Western Cape

Thursday 13 February – Bonnievale River Lodge Campsite

14.18. This is the first opportunity I have had to write anything, when usually I start the journal off before we have even left the U.K.
This is a different sort of trip to any we have made before. To begin with we have always travelled to Southern Africa during November and December. I don’t think it will make a lot of difference to the conditions for this trip as The Western Cape, where we intend to stay, has a Mediterranean climate and the weather is much the same from November through to March. Maybe February, equivalent to our August is a little hotter. It will be warm and sunny, but there may also be some rain. Further north we would probably have noticed a big difference. November is the end of the dry period and the rains can come anytime from mid-November to mid-December, depending on where you are. We have experienced some torrential downpours, with flooding. After the long dry period, I can’t call it winter as that would imply low temperatures when actually it’s really just not so hot, vegetation is sparse and everywhere is very dry and barren. During the trip to Namibia in November 2017 the conditions where sometimes extremely uncomfortable. The prolonged drought, due to reduced rainfall over the previous two rainy periods, meant that most of the trees had no leaves, in fact many had died. Several times we camped in temperatures up to 45C with absolutely no shade, we had to sit close to the side of the truck or a wall or a rocky outcrop to get a little respite. It’s one of the reasons we chose to make our next trip February/March instead, but as we have decided to stay in the Western Cape, it doesn’t matter anyway.
The KLM flight from Norwich was good, although coming on the flight from Schipol straight into Cape Town meant a 06.15 take-off. We landed at about 23.00 on Tuesday night and stayed over at the Hotel Verde, where we have stayed before. It is a very comfortable hotel, on the airport perimeter and there is a shuttle bus to meet you. After a good hot shower and an amazing breakfast we returned to the airport to collect our rental car. This year it is a Toyota Corolla. We would have preferred a hatchback but it is a good size with a roomy boot. We stopped off in Worcester at a comprehensive Mall we know well from our visits to McGregor. After such a huge breakfast we decided we would just snack on some crisps in the evening so we only bought hardware, two chairs, a cold box and an electric kettle, and dry food supplies.
We arrived at Bonnievale at about 15.00. It is a large campsite spread over two levels, grassy pitches bordering the river Breede, and a row on the terrace above, all with raised wooden decks looking out over the river. We would have preferred a low grassy pitch but no cars are allowed to remain down there. As the purpose for this stop is to unpack and reorganise our clothes and equipment storage in the car we need to have it close to us, so we have a pitch on the top level. There was only one other pitch occupied last night, those people left this morning and another couple have arrived. It’s off-season, the peak school holiday time is December and January, but the campsite manager told us that they are fully booked at the weekend. So we are pleased that we have reserved pitches at the weekends for the rest of the trip. We are free to decide how we get from one location to another, picking up campsites as we go.We didn’t do much last night, we unpacked the essentials for putting up the tent and threw everything else into the back of the car. In order to bring our camping gear it needs to be spread between the 2 bags we have, one each of 23 kilos. Our clothes and soft furnishings are used as ballast, wrapping and protecting other items. We managed to get a change of clothes, from cold weather to hot weather, and other stuff for an overnight stay into our hand luggage. So after getting the tent up we sat on the deck with a bag of crisps and a bottle of wine until dusk. We did manage a couple of hands of crib, but were tucked up for the night soon after 21.30.
We spent some time this morning finishing the unpacking and discovered that we had forgotten to pack any coffee mugs. Unbelievable. As we have said, we do this so many times we don’t even think about it any more. Obviously we have got very lax and not thinking enough. We drank our coffee out of cereal bowls. I also ought to add that for the first time in many long flight we had some damage. When we unpacked last night one of our wine glasses had broken, and some glass had pierced a hole in one of the buckets. John very kindly gave me the remaining glass and drank his wine from a tin mug. I love him so much. He has also patched the hole in the bucket with some parcel tape. It’s not water tight, but takes a long time to drain, so still good for hand washing water at the tent and doing our washing in.We drove into Bonnievale and found a comprehensive small town with a Spar supermarket. We stocked up on enough food for two days, including coffee mugs and 2 new wine glasses. We also acquired half a dozen nice sized cardboard boxes. So back at the tent we have organised everything into the boxes, so that we know where to find everything, and repacked our clothes into single bags. There is now so much space in the car, and everything to hand.
We spent an hour or so playing around with a couple of extra lengths of fabric I packed, “kitenge”, and the extra poles and guys John had brought. After the 2017 experience in Namibia we decided we would have to create our own shade. When it was so hot in Norfolk last summer we chose to camp in the ‘African’ tent a couple of times, so well ventilated. It gave me an opportunity to try out different ways to extend the front porch flap sufficiently that we could get two chairs underneath it, and attach a side panel which could be used on either side depending on the direction of a less than overhead sun. It works extremely well, I made a few adjustments to the tags and ties and we are happy with it. In a strong wind we would need to anchor the poles by attaching them to trees or hedges. It would be sufficient except in the Namibian stretch of the Kalahari where there was nothing, just sand, and frequently very windy. It was beautiful, but not somewhere we are likely to go again.
The rest of the afternoon we have sat on the deck, with a beer or two and now, at 16.00, the bite is going out of the sun. We are both very relaxed and not yet bored with the lack of excitement ahead of us. In fact it feels quite comforting that we will usually have electricity and water, not always potable, here all grey water comes from the river, but the ability to purchase clean water. There are likely to be endless road works, the Chinese are pouring construction money in, but no road blocks, corrupt fines to pay for traffic violations you haven’t committed. We’ll miss the animals, particularly the elephants, but the birds are amazing, so many different varieties, spectacular colours and calls.

