We were up early to pack our bags, as we fly today from Port Elizabeth to Durban. I will never know how we managed to close our cases! We had packed all of the wine we'd bought in Franschhoek - up to now we'd been able to leave it in the car boot.
We had an easy run to PE airport. Quite funny, as our Dutch friends were also flying out of PE at about the same time as us, and they had a GPS system. When we saw them at PE, they told us they'd ended up in the middle of a township!! Did we have any problems? Nope, just followed the airport signs!
On check in our luggage was 9kg overweight. Eek. However, the nice lady on the desk said she would be lenient with us and ignore it.
We flew Kulula, a low cost domestic airline. It was hilarious. I have never laughed so much on a flight - the safety announcement was comical (deliberately so). They call all their passengers "kulula fans" and deliberately make the announcement funny so that people keep listening. Clever really. Some excerpts:
"Buckle those belts around your gorgeous hips, kulula fans".
"In the event of landing in water... put on your stunning life jacket (it's just your colour) and if you feel it deflating then find this tube and BLOW baby BLOW. You never know - you might just make this!"
"In the 1,000,000 to one chance of Robert Mugabe ever stepping down, or decompression in the cabin......... Now we recommend fitting your own oxygen mask first and then helping just one other person. So if you have 2 children with you, then now is the time to decide which one you love most".
There was a load of other stuff but I'm not sure how well it will translate to blog so I'll leave it there!
We landed spot on time. Gordon and Margaret (my aunt and uncle) were there to greet us and drive us to their home - our base for the next week. The weather is not great (20 and cloudy) despite Durban being known as the Sunny City! We arrived at their place mid afternoon and sat and chatted. The views from their house are wonderful - I felt like I knew the place because, when Dad was ill and G&M came to visit him, they bought lots of photos and video clips of their house as Dad wanted to see it. They only moved here 2 years ago - my uncle designed it himself and they had it built on a plot of land they bought. When my Dad visited, they were living in a different part of Durban.
The area they live in now borders a nature reserve and there are Zebras who stand in the field at the bottom of their road....
http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionskzn/kloof.htm
Soon after, Gail (my cousin) and her youngest daughter Candice arrived and they started the Braai (South African BBQ). This was wonderful - we had the most tasty fillet steak and Gail made fantastic sweetcorn fritters and something called putu-pap. This is mealie meal (maize) cooked until crumbly and served with tomato and onion gravy - very tasty. Another recipe I've since repeated at home.
We had an assortment of other meat too and plenty of red wine was consumed.
The sad thing we learned today is that my cousin Barry is ill.
We were all in bed by 10 - it's very much an early to bed, early to rise type of life style and we're fitting in to that quite nicely!
Wednesday 30 April 2008
Tuesday 29 April 2008
A day in the Elephant Park
We woke at 6 - we're still on Kwandwe time!
I still have an upset stomach - that bug is certainly hanging around.
We had breakfast and then joined our new Dutch friends who were on the same Addo game drive as us. Our guide is Ilana, a young girl.
It was a strange start to the morning - misty, drizzly and cold. Then, as soon as our jeep got just outside of the Park gates, all of the mist lifted and the sun was out. This was a good thing as we were freezing in the jeep (even with several layers and our "ponchos" on).
Addo Elephant Park is a National Park and we could have self driven in there - but we decided that it would be better to have a guide and so we'd booked on the trip. Ilana was excellent - she was incredibly knowledgeable and there wasn't a plant, bird, insect or mammal that she could not give detailed information about. I was hugely impressed.
http://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/
We saw:
Red hartebeest
Kudu
Yellow Mongoose
Warthogs - everywhere!
White necked raven
Ibis (Hadeha)
Southern Booboo
Ostrich
Helmeted guinea fowl
Tortoise
And - a huge dung beetle rolling her dung ball across the road, while her male partner just watched. No further comment on this! I was so pleased to see the dung beetle as I wanted to know how big they are in real life. They're about 2-3 inches long. You're not allowed to drive over the elephant dung (which is everywhere) at Addo so as to protect this rare species.
What about eles? Oh yes - we did see some, eventually. In fact we'd given up hope. Poor Ilana must have driven up and down every single loop road in the park when all of a sudden we rounded a corner just in time to encounter a small herd of 6 munching their way through the trees and then crossing the road right by our jeep. I couldn't believe how close they come. Definitely not shy eles. Then we saw a large group in the distance down by a watering hole, including a few huge bulls - but by the time we'd got down there, the elephants had wandered on. Still, a great morning.
On our way out of the park we had to pull up sharp behind a car that had stopped. The driver was out of the car and loading plant material (Ilana said it was spekboom, which the locals eat like a salad leaf) into his boot. She shouted to him that it was illegal to a) be out of your car in the park unless at a designated spot (there are lions in Addo) and b) it was HIGHLY illegal to remove any vegetation from the park. He just smiled and said Thank You.
Stupid man. Within seconds, Ilana had clocked his vehicle reg and phoned ahead to the Park Gate to ensure that he got searched on exiting.
So - back at Elephant House for about 2. What to do this afternoon? Ilana gave us some ideas.
http://www.elephanthouse.co.za/
We decided on a drive up the Zuurberg Pass into the mountains where we'd seen a one hour circular walk. Looked like just the right length walk. We quickly found (after paying our way on to the trail) that it was another treacherous South African walk! We took a very rocky climb down and down and down (all the time thinking "I've got to get back up this) and then the trail levelled out for a while. But followed the edge of the mountain along a sheer cliff edge for some distance. We didn't look down much! Fortunately the road back up to the car park was nice and smooth and actually a fairly gentle incline. We saw some incredible insects on the trail! This was the first exercise we'd done in about a week so it was nice to stretch the legs out.
We got back in time for afternoon tea and cake (which was delicious) and then decided to have a look around the Addo Valley Raptor and Reptile Centre. We had a couple of hours to pass before getting ready for dinner and it wasn't really hot enough to sit out in the gardens.
http://www.addoraptorreptile.com/about_us.html
Now, generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of animals in cages, but this place was a bit different.
Darren, the guy who runs it, took us round and we were there for nearly 2 hours - holding snakes, feeding hawks, meeting all his "friends". He really is a great guy - kind of a South African Steve Irwin type, really passionate about what he does. Roy loves reptiles (maybe it's a boy thing) and so was delighted to hold a baby black mamba (one of the deadliest snakes in the world). He also liked having two pythons wrapped around his neck! I can't say that I was as pleased when Darren popped one of them on my shoulders, too - but I guess you have to try these things. "Go on" he said "It's like having a massage, it's nice". It wasn't!
I did like feeding the kite and owls. Holding an owl on my (gloved) hand was very special. And very heavy! Darren takes in injured snakes and birds and he trys to rehabilitate most of the birds and let them go. I tell you - this was the best R40 I spent!
Dinner was at the Elephant House again. There is another restaurant in walking distance but we decided to stay put.
Roy: Onion, Saffron and Herb zapped tomato tart/Lamb shank, roasted veg and mash/Spiced apple pie.
Jan: Beetroot, rocket and avo salad with seeds and lime dressing/Herb baked chicken breast, potato wedges and veg/Malva Pudding with ice cream
My dinner was not quite as advertised! The seeds and lime dressing weren't there, and the chicken breast was a scrawny leg. But the malva pudding was excellent and made up for it.
We shared a bottle of white and then Roy had the largest Irish Coffee I've ever seen in my life!
I still have an upset stomach - that bug is certainly hanging around.
We had breakfast and then joined our new Dutch friends who were on the same Addo game drive as us. Our guide is Ilana, a young girl.
It was a strange start to the morning - misty, drizzly and cold. Then, as soon as our jeep got just outside of the Park gates, all of the mist lifted and the sun was out. This was a good thing as we were freezing in the jeep (even with several layers and our "ponchos" on).
Addo Elephant Park is a National Park and we could have self driven in there - but we decided that it would be better to have a guide and so we'd booked on the trip. Ilana was excellent - she was incredibly knowledgeable and there wasn't a plant, bird, insect or mammal that she could not give detailed information about. I was hugely impressed.
http://www.sanparks.org/parks/addo/
We saw:
Red hartebeest
Kudu
Yellow Mongoose
Warthogs - everywhere!
White necked raven
Ibis (Hadeha)
Southern Booboo
Ostrich
Helmeted guinea fowl
Tortoise
And - a huge dung beetle rolling her dung ball across the road, while her male partner just watched. No further comment on this! I was so pleased to see the dung beetle as I wanted to know how big they are in real life. They're about 2-3 inches long. You're not allowed to drive over the elephant dung (which is everywhere) at Addo so as to protect this rare species.
What about eles? Oh yes - we did see some, eventually. In fact we'd given up hope. Poor Ilana must have driven up and down every single loop road in the park when all of a sudden we rounded a corner just in time to encounter a small herd of 6 munching their way through the trees and then crossing the road right by our jeep. I couldn't believe how close they come. Definitely not shy eles. Then we saw a large group in the distance down by a watering hole, including a few huge bulls - but by the time we'd got down there, the elephants had wandered on. Still, a great morning.
On our way out of the park we had to pull up sharp behind a car that had stopped. The driver was out of the car and loading plant material (Ilana said it was spekboom, which the locals eat like a salad leaf) into his boot. She shouted to him that it was illegal to a) be out of your car in the park unless at a designated spot (there are lions in Addo) and b) it was HIGHLY illegal to remove any vegetation from the park. He just smiled and said Thank You.
Stupid man. Within seconds, Ilana had clocked his vehicle reg and phoned ahead to the Park Gate to ensure that he got searched on exiting.
So - back at Elephant House for about 2. What to do this afternoon? Ilana gave us some ideas.
http://www.elephanthouse.co.za/
We decided on a drive up the Zuurberg Pass into the mountains where we'd seen a one hour circular walk. Looked like just the right length walk. We quickly found (after paying our way on to the trail) that it was another treacherous South African walk! We took a very rocky climb down and down and down (all the time thinking "I've got to get back up this) and then the trail levelled out for a while. But followed the edge of the mountain along a sheer cliff edge for some distance. We didn't look down much! Fortunately the road back up to the car park was nice and smooth and actually a fairly gentle incline. We saw some incredible insects on the trail! This was the first exercise we'd done in about a week so it was nice to stretch the legs out.
We got back in time for afternoon tea and cake (which was delicious) and then decided to have a look around the Addo Valley Raptor and Reptile Centre. We had a couple of hours to pass before getting ready for dinner and it wasn't really hot enough to sit out in the gardens.
http://www.addoraptorreptile.com/about_us.html
Now, generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of animals in cages, but this place was a bit different.
Darren, the guy who runs it, took us round and we were there for nearly 2 hours - holding snakes, feeding hawks, meeting all his "friends". He really is a great guy - kind of a South African Steve Irwin type, really passionate about what he does. Roy loves reptiles (maybe it's a boy thing) and so was delighted to hold a baby black mamba (one of the deadliest snakes in the world). He also liked having two pythons wrapped around his neck! I can't say that I was as pleased when Darren popped one of them on my shoulders, too - but I guess you have to try these things. "Go on" he said "It's like having a massage, it's nice". It wasn't!
I did like feeding the kite and owls. Holding an owl on my (gloved) hand was very special. And very heavy! Darren takes in injured snakes and birds and he trys to rehabilitate most of the birds and let them go. I tell you - this was the best R40 I spent!
Dinner was at the Elephant House again. There is another restaurant in walking distance but we decided to stay put.
Roy: Onion, Saffron and Herb zapped tomato tart/Lamb shank, roasted veg and mash/Spiced apple pie.
Jan: Beetroot, rocket and avo salad with seeds and lime dressing/Herb baked chicken breast, potato wedges and veg/Malva Pudding with ice cream
My dinner was not quite as advertised! The seeds and lime dressing weren't there, and the chicken breast was a scrawny leg. But the malva pudding was excellent and made up for it.
We shared a bottle of white and then Roy had the largest Irish Coffee I've ever seen in my life!
Monday 28 April 2008
Kwandwe, Day 4 and we leave today
Strangely, two couples did not join the morning drive. Nick and Nicky were "having a lie in". Huh? Brian and Korbie had decided to leave at 9am for their long drive to the far end of the garden route. Now B & K safari a lot - well they live in Joburg and clearly have the cash to do it. But Nick and Nicky were on the last two days of their trip! Personally I'd have been making the most of it.
And what a fantastic drive they missed! We were joined by a lovely SA couple from Cape Town, Elizabeth and Graham.
We saw:
Elephant (we finally caught up with them. They were really noisy and were dusting their backs and "shouting" at one of the cars).
Steenbok
Rhino
Impala
Red Hartebeest
Cheetah (they were also quite active this morning, a great sighting)
Oryx
Warthogs
Ostrich
Zebra
Vervet Monkeys
Wildebeest
Springbox
Buffalo
In fact, at one point, Alfie told us we had three endangered species in our sights - black rhino, black wildebeest and cheetah. Alfie was good company. And he really knew his stuff, although I did find that early on in the trip he wasn't particularly forthcoming with info. Once we started asking questions, he did tell us a lot of stuff. Maybe he realised we actually wanted to know more about things at that point. I asked some stupid questions though! One morning we were going over a load of "humps" on the track and I asked him why they'd put speed bumps in the reserve. I think he struggled to keep a straight face as he explained that they were the park's water pipes running under the track and not speed bumps!
Another day, Brian was going on about wanting to see a Knysna Woodpecker. Alfie made some comment about how he'd probably hear it before he saw it. I piped up with: "Why - what does it sound like?". Every single person in the car just looked at me and said "It's a woodpecker". Duh! Actually, later on I read in a bird book that it also has a distinctive call so I do feel somewhat vindicated.
I became rather fond of bird watching on this trip - there are so many beautiful birds here and it is amazing what you see when you look. In fact, we did buy a Sasol (one of the two main guides to SA birds) while we were in Addo.
So, back to camp for breakfast and then our farewells. Lisa and Simone (the camp hosts) came to say goodbye. A guy called Shakes was driving us back to the Main House to pick up our car. 10 minutes in to the journey I asked the inevitable question to Roy: Did you pick up our passports and cash out of the safe? I got the inevitable answer: No.
Another turn around to get them!
As we drove ourselves out of the Reserve, we saw some lovely giraffe by the gate. It had started to drizzle by then. We had a 2 hour drive to our next port of call - the Elephant House guest house near Addo Elephant Park.
We arrived mid-afternoon. It was still raining. What a pity. The gardens (and swimming pool) here are lovely. We walked around them and when the rain went off we took a walk in nearby farm land and citrus groves. We came back for "afternoon tea" - cake and tea/coffee were being served on the terrace - and then went back to our room to chill out.
Of all the accomodations we stayed in during our trip, this was the room we liked least.
We were told we'd been upgraded from a Terrace room but the room we got was nothing special, probably the smallest of all the places we'd stayed in. I think what put me off were the "antiques" which basically meant tatty furniture and threadbare rugs in the room! Again, maybe just a matter of taste.... the room was clean, though and the bed was comfortable. Maybe by this point we'd just been spoiled rotten!! However, what we did love about Elephant House was the ambience. It's so chilled and relaxing and the staff here are just so happy! We listened to them gossiping and laughing in the kitchen and saw them playing hide and seek in the gardens one morning.
Elephant House serves dinner, and so we decided to eat here tonight. Before dinner, we were invited to take drinks on the terrace and we chatted with all the other guests over a glass of wine. We have three girl friends - one from Ireland, one from Australia and one from Oklahoma - they were good fun. We also met a lovely Dutch couple who speak about 5 languages! When dinner was served, the lady chef and waitresses came dancing through the garden, banging a gong and singing an african song to announce it!
Roy: chorizo/potato/pepper salad
Jan: Butternut fritters dusted with parmesan/salad
Both: rare beef fillet with brown onion gravy and sweet potatoes. Chocolate Lava Hot Pot and vanilla bean ice cream. Bottle of red. Coffee.
This was all very nice indeed - the beef, as ever, was exceptional.
Clive, the owner, has worked in stud farms all his life and actually worked at Coolmore stud in Ireland. Roy was so keen to chat to him! And his eyes were popping out of his head at all the horse racing books and magazines strewn around the lounge/library. He borrowed a couple to glance through during our stay.
Another coincidence - one of the other guests (the Irish girl) is a distant relative of Vincent O'Brien (famous horse racing trainer in Ireland with strong connections to Coolmore). She says that she is from the "poor side of the family"!
After dinner, somebody managed to persaude Roy to sing! Oh no! Actually he gave rather a nice rendition of "On Ilkley Moor Bar Tat" which is a famous Yorkshire song. I didn't even know he knew it!
Tomorrow we're booked on a game drive into the Elephant Park, but the good news is that we don't leave until 9am! Luxurious lie in......
And what a fantastic drive they missed! We were joined by a lovely SA couple from Cape Town, Elizabeth and Graham.
We saw:
Elephant (we finally caught up with them. They were really noisy and were dusting their backs and "shouting" at one of the cars).
Steenbok
Rhino
Impala
Red Hartebeest
Cheetah (they were also quite active this morning, a great sighting)
Oryx
Warthogs
Ostrich
Zebra
Vervet Monkeys
Wildebeest
Springbox
Buffalo
In fact, at one point, Alfie told us we had three endangered species in our sights - black rhino, black wildebeest and cheetah. Alfie was good company. And he really knew his stuff, although I did find that early on in the trip he wasn't particularly forthcoming with info. Once we started asking questions, he did tell us a lot of stuff. Maybe he realised we actually wanted to know more about things at that point. I asked some stupid questions though! One morning we were going over a load of "humps" on the track and I asked him why they'd put speed bumps in the reserve. I think he struggled to keep a straight face as he explained that they were the park's water pipes running under the track and not speed bumps!
