KZN/Lesotho road trip: Day 2 - Warmwaterberg to Dassie Bak

L: Buzzzz - I had a dream that a wasp was stinging me on my arm. I woke up and slapped my arm and then thought how silly that was, ha ha and then sat bolt upright (yes, I can in the rooftop tent) and found myself in the middle of a swarm of bees, well actually they were all outside in the tree and we were protected by mosquito net, but they were literally all around us. I woke Steve and told him we needed to get out of there and move the car (and tent) out of the line of fire or we would not get out and be able to pack up later. Steve suggested that he would jump in the car and move the car with me still up in the tent, but I was not keen on that idea so we both got out to move the car several metres away for safety. Luckily, I saw the ginger cat curled up in the wheel hub, on top of the tyre just before Steve moved the bakkie.

We never saw the whole swarm of bees as the pepper tree was so huge with possible hollow trunk or branches, but thankfully Steve took me seriously. We had the peafowl (peahens and peachicks (thanks Elana for that info and a bunch of them is called a muster) all milling around as well as the hens, chicken and roosters so I fed them the left over bread for breakfast

S: We left for Oudtshoorn as that was where we hoped to refuel, buy some meat and do a quick shop. We managed to get that all done in an hour and then went hunting for a coffee shop with wi-fi. I had chatted to a young lady at the service station as all the old folk we had approached looking for a place with wi-fi, looked blank. She suggested a place called La Dolce Vita which turned out to be the place to go. The people were friendly, the light lunch was good and we managed to post the blog.

L: As we left Oudtshoorn, I spotted a garage called Steve’s Tyres and Exhausts, which from far, I had read as Steve, Tyred and Exhausted, had a good laugh as he is trying really hard to unwind and relax.

We had a good giggle at one of the roadwork stops, as we started through it, we saw a sign which read “Moving Plant” – took a while to click, Steve thought it might grow on you……..(Not the easiest sign for people to understand, especially foreigners or Afrikaans speaking people ;-}

S: It was a bit tedious getting to Baviaanskloof because of all the road works stop/go we had to endure but once we had turned off the tar onto the gravel it was all worth it. It was the first time along this road for me but Lesley had done part of it with her family 40 years ago. She has some pretty vivid memories of the time. L: There was a lot of water in the rivers at that time and Dad managed to get the Austin Princess (not the ideal car for travelling back roads) stuck in a river. All our bedding on the floor of the car was soaked along with our chips and biscuits. Judy and Peter (my siblings) still talk about sitting on the river bank, first crying and then praying, while Linda (my older sister) and I tried, in vain, to rescue our kit from being wet and destroyed and helping to move rocks and shove under the tyres while Dad reversed the car out after hours of struggling. He promptly put it back into first gear and attempted to drive through again with all of us screaming and crying. To my knowledge, we never made it and had to abandon the attempt and go back the way we had come. What a lasting memory that was for all of us!!

The entrance to Baviaanskloof is down a pass and into this kloof that twists and turns with the most amazing rock formations. The road is good and an enjoyable drive except for when a bakkie came around a corner too fast, suddenly saw us, and nearly had an accident avoiding us. Lesley thought she saw a snake but after we had turned around to look it was gone. Then we came upon a tortoise in the middle of the road. He was rather large and going too slow so we decided to overtake. L: Something like the Fish Hoek drivers and it also took no notice of the hooter, or didn’t hear it.

S: We were headed for Rietvlei farm and the famous Makkedaat caves. Our cave of choice was Dassie Bak cave. L: The honeymoon suite, thanks Steve……. They have a tame baby bull (heifer) at reception which they still feed by bottle. He stands about waist high and really didn’t like me trying to stroke him. Inside reception with the really nice hosts, I found a jar of honey and honey comb (for only R40) which I thought we had to take as a momento to our brush with the swarm of bees…….When I held the jar up to show Steve, he said gross, he thought it was a leopard toad in the jar, no Steve, we only have those on our roads in Kirstenhof and surrounds……

We stopped at the bottom of the road to the cave which is 39 steps cut roughly out of the mountainside, climbed up and were so pleasantly surprised by the accommodation, yes, Steve, you did it again! It was lovely. It is a cave closed over by a wooden front to secure it. The most amazing view of the valley with a wooden deck to enjoy the sunset and sunrise. The en-suite bathroom is out the back door with a flushing loo, shower – open to the elements and a wash basin and sink. The fireplace inside doubles up as a heater to the water cistern to heat up the water for the shower. I got such a fright when it started boiling and the hot water spurted outside the back door, lucky neither of us was washing dishes at the sink at the time.

We had a good meal of kudu and lamb kebabs, courtesy of the butchery in Oudtshoorn. Then it was off to bed.