Day 49 Gansbaai May 22nd

We heard all kinds of sounds outside early this morning, a bit of a mild morning with the rain gone and the wind died down, the dogs started growling in the back of their throuts and the lightening in the distance started getting more violent, when I heard footsteps circling the camper I decided it was time to get up and get going, I've learned to know when the dogs are not happy, still dark but we got ourselves dressed and washed and ducked out, I was worried about being on the soft sand and having to go through the little cobbled streets in the rain, discovered that there is another road that leads straight to the main road further up so we did not have to wend our way through the fishing village yesterday but glad we did, it is very quant and led us to the perfect spot, but this morning we took a different road.

We left under heavy skies and light rain and on our way back to Bredasdorp we had a stunning sunrise pink and purple strips of light coming through the clouds and mingling with the rain, quite bautiflul, it was behind me so I didn't get to see the best of it.

Pretty town of Elim

The town in the distance

We took the R43 to Gansbaai, again I forgot to look at the map and 40km later realised that we were not on the road I expected to be on, the road to Caledon is the road I thought we were on but glad we took this way because we arrived in beautiful Elim, a little old typical Cape town with all the cottages down the main street built close next to each other, really cute and simple, the end of the town send us on to a gravel road which was a detour to Baardskeerdersbos. The detour took us 20km around the pretty farm land, a lot of wine country, the dirt road was a good one except in parts where it became corrugated and I could feel every bolt and nut rattle loose in my baby, at 38 she is too old for this treatment. We cme finally back to the main gravel road and took the turn to Pearly Beach, drove another 9km before coming back out to the main R43, crossed over and drove into Pearly Beach thankfully back to tar roads, 30km of dirt is too long for me.

Pearly Beach

the rare Oystercatcher

We drove down to the dunes where we stopped for a lovely walk, a coffee break and some hiking around the beach, the paths and the rocks, all kelp and weeds and rocks with no beach to talk of, again fancy houses with shutters and curtains closing the outside world out, we spent a lovely peaceful hour their searching in vain for the shy oystercatchers who are rare but breed here, I see there numbers are right down due to the damage poeple, dogs, cars and vandalism does to their eggs and breeding grounds.

Hit the road under still cloudy skies and drove the 20 odd minutes to Gansbaai, not a pretty place but I stopped in at a computer shop in the main street on the off chance and asked if they could take the pictures off my xd card, the one I have been carrying around for weeks becasue it was corrupted and voila in about 15 seconds he had them up on his computer, loaded them on to my usb and I formatted the card on my camera and now not only do I have my 136 pictures that I thought were lost to me forever, but I aslo have my 128meg XD card which allows me to take 120 odd pictures before I need to download them , I have not found a camera shop anywhere selling them as they are so old, plus I still have Lorraines 16 meg card as a back up, very happy indeed and will always remember Gansbaai for this bonus, one thing less to do in Cape Town.

Gans Baai

Was going to sleep here the night but we hit the beach, found a nice place to park and walk along a path they have running along the coast, but no beach to speak of, again only rocks and wide open spaces that leave us exposed, nowhere for us to hide oursleves comfortably, plus this is not a cozy town, so we climbed back in the camper and headed out towards Hernanus via Stanford.

I was last here with Elisabeth in about 2007 and it was not a great trip, we came into the CBD during the holiday season, we were rushing ourselves because I had to take Elisabeth on to Stellenbosch, there were people everywhere and we had a bad meal on the waterfront, my memory is not a good one of this place and I was not planning on staying too long if possible, we drove into town with the lagoon on one side and the lovely Klein rivier mountain range on the other side, as we came round the bend I saw a lovely spot with a sign post reading Prawn Flats, but I could only see a dumpsite and a caravan park with a CLOSED sign, so that looked like a bust, but the lagoon looks so peaceful and is full of water birds, ah well, we will have to look for something else becasue I'm tired of driving and their is not much more to do before we hit Cape Town and I am not ready to go into Caoe Town just yet.

As is our style these days, we stopped at the first beach we could find, a lovely clean spot with a large parking area, toilets and a green patch with another autovilla parked comfortably in the corner, looks like it's been here awhile, has a permanent look to it and a half wolf, half husky tied to the front on a long lead. We parked, filled our water bottles, even though there are signs everywhere telling us that this is a water scarse area and went off for a walk on the beach and along the lovely paths they have everywhere, my word The Cape knows how to make things tourist friendly, benches every few metres for the whale watching public I guess, but the coast is beautiful and the cliffs have gorgeous little coves with little bits of white beach for swimming and lots of surfers at weekends I believe.

