Springbok Caravan Park, Springbok, Northern Cape, SA – 450

       Lambert’s Bay Caravan Park, Lambert’s Bay, Western Cape, SA – 422 km

Look for a little dot on the west coast of South Africa – we are here at Lambert’s Bay. The town itself is primarily tourism and fishing with a fish processing plant.

Our mission has been to avoid big cities and that was how we planned our route. Today’s drive was relatively unremarkable especially as the first part (through Cape Town on the freeway) was carried out in the fog. Again the use of names in English and Afrikaans can prove confusing if you aren’t aware it is normal to switch back and forth – Kaapstad – Cape Town – Kaapstad – Cape Town! We did see more large areas of townships in the suburbs, some of them pretty awful with garbage everywhere and one place with inhabitants using the roadside to relieve themselves. They are all fenced and it seems like they think if they throw the garbage over the fence it isn’t in their yard and therefore not a problem. We do seem them out sweeping the dirt around their homes so do keep the immediate area tidy. We realize culturally/historically all their garbage would quickly rot but that is not the case today. It really gives a bad impression of Cape Town in spite of the great things we have read and been told about it.

The remainder of the drive was done mostly through farmland – mostly grapes/oranges and cattle/sheep grazing areas but over two mountain passes as well. At the top of one pass the leaves were just starting to change colour. About 50 consecutive kilometers of the drive was under construction. Don’t know why they just don’t finish a stretch before tearing up more. One difference in the construction area is the use of people standing at the side of the road frantically waving red flags to slow traffic. Must be a boring job and hard on the shoulders standing there all day waving a big red flag.

We decided to stop at one of the farm stalls expecting to see nice farm fresh produce. They did have a great variety of specialty sauces, etc. but no produce at all! Along the side of the store there were a bunch of little black kids playing with rocks, throwing into the air and catching them. Besides the Canada stickers and pins we had picked up in the dollar store before we left were 3 hacky sacks with Canada on them so Doug threw one to one of the boys. He was ecstatic and wouldn’t even let the others touch it. As we drove away we watched him throwing it as high into the air as he could and catching it.

There was a small town called Piketberg about 50 km from here growing an unfamiliar crop. We bought a bag of peanuts today that had the name of the town on them so naturally assumed the unidentified crop was peanut plants. Then we read on the bag “product of China”. So our original puzzle remains unsolved and a new puzzle has been added: why would they ship peanuts all the way from China to this tiny town in the middle of nowhere to be packaged? There are no port facilities nearby. Another query to use the net to solve next time we get internet access. We are keeping a list.

Upon arrival in town we checked out a couple of restaurants mentioned in our guidebook with the idea that we might have a seafood dinner tonight. Both restaurants were closed, perhaps for the season – perhaps permanently. We don’t seem to be having any luck finding fresh seafood in all our travels along the coastlines. Every attempt has been thwarted either with no place to park, or nothing too appealing in the shop. There are restaurants in town but that area looks somewhat unsavoury. It is probably safe but there are so many blacks hanging around with seemingly nothing to do but sullenly stare at you it makes one feel uncomfortable. 

Again we find ourselves camped on the ocean, this time the Atlantic, and in behind a very high fence with razor wire at the top and a 24 hour guard service. We were given pensioners rate again and opted to select one with our own personal ablution block (bathroom/shower). Hope it is quiet tonight. We did carefully select a spot near a young family and a grandma type out knitting in the shade so let’s see if it was a good choice.

In the bay there are many surfers and schools of dolphins playing in the waves. They are both having a blast.

Tomorrow we head toward the Kalahari Desert. The way we have it planned this will take us until Thursday as we slowly make our way north. Here it is 5 pm again and we have no idea where the day has gone!

Processing Plant

 

Sunday, May 4, 2014. Springbok Caravan Park, Springbok, Northern Cape, SA – 450 km

Norma actually managed to sleep in (7:25 am) this morning, a first since leaving home. With the tide coming in in the bay beside us a few of the surfers were taking advantage of the waves and whooping and hollering in their excitement by 7:30! As we left the campground we were commenting on this being the most “normal” neighbourhood so far until we got a little further and again there were the German shepherds and pit bulls in the electric fenced yards.

