Day 13 ... and the final leg begins

October 1, 2024

Today we began the final leg of our Southern African adventure. Awaking early  ... we had left our curtains open all evening to make the most of our magnificent view ... I grabbed a quick shower and then we headed off to breakfast.

The restaurant was on the 25th floor of the hotel and, much like the lobby, was the blingest I have ever eaten breakfast at. Breakfast was a buffet with a magnificent spread ... eggs, bacon, sausages,  potatoes, beans ... toast, muffins and danishes. There were fruits, yoghurt and juices. A lovely spread ... that was delicious. [Side note  ... the toilets were amazing too!]

Packing up we headed off to the car and began our journey north. We needed to travel about 700 kms today but along the way we had mapped up several stops along the way. We share the driving so the distance was not going to be an issue for us.

Our first stop was Malmesbury where we stopped to have a wander around some of the lovely municipal buildings, an old church and some side streets before visiting the Pick and Pay to gather some water, lunch and car snacks.

 

 

It was then time for Jacqui to take the wheel and give the little Hyundai Venue a run for the money. We moved on to Moorreesberg  where we walked (or tried to) walk the 20 metre diameter stone labirint (labyrinth), a quick exercise for Ian, and look at the local mural in the very ancient playground. 

We had another drove around the side streets of the town ... discovering beautiful old houses, quirky streets and two wonderful old men out for their daily walk. 

Back on the road ... we stopped at Piketberg. This was after a slight detour courtesy of Google maps who couldn't quite remember where the Dutch Reformed Church was! So taking it in my own hands I headed where I thought the church was ... and I was right! We then headed to Winkelshoek Padstal (which is a road stall) for a toilet and for me to grab a coffee. In hindsight I realised that coffee may be a hard no for this part of the trip ... it all tastes pretty rank!

 

 

 

And so on to Clanwilliam where we visited a beautiful wildflower garden  ... Ramskop. The lady at the gate told us that it was no longer "open" as the season had pretty much ended but told us is to head down and check it out if we wanted. We are so glad we did. Whilst it might not have been at its best, what was there was lovely. The garden also overlooked the Clanwilliam Dam so the view of the flowers looking to the water was spectacular.  (My mumma would have loved it). Leaving Clanwilliam we drove past the dam wall where they had some gates open releasing the water.

Time for me to hand back the wheel to Ian who drove us on to Vanrynsdorp where we tried (and failed) to complete an Ad Lab ... two stages of the Lab were missing.

Today was a long drive, and we shared the wheel. But the highlight was the ever-changing scenery, with some complete transformations of terrain and flora happening in as little as 10 minutes. We started with Cape Town's suburbs, then open pastures into fields of wheat and acres of vines. A high mountain range to our left had white caps, which was not shrouding cloud but bare granite or snow caps or both. Then long narrow valleys packed with agriculture, and miles of covered orchards. Next a section of flat semi-arid desert, no soil, sand and gravel, few shrubs. And then endless mountain ranges on either side and off into the distance, dead straight roads for km on end. Massive granite rock formations, with boulders the size of caravans and mounds of scrambled rock 20m high. More flat treeless arid land and a winding drive through a narrow gorge into Vioolsdrif.

Highlights along the way ... cattle, horses, sheep, cats, dogs, flamingos, dassie, baboons, pied crow, leopard tortoise. Driving at 120km/h on high/good quality roads. Respectful considerate drivers (including us) who made overtaking easy, aided by regular extra lanes and happy flashing of lights to signal when to go and thank you. Rest stops every 10-15km with a shady hut, seats and bins.

 After a long leg we got to Springbok and headed off to Goegap Nature Reserve, only to find it had closed 20 minutes earlier. Not to worry, we had been lucky to see wildflowers in their natural habitat the whole way north.

 

 Back into Springbok for a toilet stop, ice creams and a final change of driver.

[Just an add on. As we entered Springbok we were pulled over by the traffic police ... thankfully just a regular check on drivers having a licence].

We arrived at Frontier River Resort near the Namibian border at 6.15pm, 10.5hrs after leaving Cape Town. Shown around the property by our lovely hosts and down to our tented chalet overlooking the Orange River and Nooerdower across the border. We grabbed only essential overnight items from the car and then headed up for dinner on the verandah accompanied by our hosts, their 4yo son, 4 dogs and 6 other guests. The home-cooked dinner was superb - Jacqui's highlight the sauteed creamy mushrooms, Ian's the vanilla ice cream with chocolate topping and sprinkles.

 

Now we sit blogging on the chairs outside the chalet. Noordoewer's lights twinkle orange and white. There is a balmy breeze. The crickets are chirping. Overhead the dark night sky is dotted with thousands of stars. It's been a long day, but life is good.

Except for Ian's diarrhoea. (No photo!)