Kamma Beach

Donovans home

lovely Hermanus coastline

We came back to the camper and the autovilla had a visitor, a lady talking to the owner, Donovan, I went up to them and asked if they could recommend a nice place for me to have a decent lunch at a nice spot where the dogs coud sit with me and it had to have a view. They directed me to the Harbour, we got talking, Donovan has been camping on this patch of grass for 25 years off and on, no idea how he managed to get away with that, but now apparently his time is up and he has to move, his heath is bad so he wants to sell his camper, his dog is also 14 years old and snot o healthy as well, Clare, his friend, is local and comes down to help him with the dog, Double Up, she asked me about food for him, we tried hi on some Pro Pac and he loved it so she went off to see if she could find some for him.

I asked Donovan about a camping place that might have a shower, and would you believe it, he directed me to his friend Henk down at the Prawn Flats, doesn't life work in funny ways. So first I went off to the Harbour, what a lovely spot overlooking the whole town, had to pay my R5 to get into the harbour first, had a nice meal at the Harbour Rock restaurant with the dogs at my feet and enjoyed the absolutely magnificent view, then we drove all the way to the other end of town, about 10km, this place has grown, and drove into Prawn flats, found the little wooden wendy houses, next to the dump site, found Henk, a young guy, and paid R50 to camp the night. We got to park right on the edge of the property overlooking the lagoon, I would have to pay many thousands of rand for this view anywhere else, magnificent, we have a bathroom which I only share with his mom, so a nice hot shower is on the cards tonight. We also have a communal kitchen where I am now sitting, writing and listening to the 5 guys who live here rattling off about their day in Afrikaans, all friendly. Steve, one of the guys lived in the Northern Cape and has given me mucho info about the place, including info on the Mission up there that I have been searching for, he says it is in a place called Pello, I was told about it but had no real info on how to find it, at least I now have a name and basic directions.

I sat for hours this afternoon just soaking up this place overlooking the lagoon and over- shadowed by the Babilonstoringberg mountain range, watching the greater and the lesser flamingoes doing their little dances, lots of water birds and a pair of fish eagles squaking loudly apparently because they may have a full grown youngster they are trying to get rid of and he doesn't want to go, I know the feeling.

eating at the harbour

See en Sand

exploring paradise

Well I lucked out in this place, it is magnificent, the dogs love it and are exploring everywhere, tomorrow apparently when we wake up the lagoon will be full of birds, I am looking forward to watching the sun come up over the water with the bird activity, so we will sleep well tonight safe and relaxed and clean and warm.

Night, snuggle up.

May 21st Arniston – Cape

Trying to sleep last night was a different experience, the noise is amazing it sounds like a powerful jet engine towards me but never getting here, obviously a combination of the waves, the wind coming off the water in sprays, the meeting of two mighty oceans and no land mass to dull the sound or provide a wind break, it's all loud but amazingly does not assail the senses it's more like an awakening of ones energy levels, drawing you into the power of the elements, feels magical and energising and lulled me to sleep.

Arniston cave

struisbaai

Woke to an overcast sky, mist ans drissle and a fresh sea smell, ahd a short walk on the beach and then drove the 3km into Struisbaai to have a longer walk on that beautiful long stretch of white sand, along with a handful of locals walking with dogs or catching some early morning excercise on their stunning beach.

I thought the beaches at the point would be dirty, all the oil spills along the coast that have left our beaches black will have travelled down south with the currents, I'm glad to see none of the oil has landed up on these beaches, maybe the currents are too strong and the oil has gone out to the antartic to muck up their party instead.

We drove into Bredasdorp looking for an internet connection, none to be found not even at the Wimpy, so bought a latger 900ml tub of freshly made vegetable soup from Checkers, and still hot this early in the day, and sat in the camper with the dogs, cold and grey outside and ate soup and some more of my boere bread which is still going strong, I gave the dogs some Pro Pac and soup, they turned their noses up except for Lani who ate hers, Josephines and half of Pepi's, so now I know how to get that skinny dog to eat, make her vegetable soup every night.

