I walked out to see a beautiful sunrise this morning (6.15am). But after that it clouded over and it is very cool and overcast.
We're heading out on the Midlands Meander and then on to Himeville for an overnight stay in the Drakensberg mountains.
http://www.midlandsmeander.co.za/midlands/index.html
I'm not sure quite how I would describe the Meander. I guess you could say it is a scenic drive with shops and cafes and restaurants along the way. I had in my mind that they'd all be quite close together but they aren't. And the Meander route is quite confusing as it isn't one loop route as such but there are little branches going off it all over the place! We wanted to be off the Meander by lunchtime as we didn't want to arrive at Moorcroft Manor too late.
So, we stopped only a few times - at Higgly Piggly - a small centre with farm shop, cafe, plant nursery, ceramic place and a few other shops. We bought some wine there. Next we called in at Decadance where they feature stunning artwork made of beads. And then into Spiral Blue - kind of an Eastern shop. Finally we called in (after 3kms up a dirt track) to Swissland - a wooden chalet surrounded by goats. Guess what they sell there? Yup, cheese. We tasted a lot of cheeses but decided against buying a "picnic platter" there as it was not quite warm enough to sit outside for long.
We decided to go for a proper lunch stop at Bierkassl - which had been recommended by G. We arrived at 12.45-ish. The sun had popped out so we grabbed the last remaining outside table only to find it was in the shade. This resulted in a squabble as I said that if Roy had been faster (he'd been faffing around in the car park) we'd have got into the sun.
We were ignored by 2 or 3 different waiters until about 10 past 1. By now we were both really irritable. Eventually we saw a menu, but realised that there were no "snacky" things or sandwiches on there. So we told our waiter we were leaving and he suggested going round the corner to a place called Aladdin's Lamp. We parked up there and it took us a good 5 minutes to find the cafe. When we did there was a big sign up announcing its closure until further notice.
So, back to the main road and we called in to the Nathan Road Junction Deli. It was awful! We got toasted sandwiches (mine had the weirdest looking bacon I'd ever seen on it) and cold chips. The salad was not so fresh looking. Only saving grace was that the coffees were quite good. And it didn't cost much!
So, on we went. We studied our map and decided on an alternate route to the one Gordon had told us to take. We ended up on the Souter Pass. Now this was not a steep mountain pass, but after a while on it the tarmac changed to a dirt road. And it went on and on and on like that for 50kms - horrible, bumpy, pot hole filled dirt track. And this time we weren't in the 4X4. I felt really bad that I had taken G's car on such an awful road. That said, the scenery was stunning. We were following the Drakensberg south. And saw a beautiful Jackal buzzard on the way.
We arrived at Moorcroft Manor at 4-ish. That dirt trail only finished about 2kms before the hotel and had taken some time to negotiate. Moorcroft is fantastic. We've been upgraded to a suite, we think - the bath is the best bath in South Africa! They have a free ironing service here so Roy put a pair of trousers in, as they needed doing. They were back in record time! And for this brilliant hotel we're paying £30 each, bed and breakfast. We'd be in the tiniest of rooms if we had a B&B in Britain for that price.
http://www.moorcroft.co.za/default.htm
We walked around the little dam at the foot of the hotel grounds - watched herons and hadehas and fishermen. There was a beautiful sunset over the mountains but it's not a clear night. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.
We had a decanter of sherry in our room so we took a tipple before going to dinner. Then in the bar we were offered drinks and the menus. The food was - you know what I'm going to say - amazing. We both picked the same!
Amuse bouche: ham, cream cheese, caper
Starter: Deep fried feta with shaved smoked trout / salad and dressing, melba toast and butter
Main: Fillet steak, pepper sauce, potato wedges, carrot, broccoli
Dessert: Black Forest Cheesecake (homemade with cherries, kirsh and chocolate)
Coffees. (Irish for Roy).
I forget the exact price of this but it was under R400. The fillet was superb - flame grilled and so tender and tasty.
Overall, Moorcroft is THE best hotel we've stayed in for value. In fact, it is one of my favourite places here.