Another day, Brian was going on about wanting to see a Knysna Woodpecker. Alfie made some comment about how he'd probably hear it before he saw it. I piped up with: "Why - what does it sound like?". Every single person in the car just looked at me and said "It's a woodpecker". Duh! Actually, later on I read in a bird book that it also has a distinctive call so I do feel somewhat vindicated.
I became rather fond of bird watching on this trip - there are so many beautiful birds here and it is amazing what you see when you look. In fact, we did buy a Sasol (one of the two main guides to SA birds) while we were in Addo.
So, back to camp for breakfast and then our farewells. Lisa and Simone (the camp hosts) came to say goodbye. A guy called Shakes was driving us back to the Main House to pick up our car. 10 minutes in to the journey I asked the inevitable question to Roy: Did you pick up our passports and cash out of the safe? I got the inevitable answer: No.
Another turn around to get them!
As we drove ourselves out of the Reserve, we saw some lovely giraffe by the gate. It had started to drizzle by then. We had a 2 hour drive to our next port of call - the Elephant House guest house near Addo Elephant Park.
We arrived mid-afternoon. It was still raining. What a pity. The gardens (and swimming pool) here are lovely. We walked around them and when the rain went off we took a walk in nearby farm land and citrus groves. We came back for "afternoon tea" - cake and tea/coffee were being served on the terrace - and then went back to our room to chill out.
Of all the accomodations we stayed in during our trip, this was the room we liked least.
We were told we'd been upgraded from a Terrace room but the room we got was nothing special, probably the smallest of all the places we'd stayed in. I think what put me off were the "antiques" which basically meant tatty furniture and threadbare rugs in the room! Again, maybe just a matter of taste.... the room was clean, though and the bed was comfortable. Maybe by this point we'd just been spoiled rotten!! However, what we did love about Elephant House was the ambience. It's so chilled and relaxing and the staff here are just so happy! We listened to them gossiping and laughing in the kitchen and saw them playing hide and seek in the gardens one morning.
Elephant House serves dinner, and so we decided to eat here tonight. Before dinner, we were invited to take drinks on the terrace and we chatted with all the other guests over a glass of wine. We have three girl friends - one from Ireland, one from Australia and one from Oklahoma - they were good fun. We also met a lovely Dutch couple who speak about 5 languages! When dinner was served, the lady chef and waitresses came dancing through the garden, banging a gong and singing an african song to announce it!
Roy: chorizo/potato/pepper salad
Jan: Butternut fritters dusted with parmesan/salad
Both: rare beef fillet with brown onion gravy and sweet potatoes. Chocolate Lava Hot Pot and vanilla bean ice cream. Bottle of red. Coffee.
This was all very nice indeed - the beef, as ever, was exceptional.
Clive, the owner, has worked in stud farms all his life and actually worked at Coolmore stud in Ireland. Roy was so keen to chat to him! And his eyes were popping out of his head at all the horse racing books and magazines strewn around the lounge/library. He borrowed a couple to glance through during our stay.
Another coincidence - one of the other guests (the Irish girl) is a distant relative of Vincent O'Brien (famous horse racing trainer in Ireland with strong connections to Coolmore). She says that she is from the "poor side of the family"!
After dinner, somebody managed to persaude Roy to sing! Oh no! Actually he gave rather a nice rendition of "On Ilkley Moor Bar Tat" which is a famous Yorkshire song. I didn't even know he knew it!
Tomorrow we're booked on a game drive into the Elephant Park, but the good news is that we don't leave until 9am! Luxurious lie in......
Sunday 27 April 2008
Kwandwe, Day 3
Morning drive:
Bushbuck
Kudu
Waterbuck
Four white rhinos
Vervet Monkeys
Terrapin
We were on the trail of elephants for most of the drive.
We heard them - trumpeting and crashing trees down. We saw and smelled their dung. We witnessed the wreckage they left behind them. We did not see elephant.
Sunday evening drive:
We had new guests - an English couple called Nick and Nicky who are both Doctors and on honeymoon. They are quite dull. We also had a new tracker who is called Banana. Banana found us four lions, a female and her three young (not tiny cubs, a bit older than that). We also saw rhino, warthog, buffalo and yellow billed duck.
A very quiet night, but then Alfie spotted a feather in our tracks - he picked it up and it was from an eagle spotted owl. So we decreed it to be our "lucky feather" and indeed it was.
On the way back to camp (shivering after dark despite wearing 4 layers and my new beanie hat) we saw not one but two Aardwolf! This was incredible - it's always a thrill to spot the rarer animals. Alfie could not believe we saw two. He got over excited thinking that one was a baby but then decided it was an adult. We also saw a porcupine.
Tonight there were no stars as it was cloudy. Back in camp we were served white gluhwein... that's how cold it is after dark here!
Bushbuck
Kudu
Waterbuck
Four white rhinos
Vervet Monkeys
Terrapin
We were on the trail of elephants for most of the drive.
We heard them - trumpeting and crashing trees down. We saw and smelled their dung. We witnessed the wreckage they left behind them. We did not see elephant.
Sunday evening drive:
We had new guests - an English couple called Nick and Nicky who are both Doctors and on honeymoon. They are quite dull. We also had a new tracker who is called Banana. Banana found us four lions, a female and her three young (not tiny cubs, a bit older than that). We also saw rhino, warthog, buffalo and yellow billed duck.
A very quiet night, but then Alfie spotted a feather in our tracks - he picked it up and it was from an eagle spotted owl. So we decreed it to be our "lucky feather" and indeed it was.
On the way back to camp (shivering after dark despite wearing 4 layers and my new beanie hat) we saw not one but two Aardwolf! This was incredible - it's always a thrill to spot the rarer animals. Alfie could not believe we saw two. He got over excited thinking that one was a baby but then decided it was an adult. We also saw a porcupine.
Tonight there were no stars as it was cloudy. Back in camp we were served white gluhwein... that's how cold it is after dark here!
Saturday 26 April 2008
Kwandwe - Day 2
We were awake intermittently throughout the night. Partly because a huge cricket was chirruping away ALL night in our bathroom. Roy took it outside this morning.... just 7 hours too late!
We were woken properly by a door knock at about 10 to 6. Coffee and biscuits were delivered and the coffee was sufficiently inky to wake me up nicely for the morning game drive. We all met at 6.30am and headed straight out.
Roy has dubbed Kwandwe "the Truman Show" safari and in a way I know what he means. Our first safari (honeymoon in Selous, Tanzania, 2005) was a HUGE park with no fences anywhere. Completely wild. Kwandwe is 25000 hectares - so hardly small - but because you KNOW it is a private reserve and that there are boundary fences out there, it kind of feels different.
We had a very quiet start to the drive - we were looking for elephants and lion for the Italian couple who are leaving after breakfast. We saw two tiny steenbok just after leaving the lodge, and then not much else at all for a while. Some kudu. Warthogs.
We were constantly chasing for lions, using radio contact with the other 7 cars that were out there somewhere. Eventually, we heard that a lone female was around and we found her. We were the third car there. (Another difference to Selous, who had a maximum 2 car per animal rule). She was walking down a track and then plonked herself down under a bush and proceeded to roar for her cubs or her pride. She roared several times and we watched her for quite some time. Incredible sound to hear.
After a while we moved on. We saw some red necked Francolin birds - quite rare, apparently. And that was pretty much it.
We feasted on a huge breakfast and then shortly afterwards (or so it seemed) we had lunch. In between the drive and eating we lounged around on our deck and read/watched birds/scanned the bush opposite our deck for wildlife. It was not warm enough to get into the plunge pool today. Shame.
On the afternoon drive we were joined by Brian and Korbie - a couple from Joburg. Brian was born in Liverpool and has lived in SA for 30 years. They seem nice. This afternoon was a success - we finally got to see cheetah. Roy was hoping we would, as they don't have any at in the Selous. We came across two of them (males) lying in the grass. Watched a while in the hope of them "doing something" but they didn't. This is the problem with big cats - they tend to not do a lot for about 18 hours each day! But coming back to camp after sundowners we got lucky - the two of them walked across our track in the darkness. Sia put the red light on and we watched them a little longer. Beautiful animals.
We also saw a scrub hare and some bats after dark. Other sightings on the afternoon drive were:
Buffalo
Zebra
Warthog
Eland
Red Hartebeest
Terrapin in a watering hole
Springbok
Blesbok
Each night as we came in, Alfie would comment on the clear sky and the incredible stars. I wish I knew what I was looking at. Maybe next time we'll book a trip with some astronomy thrown in!!
Tonight we all ate together with Alfie. The food was good and so was the company - although, Brian (who I think is something v. important in banking) did tend to make the whole thing have a very "corporate" atmosphere. We were also treated to Brian's views on SA politics and economy, and global politics and economy. Each of us (South African, British, Dutch) had to give details of how things were in our country. Interesting - but not quite so lighthearted for a holiday!
Guess what? Another early night.
We were woken properly by a door knock at about 10 to 6. Coffee and biscuits were delivered and the coffee was sufficiently inky to wake me up nicely for the morning game drive. We all met at 6.30am and headed straight out.
Roy has dubbed Kwandwe "the Truman Show" safari and in a way I know what he means. Our first safari (honeymoon in Selous, Tanzania, 2005) was a HUGE park with no fences anywhere. Completely wild. Kwandwe is 25000 hectares - so hardly small - but because you KNOW it is a private reserve and that there are boundary fences out there, it kind of feels different.
We had a very quiet start to the drive - we were looking for elephants and lion for the Italian couple who are leaving after breakfast. We saw two tiny steenbok just after leaving the lodge, and then not much else at all for a while. Some kudu. Warthogs.
We were constantly chasing for lions, using radio contact with the other 7 cars that were out there somewhere. Eventually, we heard that a lone female was around and we found her. We were the third car there. (Another difference to Selous, who had a maximum 2 car per animal rule). She was walking down a track and then plonked herself down under a bush and proceeded to roar for her cubs or her pride. She roared several times and we watched her for quite some time. Incredible sound to hear.
After a while we moved on. We saw some red necked Francolin birds - quite rare, apparently. And that was pretty much it.
We feasted on a huge breakfast and then shortly afterwards (or so it seemed) we had lunch. In between the drive and eating we lounged around on our deck and read/watched birds/scanned the bush opposite our deck for wildlife. It was not warm enough to get into the plunge pool today. Shame.
On the afternoon drive we were joined by Brian and Korbie - a couple from Joburg. Brian was born in Liverpool and has lived in SA for 30 years. They seem nice. This afternoon was a success - we finally got to see cheetah. Roy was hoping we would, as they don't have any at in the Selous. We came across two of them (males) lying in the grass. Watched a while in the hope of them "doing something" but they didn't. This is the problem with big cats - they tend to not do a lot for about 18 hours each day! But coming back to camp after sundowners we got lucky - the two of them walked across our track in the darkness. Sia put the red light on and we watched them a little longer. Beautiful animals.
We also saw a scrub hare and some bats after dark. Other sightings on the afternoon drive were:
Buffalo
Zebra
Warthog
Eland
Red Hartebeest
Terrapin in a watering hole
Springbok
Blesbok
Each night as we came in, Alfie would comment on the clear sky and the incredible stars. I wish I knew what I was looking at. Maybe next time we'll book a trip with some astronomy thrown in!!
Tonight we all ate together with Alfie. The food was good and so was the company - although, Brian (who I think is something v. important in banking) did tend to make the whole thing have a very "corporate" atmosphere. We were also treated to Brian's views on SA politics and economy, and global politics and economy. Each of us (South African, British, Dutch) had to give details of how things were in our country. Interesting - but not quite so lighthearted for a holiday!
Guess what? Another early night.
Friday 25 April 2008
Kwandwe, Day 1
We had a long (500km) drive to Kwandwe. Right along the N2, past Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown and then inland to our game reserve. Nothing too exciting to report en route... just a long slog of a drive. We were determined to get to Kwandwe in time for the afternoon game drive so we did not stop, apart from a quick refuel at Grahamstown.
I tried to point out exciting places along the way but Roy was not over impressed by seeing (in the distance) Jeffrey's Bay, a world top 5 surfing destination. Nor was he as excited as I was when I saw a zebra from the car (in one of the first game reserves we drove past).
Arrived at Kwandwe at about 1.30pm. We checked in at the Main House and then were picked up for a 30 minute drive over to our Lodge (Great Fish River Lodge). By 2.30 we'd been greeted by one of our hosts - Simone - and were sitting down to lunch of steak sandwich. A quick look around our beautiful suite (and a very brief dip in the plunge pool) and then we were back in the main lodge to have our "induction" and set off on the first game drive.
The weather is hot today. Our ranger is Alfie, a young Afrikaner who has pretty much grown up in the bush. Proudly announces that he's never lived in a City all his life. He has a tracker called Sia who assists him, by sitting on a raised seat out at the front of the car and looking for tracks and any animals. Our companions in the jeep are a Dutch couple on their honeymoon (Alexander and Marika) and an Italian couple who speak little English. In fact, they speak little, full stop. But they are not unpleasant. In fact, the husband is a very good spotter - he sees lots of animals from his seat at the back of the jeep and calls out to let us all know when he does.
We had a good drive - looking back on my notes, I see that we spotted:
Kudu
Giraffe
Springbok
Zebra
Wildebeest
Warthog
Jackal
Baboons (who we heard howling, barking and fighting on some rocks)
Oryx
Red Hartebeest
We also saw the very rare Black Rhino - three of them lying down along side each other and then later we spotted them running along together.
Some of the best sightings, though, were after dark. We stopped for Sundowners near a lake. It was too cold for gin and tonics so I opted for coffee with a splash of brandy in it. Driving back to lodge, dusk was just turning to dark when we spotted two male giraffes "necking". This is where they push at each other - they start with their necks and then end up effectively side by side trying to barge each other out of the way. Apparently this can go on for hours - until one of them walks away and is therefore the "loser" who has failed to gain dominance. We watched them until the light completely faded. It was like a beautiful, slow motion, silent dance. Alfie said it looks elegant and gentle, but they actually really hurt each other.
Then, driving back to camp (freezing cold in the back of the open jeep - it is really chilly once that sun has gone) we were lucky to see an eagle spotted owl sitting in a tree by the edge of the track. Sia put his red filter over the spotlight - this stops the animals getting disturbed - and we watched him for a while. Then he flew off - silently and effortlessly.
I also have written in my notes that we saw a "Night bird" but I have no idea what that was? Alfie was often calling out bird names that I could not catch or remember. Oh, and we saw a huge frog on the stairs leading down to our suite when we came back from camp.
Back to camp. They met us with drinks and a roaring fire. We then quickly bathed and changed. So funny - Roy went arse over tit on the bathroom floor in the most dramatic fall I've witnessed in a long time! Luckily he was not hurt. Then back for dinner. We both ate kudu - it was delicious - the most tender meat, not unlike fillet beef.
Early to bed - our wake up call is coming at 6am tomorrow.
http://www.ccafrica.com/reserve-1-id-2-8
I tried to point out exciting places along the way but Roy was not over impressed by seeing (in the distance) Jeffrey's Bay, a world top 5 surfing destination. Nor was he as excited as I was when I saw a zebra from the car (in one of the first game reserves we drove past).
Arrived at Kwandwe at about 1.30pm. We checked in at the Main House and then were picked up for a 30 minute drive over to our Lodge (Great Fish River Lodge). By 2.30 we'd been greeted by one of our hosts - Simone - and were sitting down to lunch of steak sandwich. A quick look around our beautiful suite (and a very brief dip in the plunge pool) and then we were back in the main lodge to have our "induction" and set off on the first game drive.
The weather is hot today. Our ranger is Alfie, a young Afrikaner who has pretty much grown up in the bush. Proudly announces that he's never lived in a City all his life. He has a tracker called Sia who assists him, by sitting on a raised seat out at the front of the car and looking for tracks and any animals. Our companions in the jeep are a Dutch couple on their honeymoon (Alexander and Marika) and an Italian couple who speak little English. In fact, they speak little, full stop. But they are not unpleasant. In fact, the husband is a very good spotter - he sees lots of animals from his seat at the back of the jeep and calls out to let us all know when he does.
We had a good drive - looking back on my notes, I see that we spotted:
Kudu
Giraffe
Springbok
Zebra
Wildebeest
Warthog
Jackal
Baboons (who we heard howling, barking and fighting on some rocks)
Oryx
Red Hartebeest
We also saw the very rare Black Rhino - three of them lying down along side each other and then later we spotted them running along together.
Some of the best sightings, though, were after dark. We stopped for Sundowners near a lake. It was too cold for gin and tonics so I opted for coffee with a splash of brandy in it. Driving back to lodge, dusk was just turning to dark when we spotted two male giraffes "necking". This is where they push at each other - they start with their necks and then end up effectively side by side trying to barge each other out of the way. Apparently this can go on for hours - until one of them walks away and is therefore the "loser" who has failed to gain dominance. We watched them until the light completely faded. It was like a beautiful, slow motion, silent dance. Alfie said it looks elegant and gentle, but they actually really hurt each other.