We filled with fuel, the account for the month has hit R4000, and headed off to Arniston, again the campsite would not take dogs, although the lady was apologetic and said her other guests complain when dogs are in the site, so I enquired about getting to the beach, she said go left to thharbour or right to the cave, we went right and came into a magnificent cove, clearly the main beach as it had all the prerequisite signs, no dogs, no loud music etc...etc...etc....

We had a lovely walk on the beach, of course we were all on our own, we hiked up to the top of the cave but could not go in and through as this can only be done at low tide, maybe we can come and try in the morning before we leave.

Then hopped in the camper and went the other way to the harbour, so far the town is like all others, over populated, holidaymakers haven, hotel and conference centre, B&B's all over the place, but as I went past the harbour and up the incline we came to a sign that says this area is in a conservation belt, and we drove through the old fishing village, small cobbled streets or sand roads, old whitewashed village houses, some renovated with with local stone, simple elegance, great to see the Cape authorities preserving this little village even if the new parts have sprung up around it.

the fishing village

the family in Arniston

the old and the new

view from our door

The village is quiet and I know no more fishing is allowed vegetable, driving on these dunes is also prohibited although all the 4 x 4 tracks say otherwise, I found a lovely little cove to stop and explore, Tannie Willeen has her home baked shop offering meals and crafts and next door is a B&B, behind them the village dots the dunes and overlooks what once must have been a fishing mecca, but with the harbour and the boats I'm sure fish are hard to come by, there is also a large professional fishing outfit in the ara which must clear this coast of fish quite quickly, I guess the villages are now busboys and waiters and cleaners in the local establishments.

We moved our van to the protected dune area and hid ourselves behind a bush for the night, had long walks on the beach, met some locals and some guys who drove over from Agulhas and came and took some pictures, they said they saw me in Agulhas yesterday, small little world, ran into two Zimbabweans who have been here for 3 years working at the hotel, they say they earn little but live well but cannot save so nothing but a deadend job in the end albeit in a beautiful spot.

The mist came down suddenly after two so I am glad I had an opportunity for some photos in the morning, we were here early, so we hopped in the camper to write and catch up on labeling my pictrres, the dogs have had enough of all this walking and trampling up and down the cliffs, they have settled down to a siesta a' la Lorraine. We are completly hidden here, had to come back from a beach walk in a hurry as I would never have found the camper in the mist along the stretch of dunes that all looks alike to me.

I am hoping to go over to Tannie Willeen later for some of her fresh scones and cream, will have to pop over when I can see through the mist and put in my request, otherwise I am stuck with the balance of my soup and bread for dinner, boring when scones are on offer, have not had much in the line of sweet things so far in our 7 weeks, will be a treat.

our beautiful afternoon spot

the mist blanketing us in

seagull weather

So no scones, Tannie Willeen only provides those in season, she did tell me that this village was declared a protected area in 1986 but no gaurantees it will stay so as the building and need for land for the fat cats is encroaching, some guy bought up a ton load of the beach front next to where I am parked and who knows who will buy up what next, a precarious life they lead.

We had a really nice walk on the beach again watching the tide recede and came across a local guy who had come down earlier to look for driftwood, forgot to turn his lights off and is now stuck with a flat battery, he had a friend come down in her little car to help him but apparently her little battery was no good, we tried to push the bakkie over the dunes to the camper, but we could not budge it out of the sand and no way was I going to attempt to get the camper over to him through soft sand and lots of rocks, so I walked up to the village to find help but no-one there has a working car, we ended up getting about 10 guys to go off and try and push the bakkie over to the camper.

I was standing chatting to his friend, who has just left Cape Town and the rat race and lives here now designing swimwear, she has a boyfriend that works on the rigs 6 months a year and the rest of the time they stay here and surf, good life, when all of a sudden we hear the bakkie come careening around the dune with these 10 guys flying after it, they were trying to push start it but that was a bust, they then had to back up and push it behind the camper, at one point I thought the bakkie, them, me and the camper with the dogs in it were going to go flying over the cliff face onto the beach, quite a boisterous bunch these locals, the mist was still heavy and drissle was keeping us all wet, the wind has also picked up, we tried to get their jumper leds connected to my battery from the back, quite a job, we finally managed to do it but no amount of revving made a single impact on his car starting, we finally surmised that the jumper cables they were using were buggered, so I had to kick the warm and dry dogs out of the camper, upend the bed, open the cover, remove the solar panels and kit, take out my jump leads, open up the back screen and window, feed the cables through, try and find a way to connect the leads on to my batteries that have a hundred wires attached to them for the camper, the fans, the solar panel, the battery charger, the inverter and I don't know what else, this we finally managed to do and with a bit of revving and some patience we finally got him going, then I had to repack everything, dry the dogs yet again, get them back in the camper, wave the hordes off and discourage them from trying to find the snakes.