We made a later start and were treated to seeing more zebra in a farmer’s field, with his cows. There is so little apparent for them to eat in this desert environment it is a wonder they survive. Wonder what the farmers think of them sharing with their cows. We also saw two bat-eared foxes – unfortunately road kill – but our first spotting of them, and a yellow mongoose running across the road in front of us.

Today’s drive took us through a large grape growing/wine making area. After the Clanwilliam dam you could see a long series of aqueducts weaving through the country side to provide irrigation.  We soon after found ourselves in a very barren desert area where there was nothing to see for mile after mile except the very occasional sheep or cow. This has been our loneliest stretch to date. At least they have numerous picnic areas along the road so you can get out for a break (no bathroom facilities though).

Forgot to mention that in the cities whenever you are stopped at the robot (traffic lights) there are hawkers trying to get you to buy something, be it cords to charge your phone (they seem to have 50 in their hands at a time), newspapers, fruit, souvenirs or almost anything they can come up with. As advised we always have all our doors looked and don’t make eye contact with them.

After checking into the Springbok Caravan Park we headed out to the Goegap Nature Reserve. It is only 12 km from the town. They have a very nice succulent garden and a dirt road loop through the park. We saw our first gemsbok and several springbok. The gemsbok are huge and have very impressive, long, black, straight horns. There must have been a bit of rain the last while as there were some desert wildflowers including little yellow flowers just popping up in the sand with hardly any green plant part attached to them. Studding the landscape are “quiver” trees, a species of Aloe – apparently the natives used to make quivers from the round straight branches.

This campground is the first one in a few days that has toilet paper! We seemed to keep running into that in the Western Cape so hope now that we are in the Northern Cape that won’t be the story. There are 37 bicyclists who are also camping here. They are on a ride from Cairo to Cape Town in 121 days, quite a feat. As you can imagine most of them are pretty young so we are hoping they will be really tired after their days ride and will be heading to bed early. The showers are buzzing with activity just now!

You all know how males like their remote control cars, trucks, planes and boats? Well we saw the ultimate tonight. The people setting up camp across from us have a remote controlled travel trailer. If we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes we wouldn’t have believed it. They disconnected the trailer from the vehicle, connected the power cord from the outlet to the trailer then got out a remote controller that directed the trailer all around the camping spot until they had it positioned where they wanted it!

Quiver Tree

Gemsbok

Desert Sojourn

Palmiet Caravan Park, Kleinmond, Western Cape, SA – 97 km

Friday, May 2, 2014 Palmiet Caravan Park, Kleinmond, Western Cape, SA – 97 km

Last night turned out to be the noisiest night yet. Even the crashing of the waves couldn’t drown out the drunks and loud music. It seems the camp manager doesn’t stay on site so Doug politely asked them, at 11 pm to shut it down. A bit of profanity from their part but it did get quieter. Needless to say we have moved to the other side of the campground where we seem to be the only ones but as we finish dinner more are moving in around us and our hopes for a quieter night may be dashed. Later: we moved spots again to lessen the noise from the partiers. We did find out it was Workers Day, similar to our Labour Day yesterday, which explains why it was so busy.

Today was the mushroom course in Elgin (there were about 20 people in the class). The morning started with coffee and rusks (biscotti in our language) then a power point and talk by Gary Goldman, the SA “Mushroom Guru”. He is self-taught and fairly knowledgeable. He did really well until he started on the medicinal properties and how no cancers are found in some people who eat certain mushrooms and how some varieties are the best cure for breast cancer. Doug and I were stoic regarding this misinformation even though we know it is a money making scheme preying on those that are desperate and may interfere with conventional treatment.

Two small vans had been arranged to transport us for the next part. The walk was in a locked forested area where Gary had to apply for a permit to enter. This area has not had the rain we experienced a few days ago so it was very dry and there was virtually nothing to see, except a cute little black SA frog. At least we got out for a walk in the woods and Doug did find one species he has never seen before. It sure made us realize we live in a mushroom mecca with all our varieties and abundance.