Then, driving back to camp (freezing cold in the back of the open jeep - it is really chilly once that sun has gone) we were lucky to see an eagle spotted owl sitting in a tree by the edge of the track. Sia put his red filter over the spotlight - this stops the animals getting disturbed - and we watched him for a while. Then he flew off - silently and effortlessly.
I also have written in my notes that we saw a "Night bird" but I have no idea what that was? Alfie was often calling out bird names that I could not catch or remember. Oh, and we saw a huge frog on the stairs leading down to our suite when we came back from camp.
Back to camp. They met us with drinks and a roaring fire. We then quickly bathed and changed. So funny - Roy went arse over tit on the bathroom floor in the most dramatic fall I've witnessed in a long time! Luckily he was not hurt. Then back for dinner. We both ate kudu - it was delicious - the most tender meat, not unlike fillet beef.
Early to bed - our wake up call is coming at 6am tomorrow.
http://www.ccafrica.com/reserve-1-id-2-8
Thursday 24 April 2008
What a palaver!
We woke at 7 to watch a beautiful sunrise over the mountains. Took a short stroll down and along the ridge before breakfast. I fell over on the way and just about managed to save my new camera from serious damage! I had a few grazes (which we get paranoid about now after my incident in Greece a few years ago) but nothing bad.
Over breakfast Martin consulted with us over our plans for the day. He approved of our proposed walk around the Robberg Peninsula and said he has sent many guests out there to do it. He also suggested a few different things for the afternoon - but our only plan was to chill out by the pool if we got back early enough. It is very hot today - so hot that we can feel it at 8am - usually it is after 9 when things start to warm up.
So, we drove to Robberg and were there by 9.30am. We parked up and set off on the "short" walk which takes 2 and a half hours. Martin had mentioned some "challenging" parts of the trail involving cliffs. The "long" walk takes 4 - we felt that to be slightly ambitious.
After a short walk downhill (on rocky steps) we found ourselves literally scrambling over cliffs. With a sheer drop into the sea. We then had a nice flat section through fynbos (and even a little shade at one point) before dropping down a huge sand dune. The sand dune led down (steeply) to a beautiful "double beach" bay called Witsand. As we made our way down, Roy was some distance ahead of me. I've never been fond of walking on soft sand, and I spotted a ridge running along the middle of the dune, to my right, which was covered in footprints. I wondered if this was the trail (but there were no signposts). So I decided to take it anyway. I was being smart - there was no way I was walking all the way down to the beach if I had to walk back UP the dune to pick up the trail again. I shouted to Roy and signalled to him what I was doing. He waved and carried on to the beach.
I stood and watched him disappear in to a distant dot on the beach. He was taking of his trainers - they must have been FULL of sand by now - and walking along the beach. I carried on walking to my right. I figured that we'd catch up with each other eventually. What I hadn't reckoned on was that the closer to the sea we got, it became impossible to shout - as the crashing waves just totally drowned out any voices. I also didn't cater for the series of smaller dunes below me, which as I moved along the ridge, were now blocking my view of the beach. I could only see sections of it. I could not see Roy at all. I stood. I waited. I assumed that he'd come in to view at any minute.
After a while, still no sign. I shouted and screamed but of course this was pointless. At this point I started to get concerned. It was now blazing hot, and Roy was carrying all of our water supply. If I couldn't find him, I'd have to start to make my way back on to the trail - but I had no idea which way the trail actually went - left or right off the beach? It looked like you could get up either way. I have no sense of direction and couldn't figure out which way the car park was. I started to panic slightly. What if Roy didn't realise I'd headed back and spent all day in the hot sun looking for me? What if he got seriously sun burned or dehydrated? How was I going to climb back up to the car park with no water? My thoughts soon turned quite ridiculous - WHAT IF Roy had gone for a paddle in the sea and been swept away by a huge wave, and was now drowning in the bay at the mercy of sharks?
It all seems so stupid now, but how quickly your imagination can take hold!
Ok, so the priority was to find the trail back to the car park. Either that or go back the way we'd come. (By the way, there was not a soul around on this section of the walk, just the two of us!).
I took out the tiny map we'd been given when we paid into the car park (this is National Park and there was a fee to come in). I studied carefully. Nope, still could not work out which way to go.... but at least I learned that the beach ahead of me was called Witsand. There were three trails on the map, and I couldn't make head or tail of it. I noticed a telephone number on the back... ah, the number for Robberg Peninsula office! Luckily I had my mobile phone in my bag. I called them... the ranger must not have believed what he heard!
Me: Hello, I'm halfway down the big sand dune with Witsand ahead of me and I've lost the trail.
Ranger: You've lost the trail, madam?
Me: Yes. I need to know if I turn right or left to get back to the car park.
Ranger: Go down to the beach, turn right and you'll see the trail signs at the base of the rocks where the beach ends.
Me: Ah, thank you. I've also lost my husband but I'm sure he's just in the sand dunes somewhere. I'll call you back if I can't find him.
Ranger: stunned silence.
So, I also twigged that if I went right down on to the beach, I might stand a chance of Roy being able to see me (assuming he was still alive!). So I did. As I reached the bottom of the dunes, I saw him standing to the right of the beach, pointing at the trail signs. We walked toward each other - I put my arms out to him and wailed "I thought I'd lost you".
"Don't be so bloody daft!" he said. "I've been walking up and down those sand dunes looking for you - I'm knackered!".
So, all was well. But I was slightly put out by the lack of drama in our reunion! Didn't he realise how panicked I'd been! LOL.
We then headed back on to the cliffs for another section of scary cliff climbing. Wow, I never thought I'd do this kind of stuff, I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to heights and things like that. Then the worst bit - the climb back up seemingly endless and massively steep steps. With plenty of water stops, I made it. What a stunning walk. And challenging. I forgot to mention the dozens of smelly and noisy seals we'd seen playing in the water beneath us en route.
Back at the car park, I opened the car and put the engine on to get the aircon going. (Did I mention how HOT it was today?). What you need to know is that this hire car has keyless ignition. So you point and press it to open the doors, and providing the "clicker" is within 4 meters of the car, it will start when you press a button on the dash. All you need to do is pop the clicker in your pocket or in the front of the car somewhere. We'd been using one of the cup holders as our repository for the clicker whilst driving.
Roy was faffing about with his trainers and socks - still trying to get the sand out - so I sat on a wall near the car and had a long drink of water. What we really both wanted was a large, cold beer and a sandwich. We'd heard of a bar called the Lookout - right on the beach at Plettenberg - so we planned to drive there for lunch.
When we got there, we just managed to bag the last parking place near the bar. We hopped out, and I went to lock the car. Hmm. Where is the clicker? I said that I thought I'd dropped it in the cup holder when I opened the car. Not there. We searched the car inside and out - no sign of the clicker. I got back in and pushed the ignition button. A message flashed up saying "Key missing". Oh no - I must have dropped it in the car park at Robberg (5 miles away). What to do? Roy went into the bar and asked for a taxi number. They gave him the details for a local firm. When I called, the guy said he was "out of town" and would not be back until 5pm. I asked if he knew of any other taxis and he said no. Back to the bar. We tried the second number they gave us (bear in mind this was an incredibly busy place and this one waitress was kind enough to stop and look in Yellow Pages to help Roy) and it was not answering. On the third visit to the bar, a barman called Bobby said that he knew of somebody and he made a phone call. Yes - his friend would be down with us in about 5 minutes. I had visions of the key either being stolen - or even worse, run over by another car in the car park! Assuming, of course, that's where it was!
So this really nice lady picked us up - we both left the hire car (there was nothing in it to steal, and lets face it, it wasn't going anywhere!) in the charge of the local car guard. As soon as we pulled into Robberg car park, a guy stepped out of his car and said "Lost something? Keys?". Yes! He had them. Thank you god. So we headed back to the Lookout and we finally got that beer and sandwich we needed! Just an hour late (and several rand lighter after paying our taxi bill and tips to the kind people in the bar who helped us!).
We then drove along to Keurboom beach, which was lovely and deserted. Finally got back to Fynbos Ridge to laze by the pool and listen to bird song and insects whilst trying to spot, photograph and identify birds.
The stars here are incredible at night. We can see the Milky Way again.
Martin had given us a couple of recommendations for dinner this evening and so we headed to Fu.shi in Plett Bay.
http://www.fushi.co.za/fushi-about.html
If you have a few minutes spare, look at the menu.... the names of each dish are superb! We had a fantastic meal here. Again, the value was superb - R400 for three courses, coffee and bottle of white wine.
Jan: Tempura Veg and Peanut Sauce, followed by Masala Kingklip with pumpkin risotto. Chocolate Chilli Fondant with pistachio brittle.
Roy: Beef strips wrapped in roti with salad, Masala Kingklip with pumpkin risotto and Mango Brownie with mango ice cream and lychees.
Wonderful. The choc chilli fondant was superb - I asked the waitress what type of chilli they put in and she said fresh red chilli. I've since made this at home and it was yummy!
Home to Fynbos Ridge. Big drive tomorrow.
Over breakfast Martin consulted with us over our plans for the day. He approved of our proposed walk around the Robberg Peninsula and said he has sent many guests out there to do it. He also suggested a few different things for the afternoon - but our only plan was to chill out by the pool if we got back early enough. It is very hot today - so hot that we can feel it at 8am - usually it is after 9 when things start to warm up.
So, we drove to Robberg and were there by 9.30am. We parked up and set off on the "short" walk which takes 2 and a half hours. Martin had mentioned some "challenging" parts of the trail involving cliffs. The "long" walk takes 4 - we felt that to be slightly ambitious.
After a short walk downhill (on rocky steps) we found ourselves literally scrambling over cliffs. With a sheer drop into the sea. We then had a nice flat section through fynbos (and even a little shade at one point) before dropping down a huge sand dune. The sand dune led down (steeply) to a beautiful "double beach" bay called Witsand. As we made our way down, Roy was some distance ahead of me. I've never been fond of walking on soft sand, and I spotted a ridge running along the middle of the dune, to my right, which was covered in footprints. I wondered if this was the trail (but there were no signposts). So I decided to take it anyway. I was being smart - there was no way I was walking all the way down to the beach if I had to walk back UP the dune to pick up the trail again. I shouted to Roy and signalled to him what I was doing. He waved and carried on to the beach.
I stood and watched him disappear in to a distant dot on the beach. He was taking of his trainers - they must have been FULL of sand by now - and walking along the beach. I carried on walking to my right. I figured that we'd catch up with each other eventually. What I hadn't reckoned on was that the closer to the sea we got, it became impossible to shout - as the crashing waves just totally drowned out any voices. I also didn't cater for the series of smaller dunes below me, which as I moved along the ridge, were now blocking my view of the beach. I could only see sections of it. I could not see Roy at all. I stood. I waited. I assumed that he'd come in to view at any minute.
After a while, still no sign. I shouted and screamed but of course this was pointless. At this point I started to get concerned. It was now blazing hot, and Roy was carrying all of our water supply. If I couldn't find him, I'd have to start to make my way back on to the trail - but I had no idea which way the trail actually went - left or right off the beach? It looked like you could get up either way. I have no sense of direction and couldn't figure out which way the car park was. I started to panic slightly. What if Roy didn't realise I'd headed back and spent all day in the hot sun looking for me? What if he got seriously sun burned or dehydrated? How was I going to climb back up to the car park with no water? My thoughts soon turned quite ridiculous - WHAT IF Roy had gone for a paddle in the sea and been swept away by a huge wave, and was now drowning in the bay at the mercy of sharks?
It all seems so stupid now, but how quickly your imagination can take hold!
Ok, so the priority was to find the trail back to the car park. Either that or go back the way we'd come. (By the way, there was not a soul around on this section of the walk, just the two of us!).
I took out the tiny map we'd been given when we paid into the car park (this is National Park and there was a fee to come in). I studied carefully. Nope, still could not work out which way to go.... but at least I learned that the beach ahead of me was called Witsand. There were three trails on the map, and I couldn't make head or tail of it. I noticed a telephone number on the back... ah, the number for Robberg Peninsula office! Luckily I had my mobile phone in my bag. I called them... the ranger must not have believed what he heard!
Me: Hello, I'm halfway down the big sand dune with Witsand ahead of me and I've lost the trail.
Ranger: You've lost the trail, madam?
Me: Yes. I need to know if I turn right or left to get back to the car park.
Ranger: Go down to the beach, turn right and you'll see the trail signs at the base of the rocks where the beach ends.
Me: Ah, thank you. I've also lost my husband but I'm sure he's just in the sand dunes somewhere. I'll call you back if I can't find him.
Ranger: stunned silence.
So, I also twigged that if I went right down on to the beach, I might stand a chance of Roy being able to see me (assuming he was still alive!). So I did. As I reached the bottom of the dunes, I saw him standing to the right of the beach, pointing at the trail signs. We walked toward each other - I put my arms out to him and wailed "I thought I'd lost you".
"Don't be so bloody daft!" he said. "I've been walking up and down those sand dunes looking for you - I'm knackered!".
So, all was well. But I was slightly put out by the lack of drama in our reunion! Didn't he realise how panicked I'd been! LOL.
We then headed back on to the cliffs for another section of scary cliff climbing. Wow, I never thought I'd do this kind of stuff, I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to heights and things like that. Then the worst bit - the climb back up seemingly endless and massively steep steps. With plenty of water stops, I made it. What a stunning walk. And challenging. I forgot to mention the dozens of smelly and noisy seals we'd seen playing in the water beneath us en route.
Back at the car park, I opened the car and put the engine on to get the aircon going. (Did I mention how HOT it was today?). What you need to know is that this hire car has keyless ignition. So you point and press it to open the doors, and providing the "clicker" is within 4 meters of the car, it will start when you press a button on the dash. All you need to do is pop the clicker in your pocket or in the front of the car somewhere. We'd been using one of the cup holders as our repository for the clicker whilst driving.
Roy was faffing about with his trainers and socks - still trying to get the sand out - so I sat on a wall near the car and had a long drink of water. What we really both wanted was a large, cold beer and a sandwich. We'd heard of a bar called the Lookout - right on the beach at Plettenberg - so we planned to drive there for lunch.
When we got there, we just managed to bag the last parking place near the bar. We hopped out, and I went to lock the car. Hmm. Where is the clicker? I said that I thought I'd dropped it in the cup holder when I opened the car. Not there. We searched the car inside and out - no sign of the clicker. I got back in and pushed the ignition button. A message flashed up saying "Key missing". Oh no - I must have dropped it in the car park at Robberg (5 miles away). What to do? Roy went into the bar and asked for a taxi number. They gave him the details for a local firm. When I called, the guy said he was "out of town" and would not be back until 5pm. I asked if he knew of any other taxis and he said no. Back to the bar. We tried the second number they gave us (bear in mind this was an incredibly busy place and this one waitress was kind enough to stop and look in Yellow Pages to help Roy) and it was not answering. On the third visit to the bar, a barman called Bobby said that he knew of somebody and he made a phone call. Yes - his friend would be down with us in about 5 minutes. I had visions of the key either being stolen - or even worse, run over by another car in the car park! Assuming, of course, that's where it was!
So this really nice lady picked us up - we both left the hire car (there was nothing in it to steal, and lets face it, it wasn't going anywhere!) in the charge of the local car guard. As soon as we pulled into Robberg car park, a guy stepped out of his car and said "Lost something? Keys?". Yes! He had them. Thank you god. So we headed back to the Lookout and we finally got that beer and sandwich we needed! Just an hour late (and several rand lighter after paying our taxi bill and tips to the kind people in the bar who helped us!).
We then drove along to Keurboom beach, which was lovely and deserted. Finally got back to Fynbos Ridge to laze by the pool and listen to bird song and insects whilst trying to spot, photograph and identify birds.
The stars here are incredible at night. We can see the Milky Way again.
Martin had given us a couple of recommendations for dinner this evening and so we headed to Fu.shi in Plett Bay.
http://www.fushi.co.za/fushi-about.html
If you have a few minutes spare, look at the menu.... the names of each dish are superb! We had a fantastic meal here. Again, the value was superb - R400 for three courses, coffee and bottle of white wine.
Jan: Tempura Veg and Peanut Sauce, followed by Masala Kingklip with pumpkin risotto. Chocolate Chilli Fondant with pistachio brittle.
Roy: Beef strips wrapped in roti with salad, Masala Kingklip with pumpkin risotto and Mango Brownie with mango ice cream and lychees.
Wonderful. The choc chilli fondant was superb - I asked the waitress what type of chilli they put in and she said fresh red chilli. I've since made this at home and it was yummy!
Home to Fynbos Ridge. Big drive tomorrow.
Wednesday 23 April 2008
Onward to Plettenberg Bay - via the scenic route
Well it is time to hit the road again! We were up and out early (8.45am) for our drive over to Prince Albert and then onto Plettenberg Bay (Plett).
Today is the day we drive the Swartberg Pass and we've been looking forward to this. Although I have to admit to waking up worrying about it in the night. I'd read some reports on travel websites about how "scary" it was.
Over breakfasts (disappointingly we saw no dolphins, whales or sharks this morning) Gary discussed our route with us and suggested a couple of other passes we might wish to try - he seems to think that as our hire car is a 4WD then we should get our money's worth out of it.
So, off we go - first of all over the Kaiman River Pass - where it is incredible to see the river rushing into the ocean. Passing through George we notice big developments of Retirement Homes - e.g. Cabernet Retirement Haven. To us, they look less like Havens and more like Maximum Security Prisons.
