On the Road at Last!!

3/3/2014   -  Sorry for the long delay between posts!!  Cell phone coverage is great but Internet access has been hard to find.

After two and a half glorious months in Tsitsikamma, on Sunday, January 26, 2014 we were packed and ready to go on our first six week trip – destination Namibia.   The first segment would take us to Mossel Bay, De Hoop Nature Reserve, and Cape Agulhas and then through the northern wine country, home of wineries like De Westhof, known for their delicious chardonnays, Excelsior, Montagu and the very well-known Robertson.   Then we traveled on to Langebaan with its beautiful lagoon, Tietiesbaai, Strandfontein and Namaqua National Park where we camped on the beach at Kwass.  We met up with Chris Stelfox and Kalima Brooks from the Big Island at Skilpad and then made our way to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park which straddles the frontiers of South Africa and Botswana and is famous for its red sands and black maned lions.

The Happy Cruisers in ZA packed and ready to go!   It was a sunny summer day at Marienburg where we began our journey.  It was an exhilarating feeling to finally be on our way.

The first night we stayed in an ATKV (Afrikaans Language and Cultural Society) campground just outside Mossel Bay called Hartenbos.   The campground represents just how much the people of Afrikaans culture appreciate camping by the sea!!

Mossel Bay
The next day we took a brief tour around Mossel Bay.  The highlight was the Dias Museum.  Bartolomeu Dias was the second explorer sent by King John of Portugal in 1487 to find a sea route to India (he sent Diago Cao in 1486).  Dias sailed around the southern tip of Africa without realizing it and landed, at what he named Aguada de Sao Bras – the watering place of St. Blaize.  Dutch traders later renamed the site Mossel Bay.  The legend goes that in 1500 Redeo de Ataide, on a return journey from the east, left a letter in a shoe tied to a Milkwood tree.  In 1501 Joao da Nova found the letter on the way to India warning him of problems in Calcutta.  This spot became a frequent stopping point for explorers and traders and a place where messages could be left under the tree. 

This very Milkwood tree is still alive today and is now a national monument known as the site of South Africa’s first post office.

You can actually post a letter today from the official Post Office Tree!

The lighthouses along the South African coastline serve as an ever present reminder of how treacherous this area is for ocean going vessels. 

Lighthouse at Mossel Bay

Jongensfontein
After leaving Mossel Bay we traveled along the coast driving through several small seaside resort towns.  We stopped for a quick snack at Jongensfontein beside a shallow inlet that the local retirees use as a swimming pool. 

Coastline at Jongensfontein

Picnic at the swimming pool  - Jongensfontein

We passed through lovely green farmlands where the livestock includes ostrich as well as cattle and sheep.   The fields were frequently populated with migratory White Storks, a common summer visitor and South Africa’s national bird the Blue Crane.

Blue Crane

Sharing the road with an escaped Ostrich

We crossed the Breede River on a ferry at Malagas which literally ran on “manpower”. 

I was lucky enough to capture a shot of this African Hoopoe near the ferry exit.  It is unmistakable with its long bill and black tip crest which is held erect when it is alarmed.  Its cinnamon colored body and the black and white barring on its wings make them easy to spot during flight.  I first learned of the Hoephoep (Afrikaans name) while reading the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series.  They are a common garden resident here and the subject of African folklore.

De Hoop Nature Reserve

The second night we stayed at the De Hoop Nature Reserve.  We encountered Eland, Bontebok and Mountain Zebra.  The Reserve hosts quite a varied environment including coastal Fynbos, a fresh water lake/reservoir and a significant Atlantic marine component with the most pristine white sand dunes I have ever seen at a place called Potsberg.  I could not have imagined anything more beautiful.

View of coastline at DeHoop Nature Reserve

Eland Bull

Mountain Zebra

An unexpected dinner guest!

Historic Homes on the reservoir.

Bontebok

Fynbos and Dune at Potsberg

Coastal Dunes

Amazing White Sand

Cape Agulhas

It was difficult to leave the dunes behind but we headed on to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of Africa.  The Cape of Good Hope often takes the credit but it is not quite the point of land closest to Antarctica.  Cape Agulhas is where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans collide.

Southernmost Tip of Africa

The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse, built in 1849, is rich with history and contains a museum as well as the opportunity to climb the vertical stairs made of Yellow Wood to the top for a breathtaking view. 

Marius pointing at the Southernmost Tip of Africa

Cape Agulhas and Struisbaai

The Cape Agulhas communities survive on fishing and co-exist with the Cape Town vacationers who have built beautiful homes along the coast.  We stayed in a thatch roofed bungalow for two nights in the Cape Agulhas National Park, one of the numerous South African national parks.  Marius did a little fishing but only caught a common gully shark and a small steenbras, both of which he threw back to the sea.  This demanded a trip to the local fish market in Struisbaai to buy fish - a piece of Yellow Tail for dinner.

Fishing boats in Struisbaai

Wine Country
The drive through wine country was fun and beautiful presenting Napa Valley with some stiff competition.  Since we had already visited the wineries near Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschoek on previous trips, we decided to take the northern route and drive through Bonnievale, Montagu, Robertson, Darling, etc.  We stopped at DeWesthof (very elegant) and tasted a variety of chardonnay and then Excelsior for their delicious cabernet sauvignon. 