So after all the help I have needed over the last few weeks, it's nice to be able to help some-one else for a change.

The evening ended up with us getting snuggled into the camper because it's now blowing a gale outside, I had to close both the back window and the door and the doors window from the rain and spray off the sea, plus I could not have my nice hot bucket wash outside because their is no way I was taking off my clothes and putting my bare ass out in that wind, so I had to make do with a face wash in hot water and a sponge off to get rid of the sand and sea air, although why I bother I don't know, there is sand in everything, no matter how many times I clean and shake out the blankets I cannot get rid of the sea sand, my bed is full of it and I am like the princess and the pea, I cannot sleep with even one crumb in my bed so I spend all night getting up and dusting off my sheet, ah well, who says camping is boring.

We are snug indoors now and I can write in peace, I even had time today to start a new Deon Meyer book, I bought it in November and am only starting to read it now, that's what I call self control because he is my favourite South African author and I can never wait until he has a new book out, so I will enjoy this one which has started in his customery fashion so I am already right into it after chapter one. All the dogs are out like lights so I'm going to join them. Good day and what a magnificent spot we found ourselves in.

Night folks. 

20th May Southern tip of Africa.

Slept well considering our noisy spot, woke to the mist swirling around us and the eerie lights of the BP sign shining through the front window, cocks crowing merrily, music to the ear of a future farmer, but what is in the food they eat that they have to start their crowing so early, I will be teaching mine that a lie-in in the morning is not a bad thing. Out the camper and into the clean loo for a wash before too many N2 drivers start popping in and polluting the place.

my flat tyre overnight stop

our little animal park

getting my tyres fixed in Swellandam

My spare tyre went down over night, not a good sign.

Was told about a workshop behind the garage that would open at 8am if I wanted to wait for the guy, I did, we walked around, bought some food for the animals and fed the very hungry and greedy goats, shaking their horns at everyone to keep the food for themselves, the rabbits popped out for a look see then quickly went back into their burrows, smart animals.

8 came and went and nary a sole pitched so I pumped the tyre as high as I could and we took off for Swellendam about 10km down the road, not an easy drive in the mist with huge trucks coming at you from the other way and everyone behind me intent on overtaking no matter what, I wonder what they do with the 5 minutes they save on their journey by putting there lives on the line.

We spent time driving around looking for a place that fixes tyres and were finally directed to Danie at Supa Quick, he fixed both tyres for me in a jiffy, apparently just valve leaks, and then I had to take some photos with his coloured workers, all fascinated by the snake pictures, still cost me 57 ronts but cheap at the price, last night I thought I was going to need a new tyre, this morning looking at my flat spare I definately thought I was looking at needing a new tyre, so good news to be back on the road again relatively cheaply.

Headed back to where I came from because the map showed a split in the N2 going into Swellandam and I needed to take the other fork, well that was nonsense, it simply took me back to where I had come from, a wasted 9 km plus I had to turn around and head 9km back to Swellandam and then just follow the road around to the N2 continuation and head for Cape Town and take the turnoff down to Bredasdorp, in the mist and drissle I could have done without the extra 20km round trip.