The Breede River from the Bonnievale Campsite

Sunday 17 February – Fish Eagle Campsite, Hermon

It is hot. We totally misjudged this campsite. We thought that as we were heading north from Paarl we would be in the mountains, however we are only about 60 metres above sea level in a very hot valley. We have mountains in the distance on two sides, but the immediate landscape is flat, featureless and dry. The website described it as a working olive and vine farm, but the vines do not look very productive. We have spoken to the owner, an expatriate Englishman living here for 10 years, and the olives seem to be his main source of income. There are 2,000, of several different varieties, which are harvested in sequence. They are all for oil and go to the press in Robertson. Evidently there is a big market for home produced olive oil. Previously it has all been imported from Europe at great cost, and having appreciated that olives are offering a better reward than vines many farmers are increasing the number they grow. The campsite is small, so much smaller than Bonnievale, maybe pitches for about a dozen tents and half a dozen caravans. There is a small very clean toilet block and an area with shade and a small dipping pool. When we arrived yesterday lunchtime it was packed so good that we had booked ahead. It bears out what the manager at Bonnievale had said, that it is necessary to book ahead for weekends. We pitched near to three middle aged men obviously on a ‘boys outing’, an essential part of which was obviously the consumption of large amounts of alcohol. They were actually nowhere near as raucous as I had feared, they collapsed and went to bed quite early. At least one of them snored quite badly but it could have been very much worse. It is now late lunchtime and the site has emptied out almost completely, just us and one caravan.

We were packed up by 09.00 yesterday morning and took the back road from Bonnievale to McGregor and dropped in to say hello and deliver some mail to Margo. We had a pleasant late breakfast with Margo, her friend John, and daughter Ruth, who had just cooked some very nice scones which we ate with butter and jam. We also met her new dog, Zana, another African dog. Unfortunately Jaeger was knocked down and killed a couple of years ago. After a brief stop for shopping in Worcester, we arrived here.

Our peace and quiet at Bonnievale came to an abrupt end on Friday afternoon, when the weekenders from Cape Town came flooding in. Soon the entire site was booked out, maybe 50 pitches, some with groups of up to 12 people on them. The ‘no noise after 10’ policy didn’t work and I’m surprised we slept as well as we did. It’s a nice site and one we would consider returning to mid-week if it is convenient to break our journey there when we leave the West coast in a week’s time.

It is only 38C here, but feels much hotter. Looking back on arranging this trip, we used to think how crazy people were who camped in Greece in the month of August, which is exactly what we are doing. Already we have forgotten that in our Greek house in August we never left the sheltering shade of the Mulberry trees which surrounded it for the 6 hour period over midday. Here, as campers, we have no shade. We took a trip in our air conditioned car this afternoon, first to a local view point, an endless vista of dry, arid fields, then over a high pass, 600ish kilometres, through a nearby mountain range. The scenery was spectacular, so reminiscent of Greece. We watched out for a campsite, but the only once was much lower, at slightly less than 200 metres, so wouldn’t be much cooler.

Tomorrow we are off to the Cederburg. We have stayed there a couple of times before, in our first ever trip in 2010, and in a later one which I will need to check out. We remember that in 2010 what looked to be a nice campsite on an Olive Farm was packed with campers in late December, early January. We think we should be fine there during the week in late February, if not we have identified another farm campsite an hour or so further on which only has 3 pitches. We will see, part of the excitement of independent travel.

Thursday 19 February - Algeria, Cederberg

This is a Cape Nature site, now associated with SAN Parks, but we haven't renewed our Wild Card this yesr so we aren't getting a special rate. However the nice woman at reception said we classified as 'seniors' so we did get a reduction. Algeria is so called because the French man who originally owned the land here said the landscape and scenery reminded him of the Atlas mountains in Algeria. I have never seen the Atlas mountains in Algeria, but ut is certainly similar to the Atlas Mountains we saw in Morocco. The campsite is low down from the dirt road which runs through the Cederberg, close to the river. We have passed it on the two previous occasions when we have been in the Cederberg area, 2010 and 2015. On both occasions it was in December, peak season and it was packed. When we arrived yesterday afternoon we were the only people here. Later in the evening 2 or maybe even 3 other vehicles drove in, but we can’t see any of them. We have an enormous pitch, No. 1, beneath some fantastic, big, old trees. The only thing is that there is only one small area where we could put up our  ground tent, because of extensive surface roots. People who usually choose this pitch probably have  rooftop or trailers tents, it would be difficult for a larger ground tent than ours. We are just fine here, tucked away in a corner, next to the river and with all day shade moving beneath the trees.

When we left Fish Eagle farm yesterday we had decided to head for De Pakhuis, a site we stayed on in 2010 between Xmas and the New Year. It was packed then, we were lucky to pick up a space without a booking, but we squeezed into a gap between some rocks and it was OK. Wen we went back yesterday it was nothing like we remembered. There was only one caravan there , in a small space between some trees. Cabins have been built in all the nicest clear spaces, and the rest left for tents is small and almost no shade at all. The ablution block, which needed some attention in 2010 has not been touched at all. We discussed driving further out on that road, towards where we think Enjo Nature Farm is. Even off de Pakhuis Campsite, back on the main road, we couldn’t get a phone signal, so no mobile data connection. We weren’t exactly sure where the farm is, and we know that they only advertised 3 pitches. It was past midday so we decided to play safe and drive into the Cederberg. In 2015, at the beginning of December, we stayed on a campsite run by an organic citrus farm, Jamaka. It was nothing special but would be fine for a couple of nights. We needed to go back to Clanwilliam, so instead of going slowly down the Cederberg dirt road we took the main N7 as far as the turning to Algeria, thinking we would then drive back about 10 kms to Jamaka. At Aleria we glanced down and saw the deserted campsite amidst all the towering trees. Here we are, and we have decided to stay until Friday when we are booked into a site on the west coast, at Elands Bay.

We still can’t see another tent, the riverside stretch is totally deserted. There will be many more people on Thursday and yet more on Friday. It seems that the South African weekend starts after work on Thursday for some people. Then on Sunday it empties out again. As the Cape Nature centre Algeria is the starting point for many of the hiking trails in the Cederberg. There is also some some climbing and bouldering. Even if I was an awful lot younger and fitter I would not find the prospect of a 4 hour out and 4 hour back hike in temperatures in the mid 30s, with a fierce sun at all enticing, no matter how amazing the scenery is.

