Now and again you could see the tar strips sticking out. We climbed and climbed and the potholes got worse. I suppose you could start calling them craters now. Suddenly we came around the bend and saw snow. Lesley had to get out and touch it. I got a snowball against the windscreen and after checking the outside temperature gauge, it showed 4 degrees, was glad I was inside the car. The temp had dropped from 8 degrees when we left St James.

A little later we saw a sign for Sky Restaurant, the highest restaurant in Africa. It turned out to be on the premises of Afri-Ski. They operate a ski slope in winter and offer other activities. We were greeted by Heather and Jacques who are involved in the resort and had a nice friendly chat. They told us that the current restaurant premises are new and that there are new summer activities that have been introduced. You can get all the information on their website at www.afriski.net It would appear that Tiffendale ski resort in South Africa is closed and this is the only one in Africa. We enjoyed excellent cappuccinos and toasted sandwiches in the restaurant before we left.

(It seems that Sani Top Chalet’s claim to having the highest pub in Africa is no longer valid. Sani Top Chalet is at 2874 metres. Afri-Ski has a bar in the Gondola Café which resides at over 3000 metres.)

The road got better a little way past Afr-Ski and we were able to get into fourth gear in places. We were driving along and suddenly we had snow hitting the windscreen. It was amazing for us country bumpkins who had never seen it snowing before. We really got excited.

We also encountered a bird of prey perched at the top of a pole. We could not identify it in our bird book though. All the way along the road we have had to dodge sheep, goats, donkeys and cattle. The more we try to go past them the faster they run. Quite funny really.

We were stopped at the top of Moteng pass by traffic police to wait for an abnormal load of an excavator coming up for the diamond mine. The truck was assisted with a tow by a massive dump truck that was brought from the mine to get it up the pass. When we were let on our way down the pass I could see why. This pass is really steep with some very sharp hairpin bends. It was very carefully down this one.

The rest of the way to the border at Caledonspoort was relatively easy. We had decided that we would look for a place to stay in South Africa and Lesley had seen on the map that Golden Gate National Park was not too far from the border. It was a quick stop in Fouriesburg to pump the tyres and check the route on the laptop.

As Lesley has not been feeling that great we decided not to camp and managed to get a longdawel in the Glen Reenen resort. Very nicely equipped but rather expensive. Tomorrow we will do some of the drives before heading to Ladybrand where we will be staying with my cousin, Andrew and his family. We had a lovely braai and went to bed.   

Potholes and snow on Tlaeeng Pass

If this pass was gravel it would rate as a level 4 4X4 route

Rock kestrel?

This one did not make it off Moteng pass

In Lesotho you are either going up a pass or down a pass

Sunset at Glen Reenen Resort, Golden Gate park