Notes on a road trip - Day 2

24 August 2022, Wednesday

After greeting our gracious hosts, Charmaine and Albert, we were on the way again at 8:30 to tackle day 2 of another long day on the road. Based on their recommendationy, we pulled in at Klipkraal Padstal (approximately 6 km before Hopetown). What a delight! Beautiful shop and the people were super friendly. All the tables are outside on the covered verandah and we chose one in the corner. I ordered the biltong and spinach quiche and Wessel the chicken and butternut quiche (you know me and butternut ;-)) with black Americano and cappuccino respectively. The Americano looked very pretty but needed a booster shot of espresso! We bought a few items, including a freshly baked bread for our hostess at Gannabos (our place for the next 4 days), some jewellery, and microwaveable popcorn for Danae (apparently made in the area) and a bottle of spicy water (Marni's term for sparkling water).

Chrissie with the fresh loaves of bread!

There are a few very interesting descriptions on the menu, if you feel inclined to zoom in a bit…

"Net reg!", after the second shot of espresso.

Thus fortified, we set off into the great blue yonder … ok, the N12 for the more prosaic among us. ;-)

On the way to Britstown, we saw the first flowers on the side of the road.

Britstown. A photo of the NG Church. Sadly however, the rest of the town is in need of some TLC.

 

As suggested by our Wiida hosts, we then turned right onto the R384 towards Carnavon. 

"The road is lo-o-ong …"  and very, very straight!

Half-selfie with the most wonderful smelling flowers.

Desolate and harsh, yet with a special kind of beauty!

The flowers seem to grow even from rocks.

Along the road, there were many of these ribbons tied to gates or fences. Most were yellow, so this one stood out particularly. We  have yet to find out what it means. There was also one very 'kwaai' sign that said, in Afrikaans, 'SKA is not welcome in our Karoo'.

We pulled in at a very neat service station in Carnavon for a body break and the young man at the counter was very friendly - directed me in Afrikaans to the spotless bathrooms. There was also a small convenience store and restaurant available. After buying some cold drinks, we were already outside when we witnessed another tourist almost putting his vehicle through the window. The look on the faces of the staff inside was precious! :-)

 

After a good laugh, we were on our way again, this time on the R27 to Calvinia.

"High on a hill was a lonely JoJo, lay-ee-odl-lay-ee-odl-lay-hee-hoo…".

 [Dramatic voice] JoJo, going where not even Pam Golding or the cellular networks dare to be.

Just to state the obvious, there are numerous stretches of road without any coverage whatsoever.  But then we spotted a number of these as well. Must be a very secret Wi-Fi service for the Karoo! 😉

Calvinia, and time to fill up again - very amusing to see the Hotel sign on the doorstep of the church…

But before we travel further, I'd like to do a special shout out for the town of Williston - small, but so neat and clearly with a vibe going on there. Calvinia is bigger, but also very neat. 👏

From there we went to Nieuwoudtville, and turning right instead of into the town, we followed the signposts to Gannabos. And what a beautiful place! Nakkie was there to greet us with Gollie and Leah. Apparently Gollie is actually the boss on the farm  😀

Their house to the left and our cottage to the right.

Beautifully kept gardens

Our temporary home for the next few days

The hot water bottles disguised as sheep were too cute!

Our outside kitchen, and you put the used dishes in a container and they fetch, wash and return them.

Master Gollie!

And the much more timid Leah.

'Nou gaan ons braai!' 😋

So that is it for day 2! Spoiler alert - days 3 & 4 may have to be combined on account of some inclement weather. 👀