Mushroom Course Leader Gary

The Foraging Group

After our walk we returned to the Platform 1 eatery which is situated on the rail tracks and houses a winery. We were given some lovely mushroom appetizers and wine tasting. Doug didn’t take part in this piece but instead spent time with Gary trading slide presentations and giving Gary some dried pine mushrooms we had brought from home. Lunch was then served starting with mushroom risotto balls, lamb shank and mushroom shortbread, which were actually shortbread shaped like mushrooms. We will need to try this at home.

We were able to use the free internet at the restaurant to post in the blog and check emails. We then decided to just come back to the campground and relax as we have been having late days and it was nice to cook dinner and eat in the light.

Not sure when our next internet connection will be as we start to head up the west coast. It may be awhile!



Praying mantis

Palmiet Caravan Park, Kleinmond, Western Cape, SA – 304 km

Thursday May 1^st, 2014 Palmiet Caravan Park, Kleinmond, Western Cape, SA – 304 km

Last evening we watched our Muslim camper neighbours taking part in their evening prayers. The entire family was lined up on their knees facing east, men in front, and boys in the next row then the females, bowing and chanting. There were two little white boys sitting “Indian style” on the road watching the production (they had all previously been playing together). Would have loved to get a picture but didn’t want to intrude on their religious practice.

Another sunny morning started our day with a visit to the Stoney Point Penguin Sanctuary near Betty’s Bay about 10 minutes away. This is another great example of how the SA people are making conservation efforts that are really working. We were told the population of this colony had been declining rapidly until they started protecting them and the numbers have risen from 2,000 to 6,000 in the past four years. There are only two nesting places on the mainland (most nest on offshore islands) and this is one of them. The sanctuary is set up so you can walk along a boardwalk with the penguin nesting places on one side and many ways for them to get to the ocean under the board walk. The various nesting places are numbered so they can keep track of the reproduction. The boardwalk is closed at 5 pm so the penguins have no issue returning to the nests (they frighten easily) to feed their young after a day of “fishing”. These African penguins used to be called “jackass penguins” due to the braying sound they make – and they are very loud and vocal. We did see a few molting, which doesn’t usually happen at this time of year. The park interpreter told us they were just a bit late!

When we first got there one penguin came out, saw us and ran back into the bush, we thought to hide but he went to get his buddies. Out he came a few seconds later followed by half a dozen more, who proceeded to walk along beside us. We watched them preening and cleaning each other, digging new nests in the sand, carrying sticks, jumping into the sea, sunbathing and doing a variety of other cute penguin things. We must say we were pretty glad we were upwind though as it was occasionally a bit odorous.

We continued our drive along the east shore of False Bay, a very narrow winding road but also pretty drive. They did caution against the possibility of rock slides. The crazy part was all the bicyclists we kept seeing. There is NO shoulder to the road and NO place for them to pull out or the vehicles to get over to pass them so it is like they have a secret death wish. I think it would be a lovely ride if they didn’t have to spend the entire time watching their backs. We also saw lots of motorcycles enjoying the curves. It would be a great M/C road.

Our next destination was Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. We found a side road so we were able to get off the freeway but soon discovered this went through some townships (see picture of Khayelitsha) then proceeded along Baden Powell drive, a sandy corridor of highway right through the beach, into a very touristy area around Fish Hoek, Kalkbaai and Simon’s Town. We had planned to stop a purchase some fresh fish for dinner but the traffic and lack of parking space for a motorhome put an end to that idea. We were slowed down a bit getting through this area this morning but nothing like the people trying to go that way later when we were heading back, around 1:30 pm. There must have been over 2 km of cars bumper to bumper barely moving. Sure glad we went when we did. We have since learned today is a holiday so no schools in and lots of people out and about.