We can only buy wood and ice here, so as we have decided to stay for 4 nights we will drive back into Clanwilliam along the dirt road, passing Jamaka on the way so I will be interesting to take a look at it. Evidently a new Pick ‘n Pay has opened in Clanwilliam so we will do some shopping there. With a small cold box and buying ice we only get perishable food for a couple of days at a time. We shopped at the Clanwilliam SuperSpar on the way in, which was good in 2010 and 2015, but very sparse and the fresh fruit and vegetables were very scrappy. There was hardly anyone in there. Probably something to do with the new Pick ‘n Pay opening.

Relaxing in the shade at Algeria

Thursday 21 February - Algeria, Cederburg

The three trees which completely shade our pitch are Ficus, I couldn’t identify them at first. They are massive, with split and bent branches and lots of aerial roots trailing over a metre. I explored the campsite yesterday and there are probably up to 10 other pitches occupied, but they are mostly spread out around the site except where groups have pitched together. Tuesday evening two young men came and pitched tents further along the river bank from us, tiny tents on the grassy verge. It seemed on that one was on a bicycle and the other one walking. We learnt that they weren’t together, they had just arrived at the same time and when they saw how massive the pitches are they agreed to keep their costs down and share a pitch, the cost here is per pitch rather than per person. We spoke first to the cyclist as he was closest to us, we offered to lend him a mallet as he was knocking tent pegs in with a stone. Later he came over to see if we had a needle and thread as his stuff-bag for all of his equipment had split. I was able to produce our comprehensive travel mending kit, complete with extra strong thread, darning needle and thimble. He did his mending at our table, helped on my a cold beer from our cool box. He is from Sweden and has been cycling around South Africa for 6 weeks, with another 3 to go. He has a sturdy mountain bike. We assumed that he had left most of his gear at a centre point somewhere, as all he carried was the stuff-bag strapped to his handlebars. No, that was all he had, just his bike box was stored at Cape Town Airport. He told us that he had just finished studying, 3 years for a Bachelor Degree and 2 years for a Masters, and was taking a break before starting a job as a Medical Engineer. All his tuition fees were free in Sweden and he received an allowance. There is also the possibility of taking a nil interest government loan if it is needed.

I thought about this quite a lot yesterday and am sorry that he moved on in the morning, looking at a 60 km ride over a mountain pass before reaching his next stop. We talked about lots of other things, Scandinavian authors and literature, travel generally, and of course, Brexit. We are asked about Brexit in every conversation, the questions based on curiosity and some surprise, rather than opinions one way or the other. We are unable to answer any of the questions, of course, who we will trade with, what will happen to our economy, how will it affect travellers and tourists, and on and on. I would be interested in learning more about the Swedish system. I wonder what percentage of young people go on to higher academic study. If it is a smaller number, then subsidising those becomes more feasible. I think back to my own post-school education, a General Nursing qualification, where I received a token salary, an Occupational Health qualification, subsidised by my employer, a Health Visitor qualification and a post-graduate diploma in Health Education, both paid for by my local authority when they employed me. The only thing I paid for myself was my Bachelor degree with the Open University, spread over 5 years. I hope I am not saying ‘things were better in my day’, as old people are sometimes accused, but it does seem a very sensible way of providing a vocational education, the costs spread over a number of sources, and much of the learning taking place in a practical environment.

We didn’t meet the other young man until yesterday morning, as when he had put his tent up he headed off for a hike up a mountain to see a waterfall. In the morning we offered them both a mug of coffee, which was gratefully received. As neither of them had a mug they shared our tin camping mug. He is an American and has been travelling for a year on this occasion. Previous trips have taken him to Cambodia and the surrounding countries and to New Zealand. He hitches lifts for longer journeys to get from one place to another, but mostly walks. He is working his way down the west coast, back to Cape Town from Namibia. He has spent the last couple of months in Namibia and Botswana, where he joined up with a group and did some white-water rafting and safaris. When we went into Clanwilliam to shop we gave him a lift to the main N7 coast road. Lorries are up and down it permanently, he might even have made Cape Town by last night.

We have commented on the lack of insects, this time of year we expected to be inundated with mosquitoes, there aren’t even many ants here, I have maybe see one or two butterflies, a few dragonflies and a few large bees. There are also far fewer birds here than I expected to see. We are camped in a wilderness area, next to a flowing stream, bordered by bushes and tall trees. I haven’t even seen any weaver birds and no raptors soaring over the surrounding mountains. There has been a few doves, some Cape Scrub Robins and sparrows. There were lots more birds at both Bonnievale and Fish Eagle Farm.

Apart from the two young men we have had this section of the campsite totally to ourselves so far. We expect groups to drift in later this afternoon, we know that many of the other riverside pitches are fully booked over the weekend. I think that on this part of the campsite they are likely to be family groups with children taking a late summer weekend break. Tomorrow we move further west to an area called Elands Bay. We have a booked a pitch at a site called Vensterklip, and are wondering what we will find there. John booked it from an online campsite review, looked very good and he realised afterwards that it is more expensive than we usually pay, about £15 a night. Later we realised that in 2015 we rented a cottage there, which was OK but tired and run down. We took a look at the adjacent campsite, which was completely derelict, it would have been impossible to camp there. We understood from someone working there that the business was at the point of collapse. John has looked on Google Earth and there now appears to be 6 discreet small brick buildings at the campsite venue and the website says individual ablutions. We are assuming that it has been taken over, a major injection of cash and has been developed in the style of many of the Namibian sites we stayed on. At best each pitch is likely to have a toilet and shower. Some of the really nice Namibian pitches also had an annexe with a fridge, a braii underneath a lapa and an outdoor sink. We will see. We will hope for the lapa as the pitches are on the beach and shade could be an issue.

The beautiful Ficus trees which gave us shade

Flowers hidden away in the undergrowth by the river

Saturday 23 February - Vensterklip, Elands Bay

Algeria really did fill up on Friday afternoon, and it was exactly as I thought, lots of family groups with small children. We noticed that a group next to us where both parents were white had a little girl of about 2, white and blonde so presumably their own, and then another little mixed race girl who looked to be the same age. We had had noticed several other families since we have been here with a similar setup where one of the children is mixed race. Always mixed race which is interesting, never completely black.