We take the Montagu Pass instead of the Outeniqua pass. Montagu is the small, single track, rocky dirt trail that was there before the building of the large, tarmac-d Outeniqua. It was not a great road - so bumpy and all along there is a dread of meeting any oncoming traffic, as passing places are tight and infrequent. Anyway, we survived it.
I love the colours on the Outeniqua (Montagu looks over the same mountains) Mountains. Photographs just cannot do this landscape justice. There is moss green, willow green, emerald green, pale terracotta - just beautiful layers of colour. As we head on to the road toward Oudtshoorn the earth turns red and we see ostrich in almost every field.
After Oudtshoorn we start to climb toward Swartberg Pass. Signs tell us that the pass is OOP - open. Good news! Just a short way up the Pass we see a small antelope - he runs across the road in front of us and then jumps round the rocks to our right. I think it is a Grysbok. Vistas from up the pass are stunning. We stop a few times to look and take photographs. At Die Top (the top) we can see our descent track toward Prince Albert. It was a reasonably challenging drive (hairpin bends and steep hills) but not as scary as those websites had led me to believe.
http://www.patourism.co.za/swartberg%20pass.htm#tour
So we arrive at Prince Albert just in time for lunch. It is a very hot day and so tuna / greek salads are ordered. The bread is home made and lovely - like Irish soda bread but with seeds. Iced coffees are like milkshakes.
Prince Albert is a pretty town, albeit small. There is one main road which is wide and lined with lovely buildings on each side. We ate at the Swartberg Hotel, on a veranda covered with bouganvillea.
On the roads here we'd seen signs warning of "Tortoise Crossing". We weren't sure if this related to real tortoises or slow drivers! On our way out of Prince Albert we found out - as we stopped to watch a beautiful leopard tortoise cross the road. In fact, Roy got out to help him up the kerb, and tickle him under the chin, as apparently (according to Roy) this is what tortoises like. In fact we rowed over this incident, as I advised just leaving him alone. But Roy asked me "don't you know anything about tortoises, you're supposed to tickle them under the chin!". Even wild tortoises, in Africa?? I'm not so sure.
On the road to Meiringspoort we see baboons in the fields and a lot of ostrich farms. You can, if you wish, visit an ostrich farm and even ride on one for fun (they have races). While I'm all for doing touristy things, that is the sort of thing that is not for me!
Meiringspoort is interesting - it's a mountain pass that goes through the valley floor - not over the mountain and it is a spectacular gorge. We didn't even try to take photographs as I don't think I could have captured the rock formations and colours.
For a long time this afternoon, crossing the karoo from de Rust to Uniondale, we are the only car on the road. We see some meerkat running across the road and also lots of those lovely karoo lamb, grazing. Cactus and aloe plants are everywhere.
After Uniondale, things took a turn for the worse! We stopped to fill up with petrol and then could not find our turn off. Our plan, advised by Gary, was to cross the Prince Alfred's Pass down in to Knysna. So we're looking for signs to the 339 road to Knysna. Eventually we realised that the road sign had been covered up and the road ahead was marked Closed.
So, looking at the map, we had two alternatives - drive back via George - 100kms away OR try to find a way onto the pass a bit further on. We weren't sure if this was possible as we didn't know which section of the road was closed. We REALLY didn't want to drive back to George and so we tried to find a way round onto the Pass.
At Avontuur there was a link road on to the pass, but it was also marked Closed. And yet I saw some cars coming off it. Avontuur is a tiny place but luckily they had a Post Office open. Roy went in to ask if somebody knew an alternative route (other than George!). The guy in the Post Office who spoke English told him to ignore the signs and go on to the Pass. "You'll be ok". Hmmm. What to do? Eventually we took a decision to chance it - after all, if it was closed at some point we could turn round and come back.
Well, it was NOT a pass you'd want to come back on! It was very bendy and steep, and not a great road. I think it is about 20kms long. Halfway up we saw a car coming the other way so we flashed him and he stopped... he told us the road was open. Well, he didn't actually say that, he just said "keep going, you'll get through". This pass was much worse than Swartberg - sheer drops down off the mountain pretty much all the way round. We thought we would never come off this pass. In fact, we didn't really. All the way to Knysna. After the "Prince Alfred Pass" the road turned into a forest and twisted and turned for another 70kms down to the N2 (main road to Plett). We got stuck behind forest workers going home and driving slowly, the dust off their cars was awful. There was a huge township up in the forest - we weren't expecting to see that!
Eventually we hit the main road - were we glad to see tarmac again! We had about 30kms to Plett. Arrived there about 5.15ish. Another full day's driving. The last two hours of it were 2 hours too many!
Fynbos Ridge was our accommodation in Plett.
http://www.fynbosridge.co.za/index.html
We were expecting to be staying in a room in the main house, but when we arrived, Martin - the gay looking/sounding manager (who was not gay!), told us that because they were having some work done on the roof of the main house, he'd upgraded us to a self catering cottage. But that we could still come up for breakfasts in the house. The cottage was fantastic - 2 bedrooms, huge lounge, kitchen and 2 bathrooms. The patio outside had a braai (bbq), table and chairs and sun loungers on it. And the views! On the left we had the Outeniqua Mountains and on the right the Tsitsikamma Mountains. The house is on a ridge over looking forest. Bird life is incredible here and the whole atmosphere is so peaceful and quiet.
The lounge and master bedrooms also had fires set up in them. All we needed to do was strike a match and so, even though it wasn't very cold, Roy lit the fire in the lounge.
Martin had booked us in for dinner at the main house - they do dinner a couple of times each week for guests. We wandered over there at 7-ish. There was only us and a British family (currently living in Joburg) staying at Fynbos Ridge so it was pretty quiet. We all chatted over an aperitif in the lounge and then dinner was served. R400 for 3 courses, aperitifs and a bottle of First Sighting red. We had prawn cocktail, steak, veg and potatoes and coffee chocolate mousse. Oh and coffee. Good home cooking and incredible value. We were back in our room at 9. Martin had made a huge fuss over us and amused us by presenting each dish with a grand flourish and an order to "indulge". So funny. He also kept on and on about how romantic it would be for us in the cottage. I did tell him that Roy had discovered Sports Channels on the satellite tv!!!
Liz - she owns Fynbos with her husband Brian - kept wandering in for a chat in between courses at dinner. She has an unfortunate high pitched voice but seems nice. Overall, the team here do pester you a bit too much to check that everything is ok. But I'm not complaining about that. Liz and Brian have only recently bought the place and so I guess they are keen to keep up its excellent reputation.
Early night. Was it romantic? I'm not telling.
Today is the day we drive the Swartberg Pass and we've been looking forward to this. Although I have to admit to waking up worrying about it in the night. I'd read some reports on travel websites about how "scary" it was.
Over breakfasts (disappointingly we saw no dolphins, whales or sharks this morning) Gary discussed our route with us and suggested a couple of other passes we might wish to try - he seems to think that as our hire car is a 4WD then we should get our money's worth out of it.
So, off we go - first of all over the Kaiman River Pass - where it is incredible to see the river rushing into the ocean. Passing through George we notice big developments of Retirement Homes - e.g. Cabernet Retirement Haven. To us, they look less like Havens and more like Maximum Security Prisons.
We take the Montagu Pass instead of the Outeniqua pass. Montagu is the small, single track, rocky dirt trail that was there before the building of the large, tarmac-d Outeniqua. It was not a great road - so bumpy and all along there is a dread of meeting any oncoming traffic, as passing places are tight and infrequent. Anyway, we survived it.
I love the colours on the Outeniqua (Montagu looks over the same mountains) Mountains. Photographs just cannot do this landscape justice. There is moss green, willow green, emerald green, pale terracotta - just beautiful layers of colour. As we head on to the road toward Oudtshoorn the earth turns red and we see ostrich in almost every field.
After Oudtshoorn we start to climb toward Swartberg Pass. Signs tell us that the pass is OOP - open. Good news! Just a short way up the Pass we see a small antelope - he runs across the road in front of us and then jumps round the rocks to our right. I think it is a Grysbok. Vistas from up the pass are stunning. We stop a few times to look and take photographs. At Die Top (the top) we can see our descent track toward Prince Albert. It was a reasonably challenging drive (hairpin bends and steep hills) but not as scary as those websites had led me to believe.
http://www.patourism.co.za/swartberg%20pass.htm#tour
So we arrive at Prince Albert just in time for lunch. It is a very hot day and so tuna / greek salads are ordered. The bread is home made and lovely - like Irish soda bread but with seeds. Iced coffees are like milkshakes.
Prince Albert is a pretty town, albeit small. There is one main road which is wide and lined with lovely buildings on each side. We ate at the Swartberg Hotel, on a veranda covered with bouganvillea.
On the roads here we'd seen signs warning of "Tortoise Crossing". We weren't sure if this related to real tortoises or slow drivers! On our way out of Prince Albert we found out - as we stopped to watch a beautiful leopard tortoise cross the road. In fact, Roy got out to help him up the kerb, and tickle him under the chin, as apparently (according to Roy) this is what tortoises like. In fact we rowed over this incident, as I advised just leaving him alone. But Roy asked me "don't you know anything about tortoises, you're supposed to tickle them under the chin!". Even wild tortoises, in Africa?? I'm not so sure.
On the road to Meiringspoort we see baboons in the fields and a lot of ostrich farms. You can, if you wish, visit an ostrich farm and even ride on one for fun (they have races). While I'm all for doing touristy things, that is the sort of thing that is not for me!
Meiringspoort is interesting - it's a mountain pass that goes through the valley floor - not over the mountain and it is a spectacular gorge. We didn't even try to take photographs as I don't think I could have captured the rock formations and colours.
For a long time this afternoon, crossing the karoo from de Rust to Uniondale, we are the only car on the road. We see some meerkat running across the road and also lots of those lovely karoo lamb, grazing. Cactus and aloe plants are everywhere.
After Uniondale, things took a turn for the worse! We stopped to fill up with petrol and then could not find our turn off. Our plan, advised by Gary, was to cross the Prince Alfred's Pass down in to Knysna. So we're looking for signs to the 339 road to Knysna. Eventually we realised that the road sign had been covered up and the road ahead was marked Closed.
So, looking at the map, we had two alternatives - drive back via George - 100kms away OR try to find a way onto the pass a bit further on. We weren't sure if this was possible as we didn't know which section of the road was closed. We REALLY didn't want to drive back to George and so we tried to find a way round onto the Pass.
At Avontuur there was a link road on to the pass, but it was also marked Closed. And yet I saw some cars coming off it. Avontuur is a tiny place but luckily they had a Post Office open. Roy went in to ask if somebody knew an alternative route (other than George!). The guy in the Post Office who spoke English told him to ignore the signs and go on to the Pass. "You'll be ok". Hmmm. What to do? Eventually we took a decision to chance it - after all, if it was closed at some point we could turn round and come back.
Well, it was NOT a pass you'd want to come back on! It was very bendy and steep, and not a great road. I think it is about 20kms long. Halfway up we saw a car coming the other way so we flashed him and he stopped... he told us the road was open. Well, he didn't actually say that, he just said "keep going, you'll get through". This pass was much worse than Swartberg - sheer drops down off the mountain pretty much all the way round. We thought we would never come off this pass. In fact, we didn't really. All the way to Knysna. After the "Prince Alfred Pass" the road turned into a forest and twisted and turned for another 70kms down to the N2 (main road to Plett). We got stuck behind forest workers going home and driving slowly, the dust off their cars was awful. There was a huge township up in the forest - we weren't expecting to see that!
Eventually we hit the main road - were we glad to see tarmac again! We had about 30kms to Plett. Arrived there about 5.15ish. Another full day's driving. The last two hours of it were 2 hours too many!
Fynbos Ridge was our accommodation in Plett.
http://www.fynbosridge.co.za/index.html
We were expecting to be staying in a room in the main house, but when we arrived, Martin - the gay looking/sounding manager (who was not gay!), told us that because they were having some work done on the roof of the main house, he'd upgraded us to a self catering cottage. But that we could still come up for breakfasts in the house. The cottage was fantastic - 2 bedrooms, huge lounge, kitchen and 2 bathrooms. The patio outside had a braai (bbq), table and chairs and sun loungers on it. And the views! On the left we had the Outeniqua Mountains and on the right the Tsitsikamma Mountains. The house is on a ridge over looking forest. Bird life is incredible here and the whole atmosphere is so peaceful and quiet.
The lounge and master bedrooms also had fires set up in them. All we needed to do was strike a match and so, even though it wasn't very cold, Roy lit the fire in the lounge.
Martin had booked us in for dinner at the main house - they do dinner a couple of times each week for guests. We wandered over there at 7-ish. There was only us and a British family (currently living in Joburg) staying at Fynbos Ridge so it was pretty quiet. We all chatted over an aperitif in the lounge and then dinner was served. R400 for 3 courses, aperitifs and a bottle of First Sighting red. We had prawn cocktail, steak, veg and potatoes and coffee chocolate mousse. Oh and coffee. Good home cooking and incredible value. We were back in our room at 9. Martin had made a huge fuss over us and amused us by presenting each dish with a grand flourish and an order to "indulge". So funny. He also kept on and on about how romantic it would be for us in the cottage. I did tell him that Roy had discovered Sports Channels on the satellite tv!!!
Liz - she owns Fynbos with her husband Brian - kept wandering in for a chat in between courses at dinner. She has an unfortunate high pitched voice but seems nice. Overall, the team here do pester you a bit too much to check that everything is ok. But I'm not complaining about that. Liz and Brian have only recently bought the place and so I guess they are keen to keep up its excellent reputation.
Early night. Was it romantic? I'm not telling.
Tuesday 22 April 2008
Sharks, Dolphins and the Whale that got away
We knew that there was a fair chance of seeing dolphins from Dune Guest Lodge and Gary (the owner) had mentioned that they often came by in the morning and afternoon. So we were on Dolphin Watch before, during and after breakfast.
http://www.thedune.co.za/ We were in the Ocean Room.
We woke really early - about 6.30am and so got up and went for a walk along the beach. The sun rises over the mountains here so we caught it just touching the waves as we headed back to our room. Back in the room, we thought we saw a dolphin jump, but Gary said if it was a solitary animal then it was most likely to have been a shark. Gary is 6'7" and was brought up in Switzerland where he played pro basketball. As is the nature of Swiss people, he has a very serious manner about him but is a really nice guy who likes to help us plan our time. He has given us some ideas for today.
We both still have this stomach bug. Today is Roy's day for feeling ill. We drove to Knysna and parked up - it is quite a big place. We decided against any big trips here (there is a boat trip/walk you can do) as Roy is feeling pretty awful by now. So we decided to have a gentle stroll around Knysna, and then drive up to Knysna Heads which are the "entry point" for the sea, into the Knysna Lagoon. The lagoon is smooth but the area around the heads is really choppy and apparently dangerous. So we drive to a view point and take in the scenery.
I haven't mentioned Car Guards yet. These are guys (occasionally girls, too) who stand over parking spaces on the roadside and signal to you where there is a free space. Then while you're away, they "look after" your car for you. For this, you're expected to tip. We were dishing out R10 or R20 to these people and later found out the usual tip is R3-R7! The funny bit is when you get back to your car and (I guess to justify the tip) they stand guiding you out of your very easy to get out of car space! Well it used to amuse me, anyway. My guess is that few of them can actually drive.
Anyway, I was going to make the point that the Car Guards have now also found niches in the various "viewing points" and stand there while you get out of your car for, oooh a whole 5 minutes and look at the view. These guys I begrudge tipping! Car Guards can make a day out driving around pretty expensive, actually... especially when you tip at R20 a time!
So - having left Knysna, we drove around the Seven Passes Road (seven small mountain passes) through Barrington to see the Big Tree. This is an Outeniqua yellow wood tree, at a place called Woodville and is over 33 metres high, that's 100+ feet. It is 800 years old and has a circumference of over 12 metres. (Note: you can tell Roy was in charge of the journal today - so many facts!).
Seven Pass road starts off like being in the English country side. And then all of a sudden you're above a big forest canopy. We got out of the car here to have a look and all we could hear was the buzzing of a a million insects coming up from the trees. We ended up at a view point called the Map of Africa. Looking down, the river bends around forested land causing it to be shaped exactly like..... a map of Africa! We then walked over to the paragliding "run off" slope where we had amazing views of the beach and ocean all the way from Wilderness to Knysna.
After a quick lunch in Wilderness, we finally got back to the Dunes where we planned to spend the rest of the (hot) day chilling out by the pool. I'd arranged for Mum to phone me at the guest house and just as we got back to our room to take the call, Roy spotted a pod of about 50-60 dolphins heading our way... they swim in really close to the shore line and we could see them quite clearly. So, unfortunately we had to tell Mum to call back later, after we'd watched them! It was so cool - they were "surfing" in on the big waves. Mum called back and about 5 minutes later the dolphins all came back the other way!
Gary told us that if we'd been back an hour earlier, we'd have seen the first whale of the season making its way along the ocean. He promised to let us know if he saw it again.....
We took a walk along the beach before having an early shower. There is load shedding here tonight, from 6-8pm (basically this means a power cut) and so we needed to be ready before the lights all went out. After the power went, we sat and watched the light fade while drinking a half bottle of Graham Beck Champagne. The sky was incredible while the lights were out - the stars here are amazing but seemed even more so with no street lighting etc.
