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SIX WEEK ROADTRIP

The decision has finally been made, a six week road trip is in order, level 2 Lockdown has been declared which enables us to travel interprovincially, so Kimberley, Williston, Tulbagh, Kommetjie, Claremont, back to Tulbagh, Sutherland, a slow meander to Augrabies NP, Kgalagadi NP & then home.

Will keep you posted 🐘

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CELEBRATING INTERNATIONAL ELEPHANTS DAY

12TH August 2019 🐘🐘

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SOCIALISM IN KALK BAY 🇨🇺

19th April 2019

Kalk Bay is a fishing village on the coast of False Bay, South Africa and is now a suburb of greater Cape Town. It lies between the ocean and sharply rising mountainous heights that are buttressed by crags of grey Table Mountain Sandstone.A literal translation from the Dutch/Afrikaans name "Kalkbaai" is "Lime Bay". This derives from the vast deposits of mussel shells found there, which early settlers burned to make lime for construction. Lime kilns to roast mussel shells are still found along the west coast. The railway from the central business district of Cape Town to Simon's Town passes through Kalk Bay and in some places the line is only metres from the water's edge(wiki).

We met up with a few friends in the funky Kalk Bay for tea, we started off at the Olympia Cafe, which is a very famous old restuarant, vibey and busy and worth a visit if you are not in a hurry.

We walked through the village that is full of funky shops, cafes, a bookshop and a great little theater. Beautiful old buildings are scattered on the mountainside behind the main road, with false bay on the other side. The bookshop had a interesting selection of books and I was very pleased to see kids reading to each other on a couch, brought a big smile to my face.

Next we stopped at the Dalebrook Cafe for banting cheesecake, yum. It is opposite the Dalebrook tidal pool.

On our way back we stopped to see the "Cape to Cuba" restaurant (see pics), I never realised that socialism could be so funky, a definite visit for next time.

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STELLENBOSCH ON FOOT

17 April 2019

"The town was founded in 1679 by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Simon van der Stel, who named it after himself– Stellenbosch means "(van der) Stel's Bush". It is situated on the banks of the Eerste River ("First River"), so named as it was the first new river he reached and followed when he went on an expedition over the Cape Flats to explore the territory towards what is now known as Stellenbosch. The town grew so quickly that it became an independent local authority in 1682 and the seat of a magistrate with jurisdiction over 25,000 square kilometers (9,700 sq mi) in 1685.

The Dutch were skilled in hydraulic engineering and they devised a system of furrows to direct water from the Eerste River in the vicinity of Thibault Street through the town along van Riebeeck Street to Mill Street where a mill was erected.Early visitors commented on the oak trees and gardens.

During 1690 some Huguenot refugees settled in Stellenbosch,grapes were planted in the fertile valleys around Stellenbosch and soon it became the centre of the South African wine industry."(wiki)

From Kommetjie to Stellenbosch by car it takes about 90 minutes on Baden Powell road, all along the False Bay coastline until you cross over the N2, hundreds of vineyards come into view, along with the various Wine Cellars and Cape Dutch architecture, beautiful white thatch buildings with gables.

We had booked a walking tour and met at the Tourist Information building in Market street, after a cup of coffee and a piece of milk tart we set of with a very interesting tour guide and spent the next one and a half hours wondering through Stellenbosch, well worth the R140 rand, M got a freebie because she is a tour guide.

Initially, our tour took us right through some local protest action by the inhabitants wanting land to build houses on, while people shouted through a loadhaler, we visited one of the first old Cape Dutch farm houses with stunning furniture and ceramics, beautiful yellow wood floors and ceilings and a very well equipped kitchen, one could almost smell the fresh bread baking.

Our meander took us past "Die Kruithuis" where all the gun powder was stored, the first school and into the slave church, all the buildings are painted white with lime wash,whether they are Cape Dutch or Georgian and are all kept very clean and tidy.

The town is a buzz with university students and there are some very funky coffee shops, restuarants and art/ clothing shops. The tour guide was very knowledgable and covered the history, trees(5 different oak trees), mountains etc. very well, highly recommended.

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EQUUS in Campsbay 🐎

11 April 2019

Drinks at the "Chinchilla Lounge" as the sun set on the beautiful restless Atlantic and may I add, "bliksems koud"!

The theatre is always a huge treat and when accompanied by close friends, makes it even more of a memorable event.

Dinner before the show was sort of low carb, but delicious and eventually we made it to the "Theatre on the Bay" to experience the nerve wracking "EQUUS".

Equus is a drama play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses.

Shaffer was inspired to write Equus when he heard of a crime involving a 17-year-old who blinded six horses in a small town near Suffolk. He set out to construct a fictional account of what might have caused the incident, without knowing any of the details of the crime. The play's action is something of a detective story, involving the attempts of the child psychiatrist Dr. Martin Dysart to understand the cause of the boy's actions while wrestling with his own sense of purpose.(wiki)

A real thought provoking play, recommended 😁

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Lekker innie Kaap na!!