A Township Near Cape Town

The drive to Table Mountain National Park was very impressive. Again we were able to use our Wild card and avoid paying the $20 per person entrance/conservation fee. The climb up the mountain is very steep until you reach the very flat “table” across the top. You can see the Indian Ocean on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. We were both pretty excited to make it to Cape of Good Hope as it is one of those places you hear about in school as a child and never think you will actually be seeing. We sat watching the seals and the waves while enjoying our lunch before starting to make our way back. Also in the park we saw hyrax, ostrich, baboons and antelope. They apparently have “stocked” this area with antelope and zebra. There are lots of warnings about illegal feeding of the baboons and how vicious they can be. They advise you to be sure your windows are closed.

Cape of Good Hope

Tomorrow is our mushroom course so we took a different route back, completing a bit of a circle drive as we wanted to locate that destination and how long it will take in the morning. The road took us up a very steep windy road into the Sir Lowry Pass and down again. We have managed to avoid Cape Town. Some people may think we are missing a lot but you who know us know we don’t do cities well so this has been our plan all along.

There was a wonderful red sunset tonight – a perfect ending to a glorious day!

Palmiet Caravan Park, Kleinmond, Western Cape, SA – 441 km

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.

Caravan park

Security Plus

 

We did manage to purchase some internet time last evening but it would only let us access emails.  For some reason it just wouldn’t let us into the blog. They measure service in KB versus time so we are confused on how this works. Today we went to the tourist information center and were given unlimited access to very good internet for free. We will return.

   

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.

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.

Rest Stop

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!

Buffalo Bay Caravan Resort, Knysna, Western Cape Province, SA – 349km

Apr. 29, 2014. Buffalo Bay Caravan Resort, Knysna, Western Cape Province, SA – 349km

As mentioned, finding last night’s Caravan Park was thanks to the book we got a few days ago and to a detailed map of Port Elizabeth we picked up. We followed the route but got a bit worried as we passed through a township right next to the garbage dump. The “homes” were pretty bad with garbage all around. We drove along the way looking for “The Willows Resort” and came across “Willow Park”. It looked pretty rough, had a rusted heavy chain with a pad lock across the entrance and a rusted sign saying to honk for assistance. We did that and out came a white lady, fag in her mouth, really bad teeth, to tell us it was a camp ground for coloureds – no hot water, etc. for $20 per night, more than we paid at the fancy resort. So sad there is still that distinction. She directed us to the “real” Willows Resort a few km further down the road, where we had a very comfortable pampered night.

We woke to another really nice day with the low only dipping to 15C. We saw a high of 21 as we drove. The highway today was in really good shape so we made great time. The only incident was a huge STOP sign on the highway right after the 120 km sign. Not sure what that was all about but no one was stopping.

Along the way we saw lots of windmills, obviously strategically situated as we felt the wind blowing the motorhome around.  As we made our way along the coast we could see the dark clouds coming in and knew we were in for a change in the weather. So far we really had been lucky.

Caracal

 

Serval (Norma's Pet!)

Today was our day to stop at Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness and Rehabilitation center. This is where they accept injured, abandoned and displaced wild animals, treat and care for them and when ready and if possible release them back into the wild. The animals for rehabilitation are not viewed as the least possible people contact the better for the success of release into the wild. Animals that are not able to be released for various reasons are available for public contact thus the “awareness” part of their program. We had a great tour seeing African wild cats, serval, caracal, cheetahs and leopards. We actually entered the enclosure with the wild cats, serval (he rubbed against Norma and let her pet him) and the cheetahs. There was a little blond boy (about 2 years old) with our group and he was not allowed into the cheetah pen. The female kept pacing against the fence, purring and really eyeing the little boy apparently as potential lunch. The male just laid there and let us get close taking pictures, etc. We were going to sign up for a cheetah walk but the weather took a nasty turn just as we got back from our viewing tour so we decided to give it a pass as we were right in with them anyway. In addition the center had a “meercat meander”, a walk through an area with marabou storks, tortises and, of course, cute meercats.