We went back through Clanwilliam for shopping and arrived at Elands Bay around midday. We learnt that Vensterklip has been under new management since 2016, we were last here in 2015. Everywhere looks much the same. The campsite has certainly undergone a transformation. There is a large area laid out for overland groups, some light reed fencing separating areas where several tents could be erected around a central lapa and a braii, with an ablution block. There are also 4 or 5 rather nice screened pitches opposite the communal ablution block with lapas.They don’t have vehicular access so must be the backpacker pitches. The old camping area we saw in 2015 has been marked out as 6 private campsites, separated by the same light reed fencing. The pitches are not as big as many we have seen, Algeria for example, but there is a separate parking space behind each pitch where a vehicle could go if space is needed. Each pitch has a small brick built toilet and shower and braii and sink beneath a small covered lean-to. There is no shade. The cost for these pitches is a standard R500, about £30. There is a maximum occupancy of 8 people per pitch, so I suppose it is then not unreasonable, and we are penalised by being only 2. It is still the most we have ever seen for a standard pitch price, we expected a bit more for our money, at least a lapa and a a BBQ table. Also for that amount of money the pitches are not well maintained, they all have large heaps of sand within them, presumably ant activity. It would have taken someone within a rake, which we don’t carry, just a few minutes to level it out. We scraped it to one side to make a space large enough to put a tent up. The toilet/shower could also do with a jolly good clean. In fact it is all a bit grubby and definitely not good value for money.

The view is very good, undisturbed across the estuary, and last night we were the only people here so it was very quiet. There are no campsite lights, only at the braii and in the toilet, which is nice as they can be turned off. We remember from our previous visit that a lot of heavy goods vehicles thunder up and down the nearby road, but we seem to be more protected from the noise here on the campsite than we were in 2015 when we stayed in the old cottage on the hill, which is now a backpackers hostel.

It was hot when we arrived, but we were able to rig up our extra shade by tieing the fabric from the tent to the fence. In fact once we were in the shade it was actually, and amazingly, cool with a brisk breeze off the estuary, I put a long sleeved shirt on over my T-shirt. We lit the braii and ate about 18.00, and as we were eating we could see the mist rolling in across the estuary. By the time we had finished eating and cleared up the meal we were in fog, with damp in the air, you could feel the fret on your face. We had taken down the shade extension and we pulled the chairs underneath the porch. We played crib for a couple of hours, it wasn’t cold at all. By the time we got ready for bed the fret had gone, and with it some of the dense fog. It wasn’t at all cold last night, although it was heavily overcast until about 10.00, when the sun burst through. Evidently this is the daily pattern at this time of year. In some ways a pleasant change. As we sat in the cool under the porch yesterday evening I thought of all those people at Algeria, hot and sweating in the humid night air.

Seeking the shade at Vensterklip

We went out to lunch today, to the open air fish restaurant on the beach just outside Lamberts Bay, Muisbosskerm. It is mentioned in our old Rough Guide as the first of it’s kind and one of the best in the whole of South Africa. In 2010, when we were staying at Pakhuis we made a day trip to look for it. When we found it there were a lot of people buzzing around, and music. We wandered in and were met and told to help ourselves from the buffet laid out on large tables. The food was amazing, beautiful fish. It was a large gathering and we chatted to some people and had an excellent lunch. When we came to leave and tried to pay there was some confusion. It seemed that we had just walked into a private function, someone’s birthday or anniversary, and because we were the right age and the right colour everyone thought we were part of the party.

When we were here in 2015 we tried to make a booking, the arrangement is actually telephone booking only, but it was mid week and they were closed. We phoned as soon as we got here yesterday and booked for today.

The meal was amazing, better even than last time, the fish was dressed with different herbs and spices, maybe because it was not a big private event. We learnt from the owner, who greeted us at the entrance, that we were lucky. Usually they only open on Saturday evenings and Sunday lunches, but if a sufficient number make a block booking, at least 20, then she will open Saturday lunchtime. One section was occupied by a group of people and there were balloons for 40th birthday hovering over the tables. That left plenty of space, including some tables underneath a reed covering looking out towards the sea. We took one of those and sat with a cold beer as more people drifted in and the food was prepared. Everything was as last time, plates and plates of food were laid out on central tables, but this time there were tin plates and no cutlery, just large empty mussel shells for scooping. The starters were put out first, piles of small sardine like fish, heavily salted and braii-ed to a crisp, fantastic, exactly my choice. This was followed by more and more plates, the tables groaning under the weight, salads, vegetables, paella, chowder, fish soups and stews, and enormous platters of huge fish, baked and braii-ed. I picked chunks of 3 different types of big fish, some paella, sliced fried potatoes and an interesting dish of what I think was slices of fried mango in an oily dressing. The last of the fish stumped me, I think it was shark and it was as big and beefy as a full sized steak. John also had some mussels and half a crayfish, which looked the same size as a lobster. I tried some and it was really tasty and succulent. I might go for that another time. We continued to nibble on, and had some breaded calamari which was so very tender. Finally there was the final course of chunks of honeydew and watermelon and lots of grapes. We paid a fixed charge of about £20 a head for all of that.

We chose to sit outside the main restaurant, under the shade of the tarpaulin, in favour of looking out over the great, rolling Atlantic Ocean. Sea scud slowly encroached, an by the time we left, around 15.00, there was no sun to be seen, everywhere was overcast, and the wind was cold. We are pleased to find that back at the campsite we have the end of the afternoon sun and it is warm in comparison.

The Atlantic Ocean from Muisbosskerm

Restaurant on the beach

My fish dish

John's Crayfish

Sunday 24 February - Kuifkopvisvanger, Velddrif

Yesterday evening was very tense. There wasn’t a working TV at Vensterklip, and anyway the bar shut up at 15.00. John was unable to stream any on-line coverage of the Rugby, so he just had to check in regularly for a score update. When England were leading at halftime we were optimistic, we played some crib, then at the time he thought it would be over we had trouble getting a phone signal strong enough to give us mobile data. When we got the final score at last it was a sad end to the evening.

