April 30, 2014 Palmiet Caravan Park, Kleinmond, Western Cape, SA – 441
km
The sound of the waves crashing
against the rocks in the dark was the first thing we heard this morning. SA has
only one time zone so we are finding a real change in the sunrise and sunset
times as we move west. When the sun finally did come up we saw a lovely sunrise
and the start to another perfect day of sunshine. There was some scud and fog
around after yesterday’s major rain but that cleared off pretty quickly. The
temperature didn’t drop past 15 last night and was around 17 most of the day
but it feels warmer.
The start of the drive was along
the coast so was very pretty. Part way through the morning the road headed inland
through rich farm land and eventually into the wine country. For the past few
days we have noticed the hitchhikers are holding out money to entice a ride.
This is a change from the other provinces where they try to wave you down. We
don’t seem to see as many intercommunity minibuses in this area either.
Before we left home we went to
the dollar store and stocked up on Canada stickers. Doug has been giving them
out (along with the customary tip) to the gas station attendants and other
service people as we go along and you should see the big smiles we get. Today
the young fellow kept trying to guess where we were from – Germany, England ???
He finally gave up and asked!
We are still not getting used to
the fences and protection people feel they need. Today we saw a yard with high
razor wire fence and two German shepherds in the yard, along with a sign posted
on the side of the garage stating “ASK security, 24 hour armed service”. It is
too bad that these people have to (or think they have to) live like that. All of the caravan parks we have been staying
in also have fences and some sort of controlled gate, be it with a 24 hour
guard letting you in and out or a special card to open the electric gate. We
could see this in the National Parks where they are concerned with the occasional
four legged predator wandering in. In the cities they fear the two legged
animals from the townships. When you the poverty you can understand. They must
be pretty desperate just eking out a living.
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| Caravan park |
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| Security Plus |
Using the caravan park book again
we have found our spot for the night. We have decided to stay here for three
nights and do some exploring using this as our home base. It actually feels
nice to not have to be thinking about where we will be the next few nights.
Once we got camp set up we headed to the beach for a nice long strenuous walk
in the sand. We looked at the seaweed in the tidal drift and picked up some
shells. It is really lovely here but the waves are so loud we certainly didn’t
talk much as we trundled along. It really felt good to get out and move after
our day of travel.
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| Caravan Beach |
Western Cape appears to be the
most affluent province we have been in. Many more roadside rest stops are
available and the road conditions seem better. When we hired the motorhome we
had to leave a blank signed credit card chit with them. This is to cover
“getting your picture taken” by the roadside traps as they will bill the rental
company directly with fines. Doug took their picture today as they were set up
at a roadside stop. Other travellers do the same here as at home, flash their
lights to warn you the traffic police and camera are ahead.
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| Rest Stop |
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| Radar Trap |
It is hard to believe we only
have two more weeks before we are back in Joburg for our flight home. So much
to see and so little time. We do spend each evening doing planning and trying
to figure out how much more we can pack in. Tomorrow we will do a driving tour
of the Cape Peninsula and attempt to reach the Cape of Good Hope. And we are
going penguin hunting!
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