But it was a straight road through flat farm land, on and off with the mist but mostly lifting, 58km into Bredasdorp, a farming town through and through, we stopped for a stretch of the legs and hit the road again, another 28km odd and we came into Struisbaai, I always thought this was a little fishing town, maybe it once was but those days are gone, took us awhile to find the beach, but we did, we are getting used to wending our way down to the beach even though towns fail to sign post the way for hapless tourists, lovely bay, clear water and white sand, no one on it except us, had a nice walk, some lunch and a cup of coffee, played ball and then stopped in at the campsite to enquire about a spot for the night, very large and flat, right on the beach, no-one there baring one old couple, could have taken easily 60 caravans, would not take me becasue of the dogs, even though I said we are off to the Lighthouse and will probably only be back tonight, sleep over and gone in the morning, nope, so saved myself the R120 fee.

walking on struisbaai

great holiday destination with pearly white beaches

finally reached the southern most point of Africa

Took the road down to the lighthouse at Cape Agulhas, which we could see in the haze from the beach at Struisbaai, a 7km journey and wall to wall houses, mansions, shuttered, clearly holiday homes, no sign of retirement homes or over 55's, I would think this is the perfect retirement spot but apparently not, a lovely drive along a wild coast, the sandy beaches soon changed to rocky ones as we got closer to Agulhas.

We came round the bend into the bay and headed for the lighthouse, I always knew it as a little red and white painted lighthouse on a windy, empty beach, under leaden skies, take your pictures at the sign and it's a case of been there, done that, got the t-shirt and off you go again, been to the Southern most tip of Africa, well I could not be more wrong, what a stunning place, awesome in it's topography, stunning in it's majestic coast line, heavily protected by having dedicated paths, rock strewn to avoid erosion, about a kilometre of wooden boardwalk to walk on down to the actual point, the lighthouse is undergoing repairs or extensions, not sure which, so was unable to get close or climb it, although I'm not sure if that is an option, the whole vibe is awe inspiring, quite breathtaking.

We took the camper down to the 150m mark and walked the rest of the way, I didn't think Larni was up to the 850m walk from where the wooden walkway starts, we trecked through the fynbos along the 150m route, with crashing waves and rocks on the left and the looming bulk of the lighthouse on the right, it was great to see that the mansions stopped on the other side of the lighthouse and the sand road leading to the point is empty and used only for fisherman and tourists as clearly no-one lives at the end of it as the traffic is sparse, I know there was a plan to put a road through to Gans Bay from here but hopefully that idea has been shelved because it will destroy the peace and beauty of this place.

battling in the heat

The sign at the point is clear about where the oceans meet, and so to all of you who I have had arguments with as to where the two oceans meet, yes, they meet here and not at Cape Point in Cape Town, it is a romantic notion to have them meeting at the point but clearly geography would rather have them meet where the currents come together and swirl from two different directions so the meeting point is a practical one and not designed for a romantic novel.

So finally I get to see Agulhas, been on my to do list for a long time, I am super impressed with how the local management board has dealt with this spot, (certainly not SANParks!!) it is clean, well laid out and easy to navigate, also wide open and for the use of everyone, I can tell you that it is quite busy for a Monday in Winter so I would hate to be here during a holiday time, you will battle to get a picture of just you and nature and the noise level will rival the sea crashing furiously on the rocks.

refurbishment of the lighthouse

lots of walkways

the last stretch to walk

Something about this place is stunning, the length of the coast and the bay all rock strewn may have something to do with it as there are few places with any sand that can be called a beach, the crashing waves are loud, not your normal gentle sound, making hearing someone difficult, it's like the sea is determined to have it's say, as if 250 shipwrecks in the area are not say enough, thanks for that info Lorraine, but it's difficult to pinpoint a reason for this feeling of majestic supremacy, no other beach has had that affect on me, the lighthouse is a beacon flashing every 4 seconds and seems to send a message not only to ships at sea but to all who come here, we are nothing but visitors in time and our mark is of no consequence only this rocky outcrop is eternal.

I have taken about 110 pictures, everywhere I look the scenery just begs for a picture taking opportunity, we went back to the parking area and then walked along the boardwalk for as long as we could, then doubled around and around clambering over the rocks so Lani could stand still and watch us but not have to follow, we came across two tortoises that boggled the minds of Peps and Jos, both wanting to know where he went everytime he hid his head, but neitehr of them tried to harm the little fellows, Lani was also fascinated but in a motherly fashion.

I am awed by this place and do not want to leave, we drove around to the otherside of the bay and took one of the many sand roads down to the dunes with parking space, braai area and chairs to sit on, very well organised, we chose one that hid us a little bit but still left us exposed to the wind and the view and the majesty of the crashing waves, and this is where we are parking for the night, no complaints about the dogs from the birds or the rocks. We spent a pleasant afternoon enjoying the waves, exploring the rocks, splashing in the clear pools and wading in the shallows, could walk a long way down one coast and then the other clambering over the rocks, not sure if the tides in or out or if it comes in or out at all with all these rocks quite high up on the beach.