We had a leisurely pack-up this morning. When we handed our key in, our toilet had a lock, the manageress asked about our stay so we told her how we felt about the camping site. I had a look around before we left and we could have had a better site for less than half the money, just without a personal toilet and shower, if we had taken one of the backpacker sites. We told her that we couldn’t understand why so much effort had been put into making the backpacker and overland pitches nice, when the expensive ones needed so much attention. She agreed that they were overpriced and in need of refurbishment, and said she would pass our comments on to the management. We said that if she emailed us we send our comments in in writing when we were back in the U.K.

Now we are an hour or so further south down the west coast. This site has a very sophisticated web site and we had high hopes when we drove over 2 kilometres through the property before we reached it. However the pitches are double ranked, very close to each other, on a piece of land overlooking the estuary. Once again the view is stunning, flamingos wading through the water, herons perched at the sides, and many different species of water and wader birds. The site however is scrubby, rubbish bins overflowing, dog poo and cigarette ends littering the ground. O.K. it’s all down to the disregard of the environment and irresponsibility of the people who were staying here over the weekend, but the owners should be on top of that, or at least have staff to clean the site up. It is sad, because as at Vensterkip, there is the potential to make this a wonderful place to camp, however we will move on tomorrow morning. We have the ongoing situation of a big piece of the Karoo to transverse from west to east before next Friday when we are booked into the Gamkaberg Nature Reserve for the weekend. Most of that area is pretty desolate, that’s the Karoo, with little habitation. Going directly west to east isn’t an option, there is just nowhere to stay. We’ve decided to go slightly south, back to the Breede River and pick up a farm site, about 2 hours away, and take it from there hoping that we find a nice campsite.

A quiet moment at Kuiskopvisvanger, before the wind

Sunrise over the estuary, not enough light to pick out the Flamingoes

Tuesday 26 February - Bonnievale River Lodge Campsite

We didn’t intend to be here. Sunday night at Kuiskopvisvanger was a bit hairy. The wind got up with a vengeance and there was no shelter from it at the campsite. The ground was impossibly hard, John wondered what was underneath the top layer of sand, and we couldn’t get the tent pegs fully in. We tied the guys to some trees on one side and moved the car in close so that we could tie the guys the other side to it. We know from last year that this lightweight and tall tent is not built for wind. At one point last year in Namibia I am sure I said I wouldn’t camp in it again. Obviously I forgot about that when we planned the trip.
We had a middle aged guy pitched next to us, we were the only 2 pitches occupied. There was another tent erected but it was completely shut down and had obviously been left until the next weekend. Even though the entire site was empty we pitched next to him because it was the shadiest place. We went out for most of the day, but when he got back he put music on in his car with the doors open, very loud. He did turn it down when I asked him to, but it seemed like another indication that the sites clientele might not be the most responsible people or campers.
The wind dropped sufficiently before we went to bed to feel confident about the durability of the tent. The sunrise over the estuary was stunning, orange reflection across the water lighting up the flamingos as their long necks bent over. Beyond the river is a railway line, with frequent goods trains, in fact there were at least a couple during the night. I counted 400 + - 20 trucks divided into 4 sections, an engine at both ends and 2 at equal intervals. Trucks travelled from north to south laden, but with a tarpaulin over each one so I couldn’t see what they were carrying, then returned empty. We thought perhaps it was ore of some sort, mined or quarried further up the coast, maybe even from Namibia, then transported to somewhere in the Cape Town region to a processing plant.
We didn’t hang around yesterday morning and were packed up and away by soon after 08.00. We did some shopping at the local OK supermarket and were pleasantly surprised at the variety and quality of the fruit and vegetables. The only problems was that we couldn’t buy alcohol before 09.00. We went down to the old part of town, to the fishing harbour. There were several warehouse type buildings where fish were being sorted and cleaned. We also saw racks of small fish, not unlike the ones we had eaten at Muisbosskerm, hung up to dry in the sun. These are a local delicacy called bokkums and also a traditional source of protein for the fishermen and their families. We wanted a crayfish but we would need to find a more upmarket fish shop for that, so we bought 4 medium sized fish, which were not mullet, at least not the same as the mullet we used to get in Karystos, but similar. We also bought 2 packs of bokkum, dried and filleted.
We had decided to head for a campsite at a vineyard farm called Skilpadfontein, close to Worcester. We stopped off in Piketberg, at the largest SuperSpar I have ever seen, to restock our alcohol supplies. We thought Piketberg looked like a nice place, wide clean streets and a good range of facilities.
When we finally reached Skilpadfontein we were definitely not so impressed. Once again the site had enormous potential, in the middle of fields of vines and fruit trees, with large trees dotted about. However the site had the appearance of the aftermath of some major event, strewn everywhere with bottles, cans and empty food cartons. It did look more like picnic debris than camping rubbish. We checked the toilet block and that was also dirty, toilet paper on the floor. I could stand open to accusations of racism if I say that we have seen picnic sites in similar condition after a large group of black people have held a weekend party. I will counteract that racist charge by saying that I have also seen similar conditions in Chapelfield Gardens in the centre of Norwich after a music event. Rubbish thrown carelessly on the grass, even when a large bin is a short walk away. Definitely not at all an appealing place to camp. So we turned round and went back to the main road. John estimated that in little over an hour we could be back close to Robertson and to Bonnievale, where we knew we would get a good pitch in nice surroundings with excellent facilities.
So here we are, Tuesday morning and it’s raining. The same nice management couple were here when we arrived and they told us about the forecast for heavy rain today, and have lent us a large, breathable ground cover to put down outside our tent, which should prevent it getting too muddy. The tent has sprung a few leaks at the seams. We knew from last year that this was likely to happen, John has already applied sealant in quite a few places. It has also been packed up for nine months, so some deterioration could have taken place. At least we are in a good place, if the problems become serious we know they have rooms here. The forecast is for one day of rain only, hot and dry again tomorrow, so no big worry.
On the way here yesterday I realised that when we bought the fish I didn’t factor in the fact that we are camping, and didn’t ask for them to be cleaned. It was a challenge yesterday evening as I gutted, cleaned and sort of filleted fish with a good knife or work surface. The end product was OK, John braii-ed them well and we ate them all, if a little hastily as we batted away the flies. If this weather persists it will be emergency rations tonight, cold baked beans and a can of pilchards.
Another little South Africa anecdote. We are told that the roads in the Western Cape are the best in the world, and I would not dispute that. There is however, permanent roadworks taking place. We came across such a set yesterday, close to Worcester. About 2 kms before he roadworks begin there is a woman, almost invariably a woman waving a red flag and we slowly reduce speed. Then there is a set of traffic lights and finally a barrier across the road and a Stop/Go sign, giving an estimated waiting time in minutes, starting at 10, more often 20 and we have seen 40. This time the single line contraflow was reasonably short, just 4.3 kms, but we have experienced double that.

