Today (Day 2 of Garden Route journey) was another full day of driving, full of mounainous views and mountain driving. Breakfast at the hotel was the hotel restaurant brunch buffet. We had fresh fruit, yogurt, muesli, eggs, hash brown hotdish, sausage and cinnamon crepe rolls. When we left the hotel in Knysna this morning we set out on the highway looking for George, passing through Wilderness on the N2. George is the town where the 5th NMMU campus is located. The other 4 campuses (South, North, 2nd Ave, Missionvale) are located in the Port Elizabeth area.
For lunch we stopped at a cute roadside restaurant, the Gila restaurant, a family owned operation located in Calitzdorp. I had a salmon salad, which was probably one of the most colorful salads I have ever had. It had a variety of greens, cantalope, tomatoes, dual colored sprouts, oranges, onion, purple cabbage, and lemon. The dressing was balsamic vinegarette and oil. Grandma had chicken pie with salad and vegetables and Grandpa had a traditional Afrikaans dish, ostrich bobotie, a mild curry dish, with rice, slad and vegetables. For dessert Grandpa had chocolate cake, and Grandma and I tried some apple cinnamon fudge.
After Calitdorp, we drove onward through Ladismith and then to Barrydale. We planned to stay in Barrydale, but when we arrived there, we decided we wanted to treck on further til Swellendam, because we still enough daylight to proceed.
We stayed at the Marula B&B in Swellendam. Swellendam is the 3rd oldest town in S. Africa, behind Capetown and Stellenbosch. It is full of B&B's and restaurants. The Marula B&B is owned by a German couple, who moved from Germany 3 years ago to start a new life with the B&B. Fillip, the husband, worked in Germany as a motorcycle dealer, and said he needed a change from his work-a-holic lifestyle. His wife, Marion, was a nurse. They remodeled/own the B&B, and Fillip does motorcycle tour guiding. The B&B was absolutely stunning, with decorated with African flare, and a spacious dynamic garden yard area.
For dinner we ate at a local place in Swellendam, called the Woodpecker Deli & Pizzeria. The atmosphere was really unique and quaint. Grandma and I shared a margahreta pizza and Grandpa had pork schnitzel. After dinner, Grandma and I played our daily rounds of cribbage. Tomorrow we will be back on the road for a short jaunt to our destination of Capetown.
Day 3
Today at the B&B, breakfast was fresh fruit, yogurt and museli, toast, eggs and bacon.
After breakfast, we packed up the car and hit the road for the final stretch of driving to Capetown. While we anticipated a short stretch of distance, we did end up with a full days worth of sightseeing, driving and a large/slow traffic jam.
The driving today was less mountainous, although still a good amount, but more rolling plains and vast farmland.
From Swellendam, we drove to Bredasdorp, stopping off at the Shipwreck Museum. I found the Swedish plate money ("coins") to be the most interesting thing at the museum, as well as the extensive curio collection of antique cosmetic, pharmaceutical and beverage bottlewear.
After the Shipwreck Museum, we headed on to the southern most tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas, where we also climbed the lighthouse. As always, from what I've found, the coastlines were absolutely stunning in color and beauty.
From the southern most point of Africa, we drove on to Hermanus, best known for whale watching.We stopped off for a few minutes, and were able to spot a few whales surfacing just a ways out from the shore!
While stopped in Hermanus to see whales, I realized we had missed a call from Conifer Capetown. I called them back and let them known we were en route and getting close. Little did I realize just a ways down the road, we would come upon a series of major traffic delays.
We hit traffic coming out of Hermanus, likely because of both the Whale Festival going on in Hermanus, as well as the 3 day weekend due to Friday's national holiday, Heritage Day. The first stretch probably lasted a half hour, and I was relieved when we started to move along. Soon after we came to another jam, this one going up the mountain and then down to the bottom. We were probably sitting in that one for an hour and a half. In parts of that jam, the visibility was very low, due to heavy fog. The highlight of that traffic jam was the baboons sitting on the guardrail watching the traffic go by.
Once the traffic got moving, we thought we would have a short final stretch into Capetown to our B&B. It was not that simple, as we got lost looking for our B&B. It may have been easier to find had we not hit the traffic jams and arrived in Capetown after dark, but that of course was not the case. After driving all over and calling the B&B a few times, we finally pulled off at the Caltex gas station and waited for our B&B host to come and get us and guide us "home". Once we arrived at the B&B, we ordered dinner from Mr. Delivery, a place that delivers food from a variety of restaurants. We had chinese-chop suey, spring rolls and chow mein. We were in bed shortly after that, tired from a full day.
The B&B we are staying at is a beautiful old Victorian 2 story home that was remodeled last year. Grandma and Grandpa are on the first floor, and I am in a room on the 2nd floor. My bedroom and bathroom and quite the tranquil retreat. I have found the decor of my bathroom and bedroom to be inspiring ideas for decorating my place when I return to the States. My bedroom is spacious, bright and relaxing. The ceiling has a high vault, the floors are wood, and the color scheme is white and gold, with simple wood and orange accents.
1 comment:
Interesting
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