So tonight we'd booked dinner at a restaurant called Serendipity. We were greeted on arrival by Joseph who offered us aperitifs - I had chilled white port with a twist of lemon peel. It was excellent. Roy had "ratafia" - a chardonnay based brandy. The food was exceptional. Absolutely amazing, and it cost us just £25 each for the food, a bottle of wine, coffee and aperitifs. The restaurant is small and run by Liselle and her husband Rudolf.
While you're sipping your aperitif, Rudolf comes through to the lounge and explains the menu - there are two choices for each course. He goes in to huge detail about where the ingredients are sourced, exactly how they're cooked and so on - in fact, he sells them all so well it is difficult to choose!
Eventually we ate:
An amuse bouche - I am sad to say I can't remember what it was! But it was good!
Starter - Ostrich bobotie spring roll with peach chutney and peppadew sauce.
Soup - Carrot and Cumin
Sorbet - campari and orange ice lolly!
Main - Jan: Peking duck confit, mash, sweet potato and white potato crisps, carrots, spiced red cabbage. Roy: Karoo beef (Wow!), jus, samp and beans (African corn and beans - popular side dish), ratatouille.
Dessert - Jan: Rooibos (a type of smokey tea) pannacotta, rooibos ice cream, cape date and brandy cake, pecans and brandy spiced sauce, dried fruit compote and a brandy snap! Roy: Peppermint crisp (chocolate and mint parfait type of thing). I can't remember what his came with as I was too busy eating mine!
Coffees.
A South African couple we met there insisted on giving us a glass of champagne from a bottle they'd bought. We also shared a bottle of First Sightings Shiraz.
All in all it was a wonderful evening, and Liselle's food matched (and maybe even outdid) the quality of food we had in Franschhoek. Serendipity is also a guest house, run by Liselle's mum, and I'd love to stay there one day.........
Gary from the Dunes was in there with his wife. As we left we said goodnight and Roy joked to him "I thought I'd left you on whale watch!". In typical Swiss style, he did not laugh!
http://www.serendipitywilderness.co.za/chef.htm
http://www.thedune.co.za/ We were in the Ocean Room.
We woke really early - about 6.30am and so got up and went for a walk along the beach. The sun rises over the mountains here so we caught it just touching the waves as we headed back to our room. Back in the room, we thought we saw a dolphin jump, but Gary said if it was a solitary animal then it was most likely to have been a shark. Gary is 6'7" and was brought up in Switzerland where he played pro basketball. As is the nature of Swiss people, he has a very serious manner about him but is a really nice guy who likes to help us plan our time. He has given us some ideas for today.
We both still have this stomach bug. Today is Roy's day for feeling ill. We drove to Knysna and parked up - it is quite a big place. We decided against any big trips here (there is a boat trip/walk you can do) as Roy is feeling pretty awful by now. So we decided to have a gentle stroll around Knysna, and then drive up to Knysna Heads which are the "entry point" for the sea, into the Knysna Lagoon. The lagoon is smooth but the area around the heads is really choppy and apparently dangerous. So we drive to a view point and take in the scenery.
I haven't mentioned Car Guards yet. These are guys (occasionally girls, too) who stand over parking spaces on the roadside and signal to you where there is a free space. Then while you're away, they "look after" your car for you. For this, you're expected to tip. We were dishing out R10 or R20 to these people and later found out the usual tip is R3-R7! The funny bit is when you get back to your car and (I guess to justify the tip) they stand guiding you out of your very easy to get out of car space! Well it used to amuse me, anyway. My guess is that few of them can actually drive.
Anyway, I was going to make the point that the Car Guards have now also found niches in the various "viewing points" and stand there while you get out of your car for, oooh a whole 5 minutes and look at the view. These guys I begrudge tipping! Car Guards can make a day out driving around pretty expensive, actually... especially when you tip at R20 a time!
So - having left Knysna, we drove around the Seven Passes Road (seven small mountain passes) through Barrington to see the Big Tree. This is an Outeniqua yellow wood tree, at a place called Woodville and is over 33 metres high, that's 100+ feet. It is 800 years old and has a circumference of over 12 metres. (Note: you can tell Roy was in charge of the journal today - so many facts!).
Seven Pass road starts off like being in the English country side. And then all of a sudden you're above a big forest canopy. We got out of the car here to have a look and all we could hear was the buzzing of a a million insects coming up from the trees. We ended up at a view point called the Map of Africa. Looking down, the river bends around forested land causing it to be shaped exactly like..... a map of Africa! We then walked over to the paragliding "run off" slope where we had amazing views of the beach and ocean all the way from Wilderness to Knysna.
After a quick lunch in Wilderness, we finally got back to the Dunes where we planned to spend the rest of the (hot) day chilling out by the pool. I'd arranged for Mum to phone me at the guest house and just as we got back to our room to take the call, Roy spotted a pod of about 50-60 dolphins heading our way... they swim in really close to the shore line and we could see them quite clearly. So, unfortunately we had to tell Mum to call back later, after we'd watched them! It was so cool - they were "surfing" in on the big waves. Mum called back and about 5 minutes later the dolphins all came back the other way!
Gary told us that if we'd been back an hour earlier, we'd have seen the first whale of the season making its way along the ocean. He promised to let us know if he saw it again.....
We took a walk along the beach before having an early shower. There is load shedding here tonight, from 6-8pm (basically this means a power cut) and so we needed to be ready before the lights all went out. After the power went, we sat and watched the light fade while drinking a half bottle of Graham Beck Champagne. The sky was incredible while the lights were out - the stars here are amazing but seemed even more so with no street lighting etc.
So tonight we'd booked dinner at a restaurant called Serendipity. We were greeted on arrival by Joseph who offered us aperitifs - I had chilled white port with a twist of lemon peel. It was excellent. Roy had "ratafia" - a chardonnay based brandy. The food was exceptional. Absolutely amazing, and it cost us just £25 each for the food, a bottle of wine, coffee and aperitifs. The restaurant is small and run by Liselle and her husband Rudolf.
While you're sipping your aperitif, Rudolf comes through to the lounge and explains the menu - there are two choices for each course. He goes in to huge detail about where the ingredients are sourced, exactly how they're cooked and so on - in fact, he sells them all so well it is difficult to choose!
Eventually we ate:
An amuse bouche - I am sad to say I can't remember what it was! But it was good!
Starter - Ostrich bobotie spring roll with peach chutney and peppadew sauce.
Soup - Carrot and Cumin
Sorbet - campari and orange ice lolly!
Main - Jan: Peking duck confit, mash, sweet potato and white potato crisps, carrots, spiced red cabbage. Roy: Karoo beef (Wow!), jus, samp and beans (African corn and beans - popular side dish), ratatouille.
Dessert - Jan: Rooibos (a type of smokey tea) pannacotta, rooibos ice cream, cape date and brandy cake, pecans and brandy spiced sauce, dried fruit compote and a brandy snap! Roy: Peppermint crisp (chocolate and mint parfait type of thing). I can't remember what his came with as I was too busy eating mine!
Coffees.
A South African couple we met there insisted on giving us a glass of champagne from a bottle they'd bought. We also shared a bottle of First Sightings Shiraz.
All in all it was a wonderful evening, and Liselle's food matched (and maybe even outdid) the quality of food we had in Franschhoek. Serendipity is also a guest house, run by Liselle's mum, and I'd love to stay there one day.........
Gary from the Dunes was in there with his wife. As we left we said goodnight and Roy joked to him "I thought I'd left you on whale watch!". In typical Swiss style, he did not laugh!
http://www.serendipitywilderness.co.za/chef.htm
Monday 21 April 2008
Not your typical Monday morning
Woke at 6.30am. Two hours before breakfast, but we need to pack as we want to be on the road straight after we eat - it will be a long drive today.
Before breakfast we took a short walk in the village. My friend Lynn has bought a property in Franschhoek so we went to take a good look. It is beautiful - just one street down from where we stayed.
After breakfast, we consulted with Arthur about our route to Wilderness and (having established that we like driving and don't mind taking the long way round to see a bit of scenery) he gave us an alternative to the boring motorway. Arthur warned us off also trying to fit in the Swartberg pass en route to Wilderness - far too big a drive, in his opinion.
We set off just 21 minutes behind Roy's schedule (once you get chatting to K and A you don't get away easily).
We went over the stunning Franschhoek pass again. Protea bushes line the road and are still in bloom. Two eagles were sitting on a signpost up at the top. The flowers on the flood plain next to the dam were bright red and yellow and I wish I knew what they were.
On the way out off the pass and toward Villiersdorp, it suddenly hit me that we had not emptied the safe in our room. Oh great - we were heading 400km away with no passports, cash or credit cards! So we had to turn back. Nightmare. We'd only done 25 - 30kms - but all of it on mountain pass road! After a 10 minute wait for baboons to finish playing in the road, we finally got back over to Akadamie St.
K and A told us they'd have had our stuff couried to us in Wilderness, but we'd not have got that far as we needed petrol. In fact, we did our first fill up in Villiersdorp.
I loved the Franschhoek Pass but to drive over it 3 times in one morning was excessive!
Villiersdorp through to Robertson felt like being in the Wild West of America... different landscape from Franschhoek. The winelands continue here - I never realised how much wine they grew in SA. The estates line the roads bordering their vineyards with beautiful pink or red flowers. We passed a shanty town at Ashton and then onto the road to Montagu. Above a tunnel and hidden in the rocks is an Old English Fort - which I spotted but didn't get a photo as I was jumping back in the car so that we could get back on the road ahead of a huge wagon!
At Montagu we marvelled at the coloured rocks - layers of brown, green, red, gold. We pulled in to a parking space at Montagu but did not have time to explore. It's a really pretty place. I read Dad's diary, as he'd stayed 2 days here and absolutely loved it. They spent most of their day here at the Hot Springs. As we drove out, I just felt a wave of grief and started to cry. In fact I cried for a long time. Luckily, Roy was driving. I put Dad's diary away and never read it again on the trip. Couldn't. I left it with Uncle Gordon as we left Durban to come home.
I really would have liked to drive the Tradouw Pass, (which Dad had also been over) but it was not to be - no time, and it would have been a detour for us. The signs kept reading "Oop de Tradouw Pass". Which we found amusing (I think you have to be from Yorkshire to get that one - "oop" here means "up"). However what it really means (translated from Afrikaans) is "The Tradouw Pass is open."
Through Barry Dale and Ladismith we noticed the landscape changing again - here there is still coloured rock (and a lot of red rock) but the hills are smaller and further away from you and the flatter open areas are semi-arid. This area is the Klein Karoo (little Karoo).
All over the place we see people walking on the roads. Given that the villages and towns here are miles apart, these people must walk a long way. Children coming to and from school, adults, going who knows where? You find yourself wondering "Where are they going? Where have they been? Why?" The homes that clearly belong to farm workers are tiny - but at least they aren't squatter homes.
I find myself singing the Culture Club song, Karma Chameleon in my head as I stare at the rocks along the Huis River Pass:
"Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dream. Red, gold and green. Red, gold and green".
At Calitzdorp, we stopped at the Bo Paas Estate, to take a Port tasting session! Well, Roy did, I picked up the drive from here so didn't indulge. We bought some port here to take home. Only a small bottle - our case is getting heavy!
We called in to the Rose of Karoo restaurant for food, and after finding out they did takeaway we decided to save time and buy sandwiches and milk tarts (yummy!) and coffee. We stopped at a picnic laybe overlooking the red stone hills to eat them and then got back on the road.
We drove through Oudtshoorn, which actually is a big town and famed for its Ostrich Farms. The fields around Oudtshoorn are vivid green (the lucerne/alfalfa that ostrich like to eat) and ostriches are everywhere. I find them funny as they always pull their heads up to stare at you as you drive by. Not at all shy!
After Oudtshoorn we head through a town called George. Unfortunately this is at "rush hour" and traffic is busy and slow - we get stopped at every single Robot (traffic light). Eventually we cross yet another pass - the Outeniqua Pass - can I say "stunning" again?
A sneaky road camera sits at the bottom of the Pass where the speed limit changes very quickly from 80 to 40 - luckily we'd been warned about this by a waiter in Cape Town and so we knew what to expect.
Finally - we are in Wilderness. It is by now 5.30pm and so we've been driving all day. The Guest House here is lovely. A spacious, open plan house. Our room has a floor to ceiling glass wall from which we can see the ocean. So we headed straight down to the beach (our house is elevated so there are about 100 steps down) and took a nice long walk to stretch our legs out. This takes us to sunset time and as we head back, we see a fabulous "moon rise" with the moon emerging like a golden ball out of the ocean.
That evening we went to Pomodoro - an italian restaurant in Wilderness village. We shared mushroom and grilled polenta to start, and then both had pizza. Roy's was goat cheese and butternut squash, mine was roasted veggies - I was surprised to see beetroot on a pizza, but actually it was pretty good. The pizza base was extra thin and crispy. We ordered "small" pizzas with greek side salads but overall the portions were huge. To finish I tried pannacotta and Roy had tiramisu. Coffees. Water. Bottle of Red. All for less than R440 (about £26). Amazing value.
Before breakfast we took a short walk in the village. My friend Lynn has bought a property in Franschhoek so we went to take a good look. It is beautiful - just one street down from where we stayed.
After breakfast, we consulted with Arthur about our route to Wilderness and (having established that we like driving and don't mind taking the long way round to see a bit of scenery) he gave us an alternative to the boring motorway. Arthur warned us off also trying to fit in the Swartberg pass en route to Wilderness - far too big a drive, in his opinion.
We set off just 21 minutes behind Roy's schedule (once you get chatting to K and A you don't get away easily).
We went over the stunning Franschhoek pass again. Protea bushes line the road and are still in bloom. Two eagles were sitting on a signpost up at the top. The flowers on the flood plain next to the dam were bright red and yellow and I wish I knew what they were.
On the way out off the pass and toward Villiersdorp, it suddenly hit me that we had not emptied the safe in our room. Oh great - we were heading 400km away with no passports, cash or credit cards! So we had to turn back. Nightmare. We'd only done 25 - 30kms - but all of it on mountain pass road! After a 10 minute wait for baboons to finish playing in the road, we finally got back over to Akadamie St.
K and A told us they'd have had our stuff couried to us in Wilderness, but we'd not have got that far as we needed petrol. In fact, we did our first fill up in Villiersdorp.
I loved the Franschhoek Pass but to drive over it 3 times in one morning was excessive!
Villiersdorp through to Robertson felt like being in the Wild West of America... different landscape from Franschhoek. The winelands continue here - I never realised how much wine they grew in SA. The estates line the roads bordering their vineyards with beautiful pink or red flowers. We passed a shanty town at Ashton and then onto the road to Montagu. Above a tunnel and hidden in the rocks is an Old English Fort - which I spotted but didn't get a photo as I was jumping back in the car so that we could get back on the road ahead of a huge wagon!
At Montagu we marvelled at the coloured rocks - layers of brown, green, red, gold. We pulled in to a parking space at Montagu but did not have time to explore. It's a really pretty place. I read Dad's diary, as he'd stayed 2 days here and absolutely loved it. They spent most of their day here at the Hot Springs. As we drove out, I just felt a wave of grief and started to cry. In fact I cried for a long time. Luckily, Roy was driving. I put Dad's diary away and never read it again on the trip. Couldn't. I left it with Uncle Gordon as we left Durban to come home.
I really would have liked to drive the Tradouw Pass, (which Dad had also been over) but it was not to be - no time, and it would have been a detour for us. The signs kept reading "Oop de Tradouw Pass". Which we found amusing (I think you have to be from Yorkshire to get that one - "oop" here means "up"). However what it really means (translated from Afrikaans) is "The Tradouw Pass is open."
Through Barry Dale and Ladismith we noticed the landscape changing again - here there is still coloured rock (and a lot of red rock) but the hills are smaller and further away from you and the flatter open areas are semi-arid. This area is the Klein Karoo (little Karoo).
All over the place we see people walking on the roads. Given that the villages and towns here are miles apart, these people must walk a long way. Children coming to and from school, adults, going who knows where? You find yourself wondering "Where are they going? Where have they been? Why?" The homes that clearly belong to farm workers are tiny - but at least they aren't squatter homes.
I find myself singing the Culture Club song, Karma Chameleon in my head as I stare at the rocks along the Huis River Pass:
"Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dream. Red, gold and green. Red, gold and green".
At Calitzdorp, we stopped at the Bo Paas Estate, to take a Port tasting session! Well, Roy did, I picked up the drive from here so didn't indulge. We bought some port here to take home. Only a small bottle - our case is getting heavy!
We called in to the Rose of Karoo restaurant for food, and after finding out they did takeaway we decided to save time and buy sandwiches and milk tarts (yummy!) and coffee. We stopped at a picnic laybe overlooking the red stone hills to eat them and then got back on the road.
We drove through Oudtshoorn, which actually is a big town and famed for its Ostrich Farms. The fields around Oudtshoorn are vivid green (the lucerne/alfalfa that ostrich like to eat) and ostriches are everywhere. I find them funny as they always pull their heads up to stare at you as you drive by. Not at all shy!
After Oudtshoorn we head through a town called George. Unfortunately this is at "rush hour" and traffic is busy and slow - we get stopped at every single Robot (traffic light). Eventually we cross yet another pass - the Outeniqua Pass - can I say "stunning" again?
A sneaky road camera sits at the bottom of the Pass where the speed limit changes very quickly from 80 to 40 - luckily we'd been warned about this by a waiter in Cape Town and so we knew what to expect.