Bonnievale and the river Breede, still as beautiful as before

Thursday 28 February  Bonnievale River Lodge Campsite

It’s been a really good relaxing break here, this is our fourth day. The rain on Tuesday was nowhere near as bad as we had anticipated, and we didn’t take in any water. It only lasted for about 3 hours, with just one or two sharp bursts. John did such a good job sealing the leaks over the side doors that he sealed them shut. We went into Bonnievale yesterday for shopping and bought some acetone to dissolve the sealant. We are not sure about the future for this tent. I would like to get it back to England and do a bit more repair work on it, as it is such an easy tent to put up and would be an ideal overflow tent for hot weather in England. It’s not really suitable for adverse weather, particularly wind. We talked a bit about the future and future options, but it’s so far ahead there will be lots of opportunity to assess everything is 6 months or so.

The U.K. has been experiencing a February heatwave, with temperatures of +20C in some places, we often don’t get that in July. I think on Tuesday it was warmer in Norwich than it was here. Yesterday was still cool and we were able to sit comfortably without searching for every scrap of shade. It’s much hotter today and now at 11.00 I am staying out of the sun. People have drifted in and out over the last 4 days but there has never been more than 4 pitches occupied at any one time. We expect the usual influx tonight as people come for a long weekend. A couple of about our own age arrived in a bakkie with a caravan top yesterday, just overnight as they are on their way from George to Rawsonville for the weekend. They were very friendly and we asked them about campsites on the coast between George and Mosselbay. They recommended one which our internet search hadn’t brought up which looks very good. After our recent experiences of finding that the campsites, farm sites particularly, do not live up to the wonderful descriptions given on their websites, it’s great to get a personal recommendation. They warned us that the forecast over the weekend is for heat, over 34C, but when he looked up Gamkaberg it was under 20C and drizzle. We know that it is much higher and surrounded by mountains. We will see, could be another Bushmans Nec!

Saturday 02 March - Gamkaberg Nature Reserve and Conservation Area, Little Karoo

So much for the weather forecast, it’s really hot here. It’s dry with little relief from the burning sun. There are two pitches for tents, the pitch is a concrete pad with hooks where you can tie your tent down, but our tent isn’t the right size or shape for the pad. It was very difficult to find an area where we could put the tent+fly up as the site is on compacted sandy rock and we couldn’t get any pegs in. Instead we have put the bedroom unit only up underneath the lapa, it is also against a thornbush hedge. John managed to hammer a peg in at each corner, and once we had put mats and bags in it helped to weight it down. As usual the wind got up mid-afternoon yesterday, but protected by the lapa and the hedge the tent was stable. We have created extra shade by tieing a kitenge into the reed fence and pegging other bits of kitenge over the sides of the tent. It worked very well yesterday afternoon.

It was drizzling with rain when we packed up at Bonnievale yesterday morning, but the weather cleared as we drove in an easterly direction. It was a very interesting drive, we made a slight detour to pick up Route 62, the Western Cape Wine Route. I had no idea that it continued so far, right into the Karoo. We have spent time around the Worcester, Robinson areas on previous trips when we have been staying with Margo in MacGregor, usually around the Breede River. As we drove further east we went into more rolling countryside, then through several mountain passes, up to over 600 metres. Fruit and olive trees became more frequent amongst the vines, often in highly irrigated patches, but the further we went into the Karoo cultivation became more sporadic and we saw several areas of completely dried out vines. We went through some very ‘gentile’ looking towns, Montagu and Ashton, with wide streets, spotlessly clean and tidy, and a more ‘white’ population. There were vineyards and cellars all along the route.

The final bit of the journey, after we had turned off at Calitzdorp, was on 10 kms of old concrete road, heavily corrugated. Piles of stone and other building materials stacked at intervals along the way suggests that it is in the process of being resurfaced. Gamkaberg is a very good Park. When we checked in the staff were were very obliging, helpful and informative. It is spotlessly clean and extremely well maintained. We did a short walk this morning, along a clearly marked trail with information about the shrubs and plants we saw. We may attempt a longer one tomorrow to see some Khoi rock paintings, but we’ll need to get up and away earlier. It may be March but it’s still hot here. There is an information centre with thoughtful information about the people who have inhabited this area of Southern Africa for thousands of years. The San were predominantly hunter-gatherers and the Khoi were pastoralists. The culture and some of the practices of the Khoi sounds very similar to that which I saw with the Maasai in Tanzania only 15 years ago. Their wealth is measured in cattle and they moved on every few weeks to maintain a grazing cycle.

Creating shade at Gamkaberg under difficult circumstances

John walks the San Labyrinth

There is no pollution here. Last night there were 2 other groups camping, a couple with a small child in a motorhome and three people at the other designated tent pitch, but everyone was very quiet and respectful, with subdued lighting.. The sky was ablaze with stars and planets. We played a few hands of crib, but then put out our light and just star gazed. The group camping next to us have a very sophisticated trailer, with a rooftop tent. It is probably a bit smaller than one which we saw at Bonnievale and prompted some speculation. It took them about 4 hours to get it set up and another 4 to take it down 3 days later. It seemed a lot of effort to stay at a campsite with amazing facilities, everything you could possibly need. We spoke to the guy next to us here yesterday evening and commented on the degree of sophistication. He told us that he can go into the bush or any wilderness area and be completely self sufficient, he has solar panels, a porta-loo, a shower and a fridge. That sounds wonderful, but I think if I was going to a campsite a couple of hours from home, with flush toilets, hot showers and electricity I’d have an alternative tent to use. We have 5 tents at the moment and each one has it’s own appropriate use, depending upon if it’s just us or if we have kids with us, weather conditions etc.