Cheetah

Thanks to the caravan book again we followed the directions to our overnight spot right on the Indian Ocean. It is raining as I type and the wind has the ocean crashing on the rocks less than a hundred yards in front of us. We have tucked ourselves in behind some rock for a bit of protection, but not in too far as we want to still see our view. The owner apologized for the weather (horizontal rain) and gave us the spot at nearly half off. As we drove along the ocean to the park we were seeing surfers out having a great time. If it settles a bit we plan to go do some beachcombing.

Meercats

Later – the rain stopped so out we went exploring. It is still pretty grey but does look like it is trying to clear and the caravan park manager says it is supposed to be sunny tomorrow. We will see. People are fishing off the rocks, not sure how they are managing to cast far enough but they are keeping at it. Still over a dozen surfers having a great time trying to catch the waves. We tested the water for temperature and it is pretty warm. Can now say we have touched the Indian Ocean.

Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, SA

Sunday April 27 Kidd’s Beach, Eastern Cape Province – 398 km

Last evening we went for a walk and watched all the fishermen (and one intent 3 year old) casting lines hoping to pull in grunter or rock salmon. Again this morning they were out there at it when we got up.

Port St. John Resort

We started our morning by heading into the town of Port St John. We were surprised with how old and dilapidated it was as it was toasted in “The Lonely Planet” as the center of tourism for the Wild Coast of SA. There are some very nice resorts in the area catering to the fishermen but certainly nothing in the town that we saw that would encourage us to return.

With good intentions we did our research on the net last night and planned our route and destination for today to no avail. The road we looked for seems to have been renumbered. Instead we are at the Palm Springs Resort at Kidd’s Beach just south of East London on the Indian Ocean. There has been so much rain here over the past three days the roads to the resort are poor, some parts looking like a creek bed. Luckily until today - it poured in East London - we haven’t had much rain and it seems to be clearing now. From the weather forecast we saw for our next destination the weather is supposed to be back to the sunny days. I sit here looking at and listening the Indian Ocean while I type this.

Again today we drove through the multiple small settlements and mountainous/farming areas, winding roads climbing and descending and curving around. We were surprised at how many dead dogs we have seen on the road today as we hadn’t been seeing any dogs at all until the past day or so. Many of the towns are making an effort to build sidewalks from the townships into the main town center, we think to try to keep people off the side of the road. Not sure if it will work or not but is a good idea.

We had been commenting on how the only Americanized fast food chain we had been seeing EVERYWHERE was KFC (even in the smaller communities) until today when we saw our first McDonalds. There are “Wimpy” bars as well which Norma remembers as a hamburger chain big in Britain.

We had been hearing how high the rape crime rates were in SA and are amazed to see how many young girls are walking alone or in two on the highways hitch hiking. They sure don’t seem to care who picks them up. There are the minivan/buses running between all the little communities but we don’t see any rhyme or reason to how they work. There are people standing on the side of the road they just pass by and then they stop for others even when they are so full the people have to squeeze to get in. There are no seat belt laws here so you will see small children – 3 to 4 years old sitting on the drivers knee, small children hanging half out the open windows while the car is going 100 km/hr. and people piling into the back of bakkies (pickup trucks) with canopies. Today we saw a family of 6 kids and 5 adults pile in, all smiling and getting settled on pillows and quilts for their ride to their next destination.

We have seen several traffic accidents since arriving – there was a bad rollover today. Generally the drivers are courteous, although there are exceptions. When you pull over to the shoulder to allow someone to pass and they will flash their lights to thank you after they are safely by. Also the slower moving vehicles will often give you a wave when they move onto the shoulder it seems safe to pass. Overall it seems much better than dealing with some Alberta drivers (not our kids!).

Every populated area we go through we are struck with the chaos of people walking every which way and generally filling the streets and sidewalks. Sometimes there will be no houses to be seen and there will still be people on the road.

This is another holiday weekend, Freedom Day, so we are aware the roads may be a bit busier tomorrow as everyone heads back to the cities after a long weekend. Our plan is to go into Addo Elephant Park tomorrow in spite of the internet telling us there is no room to camp.

