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Published: March 8th 2018
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Instead of gravel Leaving CT was a bit of a laugh, I’d put my phone as a GPS but then it fell down to the floor and as I was on the motorway I could not stop and pick it up, so I had to back track a bit.
It’s a right hand drive so instead of indicators being turned on there was a lot of wipers being turned on.
I can shift gears fine but the indicator stalks position is so deeply engraved in the medula that is on the the right side of the steering wheel and not on the left.
I have not had any problems with being on the wrong side of the road whilst riding but when crossing on foot I look to my left instead of my right, well I’ve survived so far…
I stopped in Langebaan a fishing village turned into a holiday ghetto, close to the beach, the wind was not warm but rather cool.
The beach or rather the sea was filled with kite surfers enjoying the wind.
Yesterday’s forecast told about 37C inland and 23 C along the coast which is a long way away from the cold
winter back home.
I’d better eat some cheese, drink some more wine and catch some rays before I leave.
A short jump up along the coast left me in another B&B in Port Owen with a wonderful view of the river and a lot of birds, the ones with wings.
A hospitable couple having moved down here from Pretoria after it got to scary for them to stay up there, two of their neighbours got shot to death.
So it was another day with a very low activity index.
I got some directions from my about where to go, and I went up along the coast and suddenly there was no more sun, everything was shrouded in fog.
I stopped in Port Lambert for a coffee and the lady who sold it to me told me to not go the way I had been told to go, she said that first of all the city where I was to spend the night was a dump and secondly the road going south from there was a very bad gravel road so a on the spot a change of plans.’Slow driving got me to Clanwilliam and
the Clanwilliam hotel, a dusty little town in the famous middle of nowhere,
I did have a very nice dinner though, a nice juicy steak and some nice plonk.
They had had a get-together in Clanwilliam, praying for rain as it is very dry everywhere.
In CT day zero is on the 25th of April, day zero meaning that they're out of water, as in zilch, zip, nada.
The river Burg on which I stayed in Port Owen was backed up 45 km with salt water as there was no flow in the other direction.
Most of the rain water reservoirs are empty and the sun shines relentlessly from a clear blue sky.
As I’m mooching I had this idea of stopping over in a place called Op di berg, it turned out to be a no horse town,
The valley in which I was travelling was dedicated to orchards, apples, peaches and apricots.
All irrigated with water from bore holes.
When I saw a rather large refrigeration plant out side a ware house, and being who I am , I turned in and asked if I could have a look.
I was very welcome and they were really friendly and I got enough apples to feed a small village as a parting gift.
Ceres is where I ended up in yet another B&B, most B&Bs are rune by elderly people to supplement their pensions, some of the houses are old and really lovely.
This place was also run by an old biddy and I gave her some apples and got a couple of peaches in return, the room was a bit so so and the beds a bit on the uncomfortable side.
Very nice breakfast, all served in style.
Everywhere where I’ve stayed has had this cushion mania, the max sofa is ten pillows and cushions on a double bed.
Some of the double beds are only fit for people that are really in love.
The Afrikaaner are not small, some are actually quite large so how they make it in those narrow beds, certain images come to mind that I'd rather not share.
Next stop, Riebeek Kastlee where by chance I found the nicest place I’ve stayed in on this trip, nice garden and a somewhat odd decor in the bar,
posters of Mao and Lenin and old Vietnamese posters from the war.
I asked the very nice girl in the reception if she wanted apples and she said yes so I gave most of the apples away to her.
The rest of the day was spent doing fuck all, I sat outside watching people and read a book.
I did not remain entirely sober, ;-D..
That being done there came another day, the next morning so after yet another nice SA breakfast I took off for Simonstown and penguin spotting.
Alas I was not the only person with that idea, to many people, to much traffic.
A below par dinner and I went up to my windy eyrie, my lodgings were situated high up on the mountain side and as the sun went down it started to blow, only blow no hookers.
The next morning I went to see the penguins trotting about and swimming around, funny birds they are, at 8 o'clock the parking was empty.
I took the road down to the Cape national park and kept on following the coast in the direction of CT, there was a toll
road for some reason and 45 rand for a few km’
little did I know how breath taking that view would be, a magnificent sea- and landscape well worth the 45 rand, I could even have paid 46,50.
A very simple run into CT coming from the right direction and with the help of Google maps I found my hotel, roughly in the same neck of the woods where I’d stayed before with lots of restaurants and bars.
Two more days in extreme leisure, long breakfasts and a drop every now and then.
I’d saved the Table Mountain as to be my last touristy thing to do and when I get there the cable cars are closed down due to strong winds.
After a nice walk in the morning and a boring afternoon, it was time to catch my flight back home.
All in all a very nice trip in a very nice part of the world some shitty weather and indeed why not.
I went from LA to Ushuaia with nary a drop so maybe it was my turn for the last trips to get my fair share.
The
End.
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