Notes on a road trip - Day 7

 29 August 2022, Monday

Easy going Monday morning - not at all like a not-on-holiday-Monday. 😉 About mid-morning, upon invitation from the owners, with whom Wessel has a Sasolburg connection, we set out and visited their very impressive fruit packing and storing warehouse.

Amazing rock formations along the way!

Jan, the young product manager, explained how the fruit got from the orchards to our tables. Quite an involved process and amazing that fruit is still relatively cheap. This is a VERY labour intensive operation.

After visiting the warehouse, we decided to go take a drive. The initial plan was to go to Ceres, but when we realized how far it actually is, promptly chose another option. 

Inadvertent artistic shot.

The view from the Gody pass...

... where at the bottom, we found Prince Alfred's Hamlet in the Witzenburg Municipality.

Eventually, with the help of Google, we found this little gem, because by that time lunch was-a-beckoning!

The delightful young man behind the counter looked a bit stricken when we asked about lunch, but then the details were worked out - the chicken pasta with salad for Wessel and a steak and kidney pie for me. He thawed substantially and we shared quite a few laughs.

Another view of the home-industry-cum-eatery

Simple, honest fare served with lots of sincerity. A delightful meal indeed. We also got a few sweet treats which were superb.

 

Later afternoon, we took the 'Herzoggies' to our hosts for the arranged coffee date. It is clearly a very busy place as Theunis was called away a couple of times. He showed me some very old annotated maps of the farm, which were absolutely fascinating. The handwriting very precise and the Afrikaans clearly in its infancy. Very formal indeed. We had a very nice visit with him and his wife Leonie at their lovely office building.

Back at the chalet, time for some fortified wine and a fire.

Getting ready for braai. :-)

So that's a wrap for day 7! 

PS: The braai was lovely, but on account of the cold we, went inside early. Wessel dashed in and out with his night photography. Can't wait to see the results. :-)

Notes on a road trip - Day 6

 28 August 2022, Sunday

“Time to say go-o-odbye...”

It was very difficult to say goodbye to Nakkie, Merwe and the four-legged crew of Gannabos! We had a lovely time there and took away very fond memories in our hearts  ♥️

The farewell committee! Even Master Gollie looked a bit teary eyed. After some mutual fervent waving, we set off.

A little while later, the weather had changed from slightly cloudy to downright misty …

We saw some blue cranes close to Nieuwoudtville, before taking a right onto the R27. Our final destination for the day was a working farm with guest accommodation between Citrusdal and Ceres, called Kunje.  However, we did not take the crow's route and ours featured a detour via Isabella’s at Lambert’s Bay harbour.

Imagine a cold and overcast day, with adverts for coffee and breakfast suddenly appearing. Yes, our thoughts exactly! We immediately turned in at Bagdad Café. There were a friendly group of men at a table outside hugging their coffee mugs and shortly after that a lady came past with lovely plates of food for them. Yay! I ordered two coffees and scrutinized the menu on the blackboard. The wait in this case was in vain, because it seemed that every man, dog and uncle had the same vision of coffee and breakfast. The ladies ran around like headless chickens and when we heard in passing (after 10 minutes in the cold), that our coffee still depended on a kettle boiling, we decided to move along swiftly. So while we didn't quite get what we bargained for, the place was certainly interesting. Oh, and you remember the 'unapologetically rustic' term from before, well, this not only puts it to shame but must be the most deliberate and in-your-face rustic we've ever experienced… but, great fun!

Brrrr

Wessel nearly traded me in ... 😂.

Please note the name of the shop

Certainly a blast from the past for some of us! 😉

Two things to note. First, the camera makes it look much, much, brighter than it actually was inside the ladies. Second, the framed blackboard takes the place of a mirror - loved it!

Onward then with a smile! The weather changed as we got closer to the coast again as you can see below.

Lambert's Bay harbour

Isabella’s! What a lovely place - setting, awesome food and very competent staff. And, where the owner seemlessly assisted the staff and even stopped to pick up an errant tomato which made its way to the floor. Kudos! This is a must-stop if you're in the area (or even if you have make a bit of a detour😉).

Apologies, it was only after I had inhaled two of my cheesy fried balls and some mussels that I thought to take a picture. I had my two starters and Wessel a platter-for-one. Really great food and atmosphere! 

 

We spent a leisurely hour there and then departed for Citrusdal.  The last part of the journey, from Citrusdal to Kunye went across a mountain on a steep pass composed of part gravel and part tarred road. The alternative route is much longer, so the scenic route it was (read: not-for-the-fainthearted 😮) .  

Lovely flowers along the way.

Portion of the pass.

Kunje Guest farm, where we would spend the next two nights.

The end of day 6! :-)

Notes on a road trip - Day 5

 27 August 2022, Saturday 

It was a beautiful, sunny morning. We briefly thought about driving to Calvinia for the ‘Vleisfees’, but then decided to walk around the farm instead and see what kind of flowers grow in the veld. We set off and within 100m from the farmhouse, found a few lovely specimens. 

On the road to the other guest accommodation 

The view of the impeccable main farm house 

Back at the cottage I sat down under the lapa with my laptop to do some blogging.

You’d be pardoned for thinking this was a weaver tree … and they’re quite a lively bunch 😄

Then Nakkie came back from the veld with a lovely little flower. It was absolutely exquisite. See for yourself.  

This is to give you an idea of the actual size…

Mind blowing right?! 

Late afternoon we caught up with her and the hitherto unseen cats. They’re absolutely gorgeous. Again I’ll let the photographs speak for themselves.

After a lovely supper of chicken breasts and rolls, it was time to pack and for Wessel to attempt his last star trails on Gannabos. 

Gannabos was a definite highlight of our trip - Nakkie, your interior design skills are impeccable and you manage to create an atmosphere that is both luxurious and inviting your guests to just rest and relax.