 

April 28, 2014 Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, SA – 399  km

Woke to a beautiful sunny morning. Doug started the day by chasing the monkeys out of the garbage can. There was a family of six merrily jumping tree to tree and generally getting into mischief.

Norma Practising

Kidd Beach Resort

Our drive this morning again took us into the mountains but this time there were large stretches where it was totally uninhabited. Still seeing the bus stops where no houses can be seen but fewer people and only cows on the road. The rain the past few days has really brought on the cactus flowers so that was a treat for us.

After travelling west for about 3 hours we arrived at Addo Elephant National Park. Our Wild Card (National Parks Pass) gets us into all the parks. There was no caravan space tonight so we resigned ourselves to a day visit only and started with a picnic lunch overlooking a waterhole. During lunch we saw warthogs, an ostrich and a kudu. 

The highlights of animal viewing were the zebras (first time we have seen them) and the wonderful dung beetles (those are the neat beetles that make elephant dung into a ball and roll it into a safe spot where they can lay their eggs). They have the right of way for vehicles in the park! There are even dung beetle signs posted similar to our “watch for wildlife” signs. They are about the size of a loonie and the ball they make is the size of an orange. We watched two of them make a ball, have the ball start to roll down an incline, jump off or get rolled off onto their backs and start the entire process again. We also saw several different types of ungulates (kudu, wildebeest, impala, etc.).  There were numerous families of warthogs as well. We came across three of them on the side of the road where mom was giving junior a bath. The little one kept rolling over and pushing at mom for more! This park was cited as having the largest elephant population but we did not see a single one. We had thought about getting a camping spot closer and returning to the park but opted to carry on further south west.

Dung Beetles at Work

Warthog Baby Bath

 

We then fueled up and headed toward the ocean. We used the caravan book to find “the Willows”, a very nice spot on the ocean front. Luckily we had a detailed tourist map of Port Elizabeth or we wouldn’t have had such luck. We got it for only $12.00 a night as we were given seniors rate of 50% off, a real bonus as when we pulled up we had decided this was probably going to be our most expensive night so far as it is pristine and right on the ocean.

Indian Ocean View From Campsite

Time to get some laundry done, go for a walk on the beach and settle in. I imagine the sound of the waves is going to lull us to sleep tonight as it is pretty loud.

Cremorne Estate Caravan Park, Port St. Johns, Eastern Cape Province, SA – 268 km

Friday April 25 Dragon’s Rest Caravan Park near Winterton, KZN, SA– 273 km

Last night our accommodation at Mountain Splendor Caravan Park was one of the nicest so far, ample showers, level sites and each one a nice size and well treed. The South Africans love their camping but it seems to take them a long time to set up by the time they have their sleeping tent or caravan which attaches to a kitchen tent which attaches to a sitting area all in place. They need the large sites to accommodate everything! If they are camping in tents they usually have a little trailer behind their vehicle that is crammed full of camping supplies, sometimes including a microwave and cupboard for their dishes. This site has little fridges they can rent as well.

The owner of the site had invited us to tea and scones this morning but we wanted to get on the road as we just can’t seem to judge how long the next 100 km will take us. She gave us a big guidebook of caravan parks in SA so that will be helpful from here on out. We had hoped to rely on our SA caravan park website but internet has been tough to get most times.

There were six little pigs running around the camp ground doing all the things little pigs do. They come towards you when they think there is food but then run away oinking and grunting.

This morning the sunrise over the Drakensburg Mountains was spectacular. If we had gotten up even a minute later we would have missed the beautiful red glow.

We can easily tell it is fall here as the trees are changing colours and starting to fall and the temperature dropped to 4 degrees last night. They do get snow in this area. Sure glad we have an air conditioner/furnace in the motorhome. We had the heat on all evening and then got up in the middle of the night to put it back on again. The high today was only 18 degrees but it has been a beautiful sunny day.

We keep saying how unpredictable the roads are (today there were sheep on the freeway as well) but the toll freeways are great. We are keeping track of how much this is costing for interest sake. We don’t seem to be able to figure out the system as sometimes it is only $1 and other times it is $7 and it appears to be distance independent.