Finally - we are in Wilderness. It is by now 5.30pm and so we've been driving all day. The Guest House here is lovely. A spacious, open plan house. Our room has a floor to ceiling glass wall from which we can see the ocean. So we headed straight down to the beach (our house is elevated so there are about 100 steps down) and took a nice long walk to stretch our legs out. This takes us to sunset time and as we head back, we see a fabulous "moon rise" with the moon emerging like a golden ball out of the ocean.
That evening we went to Pomodoro - an italian restaurant in Wilderness village. We shared mushroom and grilled polenta to start, and then both had pizza. Roy's was goat cheese and butternut squash, mine was roasted veggies - I was surprised to see beetroot on a pizza, but actually it was pretty good. The pizza base was extra thin and crispy. We ordered "small" pizzas with greek side salads but overall the portions were huge. To finish I tried pannacotta and Roy had tiramisu. Coffees. Water. Bottle of Red. All for less than R440 (about £26). Amazing value.
Sunday 20 April 2008
Sunday Lunch with a difference
Woke at 7.30am. Felt a lot better for my temperature breaking overnight.
Breakfast at 8.30am. Katharine and Arthur do the best breakfast ever! Home made granola and yoghurt. Home made fruit smoothie. Fruit platter with about 20 different type of fruit on it - apparently they like to compete to see how many they can put on the plate. I didn't know the names of about 5 of the fruit. Good strong coffee. Dried fruits soaked in syrup and spices. Then they send out hot croissants, spiced buns (hot cross buns) and toast. With gorgeous preserves from Hillcrest Berry Farm. We loved the Cape Gooseberry jam.
http://www.hillcrestberries.co.za/HILLCREST%20BERRY%20ORCHARDS.html
When Katharine and Arthur ask if you want eggs and bacon, it is very tempting, as you know they'll be good. But the answer has to be no - because after what you've already eaten, you just can't manage another mouthful.
Afer breakfast, we took a walk round the village. Or should I say down the High Street as the village is spread along a 1.5km road. It's lovely - lots of shops, restaurants (there are 36 in the whole Franschhoek area) and then the Hugenot Memorial and plenty of churches. Today a great gathering of bikers was in town.
Next, we drove up to Boschendal for a walk in the beautiful gardens.
http://www.boschendal.com/
I'm going to have to be careful about how often I use the word "stunning" to describe things. But Boschendal was. Parked under the trees outside the house, was a line of Vintage Cobra cars. Must have been a Cobra owners day out, as there was a large group of people sitting in the cafe when we walked past.
Then we drove back toward Franschhoek and called into Hillcrest Berry farm for some jam. We also bought some cherry and aniseed chutney - apparently it goes well with blue cheese.
After that we pulled off the main road into Graham Beck wine estate for a tasting.
We'd taken quite a liking to the Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc we'd tried and also the champagne they made. Actually, it isn't called champagne as the French have ownership of that. It is called Methode Cap Classique or Methode Champenoise. Graham Beck is a state of the art wine estate. In the tasting room you can see right into the production area (bottling and packing). Unfortunately, it being Sunday, nobody was working there.
http://www.grahambeckwines.com/
We proved once and for all that we're cheap by both preferring, of all 5 wines we tried, the cheapest Sauvignon Blanc. So we bought a couple of bottles to take to Durban with us. Graham Beck was unusual in that they will let you taste the expensive wines - most tasting rooms only give samples of the low-mid price ranges. So I took advantage and tried their most expensive red. It was nice, but I have to say I did not tell much difference from a mid priced bottle. Where I had noticed a difference (in Chamonix the day before) was the taste of the low price bottle compared to the mid price. Maybe I do have some taste after all.
We were booked in to La Petite Ferme for 1.30pm. by the time we arrived the place was full - booking IS essential here. Our table had wonderful views over the Franschhoek Valley - and guess what? The sun was out! No rain today. It was actually very pleasant.
The food? Well it was ok. I can't say it was excellent, but I think the overall "Petite Ferme" experience just has to be tried when in Franschhoek.
Starters: Jan had Ricepaper stuffed with blue cheese, pear, pecan, mint & herb dressing. Good, but the rice paper was totally unnecessary I felt. Roy had mini mozzarella (bocconcini) with roast carrots, caraway seed, tomato dressing and mixed leaves. Great bread.
Mains: Jan - Roast loin of pork with ginger, plum and cinnamon compote. This was great. The accompanying porcini, potato and chestnut cake was cold and unnecessary. Roy - rabbit stew with polenta and wilted greens. Also good... very garlicky! Great side order of roasted veggies. Bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Dessert was the real let down. We ordered "crespelle" (cold crepe/pancake) filled with banana and marscapone and chocolate sauce. It just did not work at all. We took our coffee outside into the beautiful gardens and sat and watched it all go by for a little while... it was by now really warm outside.
Next we drove up Franschhoek Pass. So pretty and with superb views of the village. We saw baboons a plenty up there, too.
For this evening we have in mind that we need to find a place where we can just get some cheese, bread and wine to eat. We strolled around the village between 5-6pm and realised that most places here are actually proper restaurants. Whilst lots of menus looked great, after that lunch we could not face a full meal. So we decided to call in at Pick and Pay and buy some cheese and bread, and crack open one of our Chamonix Cab Savs to drink with it.
Walking around the village we noticed a memorial fountain that had been funded by Arthur Mc William Smith (our host at Akademie Street Guest Houses). Later we read in a guide that he'd had this done in memory of a son who went missing whilst travelling in Europe back in 1994. Back home, I also found out that Arthur is an ex-Mayor of Franschhoek and has been instrumental in building the village to its current position of "gourmet capital of SA".
So tonight we stayed in. We lit the patio heater and sat out eating our cheese platter and bread. We also had some choc chip cookies (we bought them in Cape Town one day and the bag was huge) and finished with Amarula and coffee.
Roy watched a noisy movie on tv while I read up on our next destination - Wilderness.
Breakfast at 8.30am. Katharine and Arthur do the best breakfast ever! Home made granola and yoghurt. Home made fruit smoothie. Fruit platter with about 20 different type of fruit on it - apparently they like to compete to see how many they can put on the plate. I didn't know the names of about 5 of the fruit. Good strong coffee. Dried fruits soaked in syrup and spices. Then they send out hot croissants, spiced buns (hot cross buns) and toast. With gorgeous preserves from Hillcrest Berry Farm. We loved the Cape Gooseberry jam.
http://www.hillcrestberries.co.za/HILLCREST%20BERRY%20ORCHARDS.html
When Katharine and Arthur ask if you want eggs and bacon, it is very tempting, as you know they'll be good. But the answer has to be no - because after what you've already eaten, you just can't manage another mouthful.
Afer breakfast, we took a walk round the village. Or should I say down the High Street as the village is spread along a 1.5km road. It's lovely - lots of shops, restaurants (there are 36 in the whole Franschhoek area) and then the Hugenot Memorial and plenty of churches. Today a great gathering of bikers was in town.
Next, we drove up to Boschendal for a walk in the beautiful gardens.
http://www.boschendal.com/
I'm going to have to be careful about how often I use the word "stunning" to describe things. But Boschendal was. Parked under the trees outside the house, was a line of Vintage Cobra cars. Must have been a Cobra owners day out, as there was a large group of people sitting in the cafe when we walked past.
Then we drove back toward Franschhoek and called into Hillcrest Berry farm for some jam. We also bought some cherry and aniseed chutney - apparently it goes well with blue cheese.
After that we pulled off the main road into Graham Beck wine estate for a tasting.
We'd taken quite a liking to the Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc we'd tried and also the champagne they made. Actually, it isn't called champagne as the French have ownership of that. It is called Methode Cap Classique or Methode Champenoise. Graham Beck is a state of the art wine estate. In the tasting room you can see right into the production area (bottling and packing). Unfortunately, it being Sunday, nobody was working there.
http://www.grahambeckwines.com/
We proved once and for all that we're cheap by both preferring, of all 5 wines we tried, the cheapest Sauvignon Blanc. So we bought a couple of bottles to take to Durban with us. Graham Beck was unusual in that they will let you taste the expensive wines - most tasting rooms only give samples of the low-mid price ranges. So I took advantage and tried their most expensive red. It was nice, but I have to say I did not tell much difference from a mid priced bottle. Where I had noticed a difference (in Chamonix the day before) was the taste of the low price bottle compared to the mid price. Maybe I do have some taste after all.
We were booked in to La Petite Ferme for 1.30pm. by the time we arrived the place was full - booking IS essential here. Our table had wonderful views over the Franschhoek Valley - and guess what? The sun was out! No rain today. It was actually very pleasant.
The food? Well it was ok. I can't say it was excellent, but I think the overall "Petite Ferme" experience just has to be tried when in Franschhoek.
Starters: Jan had Ricepaper stuffed with blue cheese, pear, pecan, mint & herb dressing. Good, but the rice paper was totally unnecessary I felt. Roy had mini mozzarella (bocconcini) with roast carrots, caraway seed, tomato dressing and mixed leaves. Great bread.
Mains: Jan - Roast loin of pork with ginger, plum and cinnamon compote. This was great. The accompanying porcini, potato and chestnut cake was cold and unnecessary. Roy - rabbit stew with polenta and wilted greens. Also good... very garlicky! Great side order of roasted veggies. Bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. Dessert was the real let down. We ordered "crespelle" (cold crepe/pancake) filled with banana and marscapone and chocolate sauce. It just did not work at all. We took our coffee outside into the beautiful gardens and sat and watched it all go by for a little while... it was by now really warm outside.
Next we drove up Franschhoek Pass. So pretty and with superb views of the village. We saw baboons a plenty up there, too.
For this evening we have in mind that we need to find a place where we can just get some cheese, bread and wine to eat. We strolled around the village between 5-6pm and realised that most places here are actually proper restaurants. Whilst lots of menus looked great, after that lunch we could not face a full meal. So we decided to call in at Pick and Pay and buy some cheese and bread, and crack open one of our Chamonix Cab Savs to drink with it.
Walking around the village we noticed a memorial fountain that had been funded by Arthur Mc William Smith (our host at Akademie Street Guest Houses). Later we read in a guide that he'd had this done in memory of a son who went missing whilst travelling in Europe back in 1994. Back home, I also found out that Arthur is an ex-Mayor of Franschhoek and has been instrumental in building the village to its current position of "gourmet capital of SA".
So tonight we stayed in. We lit the patio heater and sat out eating our cheese platter and bread. We also had some choc chip cookies (we bought them in Cape Town one day and the bag was huge) and finished with Amarula and coffee.
Roy watched a noisy movie on tv while I read up on our next destination - Wilderness.
Saturday 19 April 2008
Leaving Cape Town
Woke at 7. Didn't sleep well and had dreamed I was being arrested for speeding in SA.
Got up at 8. It was raining, cool and cloudy. Felt a bit grotty this morning, felt like I might be getting a cold, had a scratchy throat.
Roy smashed a glass while we were packing so that delayed us somewhat as we had to find a maid to help us clear it up.
By 10.30am, when we left the Waterfront, the weather was just starting to clear up a bit. We didn't go straight to Franschhoek, but did a quick detour to Bloubergstrand - a beach over the other side of Table Bay where you get stunning views of Table Mountain. This morning the tablecloth was definitely on!
We were in Franschhoek for lunchtime. It is an easy drive, mostly on motorway. The only thing to watch out for is men running across the freeway! Whilst three lanes of traffic are bombing along at 80 - 120km per hour. Crazy.
Franschhoek is gorgeous. Truly gorgeous. A quiet, well kept, beautiful village. It seems like you're surrounded by mountains. Once in the village, you wonder how you got in there as you feel totally encircled by the hills.
Akademie Street Guesthouses are everything that Tripadvisor promised!
http://www.aka.co.za/
Our cottage is Vreugde, meaning Joy. And it was. There is a kitchenette, fridge stocked with champagne, spirits, beer, juice, and a tray of fruit. We also have crisps and nuts. And the bed is huge and extremely comfortable. Somehow, I don't think we'll be using the lovely plunge pool in our private garden, which is a huge shame.
We took a walk into the country - Katharine, our host, gave us a map for a nice walk - and went through vineyards and past stables to an estate called Grande Provence.
http://www.grandeprovence.co.za/
We stopped there for our first wine tasting session. We planned to eat there, but there was nothing "light" on the menu and as we only wanted a salad or some cheese, we decided to carry on. Back in the village, we turned off toward Chamonix - guess what? Another bloody big hill to walk up! But we knew that they had a restaurant and so we could combine lunch and wine tasting. When we finally reached the restaurant, it had just started to absolutely bucket down with rain. A lady came out and apologetically told us that the restaurant and kitchen had just closed. But that there was another wine estate with a restaurant just another 200m up the hill. I refused to walk another step further (uphill). In fact I threw a tantrum at Roy. I can get like that when I'm hungry!
http://www.chamonix.co.za/
Because of the rain, and my complete refusal to walk any further up the hill, we decided to go in to Chamonix Tasting Room - which was still open. For R20 (just over a pound) we got to taste 4 different wines and also a schnapps. They were not stingy when they filled the tasting glasses either! So - we ended up having a liquid lunch. The wines were good - we bought some - and then we more or less rolled down the hill and back to our guest house. The rain had stopped by now. Back in our room, we ate some nuts and crisps to tide us over until dinner.
Dinner was booked for le Bon Vivant. It was very good - but I was surprised at how empty it was in there, as we'd been told to book well ahead of our visit. Only about 6 tables (less than half) were occupied. The restaurant has a huge glass window into the kitchen so you can see the chef at work. It also has some quirky lightshades, made out of colanders and graters.
Food was good - bread with anchovy spread, an amuse bouche of tomato cream and pancetta. We both had the same starter - goats cheese, gruyere crisps, tomato beignets (like tiny doughnuts) and a glass of tomato consomme. For mains, Roy had loin and belly of pork, with crackling. Jan had karoo lamb. Three pieces - loin, rack and shank (the shank was in a little pastry case) served with mint and mango salsa, and some other sauce (can't remember the details!). It was sooooo good. Karoo lamb is fabulous. They are reared in an area of SA called the Karoo - which is covered in fragrant shrubs and herbs, so that the lambs pick up the flavour in their meat. I had thought that this would be all hype, as people kept going on about how good it was. But wow, it WAS good! For dessert we both had a chocoholic delight - four mini desserts: chocolate fondant, ice cream, mini chocolate roll, brandy snap with ganache. Bottle of La Motte Cabernet Sauvignon. Coffees. All very, very good. And presented beautifully - in fact on my dish there was a garnish that I never quite figured out if I was supposed to eat! It was a leaf of parsley sandwiched between two wafer thin slices of potato (skin still on) and then somehow cooked until crisp but not brown. I decided against eating it, it was too pretty!
On the way out, chef meets you to say good night and ask how you found the food, so we had a little chat with him and headed off home. Bon Vivant was a 10 minute walk from our guest house, which is just as well as there are no taxis in Franschhoek.
The bad news was that I was starting to feel pretty bad by now - and had a weird night. Tossed and turned, ached and shivered. Took 2 paracetomol during the night and spent the rest of the night sweating. Woke up feeling a lot better however I definitely have some form of food poisoning. I will spare you any more details.
Health and nature are conspiring against my perfect and long awaited weekend in Franschhoek. We have booked lunch at the place with the best view in town tomorrow - and the forecast is for rain.
Got up at 8. It was raining, cool and cloudy. Felt a bit grotty this morning, felt like I might be getting a cold, had a scratchy throat.
Roy smashed a glass while we were packing so that delayed us somewhat as we had to find a maid to help us clear it up.
By 10.30am, when we left the Waterfront, the weather was just starting to clear up a bit. We didn't go straight to Franschhoek, but did a quick detour to Bloubergstrand - a beach over the other side of Table Bay where you get stunning views of Table Mountain. This morning the tablecloth was definitely on!
We were in Franschhoek for lunchtime. It is an easy drive, mostly on motorway. The only thing to watch out for is men running across the freeway! Whilst three lanes of traffic are bombing along at 80 - 120km per hour. Crazy.
Franschhoek is gorgeous. Truly gorgeous. A quiet, well kept, beautiful village. It seems like you're surrounded by mountains. Once in the village, you wonder how you got in there as you feel totally encircled by the hills.
Akademie Street Guesthouses are everything that Tripadvisor promised!
http://www.aka.co.za/
Our cottage is Vreugde, meaning Joy. And it was. There is a kitchenette, fridge stocked with champagne, spirits, beer, juice, and a tray of fruit. We also have crisps and nuts. And the bed is huge and extremely comfortable. Somehow, I don't think we'll be using the lovely plunge pool in our private garden, which is a huge shame.
We took a walk into the country - Katharine, our host, gave us a map for a nice walk - and went through vineyards and past stables to an estate called Grande Provence.
http://www.grandeprovence.co.za/
We stopped there for our first wine tasting session. We planned to eat there, but there was nothing "light" on the menu and as we only wanted a salad or some cheese, we decided to carry on. Back in the village, we turned off toward Chamonix - guess what? Another bloody big hill to walk up! But we knew that they had a restaurant and so we could combine lunch and wine tasting. When we finally reached the restaurant, it had just started to absolutely bucket down with rain. A lady came out and apologetically told us that the restaurant and kitchen had just closed. But that there was another wine estate with a restaurant just another 200m up the hill. I refused to walk another step further (uphill). In fact I threw a tantrum at Roy. I can get like that when I'm hungry!
http://www.chamonix.co.za/
Because of the rain, and my complete refusal to walk any further up the hill, we decided to go in to Chamonix Tasting Room - which was still open. For R20 (just over a pound) we got to taste 4 different wines and also a schnapps. They were not stingy when they filled the tasting glasses either! So - we ended up having a liquid lunch. The wines were good - we bought some - and then we more or less rolled down the hill and back to our guest house. The rain had stopped by now. Back in our room, we ate some nuts and crisps to tide us over until dinner.