Vineyards near Bonnievale

Grapes along the road ready for harvest

De Westhof Winery

Langebaan

It was a long day of driving and neither Marius nor I wanted to pitch the tent and braai so we chose the Farmhouse Hotel in Langebaan which both of us highly recommend.  The accommodation was excellent and the restaurant superb.  We enjoyed the historical aspects of the building and the antiques brought back memories of life with our grandparents.

The Farm House Hotel

Langebaan Lagoon

Langebaan was the end of modern luxury for a while as we set out on the back roads to Paternoster and Tietiesbaai.  

Tietiesbaai

Tietiesbaai

Marius has fond memories of Tietiesbaai where he camped for a week with his college friends Charl and Oubaas without another human in sight.  











South African author Pieter Pieterse has written many funny stories about Tietiesbaai, and yes the land formation resembles a giant breast as my niece Megan and nephew Zach can confirm.

The Bay's Namesake

We pulled into the camping area at Tietiesbaai around 4:00 p.m. with only a few other campers. By 7:00 p.m. the place was packed and people were still coming at 10:00 p.m.   It’s no longer the best kept secret of Marius’ college days and has become a VERY popular camping destination.

Can you find the Cruiser??

The next day we went to Laaiplek in search of Tannie Maureen and Oom Pietre.  Maureen is Willie’s sister and I am told that they only speak English in self-defense!!  Unfortunately they were not home having gone to Stellenbosch so we kept on going and followed the old railroad maintenance road to Elandsbaai which consists of a hotel and a lot of surfers.  We stopped for lunch at the Elandsbaai Hotel where Marius had curry fish and I had a double helping of West Coast crayfish which we Americans call lobster.

We camped that night at Strandfontein, another seaside resort village, in an empty camp ground right in town and the next day set out for Namaqua National Park.  






Namaqua National Park

We camped for two glorious days at Kwass on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  The air was misty and cold but we were again very lucky with only a slight breeze both days.  We estimated the ocean temperature to be about 55 degrees – a nice contrast to the very hot sun.  The second night at Kwass Marius made a chicken potjkie and as we sat at the table dining in the setting sun we watched two steenboks vie for their territory. Mother Nature blessed us once again delivering a breathtakingly beautiful setting.

A seemingly endless beach...

A pair of Oyster Catchers on Mussel covered rocks

Campsite #4

View of the Atlantic from campsite

A great place for dinner!

Kwass is in the Groen-Spoeg coastal section and is the only significant remaining untouched section of the Namaqualand coast.  DeBeers Diamond mine allowed the SA National Parks to take over this area where they used to mine diamonds.   Namaqualand is famous for its spring flowers.   After lying dormant during the dry season, the spring rains bring about a massive burst of colors and varieties from August to November.  Namaqualand is home to the richest bulb flora of any arid region in the world with an estimated 3,500 plant species found nowhere else on earth. 

The following day we got to do our first dune driving as we set out to explore the Spoeg River caves.   They are archeological sites of significance for the Nama people who raised sheep here over 2000 years ago.  It was an eerie place, with a significant amount of mana.  It was especially spooky knowing that we were the only humans for hundreds of miles.  One set of caves looked like a warrior’s head complete with helmet, the other like the eyes of a bird of prey.

Kalima, Marius and Chris at Skilpad

We met up with Chris and Kalima who had flown from Kona to Cape Town, rented a four wheel drive vehicle with tents on top and drove to meet us at Skilpad (tortoise) which is in an area known as the Roof of Namaqua.  Chris had not been to South Africa, his birthplace, in 25 years and this was Kalima’s first trip.  Needless to say, they were very happy to be here.  

Koeksisters

Chris was even more happy to have his first Koeksister, an Afrikaans delicacy, similar to a malasada but twisted and dripping with sugary syrup.  In addition they were both eating biltong for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!

Augrabies Falls National Park
Together we set out for the next destination which was Augrabies Falls National Park.

On the way we stopped in Springbok and had breakfast in honor of Marius college roommate, Serfaas who was born there.   At Augrabies Falls we ran into some very naughty monkeys.  They tried to steal our butternut squash, smeared our windshield with their little paws and tongues, and then pooped some nasty green goo on our Cruiser.  Finally Marius had to pull out the kettie (slingshot) and christen himself the MONKEY TERMINATOR. 


 Just the sight of Marius with the kettie dispersed them pretty quickly, but we kept a vigilant watch until it got dark and they were safely sleeping.

Augrabies is where the mighty Orange River thunders through a ravine and cascades down to a pool walled by sheer granite 56 M or 184 feet below.  The falls derived their name from the Khoi word meaning “place of great noise”.

An Augrabies Flat Lizard

Augrabies Falls from the top

In the desert adjacent the Orange River, grapes are grown for drying into raisins.  We stopped at the Pink Padstal and observed how the raisins are made by laying grapes on the ground in the hot sun.  They were delicious – stems, sand and all.

Raisins drying on the ground in the sun

Drying racks where grapes hang during first stage

Summer thunderheads building

We restocked our supplies in Upington and then set out for the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, the first of the multi-country peace parks including South Africa and Botswana in the Kalahari Desert.