Freeway (toll)

We stopped at a smallish town (Himeville) for a while today and went through their museum – some interesting displays including some San tribal rock art.

San Rock Art

We started looking for a campsite fairly early this afternoon as we just weren’t sure how far we could go. We found reference to this place in the camping book we got yesterday. At first sight we were a bit dubious but it is a lovely grassy open site with a great view of the Drakensburg Mountains. We are about 9 km south of Underberg. We even have our own ostriches to keep us company. The ostriches thought Norma was their friend as she went about collecting feathers they had left stuck in the fence. They walked along with her, one on each side, trying to pull the feathers from her hand.

The young girl who tried to check us in speaks no English, though all park signs are in English. She speaks Xhosa, a tribal language. It turns out the owner of the caravan park is Kelvin Strachan whose grandfather played a big role in the history of the area. The following quote is from Wikipedia: “Two prominent European settlers George Brisley and Donald Strachan played a major role in the early development of Kokstad and East Griqualand: their trading store, Strachan and Co, introduced South Africa's first indigenous currency—a set of trade tokens which circulated across a wide region, covering an area the size of Ireland.”  Kelvin is quite a character, we would still be there talking (listening) to him if he had his way. He has very poisonous puff adders on the property some of which he has skinned and mounted as trophies. They won’t be doing much “puffing” tonight as the temp will drop near freezing tonight (we are at almost 6000 ft.). The caravan park also has its own private lake which the owner pulled two 16” rainbow trout from yesterday.

Hmmm. . .Nice Place

This is a great backpackers/hikers/mountain biker’s area with mountain passes including the 10000 ft. Sani Pass which leads to the country of Lesotho. Looks like it would be a good workout for our jeep! Apparently the campers next to us have gone over the pass a few days ago on their mountain bikes and are due back today. Later note: they arrived about 8 pm last night.

Saturday April 26 Cremorne Estate Caravan Park, Port St. Johns, Eastern Cape Province, SA – 268 km

Woke to 4C and a beautiful Drakensberg sunrise again this morning. As we got closer to the coast the temperature rose to 25. Another beautiful sunny day. We have been noticing the red dirt everywhere, similar to Australia.

Another Drakensberg Sunrise

When we started planning this trip Doug had thought how great it would have been to do it by motorcycle and indeed, there are a few rental options. Now that we have experienced the roads we both know it could be deadly. First you cannot ride in any of the parks, we think due to the animals roaming, some of the towns are pretty intimidating when you drive through the all black areas and then there are the VW swallowing potholes. On a bike they could be killers. We feel so much safer in our little house on wheels.

Today’s drive was interesting. We found ourselves climbing and descending repeatedly going through farm land and scattered inhabited areas. Colourful shack-houses dot the hills. The road was very curvy and at one point there was a sign saying only “136 more bends” until the next town. This was updated as we went along.  

At one town, Flagstaff, the road went through the middle of town where they were having their Saturday market. What an experience that was, driving at a walking pace, trying to avoid people and cars. At one point there was a rear-ender just ahead of us so we were stuck in the middle of the market with a cacophony of noise, smells and colours swirling around us. Again it was all black, not a white face to be seen.

 

We were seeing people collecting firewood and carrying it along the road on their heads. The do not have running water and electricity much less central heating, so any way they can heat their homes they will do. This is also the day the kids play soccer. We did see them on the field, in uniforms having a match.

The resort we are camping at tonight was recommended to us by Kelvin at the place we were at last night. He told us it would only take 3 hours to get here but 5 hours later we arrived. When we started driving into the caravan park we really weren’t sure: 1.5 km of dirt road through sugar cane, over a few questionable bridges only to spill out into a very nice resort. We can see the Indian Ocean in the valley just beside the motorhome. We won’t go anywhere else today but hopefully will drive to the ocean tomorrow on our way out. From here the road does not follow the coast line as we can assume it is too rugged. We will need to head inland to make our way further south.

Once again, our internet access is spotty so daily postings are difficult. Also, a reminder to click the photos in the blog for better detail.