I have a dream, one that has consumed me for as long as I can remember, to build a permaculture paradise out of nothing, benefitting a community of Bushman or an offshoot of theirs as closely related as possible, a farm that will turn us into a self reliant unit not dependent on the universal monetary system , where the children can be taught the value of self sufficiency without wasting 12 years of their lives being institutionalised, where we can grow all our own food, deal with our own waste, support our own services, provide our own goods and entertain ourselves without the use of technology, I know it's just a dream, it requires a plot of land, a wind turbine, solar power, water catchment structures, wood for housing, seeds, time, effort, blood, sweat and tears and like minded people, I don't have the means to make this happen, but it will happen, I know this because sitting here on this bench and watching these waves come crashing in like clockwork, the way they have been doing for millenia, I know that if you cannot get your shit together here, you ain't never ganna get it together, and I have my shit together.

our sleeping spot in Agulhas

Night.

May 18th Oudtshoorn

Froze my buns off, could not feel my fingers, feet, nose or ears, the window at the back and the door was open, big mistake, won't happen tonight.

Slept in until 8:30 because I never slept well, but did go off and have a real larnie bath, piping hot water and all the modcons, wow, I can't believe I used to take a daily bath for granted, this is awesome, I wish I could wash enough for a week, like save up all the cleanliness in layers or something.

We walked into town, down Baron Van Reede Straat, the way into town and the way out, and Lani was good for the first kilometre but rapidly faded after that so it was a slow walk all the way down to Voortrekker street, drew some money at the Pick .n Pay and then stopped in at Brain's Grill so the dogs cold get a rest, well so Lani could get a rest, she curled right up and went to sleep. A small town is funny, everyone coming in to the courtyard knows everyone already here, it's like one big family, we did enjoy our meal and a chat to the locals about the dogs, they are good conversation pieces, one lady in Herold's Bay stopped me to take a picture of them because she said they represent the rainbow nation.

Slow, slow and slower to walk the 2 km back to Kleinplaas, I had to carry Lani about 4 times, poor thing just cannot walk far.

120 year old building

So the pups and I went into the open field next door to play with the ball, then I introduced them to the ostriches, 4 in a pen at the bottom of the field, they did not know what to make of them, I can tell you, I would rather be chased down by an angry rhino than face an ostrich, they look real scary and fast and those legs are solid blocks and the claws look like they could do some damage too, glad we had a fence between us.

By the time I had to leave for the Barry Hilton show I had tuckered all the dogs out as much as I could, I drove the one km to the Pearl of Oudtshoorn and parked near the door, left a light on for the dogs and they were inside the camper alone for about 2 hours, the doorman kept checking on them for me, but they survived just fine, I went into the bar when I left and grabbed a handful of what I assume is ostrich biltong, and the dogs forgave me instantly for leaving them once they smelt the treat.

So everyone at the show new everyone else, including Barry it seemed, we were given sherry and smiles and welcomed in and sat in the pub watching rugby before being seated in the very small conference room, maybe 100 of us, and Barry popped onto the stage and just started his spieel.

Wow the guy is amazing, I know he has been doing this for about 30 years but it takes some talent to just go from one joke to the next and involve the audience and ad lib and simply never stop talking and having us in stitches and he has no notes or crib sheets or prompts or anything, plus he never swears, I think he is great and time flies when you are having fun, glad I went to see him live finally, always wanted to, another tick in my to do list book.

Home to a mild night and a quiet park, a whole bunch of bikers arrived around 5 from the BMW club, they rode up today from Cape Town and were having a braai this evening, sleeping over and riding back tomorrow, that must be a great weekend, but they were all asleep when we got back, bikers are not what they used to be it seems.

This has turned out to be a mld night so hopefully I won't freeze any of my parts off tonight, which will be good because I don't think I have many parts left that can be frozen off.

Sleep well, this travelling lark is getting better, we are more organized and life is starting to become more routine, we seem to be falling easily into patterns and ways that even the dogs follow, like making the bed in the evenings and moving mattresses in the mornings, the dogs know to stay outside until I'm done, they also stay out when I make coffee and wash dishes, very smart children, now if only I could teach them how to make coffee for me, that would be a treat.

