Blogs from Swellendam, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa

It was pouring with rain again when we left Boschendal, and the weather only got worse as we hit the N1 and visibility was maybe 50 yards. We opted to pay the toll and take the motorway route through the Huguenot tunnel which is nearly 3 miles long. It saves 11 miles of twisting roads through the old pass – money well spent on a day like this! The views would have been spectacular but we wouldn't be seeing them. Once through the tunnel the rain eased off a bit, so we could see we were driving what would indeed have been a very scenic route on a clear day. We tried to stop in Worcester to visit an open air museum, but Google Maps had other ideas, taking us through a couple of industrial estates ... read more

Strakblauwe lucht en dat al om 8.30 uur in de ochtend. Een half uur later schuiven we weer aan de ontbijttafel voor ons, alweer laatste, ontbijtje in de Knysna Country House. Zoals gepland zitten we om 9.15 weer gepakt en gezakt in onze vertrouwde bus voor de rit naar Swellendam. We rijden verder op de Garden Route richting onze tussenstopplaats Mossel Bay. Links van ons zien we zo af en toe weer een glimp van de oceaan en bij het naderen van Mossel Bay flankeren prachtige huizen de route. Tot groot genoegen van alle kinderen ? bezoeken we vandaag een museum. Mossel Bay is namelijk de plaats waar ontdekkingsreiziger Bartholomeus Diaz in 1488 voet aan wal zette, en dat verdient natuurlijk een klein museum om dit niet te vergeten. De entreeprijs is symbolisch en we mogen ... read more

Bevor unsere Reise in Südafrika eine Wende nimmt, möchte ich mich noch einmal kurz melden. Die vergangene Woche war vollgepackt mit Erlebnissen und Abenteuern. Nachdem Adrenalinkick bei den Weissen Haien am Montag, gingen wir den Dienstag etwas ruhiger an und fuhren am Morgen als erstes an den „most southern point“ des afrikanischen Kontinenten, der sich nicht wie oft suggeriert wird am Cape of Good Hope bei Kapstadt, sondern etwas weiter östlich am Cape Aghulas befindet. Obwohl das Cape Aghulas eine geographisch wichtigere Bedeutung einnimmt - immerhin trifft hier der Indische Ozean auf den Atlantik - ist der Ort viel weniger spektakulär und daher touristisch relativ schlecht erschlossen. Dies kümmerte uns allerdings wenig und so genossen wir in Ruhe ein kleines Frühstück an der steinigen Küste mit Blick auf die beiden Ozeane. Danach beschlossen wir den Fischerhafen ... read more

Showered and ready for the evening, we enjoyed a glass of wine with our hosts David and Amanda before dining at a restaurant they recommended that sounded like a great locals place. Run by friends of theirs, there was no formal menu, we just turned up and were served starter, main and dessert with the main comprising a number of dishes. They did a special vegetarian version for me that char grilled vegetables and salad (asparagus too!) that was lovely. Again, the hosts were convivial and the ambience laid back, another Swellendam surprise. Despite expectations to the contrary, Swellendam was a lovely stopover and it’d be easy to spend a couple of days and have time to take in the museum too!... read more

We are living it up in a 5 star delux guest retreat! Arguably we have the smallest (and cheapest!) room. It has its own little eco reserve with two Burchel zebras and some springbok. It also has a hot tub which over looks the eco reserve so we got to sit in it and watch the wildlife, how cool is that? The hotel gardens are lovely. There are several plants that attract the sunbirds so I spent ages watching them flit about. I tried to take a photo but it is no easy task! All of this is in Swellendam which we are visiting so we can go Bontebok national park. Bonteboks are a type of antelope which have been heavily hunted in the past and the world population dropped to 17! The park was set ... read more