Dinner was booked for le Bon Vivant. It was very good - but I was surprised at how empty it was in there, as we'd been told to book well ahead of our visit. Only about 6 tables (less than half) were occupied. The restaurant has a huge glass window into the kitchen so you can see the chef at work. It also has some quirky lightshades, made out of colanders and graters.
Food was good - bread with anchovy spread, an amuse bouche of tomato cream and pancetta. We both had the same starter - goats cheese, gruyere crisps, tomato beignets (like tiny doughnuts) and a glass of tomato consomme. For mains, Roy had loin and belly of pork, with crackling. Jan had karoo lamb. Three pieces - loin, rack and shank (the shank was in a little pastry case) served with mint and mango salsa, and some other sauce (can't remember the details!). It was sooooo good. Karoo lamb is fabulous. They are reared in an area of SA called the Karoo - which is covered in fragrant shrubs and herbs, so that the lambs pick up the flavour in their meat. I had thought that this would be all hype, as people kept going on about how good it was. But wow, it WAS good! For dessert we both had a chocoholic delight - four mini desserts: chocolate fondant, ice cream, mini chocolate roll, brandy snap with ganache. Bottle of La Motte Cabernet Sauvignon. Coffees. All very, very good. And presented beautifully - in fact on my dish there was a garnish that I never quite figured out if I was supposed to eat! It was a leaf of parsley sandwiched between two wafer thin slices of potato (skin still on) and then somehow cooked until crisp but not brown. I decided against eating it, it was too pretty!
On the way out, chef meets you to say good night and ask how you found the food, so we had a little chat with him and headed off home. Bon Vivant was a 10 minute walk from our guest house, which is just as well as there are no taxis in Franschhoek.
The bad news was that I was starting to feel pretty bad by now - and had a weird night. Tossed and turned, ached and shivered. Took 2 paracetomol during the night and spent the rest of the night sweating. Woke up feeling a lot better however I definitely have some form of food poisoning. I will spare you any more details.
Health and nature are conspiring against my perfect and long awaited weekend in Franschhoek. We have booked lunch at the place with the best view in town tomorrow - and the forecast is for rain.
Friday 18 April 2008
Venturing further afield - the Cape Peninsula
It is our last day in Cape Town. We planned a day out on the Cape Peninsula.
http://www.safarinow.com/destinations/cape-peninsula/cape-peninsula-map.gif
As predicted by our waiter last night, a "cold front" has moved in. We awoke to thick fog. After breakfast, about 9.30-ish, it had started to lift. We headed out in the car. As we drove through Camp's Bay it was still foggy. Either side of the bay was completely clear! By the time we reached Kalk Bay (via Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak Drive and Fish Hoek) it was hot and sunny again.
Chapman's Peak Drive is beautiful. It even has its own website!
http://www.chapmanspeakdrive.co.za/
Kalk Bay was a nice little place; plenty of antique shops and eating places. We stopped for a look around and a stroll along the harbour where we watched seals swimming around. Then we headed through Simons Town to a place called Boulder's Beach - this is where they have a large colony of African Penguins. We watched for ages - they were so cute and so funny. The best £1.50 I've spent in ages!
Next, we drove right down the Peninsula toward Cape Point (behind several tour buses). We saw baboons and ostrich down there. At the Point, we walked up the STEEP hill to the Lighthouse, dodging a huge group of Italian tourists all the way. They are so noisy and they "hunt in packs" which means they tend to all clamour in the same small place at the same time, and walk 6 wide across the pathways etc. Apologies to any Italians (or italian residents) reading this.
After a quick stop for sandwich and energy bars, we set off on another walk. This time from Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope - the most south westerly point in Africa. What a stunning walk! Across boardwalks on the cliff edge (and at some places just on the cliff edge itself) to a small hill overlooking the rocks of the Cape of Good Hope. We climbed to the top of the hill (fairly strenous but not too big!) and I placed a stone on the cairn up there for Dad.
This was in total just over an hour circular walk. Got back to the car and drove down to the sea level of the Cape of Good Hope. The waves were crashing on to rocks and spectacular to watch. We then headed home via Scarborough, Misty Cliffs (they were, too) and Kommetje - all very scenic. We had to stop for 10 minutes just out of the Cape Point National Park as a troop of baboon were crossing the road and decided to stop and play in the middle of it.
We finally drove back along Chapman's Peak again and towards home. We stopped at a beach just past Llandudno to watch the sun set. We were lucky to see loads of dassies on the rocks. These are tiny little guinea pig like animals.
Finally got home at 6.30pm. A brilliant day! Exhausted! Dinner is in the Oyo Restaurant at our hotel. We decided to give it a try after enjoying the desserts here so much. Rain is forecast for the next 2 days, and they're even saying that there will be snow in the hills.
Dinner was good - however, we tried a seafood platter, and we've decided that we're just not "seafood" people. Starters: Jan had duck liver pate, morello cherries, raisin toast and Roy had Crab Cake with wasabi mayo and plum dressing. Both were great. We then shared the seafood platter - crayfish, mussels, prawns, tuna, dorado, calamari and three dressings: lemon butter, peri peri and garlic. We decided that we loved the tuna and dorado, but could take or leave the rest. I personally hated the (huge) mussels. Dessert: I had mocha pannacotta, chocolate ice cream and brandy snap basket. Roy had the Pear and Almond tart again. All washed down with lots of Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc. Wonderful.
Early to bed again.
http://www.safarinow.com/destinations/cape-peninsula/cape-peninsula-map.gif
As predicted by our waiter last night, a "cold front" has moved in. We awoke to thick fog. After breakfast, about 9.30-ish, it had started to lift. We headed out in the car. As we drove through Camp's Bay it was still foggy. Either side of the bay was completely clear! By the time we reached Kalk Bay (via Hout Bay, Chapman's Peak Drive and Fish Hoek) it was hot and sunny again.
Chapman's Peak Drive is beautiful. It even has its own website!
http://www.chapmanspeakdrive.co.za/
Kalk Bay was a nice little place; plenty of antique shops and eating places. We stopped for a look around and a stroll along the harbour where we watched seals swimming around. Then we headed through Simons Town to a place called Boulder's Beach - this is where they have a large colony of African Penguins. We watched for ages - they were so cute and so funny. The best £1.50 I've spent in ages!
Next, we drove right down the Peninsula toward Cape Point (behind several tour buses). We saw baboons and ostrich down there. At the Point, we walked up the STEEP hill to the Lighthouse, dodging a huge group of Italian tourists all the way. They are so noisy and they "hunt in packs" which means they tend to all clamour in the same small place at the same time, and walk 6 wide across the pathways etc. Apologies to any Italians (or italian residents) reading this.
After a quick stop for sandwich and energy bars, we set off on another walk. This time from Cape Point to the Cape of Good Hope - the most south westerly point in Africa. What a stunning walk! Across boardwalks on the cliff edge (and at some places just on the cliff edge itself) to a small hill overlooking the rocks of the Cape of Good Hope. We climbed to the top of the hill (fairly strenous but not too big!) and I placed a stone on the cairn up there for Dad.
This was in total just over an hour circular walk. Got back to the car and drove down to the sea level of the Cape of Good Hope. The waves were crashing on to rocks and spectacular to watch. We then headed home via Scarborough, Misty Cliffs (they were, too) and Kommetje - all very scenic. We had to stop for 10 minutes just out of the Cape Point National Park as a troop of baboon were crossing the road and decided to stop and play in the middle of it.
We finally drove back along Chapman's Peak again and towards home. We stopped at a beach just past Llandudno to watch the sun set. We were lucky to see loads of dassies on the rocks. These are tiny little guinea pig like animals.
Finally got home at 6.30pm. A brilliant day! Exhausted! Dinner is in the Oyo Restaurant at our hotel. We decided to give it a try after enjoying the desserts here so much. Rain is forecast for the next 2 days, and they're even saying that there will be snow in the hills.
Dinner was good - however, we tried a seafood platter, and we've decided that we're just not "seafood" people. Starters: Jan had duck liver pate, morello cherries, raisin toast and Roy had Crab Cake with wasabi mayo and plum dressing. Both were great. We then shared the seafood platter - crayfish, mussels, prawns, tuna, dorado, calamari and three dressings: lemon butter, peri peri and garlic. We decided that we loved the tuna and dorado, but could take or leave the rest. I personally hated the (huge) mussels. Dessert: I had mocha pannacotta, chocolate ice cream and brandy snap basket. Roy had the Pear and Almond tart again. All washed down with lots of Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc. Wonderful.
Early to bed again.
Thursday 17 April 2008
Long Walk to Freedom.
Up at 7. Booked on to the 9am tour to Robben Island and so we have to be there for 8.30am.
It is a beautiful day.
When we got to the "Gateway" museum, there was a room called "Message from Prisoners" so we popped in to have a look. What a moving and well thought out presentation! The room is long and narrow and you stand facing a full screen wall. On the screen they play a film of (life sized) prisoners, singing and talking of what their "crime" had been and where in SA they had been imprisoned during the struggle. So you feel as if they are in front of you in the room. Clever.
http://www.robben-island.org.za/
We managed to fluke being first on to the boat so got a great seat upstairs and therefore grfeat views of Cape Town and Table Mountain as we sailed over to Robben Island. The weather at sea had been described as "moderate" when we arrived at the gateway, but inside the harbour it was like a mill pond. I'd taken my sea legs pills just in case! As soon as we left harbour it changed. Pretty choppy.
Docking at Robben Island you're greeted by a huge concrete pier full of birds and bird shit. It stinks! I guess a combination of birds, fish and guano.
At Robben Island you first of all get on to a coach for a tour around part of the island. The guide tells you the history of the island, and you stop briefly at a few key places - Robert Sobukwe's house, and notably the lime quarry where the political prisoners worked mining lime. It was surprisingly tiny and had a "cave" where they would eat lunch and the current SA leaders planned for the future. We saw a mole snake, ostrich and African penguins as we drove around.
The tour culminates at the Maximum Security Prison where an ex-prisoner takes you to a large communal cell and talks about life on the island and what conditions were like. It's fascinating, but another hour or so with him would have been better as he was so interesting. His crime was to have been a guerilla in Umkhonto we Sizwe - the military wing of the ANC.
After queuing to look at Mandela's cell, we headed back to Cape Town. This time we were not so lucky to get a seat outside on the boat. We stopped for lunch at the Little Mermaid (Beef and chicken baguettes) and then headed back to our room to regroup and plan the rest of the day.
We planned to use the hop on/hop off open topped sightseeing bus around the city but we only hopped off once before deciding that we should hop back on and sit all the way round the route and listen to the commentary and enjoy the sights. We didn't have enough time to properly visit any of the attractions (museums etc) and it was hot and not so pleasant walking round the main streets of Cape Town. We came back to our hotel via Camps Bay and the beach road again, so we got to see what we'd only glimpsed after dark yesterday.
After a shower I dozed in the chair before dinner. We ate at Quay 4. http://www.quay4.co.za/aboutq4.htm
It was just "okay". The menu didn't quite deliver what it promised. I had tempura prawns with fried leeks and curry honey dip. Roy had scallop and kingklip fishcakes with wasabi mayo. For mains I got what was described as roasted baby chicken encrusted with sea salt and served with potato rosti and lemon. What actually turned up was griddled chicken breast with frozen potato shapes. I don't know what happened to the goats cheese and lemon! Roy had swordfish and chips, which just looked ok. We shared a bottle of Boschendal Chenin Blanc. After not being overly impressed with main courses, we decided to walk back to our hotel for dessert and coffee.
I had chocolate truffles (like little pastries filled with chocolate and deep fried) with coconut ice cream. Roy had Pear Tart and ice cream (sharp eyed readers will notice a recurring theme with the pear tart here!). It was very good.
Bed. VERY tired today. I think yesterday's walk is catching up with us!
It is a beautiful day.
When we got to the "Gateway" museum, there was a room called "Message from Prisoners" so we popped in to have a look. What a moving and well thought out presentation! The room is long and narrow and you stand facing a full screen wall. On the screen they play a film of (life sized) prisoners, singing and talking of what their "crime" had been and where in SA they had been imprisoned during the struggle. So you feel as if they are in front of you in the room. Clever.
http://www.robben-island.org.za/
We managed to fluke being first on to the boat so got a great seat upstairs and therefore grfeat views of Cape Town and Table Mountain as we sailed over to Robben Island. The weather at sea had been described as "moderate" when we arrived at the gateway, but inside the harbour it was like a mill pond. I'd taken my sea legs pills just in case! As soon as we left harbour it changed. Pretty choppy.
Docking at Robben Island you're greeted by a huge concrete pier full of birds and bird shit. It stinks! I guess a combination of birds, fish and guano.
At Robben Island you first of all get on to a coach for a tour around part of the island. The guide tells you the history of the island, and you stop briefly at a few key places - Robert Sobukwe's house, and notably the lime quarry where the political prisoners worked mining lime. It was surprisingly tiny and had a "cave" where they would eat lunch and the current SA leaders planned for the future. We saw a mole snake, ostrich and African penguins as we drove around.
The tour culminates at the Maximum Security Prison where an ex-prisoner takes you to a large communal cell and talks about life on the island and what conditions were like. It's fascinating, but another hour or so with him would have been better as he was so interesting. His crime was to have been a guerilla in Umkhonto we Sizwe - the military wing of the ANC.
After queuing to look at Mandela's cell, we headed back to Cape Town. This time we were not so lucky to get a seat outside on the boat. We stopped for lunch at the Little Mermaid (Beef and chicken baguettes) and then headed back to our room to regroup and plan the rest of the day.
We planned to use the hop on/hop off open topped sightseeing bus around the city but we only hopped off once before deciding that we should hop back on and sit all the way round the route and listen to the commentary and enjoy the sights. We didn't have enough time to properly visit any of the attractions (museums etc) and it was hot and not so pleasant walking round the main streets of Cape Town. We came back to our hotel via Camps Bay and the beach road again, so we got to see what we'd only glimpsed after dark yesterday.
After a shower I dozed in the chair before dinner. We ate at Quay 4. http://www.quay4.co.za/aboutq4.htm
It was just "okay". The menu didn't quite deliver what it promised. I had tempura prawns with fried leeks and curry honey dip. Roy had scallop and kingklip fishcakes with wasabi mayo. For mains I got what was described as roasted baby chicken encrusted with sea salt and served with potato rosti and lemon. What actually turned up was griddled chicken breast with frozen potato shapes. I don't know what happened to the goats cheese and lemon! Roy had swordfish and chips, which just looked ok. We shared a bottle of Boschendal Chenin Blanc. After not being overly impressed with main courses, we decided to walk back to our hotel for dessert and coffee.
I had chocolate truffles (like little pastries filled with chocolate and deep fried) with coconut ice cream. Roy had Pear Tart and ice cream (sharp eyed readers will notice a recurring theme with the pear tart here!). It was very good.
Bed. VERY tired today. I think yesterday's walk is catching up with us!
Wednesday 16 April 2008
Long walk to the top of Table Mountain
The V&A is a very, very good hotel. They really look after you here. Rooms and beds are huge and the bath runs in record time. Choccies left on the pillow at night, plenty of bottled water and a free half bottle of champagne are nice little touches. The maid's room is a few doors down from us so if we're short of coffee or anything we only have to knock and they're happy to supply us. We're drinking a lot of coffee in our room - we're finding ourselves tired (if not jet lagged) and the caffeine helps!
Woke at 7.30am today - great sleep. Breakfast here is really good. There is a cold buffet and I've had a good look round it - there is nothing you can't get! I keep wanting to try one of the oysters (they nestle on a bed of ice next to a huge platter of smoked salmon and an ice bucket of champagne) but at 8am I can't really face it. I generally find myself drawn to the "healthy section" (I know, amazing isn't it!) where I get yogurt, granola and fruit. Then I go back and treat myself to a bran muffin. Or banana bread. Or wonderful brown bread and honey. Occasionally I share some of Roy's "unhealthy" muffin. He is most often drawn to the pastries/muffin section - he found the most incredible custard tarts there! By the time our waitress asks us if we want any hot cooked food, we're stuffed full and decline. I also grab a couple of "Energy Bars" and apples on the way out, to keep with us during the day for emergency snacking.
So, today is the day we climb Table Mountain. Notice I say "climb" and not "walk".
I approached this with a positive attitude and a determination not to let it beat me - I knew it was going to be really tough. My pre-holiday diet/training regime was a pretty poor effort. But I had said that I would walk up Table Mountain and I did.
I think I only slipped up and used negative language (either out loud or in my head) once or twice on the way up. Only a few hundred metres in to our walk up, my head was already thumping and I felt physically sick. I kept myself going by taking frequent rests and plenty of water. And by telling myself that soon, the huge boulders and steep, steep trail, would change to a nice smooth path and a gentler climb. They didn't.
About two thirds up, I was resting when a local guy came past us on his way down. He stopped for a chat and was telling us that he'd set off at about the same time as us, had already been up to the top, had lunch and a good walk round and was now on his way down. In fact, we were constantly being overtaken by fitter walkers. Some of whom were wearing only flip flops!