Herold's Bay

So we left our plot on the hills of Plettenberg Bay and drove South, I think, and we ended up in the pretty little enclave of Herold's Bay, having been directed down here by the helpful ladies at the info desk in George, ah just a few k's out of town I was told when I enquired where the nearest beach was, so we drove, and drove and headed past the outskirts of town, then drove some more and then drove past the airport, the one poor Hansie never got to in one piece, and finally after negotiating a long narrow road that dwindled ever downwards, we finally came on the town of Herold's Bay, lovely spot, enclosed by high cliffs, stunning scenery, full of people and fancy houses built one on top of each other, if they ever have a landslide here the whole lot will tumble into the sea like a box of dominoes.

my grade 7 neighbours

R4.5 million a house

my little spot in the corner

lovely beach but full of dirty foam from industries along the coast

I wonder what it must have been like for the first person to come apon this stunning little cove, maybe back in Vasco da Gama's time or maybe the first white okes running away from Shaka or one of those black chiefs, pristine in it's cleanliness and openess, no tidal pool, nor cliff faces full of brick and glass monstrosities, no dirty foam in the surf nor tar roads or a bunch of idiots to deal with, I bet I was one of those pioneers in an earlier life, I can picture the scene.

So anyway in my attempt to find this caravan park I took the road up the hill to Dutton's Cove, the sign for the camp site was on the same pole as the sign for Dutton's Cove so honest mistake, no! So there I was chootling it up this steep cliff face, narrow road, round and round and of course my instinct was telling me this could never be right, who would negotiate a road like this towing a caravan, then we heard some tinkling sounds and thought the locals or maybe the monkeys were throwing things at us from the top of the hill, but we kept going up until I eventually decided to stop and enquire about the campsite only to be told it is next to the road where we turned off to come up the cliff face, so we had to do an about turn and down we went again, came round a bend to see cars coming the other way trying to avoid a few things littering the road, the few things looked very familiar to me and turned out to be my air filter, cover and housing, so that was the tinkling sound I heard, lucky for me that I dropped them off the camper on a road I had to come back on, so out I hop to pick them up, continue on to find the campsite and find a kind Cape Coloured guy who came to have a look and set everything to rights again, this was the same air filter that Theuns fitted and told me would never come off>>>>>>>>

So here we are in the lovely Herolds Bay and I sincerely hope that this is the last of the campers problems, it is the one thing I stress about way too much. We will stay here for a few days, get rid of all the built up stress from too many angry encounters, none more so than the stupid toll gate idiots, I'm getting my money back from them, see if I don't. But in the meantime I can clean the camper out, empty all the cupboards and repack so hopefully I will know where everything is for a change, I also need to seal my windows, epoxy the gear lever top, it is an irritant when it's loose, as it is, and also fix my door chime which came off because it got wet. Now I will know what I have and have not got in the van, and what I should have packed and didn't, like my vodacom dongle because 8.ta is proving impossible, I cannot get a connection anywhere barring a very large city, I also thought I packed my lamp charger, but the camper has swallowed it and hidden it somewhere.

Slept outside our first night waking up wet, did some hand washing, walking on the beach, cleaning, sorting, a day of housework, lot of children on the beach, looks like they're having a good party.

I put some crumbs and bits of bread out for the birds today and guess who I attracted, just goes to show that I am still in Johies mode even after 6 weeks, because I came back from a walk to a bunch of monkeys clambering over the camper, hope thay had fun, because the birds for sure did not get any of those crumbs.

I'm listening to the tinny voice of Susan Boyle because I cannot get my shoxbox working again, I think it only works in Winkelspruit, stupid Chinese made piece of rubbish..............

We went for an evening walk to the beach but the rain came down on the way so we turned back, bought some fish and chips from the only shop in town, best f&c I have ever had, beats anything I ever ate in Johies, worth my R30, then headed back to the beach, Leaving Lani with a plate of food in the camper, she was tuckered out from our aborted walk and her back legs don't want to hold her up, we ran into the children on the beach, the ones that have been making so much noise, they are patently not local, the houses here average R4,5 million, most are shuttered and locked or for sale and this town is like a morgue, can't find a living breathing soul, except for about 6 security cars in and out the one and only main street, so I got talking to the children's teacher and they are grade 7's from George here on a youth program sponsored by the church and living in a hall next to the campsite which is why I hear them so much, cude coloured kids who demanded I take their picture for them and promise to send it via e-mail, you will be pleased to know that I did that in George.