I used to think that the South Africans had really got camping sorted, a home-from-home experience. At Bonnievale we saw a group who even brought a crushed ice making machine. However thinking it through again I think they have lost sight of what it’s all about, they think they are still 18C Voortrekkers, venturing into the unknown. Yes a portable toilet is nice, but a spade can work well, leaving only organic waste and taking toilet paper home with you. If you really need toilet paper that is, I’ve found that a small amount of water does a very good job. A shower? John and I are both skilled at having a very good and thorough wash with a small bucket of water and a cup. A fridge is also very good, we do buy ice on a daily basis here when it’s available, but we still supplement that with stuff in a bucket or bowl of water and wet clothes draped over the top. It’s how we used to camp 50 years ago and how both John and I lived in Nigeria and Tanzania respectively. I reminisce about arriving at a destination in Tanzania, hot and dirty and being given a bucket of water, often from a river or the dam, heated over a wood fire, to take behind a screen or even a bush to have a shower’. Now I really sound like some old person moaning about how things aren’t as good as they used to be. Time to stop.

Stormy sunset clouds over The Karoo, but no rain

Early morning in The Karoo

Typical Karoo vegetation

Tuesday 05 March - Cannon Valley Campsite

I’ve got to start by saying WOW. This is an amazing place, I am sorry that we didn’t take contact details for the couple from George who told us about it when we were at Bonnievale. We arrived here around midday yesterday, after retracing our route to pick up some shopping. The OK Supermarket the SatNav had shown turned out to be a MiniMart, not comprehensive enough for everything we needed. We remembered seeing a Pick n Pay advertised 7 kms or so back down the road and it turned out to be in probably the biggest Mall precinct I have ever seen.

When we arrived at the campsite location John had put into the SatNav we met a closed gate, No Entry without Authority. There was a contact number on the board which we called, the man who answered said usually they were by reservation only, but he did have a pitch, we could camp, and he would get it ready for us. We went in through the gate and drove around a large area, very lost, in and out of bushes and shrub. We saw what looked like some clearings tucked away in the shrubs with a small erection in them. Finally we drove to a large lawned area and Jan came to meet us, we followed him in his truck, weaving through the bush on sandy tracks, until we came to a large clearing. Inside was a well constructed lapa, with an upper deck, a woman was cleaning the lapa and the toilet. Jan explained that he doesn’t get many people staying during the week this time of the year, but he had been full at the weekend, a story we are familiar with, so he hadn’t been in a hurry to get the pitches cleaned The setup here is amazing, we are on the best pich he has as we are the only people here. It is a double pitch with nooks for at least 2 tents, but a large group could easily get 3 or 4 in, and there are 2 wood and netting mini-bathrooms with a toilet, washbasin and shower. Under the lapa is a fridge/freezer. There are tables, chairs, a bench and a firepit. We have also got a weak and intermittent WiFi signal, it’s best up on the deck. All this for R175 each a night, that’s about £20, expensive by some standards but amazing value for money.

Jan couldn’t do enough for us, explaining how everything worked, and advice about a sheltered spot to pitch in, it was very windy. He told us that it was a farm and a private estate, sharing 6 kims of private beach. It is also extremely safe here, maybe the only place in South Africa where you can still go out and not lock everything up. We battled the wind to get the tent up and all the extra guys John has put in worked well. It was very overcast and there were frequent spells of drizzly rain blowing around. The wind dropped by the late afternoon and fortunately the rain stopped too. We took a short walk down to the sea and saw that we were in a sheltered bay, one or two houses in a cluster at the far end, apart from that there was nothing. The high tide line was strew with all sorts of shells, but no rubbish. It was stunning. Jan and his son came by with a sack of wood for us, and we lit a good fire and cooked steak and sweet potatoes. We sat round the fire for the rest of the evening, first in the twilight and then in the firelight, with an excellent bottle of red wine. Bats circled overhead and there was no sound apart from the sea pounding rhythmically on the shore. Lying in bed I thought about all the wonderful holidays at Runton, when I laid in the tent listening to the sea.

The border of Fynbos scrub next to the sea

John cooks supper over the fire-pit

We woke up this morning to warm sunshine, much warmer than I expected it to be, in fact I am writing this sitting under the lapa at 12.30, because it’s too hot to be in the sun. After a leisurely breakfast and a few chores we explored a bit and found 3 or 4 other clearing hidden in the bush, all unoccupied. None of them had the facilities we have here, the lapa, the deck and the fridge/freezer. We walked down to the beach and found it totally different. Yesterday evening it must have been only just after high tide. This morning the tide was right out, revealing banks and banks of rock, with rock pools between them.The pools were teaming with life, little shrimp-like fish darting in and out, large winkle-like shells moving around on the rocks, and myriads of tiny shells, the size of my small finger nail, scurrying around on little legs, they must be hermit crabs. We didn’t see any sea urchins or sea anemones. There wasn’t any evidence of weed or live mussels either, which is surprising considering that the beach is littered with mussel shells. The bay and the location of the campsite, as well as it’s facilities are really, really wonderful.

Yesterday afternoon when Jan told us that the wind should drop by the evening, he also told us that the weather forecast was good for the next 2 days, Tuesday and Wednesday, but that heavy rain was expected here late Thursday and throughout the weekend. We checked the weather on-line and that is exactly right. We had already booked a campsite pitch at Bontebok for Friday and Saturday, but we phoned SanParks and have upgraded that to a chalet bungalow for 3 nights, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This is the only Southern Africa trip when we haven’t had to resort to taking accommodation at some time, due to bad weather. It would have been nice to have stayed here the extra night and then gone to Bontebok on the Friday as arranged, even if we had to take a chalet then, but it would have meant packing up a wet tent on Friday morning. At this stage of the holiday with just a week to go we don’t really want to be sorting out wet gear. The weather for Bontebok doesn’t look to be as much rain forecast as here, but we are playing on the safe side and treating ourselves. We stayed in one of the Bontebok Chalets a few years ago at the end of a trip, and we remember them being very nice. It’s also my birthday on Saturday.