At no point on the path is there any smooth walkingl. It is 3kms of rocks, boulders and big stones and the trail goes steeply up the Platteklip Gorge.
After a record 4 and a half hour climb (it is supposed to take 1.5 - 3 hours) we finally reached the top. Success! All I could think was "if I can achieve this when I am so unfit, imagine what I could do if I WAS fit".
http://www.tablemountain.net/visitor_info/hiking/platteklip_gorge_to_upper_cable_station.html
At the top, we had our "picnic" of energy bars, apple and bran muffin, and walked around the various viewing points. Our descent was by cable car - thank god it was running today. 4 hours to ascend, 4 minutes to the bottom by cable car.
http://www.tablemountain.net/
We didn't get down until 4pm so decided to take a short drive. First up Signal Hill, for more great views, and then along to Camp's Bay, where we had sundowners in a bar. Back to the hotel along the beach road (Clifton and Seapoint) and arrived there about 7pm.
Dinner tonight was at Baia, a seafood restaurant. Nice place - big comfy seats and we had a window seat on the upstairs terrace, so a good view over the waterfront. We shared calamari in garlic sauce to start. Then Jan had Kingklip (fish) with pesto, mediterranean veggies and tomato rice. Roy had Kingklip with chorizo, potato, veggies and rice. I had cherry and pecan cheesecake and Roy had Pear, ginger and almond tart with honeycomb ice cream. Bottle of Graham Beck Sauvingnon Blanc. Excellent.
We rounded the evening off by watching the seals fighting on a jetty in front of the Table Bay Hotel - quite funny! So noisy and argumentative. Then we strolled back to the hotel - slept soundly tonight after the day's exertions!
Woke at 7.30am today - great sleep. Breakfast here is really good. There is a cold buffet and I've had a good look round it - there is nothing you can't get! I keep wanting to try one of the oysters (they nestle on a bed of ice next to a huge platter of smoked salmon and an ice bucket of champagne) but at 8am I can't really face it. I generally find myself drawn to the "healthy section" (I know, amazing isn't it!) where I get yogurt, granola and fruit. Then I go back and treat myself to a bran muffin. Or banana bread. Or wonderful brown bread and honey. Occasionally I share some of Roy's "unhealthy" muffin. He is most often drawn to the pastries/muffin section - he found the most incredible custard tarts there! By the time our waitress asks us if we want any hot cooked food, we're stuffed full and decline. I also grab a couple of "Energy Bars" and apples on the way out, to keep with us during the day for emergency snacking.
So, today is the day we climb Table Mountain. Notice I say "climb" and not "walk".
I approached this with a positive attitude and a determination not to let it beat me - I knew it was going to be really tough. My pre-holiday diet/training regime was a pretty poor effort. But I had said that I would walk up Table Mountain and I did.
I think I only slipped up and used negative language (either out loud or in my head) once or twice on the way up. Only a few hundred metres in to our walk up, my head was already thumping and I felt physically sick. I kept myself going by taking frequent rests and plenty of water. And by telling myself that soon, the huge boulders and steep, steep trail, would change to a nice smooth path and a gentler climb. They didn't.
About two thirds up, I was resting when a local guy came past us on his way down. He stopped for a chat and was telling us that he'd set off at about the same time as us, had already been up to the top, had lunch and a good walk round and was now on his way down. In fact, we were constantly being overtaken by fitter walkers. Some of whom were wearing only flip flops!
At no point on the path is there any smooth walkingl. It is 3kms of rocks, boulders and big stones and the trail goes steeply up the Platteklip Gorge.
After a record 4 and a half hour climb (it is supposed to take 1.5 - 3 hours) we finally reached the top. Success! All I could think was "if I can achieve this when I am so unfit, imagine what I could do if I WAS fit".
http://www.tablemountain.net/visitor_info/hiking/platteklip_gorge_to_upper_cable_station.html
At the top, we had our "picnic" of energy bars, apple and bran muffin, and walked around the various viewing points. Our descent was by cable car - thank god it was running today. 4 hours to ascend, 4 minutes to the bottom by cable car.
http://www.tablemountain.net/
We didn't get down until 4pm so decided to take a short drive. First up Signal Hill, for more great views, and then along to Camp's Bay, where we had sundowners in a bar. Back to the hotel along the beach road (Clifton and Seapoint) and arrived there about 7pm.
Dinner tonight was at Baia, a seafood restaurant. Nice place - big comfy seats and we had a window seat on the upstairs terrace, so a good view over the waterfront. We shared calamari in garlic sauce to start. Then Jan had Kingklip (fish) with pesto, mediterranean veggies and tomato rice. Roy had Kingklip with chorizo, potato, veggies and rice. I had cherry and pecan cheesecake and Roy had Pear, ginger and almond tart with honeycomb ice cream. Bottle of Graham Beck Sauvingnon Blanc. Excellent.
We rounded the evening off by watching the seals fighting on a jetty in front of the Table Bay Hotel - quite funny! So noisy and argumentative. Then we strolled back to the hotel - slept soundly tonight after the day's exertions!
Tuesday 15 April 2008
Tuesday 15th April - Cape Town
We had an easy drive from the airport to the Victoria and Alfred Holtel - the sun by now is shining and it's very warm. We had been concerned when we noticed the South African travellers all getting off the plane in big winter coats!
Our room is lovely. Spacious, comfortable. I'm currently sitting in an easy chair reading about the V&A Waterfront and listening to African singers in the piazza outside. I also just heard the Noon Gun go off - it's fired from Signal Hill each day.
http://www.vahotel.co.za/home.htm
We ventured out arund the waterfront to find out where things are - there are plentiful shops and restaurants here. We looked at some menus and were drawn into the Greek Fisherman for lunch, our first taste of SA food and hospitality. We didn't want to over do it so we got greek salad, hummous and taramasalata with a loaf of Greek Peasant bread. Oh and two glasses of Castle beer .http://www.greekfisherman.co.za/menu.htm
Everything was delicious. Roy was feeling tired so after a stroll round we had an hour back in the room and he had a short nap. At 5pm we ventured out again and booked into Den Anker restaurant for dinner. We found a group of seals lying (and being noisy) on a jetty so we watched them for a while. We ogled some more at Table Mountain - it's so beautiful as a back drop to the Waterfront. It is in the high 70's, temperature wise. Just perfect.
Dinner was excellent. Both had fillet steak (Roy au poivre, Jan with Bearnaise) and it was very good indeed. Bottle of Shiraz. Roy had a pear and almond tart and Jan had cheesecake. Followed by the strongest Irish coffees ever! They made them at the table, and lit the whisky first. Very dramatic. http://www.denanker.co.za/
Home to bed.
Our room is lovely. Spacious, comfortable. I'm currently sitting in an easy chair reading about the V&A Waterfront and listening to African singers in the piazza outside. I also just heard the Noon Gun go off - it's fired from Signal Hill each day.
http://www.vahotel.co.za/home.htm
We ventured out arund the waterfront to find out where things are - there are plentiful shops and restaurants here. We looked at some menus and were drawn into the Greek Fisherman for lunch, our first taste of SA food and hospitality. We didn't want to over do it so we got greek salad, hummous and taramasalata with a loaf of Greek Peasant bread. Oh and two glasses of Castle beer .http://www.greekfisherman.co.za/menu.htm
Everything was delicious. Roy was feeling tired so after a stroll round we had an hour back in the room and he had a short nap. At 5pm we ventured out again and booked into Den Anker restaurant for dinner. We found a group of seals lying (and being noisy) on a jetty so we watched them for a while. We ogled some more at Table Mountain - it's so beautiful as a back drop to the Waterfront. It is in the high 70's, temperature wise. Just perfect.
Dinner was excellent. Both had fillet steak (Roy au poivre, Jan with Bearnaise) and it was very good indeed. Bottle of Shiraz. Roy had a pear and almond tart and Jan had cheesecake. Followed by the strongest Irish coffees ever! They made them at the table, and lit the whisky first. Very dramatic. http://www.denanker.co.za/
Home to bed.
Monday 14 April 2008
Great Expectations
Woke up at 7 this morning thinking: every day will be an adventure for the next 24 days. How often in my life do I get to say that?
The philosophical amongst you might think that every day is an adventure regardless of where it is spent! However, this trip to South Africa has been long in the planning, cancelled once, and is finally here.
Woo hoooooo.............
It was a long, dull morning! We were packed and ready to go by 11. Taxi was booked for 1.
Arrived at Leeds airport just before 2 and were stung at check in for £21 excess baggage fee for being a mere 3kg overweight - normally that would be ignored. *insert swear word directed at BMI check in staff here*
No extra baggage allowance or lounge access for Leeds - London because our flight tickets were economy saver fares. I wish I'd cottoned on to that when I booked - very frustrating as our baggage allowance is an extra 10kg EACH for the London - Cape Town segment.
All smooth at Heathrow (phew) and we spent most of our 5 hours there in the Baobab lounge (South African Airways lounge). I asked for a glass of Amarula (Bailey's like South African drink) and got a vase full! Met a nice American couple who were flying on to Cape Town albeit by a more complex route than us, and chatting with them passed an hour on nicely. Boarded and departed bang on time.
I was excited about the flight (I'm not usually!) because we were travelling business class and this was a first for me on long haul.
Benefits of travelling business class:
- priority baggage (off loading)
- priority boarding and exiting plane
- unlimited wine, champagne, port, well - anything alcoholic really
- good food (proper plates and cutlery, apart from plastic knife. I'm sure I could do more damage with a fork than a knife)
- seats that convert in to lie flat beds for sleeping (and other various positions)
- no swollen feet due to said lie flat beds
- superb service
- duvet and pillow
- cute Delsey vanity pack
Disadvantages of travelling business class:
- unlimited wine, champagne, port, alcohol
I woke up on the plane with a stinking headache! When your glass is constantly being refilled you don't notice quite how much you're drinking.
Anyway, for a change, we both slept well on the flight and felt pretty refreshed when our steward woke us for breakfast with ice cold, refreshing orange juice. Flying into Cape Town is an experience right up there. Table Mountain loomed out of low clouds. Stunning. Still felt like I was looking at pictures on the internet though.
Through security and baggage in no time. Our car hire was upgraded to an Outlander 4WD. Swartberg Pass here we come! And I'm going to start a new entry on the blog now as it is officially 15th April...........
The philosophical amongst you might think that every day is an adventure regardless of where it is spent! However, this trip to South Africa has been long in the planning, cancelled once, and is finally here.
Woo hoooooo.............
It was a long, dull morning! We were packed and ready to go by 11. Taxi was booked for 1.
Arrived at Leeds airport just before 2 and were stung at check in for £21 excess baggage fee for being a mere 3kg overweight - normally that would be ignored. *insert swear word directed at BMI check in staff here*
No extra baggage allowance or lounge access for Leeds - London because our flight tickets were economy saver fares. I wish I'd cottoned on to that when I booked - very frustrating as our baggage allowance is an extra 10kg EACH for the London - Cape Town segment.
All smooth at Heathrow (phew) and we spent most of our 5 hours there in the Baobab lounge (South African Airways lounge). I asked for a glass of Amarula (Bailey's like South African drink) and got a vase full! Met a nice American couple who were flying on to Cape Town albeit by a more complex route than us, and chatting with them passed an hour on nicely. Boarded and departed bang on time.
I was excited about the flight (I'm not usually!) because we were travelling business class and this was a first for me on long haul.
Benefits of travelling business class:
- priority baggage (off loading)
- priority boarding and exiting plane
- unlimited wine, champagne, port, well - anything alcoholic really
- good food (proper plates and cutlery, apart from plastic knife. I'm sure I could do more damage with a fork than a knife)
- seats that convert in to lie flat beds for sleeping (and other various positions)
- no swollen feet due to said lie flat beds
- superb service
- duvet and pillow
- cute Delsey vanity pack
Disadvantages of travelling business class:
- unlimited wine, champagne, port, alcohol
I woke up on the plane with a stinking headache! When your glass is constantly being refilled you don't notice quite how much you're drinking.
Anyway, for a change, we both slept well on the flight and felt pretty refreshed when our steward woke us for breakfast with ice cold, refreshing orange juice. Flying into Cape Town is an experience right up there. Table Mountain loomed out of low clouds. Stunning. Still felt like I was looking at pictures on the internet though.
Through security and baggage in no time. Our car hire was upgraded to an Outlander 4WD. Swartberg Pass here we come! And I'm going to start a new entry on the blog now as it is officially 15th April...........
Tuesday 8 April 2008
South Africa trip - itinerary
April 15th to April 18th: Cape Town
http://www.vahotel.co.za/home.htm
April 19th and April 20th: Franschoek
http://www.aka.co.za/vreugde.htm
April 21st and April 22nd: Wildnerness (Garden Route)
http://www.thedune.co.za/
April 23rd and April 24th: Plettenberg Bay (Garden Route)
http://www.fynbosridge.co.za/index.html
April 25th, 26th and 27th: Kwandwe Game Reserve
http://www.ccafrica.com/reserve-1-id-2-8
April 28th and April 29th: Addo Elephant Park
http://www.elephanthouse.co.za/
http://www.vahotel.co.za/home.htm
April 19th and April 20th: Franschoek
http://www.aka.co.za/vreugde.htm
April 21st and April 22nd: Wildnerness (Garden Route)
http://www.thedune.co.za/
April 23rd and April 24th: Plettenberg Bay (Garden Route)
http://www.fynbosridge.co.za/index.html
April 25th, 26th and 27th: Kwandwe Game Reserve
http://www.ccafrica.com/reserve-1-id-2-8
April 28th and April 29th: Addo Elephant Park
http://www.elephanthouse.co.za/
April 30th: Fly to Durban, Itinerary from Auntie Margaret as follows:
April 30th - Wednesday Collect J & R. Braai (Barbecue) with family at Kloof
May 1st - Thursday Tour Durban and surrounds
May 2nd - Friday Chill Out (maybe shopping??)
May 3rd - Saturday a. m. Midlands Meander drive
p.m. Overnight at Moorcroft Manor
May 4th - Sunday 4x4 trip over Sani Pass. Overnight at Gail's house
May 5th - Monday Boer war battlefields. Overnight at Dundee
May 6th - Tuesday Zulu battlefields, then home to Kloof
May 7th - Wednesday Morning at Kloof, fly home in afternoon/evening.
Sunday 6 April 2008
A spooky coincidence
I have yet to report on our recent trips to Horsham, Maidstone and Canterbury - I will catch up on that soon. However, I wanted to mention something that happened this weekend. I've been spending a bit of time thinking "I wonder what was happening this time last year" - and thank god for my blog which is there to remind me exactly what was going on. I'd never recall it all. So, Dad has been on my mind a lot lately.
Yesterday the postman brought a marketing leaflet from the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall - I'm on their mailing list now. I like to look through as it's all about "What's On" and they have some pretty good stuff on there. This leaflet was for April - September 08.
Last time my Dad was able to go out (socially) before he became ill and subsequently bed bound, was in late January when I took him to a concert at the Phil. It was the Wally Fields Jazz Orchestra playing Rhapsody in Blue and a selection of jazz classics from people like Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw - Dad loved jazz. Although it was a struggle for him, he made a huge effort and came with me. I'd bought the ticket for his birthday, which is in September and we'd had a long wait for the actual concert in January. I guess I should have known something pretty serious was wrong with Dad because he let me drive him there and back and he NEVER let anybody else drive him around! He couldn't walk far and so I dropped him at the door and then ran out to get the car when it finished and picked him up at the entrance, too. I also remember, and this may be on my blog, seeing Dad from a distance when I came back from the loo during the interval, and just thinking that something was wrong with him - he had that "look" about him, round the mouth.
Anyway, we had a good night. I drove home afterwards as I was up earlyish the next day to go to London to meet some friends.
So, back to yesterday. I opened the leaflet and noticed that the Wally Fields Jazz Orchestra was back on at the Phil. With exactly the same programme as last January. The date? 28th September. Dad's birthday.
http://www.liverpoolphil.com/eventdetail.aspx?Event_ID=1629
Yesterday the postman brought a marketing leaflet from the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall - I'm on their mailing list now. I like to look through as it's all about "What's On" and they have some pretty good stuff on there. This leaflet was for April - September 08.
Last time my Dad was able to go out (socially) before he became ill and subsequently bed bound, was in late January when I took him to a concert at the Phil. It was the Wally Fields Jazz Orchestra playing Rhapsody in Blue and a selection of jazz classics from people like Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw - Dad loved jazz. Although it was a struggle for him, he made a huge effort and came with me. I'd bought the ticket for his birthday, which is in September and we'd had a long wait for the actual concert in January. I guess I should have known something pretty serious was wrong with Dad because he let me drive him there and back and he NEVER let anybody else drive him around! He couldn't walk far and so I dropped him at the door and then ran out to get the car when it finished and picked him up at the entrance, too. I also remember, and this may be on my blog, seeing Dad from a distance when I came back from the loo during the interval, and just thinking that something was wrong with him - he had that "look" about him, round the mouth.
Anyway, we had a good night. I drove home afterwards as I was up earlyish the next day to go to London to meet some friends.
So, back to yesterday. I opened the leaflet and noticed that the Wally Fields Jazz Orchestra was back on at the Phil. With exactly the same programme as last January. The date? 28th September. Dad's birthday.
http://www.liverpoolphil.com/eventdetail.aspx?Event_ID=1629
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