So we slept indoors tonight after a nice bath where I got to scrub off six weeks of dirt and grime in places like nails, elbows, knees and ears, lots of sand came out of my ears, and there is ton loads more in the camper, no matter how much I clean and sweep and dust the sand is in everything, no wonder things rust so easily at the coast. Didn't rain until 5am but we snugg as bugs indoors all alone in this campsite, no-one but us, no other campers, no staff no office staff no-one, it felt wierd to be so alone in a site, normally that feeling is exclusively for our lonely road side stops, I don't expect to feel it for a place I paid to stay in, R172 a night but I got a pensioners rate, R172 for two nights.

Had a relaxing morning then took a slow walk to the beach as we intended to stay another night and had time to spare, but the locals were agitated enough to send the security guards after me and inform me that no dogs are allowed on the beach, in fact not on the street either so prretty much no dogs in town, no people around at all but apparently rules are rules, so of course I told him no problem we will have our little walk and leave, so we walked way down to the bottom and played in the tidal pool for an hour then took a very gentle walk back along the promenade as Lani cannot walk any more faster then a snail. Well that little episode pissed me off so we are not staying another night.

Thankfully I affectedd my camper repairs this morning and did a bit more cleaning, so not all the cupboards are yet rearranged but we packed up and were good to go in a jiffy, headed into George and stopped on the side of the road with a green patchfor the dogs to piss on and got a connection so I could answer and send some emails, update the blog a bit, it was slow going trying to get the pictures to download, did manage to get the Big Bang threory downloaded, number 24 so I think that's it for season 6 although I hope not, I do love the program and it gives me a weekly laugh.

We bought some lunch and odds and ends and hit the highway, what a stunning drive over the Outeniqua mountains, 10km of indescribable beauty climbing to 800m and then over the top and down into the Oudtshoorn valley which is flat and karoo looking. 60Km drive and into one long straight street with no character, home of the ostrich, or the dead ostrich I should say, could not find a place to stay and took a chance and pitched up at the one and only caravan park, I had emailed them and they had said no dogs, but here I am, chatting to the lovely Afrikaans ladies, and before you can say Arthur or Martha, the owner is telling e she will put me in, pensioners rate for two nights, a spot way down on the bottom end of the site and please lady, make sure your dogs don't cause any problems, very nice couple of ladies, they even phoned the Pearl of Oudtshoorn Hotel to enquire after tickets for Barry Hilton tomorrow and told me to hightail it down their, 5 blocks and the man selling the tickets will wait for me and sell me one, R95 and we are all done. It helps to have charm when you need it.

Small towns can be very friendly or completely paranoid, I went from one etreme to the other today and I'm glad we made the decision to leve this morning we may not have been this lucky if we had arrived tomorrow.

Great campsite, 4 star luxury, half self catering and half camping about 6 campers in all, mostly GP plates, ablutions are locked so we all have our own key, very smart and luxurious, baths with glass and hand shower heads, fancy showers with all the extras even a little fold out seat for us pensioners, boy I lucked out here, and we are way down the bottom of the site by the river so lots of place for the dogs to run around and bother nobody. I feel very cozy here even though the weather has changed and the barometer has dropped alarmingly, we should be snug inside tonight and tomorrow Barry can give me a laugh, have never seen him live, must have been an omen running into him in PE, he is only appearing in George tonight and Oudtshoorn tomorrow so we picked the right days to be in this area.

Outeniqua mountains from George

lovely campsite

Putting on a show for us and struttung his stuff

the dogs had plenty of braai bones

Had my nightly chat with big brother, Lorraine is sourcing me all kinds of info on campsites to come, I need a nice one in Aghulus and another in Cape Town but for the rest I am happy to find a patch of grass.

A lot of night sounds down here where we are camped, there is a stream running along the campsites boundary but it is cut off with a fence that has barbed wire on it, will have to explore a way to get through in the morning to check out what the wildlife is in the water, it's a South African fence, it's bound to have a hole in it somewhere.

Night all, hope you sleep as comfortable as we will, off to watch the Big Bang Theory.