I hope they do get plenty of rain here, Jan says he has been struggling with the prolonged drought on the farm for over two years. He has installed his own desalination equipment, he takes water from a borehole, but being so close to the sea it is saline. I don’t think the northern parts of South Africa had much rain again over their wet season of December and January, so conditions up there must be dire, as we found them 2 years ago, and one of the reasons we decided not to go there last November.

Low tide in the bay, all the rock pools exposed

Looking out to sea at low tide

Early morning on the beach

Friday 08 March - Bontebok National Park

We definitely made the right decision to leave Cannon Valley early and upgrade to a chalet here at Bontebok. It was heavily overcast when we left Cannon Valley and the clouds loomed ever more ominous throughout the journey. It started raining soon after we arrived yesterday, more of a drizzle than real rain, interspaced with a few heavier periods. It’s 14.00 on Friday now, and it has been raining off and on ever since.

We were sad to leave Cannon Valley, one of the best campsites we have stayed on, anywhere in the world. I particularly enjoyed my early morning walks along the beach. John and I explored the beach together when we first arrived, but it was high tide and all the rocks were covered. Next morning we found a totally different scene, like West Runton ++. I went down to the beach on my own the next day and found half a dozen or so people fishing from the edge of the rocks into the incoming sea. The morning we left I went for a last look and the entire bay was totally deserted. The tide was still going out and I walked along the wet sand in my bare feet. I found a piece of coral washed up and a couple of small sea urchin shells. If we ever do another trip to this part of Southern Africa Cannon Valley will be a definite destination, and for longer.

The chalet here at Bontebok is exactly as we remembered it. Unfortunately we haven’t got one overlooking the river, as we had last night. We are set back so we don’t have such a clear view of the birds, not that we would see much as visibility has been poor for most of the time, with drizzle and low cloud. However the chalet is very comfortable and will suit us fine for the next couple of days. A bonus is that we have a TV with loads of sport channels, so it looks as if we will be able to watch the rugby tomorrow.

Yet another section of the Breede River, from Bontebok National Park

Bontebok Antelope grazing around the campsite

Flowers appearing after the rain

Shrubs pushing out new leaves and blossom

Sunday 10 March - McGregor

The chalet was a really good choice. It continued to rain over Friday night, but we woke to a clearing sky yesterday morning. There were lots of sunny intervals and in the sun it was hot. We had a pleasant morning sitting outside the chalet and an early braii at 15.30. We watched the two 6-Nation games on the TV in the evening. It rained very heavily during the night, we could here it on the tin roof of the chalet. A large tree with small green berries overhung the chalet and the low branches banged on the roof.

So we woke this morning to a leaden sky and periodic spells of heavy rain. We managed to get the car packed up in the dry and set off from Bontebok about 10.00, stopping for shopping in Swellendam. It was a familiar road back to McGregor, raining off and on most of the way. It was good to see Margo and we went out to lunch at a nice restaurant we have been to before. It rained heavily while we were there and we walked home in drizzle. It is not very warm so we are hoping for a change in the weather tomorrow.

Wednesday 13 March – McGregor

The weather has improved, but only today. Sunday night and Monday night there were terrific thunderstorms and torrential rain, we could hear it pouring off the thatched roof, down onto the stoep. Last night was better so I had a good night's sleep. It's been lovely having another visit to McGregor, it is such a comfortable place and the changes Margo has made to the house since we were last here are a great improvement. Even though she has extended into the garden to give herself separate ground floor accommodation, a very nice studio/bedroom and bathroom with walk-in shower, the rearrangement makes it look bigger and more spacious.

We went into Robertson on Monday and I bought a potje to take home. It weighs 6 kilos and I'll need to take it in my hand luggage! The rest of the time we have hung out and read. Yesterday evening two women from Margo's Bridge Club came to supper, one is 80 and the other one 86, both widowed. They were both really nice, interesting people and I enjoyed their company.

We are leaving for the Airport after lunch for a 20.35 flight to Johannesburg and onto Schipol. We are slightly anxious as very strong winds are predicted for Norwich tomorrow so there is a possibility that we could be stuck at Schipol overnight.

No more rain. John and Margo walking round the dam with Zana

Sunday 17 March – Norwich

Postscript. We got back to Norwich OK, just one hour late. The problem was not so much Norwich as Schipol. Due to very high winds all day Wednesday and Thursday it was only possible to use one runway, so there were many delays, with incoming flights stacked. We had a scheduled six hour stopover at Schipol so we were not affected, but many other people missed their connections.

We are usually more than satisfied with KLM service, even when they mislay our luggage they deliver it to our destination within 24 hours. However for the short hop from Cape Town to Johannesburg we were put on a domestic airline which made Ryanair look great. Check-in was chaotic and disorganised, even though our e-tickets clearly stated that we had 23 kilos of hold luggage each their limit was 22. Numerous people were called to the check-in desk, great discussions took place and phone calls were made before it was confirmed that we could retain our luggage allowance. The seat rows were so tightly packed I had to crawl across to my centre seat and once in I couldn't move my legs at all, John had an aisle seat, otherwise he would have been extremely uncomfortable. There were no free beverages, even a bottle of water was charged. We have complained to KLM.

It has been a different sort of holiday staying in The Western Cape, shorter journeys between campsites, less mileage. It's been good, but I have missed the elephants. Into March in The Western Cape we did get some cold weather, the difference being that when it rains there the temperature drops, whereas further north the rain steams off. It is also the first time we have been in February/March. It has worked out much better for our other activities, wrapping up the allotment for the winter in November and the lead-in to Xmas in December. It has also meant that we have come back to Spring in the U.K., rather than to a long dark winter. I am favouring a February/March trip, but not sure about the destination. We have a long time to think about it, and who know what a year will bring.