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THE CLEANEST AIR IN AFRICA

10 April 2019

"Cape Point is in the Cape of Good Hope nature reserve within Table Mountain National Park, which forms part of the Cape Floral Region, a World Heritage Site. It includes the majestic Table Mountain chain, which stretches from Signal Hill to Cape Point, and the coastlines of the Cape Peninsula. This narrow stretch of land, dotted with beautiful valleys, bays and beaches, contains a mix of extraordinarily diverse and unique fauna and flora."(CP)

On the way to Cape Point we visited the Cape Point Ostrich Farm, it is geared up for tourists and a tour is offered for R85, a well stocked craft shop is also available at "slightly" elevated prices.

After entering the reserve and parking the car, we caught the funicular to the top and then walked down to the second lighthouse on the peninsular. Highly recommended as the views are breathtaking and the air is acclaimed to be the freshest air in Africa. Fynbos, lizards and birds make the walk that much more interesting. Old cement gun turrets still hug the cliffs and look rather out of place.

The walk back was a challenge but we made it to the top and then walked down to the car park, no need for the gym that day for sure!

On the way out, we stopped at the information centre, which is worth a visit, they have test tubes with freshly picked fynbos flowers and are labeled with their common and botanical names, very handy.

We returned to Kommetjie via Simonstown, stunning houses with beautiful views dot the side of the mountain, quaint shops and restuarants can be found in Simonstown and the Navy is still very prominent within the harbor.

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HIER "KOM" ONS

4 April 2019

What a wonderful opportunity, one month in Kommetjie, while our friends globe trottered to New Zealand.

"Kommetjie celebrated its centenary in 2003, but in reality 1903 only marked the first house being built here. For many years the area was regarded as a place for picnics and holidays, and families came from Wynberg, Noordhoek and Fish Hoek to camp among the milkwood trees for several weeks at a time over the Christmas season. Most of the first homes (along the Kom) were holiday homes only.

Many of the Kommetjie streets were named after families who first settled here, including De Villiers, van der Horst, Seeliger, Benning, Van der Poll and Kirsten(Wiki)".

The sound of the Atlantic Ocean and the absolute tranquility is definately a huge plus, the residents are friendly and down to earth and village has a holiday vibe. The local shops, restuarants and pubs make it easy to exist without rushing out to the malls every 5 minutes. Imhoffs farm to the north and Scarborough to the south have their own character and add to the unique experience.

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Celebrating International Elephants Day 🐘🐘🐘🐘

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Miss my son!!

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THE GLASS ELEVATOR

The trip was slowly coming to an end and we were both looking for excuses to stay on longer, unfortunately, Satara camp was full, so Letaba for one night and then Olifants for one night and we will be leaving the NP 😢, all good things come to a end. Both camps were great and the restaurant food was yummy, luckily we had planned our meals perfectly and only used the restaurants when we were lazy, Tindlovu well done, especially the chicken meals. The plan was to go to the Glass Elevator in Graskop, stay over at a place called Drakenzicht and then home. We were taking a chance, not sure what it would be like, and were we in for a surprise!!!! The Graskop Lift Company was worth every cent, even though we got the pensioners discount, really well put together, dropping 91m into the gorge and then a wonderful 600m boardwalk through the gorge undergrowth. The restaurant is worth a visit and the whole experience is highly recommended. M had booked Drakenzicht and the owner had said that there was a self catering cottage next to a golf course of the beaten track, so off we went using our Google maps. It's crazy how you blindly believe Google maps and even though we eventually went past two signs saying Drakenzicht, Google said it was further on, when it said " you have reached your destination " there was open veld and a few cows, nothing else! So we entered the co-ordinates into the maps and it directed us back +-23kms, which seemed to take us back to where the signs were, M was driving so we turned back and as we got to the turn-off there were two big trucks in front of us, I said M should overtake and you guested it, we missed the turn off again 😲 After doing an illegal u- turn we finally managed to turn off and I promise you, the road was a slight upgrade from a foot  path, anyway, off we went and the road seemed to get worse & worse, we really started having 2nd thoughts about this place and seriously considered turning back and looking for other accommodation. Anyway, adventurous as we are, we carried  on and after about 8km we came across this big gated wall saying "Drakenzicht - Golf Links", after phoning for the code we drove into this amazing place, a nine hole golf course with a club house etc., beautiful greens and fairways EISH!! The owners were great people and the accommodation perfect, you will have to visit to get the complete picture. After a cozy night next to the fire, we departed for home, which is always a pleasure to see after a trip. Wonderful trip, we both love the bush, 104 birds, 28 mammals, 3 reptiles later 😁

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View in Letaba

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Mopani worms 😲

7&8 June

Mopani Camp

No worms, but can imagine when they are around, must be tons of them.

We have been alternating our driving, so the trip down to Mopani was handled by the tour guide(M) in the CSV (closed safari vehicle) as opposed to OSV.  😁

Lazy drive along the river and just before Mopani we saw a leopard in a tree, classic.

Mopani Camp is much better than Shingwedzi, a lot more cottages, but well spaced, happy with # 54.

Wonderful sundowners and dinner overlooking the lake, a huge herd of elephants at the lake the next day.

Had breakfast at Uitspan Waterhole, the only car there, 4 different herds a of elephants came and went, giraffes, buffalo, zebras, birds. At one stage something happened and all run away and came back slowly, we think there must have been a kill nearby, because after 30 mins, vultures started arriving 😲.

77 birds so far 👍