Our last week of adventure - Hermanus

Sunday 20th December 2010
Moving day for the Whittakers!  We sadly left Houts Bay and travelled across to Hermanus, stopping on the way for shopping at Somerset West.  When we arrived at the Fisherhaven gatehouse, there were no instructions on where we were staying or where to go - we were slightly worried!  It all turned out to be under control, Lee, the gorgeous agent, took us down to our booking, Rondavel 2, which was right on the beach - it was utterley gorgeous.  Newly decorated in seaside blue and white, it had a kitchen, shower room and double bed, with a further mattress on the mezzanine floor.  We fell instantly in love with it and our last week was just sheer bliss!

Our gorgeous little rondavel

Nikki and Simon, our friends, arrived mid afternoon and stayed with us overnight.  We went out to Hermanus and had supper in a little local cafe which served Bobotie and plenty of wine (thank you Simon!).

Birds at sunset over the lagoon

Monday,  21st December 2010
Nikki was up early and out across the sands; the rest of us emerged for breakfast!  Then Nikki and Simon set off up the Garden Route and we went out along the coast to Gaansbal to see if it was worth paying for a whale watching trip.  The weather was awful and the sea was rought.  We watcvhed the island boat come back in with tourists on it - the path to the island is supposed to be full of great white sharks, whales in season, and penguins and seals on the island.  We asked one of the passengers if they had seen anything.  'No', she replied.  'We didnt even see a penguin, we're cold, and feel sea sick, it was horrible'.  That decided us not to take a boat.

So we journeyed back to Hermanus.  The rain cleared and the sun came out but the sea was still a bit rought. We couldnt believe our luck; there in the shallows just off the beach was a Southern Right Whale and calf.  We watched it for ages and also saw a Cape Fur Seal playing in the waves, right between the surfers and paddlers, all oblivious that they were so close to nature!  And it saved us taking a boat trip for over £100 each!

Southern Right Whale at Hermanus (the baby is beside her)

Wednesday, 22nd December 2010
Today, we went to the Harold Porter gardens which were previously called 'Shangri La' by Harold Porter.  They were indeed idyllic and we were pleased to spot otter tracks over the bridge which had only just been made!

Then we went down to Bettys Bay where there is a large penguin reserve.  We really didnt expect to see so many - there must have been at least 2,000 of them on the shore and in the water.  Space was at a premium so the penguins attacked any intruders on their little patch.

 African penguins at Betty's Bay


On the way back to Fisherhaven, we stopped at the Kogelberg Reserve and did a small walk, but as we were poorly equipped for a long walk, having no water with us, we decided to return later in the week.
That evening we walked out round the estate to spot the resident duiker and also to see the birds.  We spotted a cape eagle owl on the telephone wires.

Thursday, 23rd December 2010
We decided to visit the Hottentots Nature Reserve and we so pleased we did; it was so beautiful, with spring flowers out everywhere.  The sun was out, the temperature hot, but rain clouds threatened so we were pleased it stayed dry while we were walking.

Hottentot Reserve

After the walk, we drove throught the glorious mountain passes to Franschouk, hoping to find the rest of the reseve on the way; we found it but it had clearly not been open for years so we did not see the animals that were supposed to be homed there.

Franschouk was a modern town catering for tourists, so was expensive and chic, but lacked real heart as Greyton had.  We had a lunch of bread and cheese and then visited the vineyards.

On the way back to Fisherhaven, we stopped off for fish and chips from the Ocean Basket in Hermanus, and ate them on the front.  Rock Daissies came out and begged for chips - I made the mistake of giving one a chip and we were inudated; one tried to climb onto Pete's knee to get closer to his chips!

Friday, 24th December 2010
We woke up early - 5.30, so went out for a walk across the Rooisand Nature Reserve, in front of our Rondavel.  It was raining, but the seabirds had amassed in vast numbers on the lagoon and the beach.  There must have been at least 3000 terns who rose into the air like a snow storm -it was incredible.  White Pelicans, Greater Flamingos, Herons and Blacksmiths Plovers abounded.  As we walked over the sand dunes, the sand gave way where the Dune Rats had burrowed in their tunnels.  At the end of the lagoon we found the wild horses - these had been set free by a farmer at the end of the Anglo Boer war and had lived wild since.  They are unusual in that they are related to the ancient wild horse of South Africa but were crossed to give a tsetse fly resistant working horse.  We watched them for ages, sifting weed from the lagoon, play fighting and feeding young.

Wild horses at Rooisand Reserve

In the afternoon. our dear friends from England, Mags, Kev, Steve and Lesley arrived and we took them for a short walk onto the beach followed by a picnic.  We hadnt seen them since we left home on 8th August 2010 at Kevs birthday party so it was a lovely way of ending our big adventure.

L-R Mags, Lesley, Carole, Kev, Pete, Steve

Saturday, 25th December 2010
We awoke early again and walked out, in glorious sunshine this time, down to to wild horses.  After a lovely breakfast, sat outside, feeding and watching the birds, we set off for the Kogelberg National Park. We signed the usual declaration that if we died we wouldnt hold the Park liable and started walking up the narrow path up the hillside.  It was very hot, the sun was relentless, but the proteas and wild flowers looked fabulous in the sunshine.  A banana coloured Cape Cobra, curled up by the path, shot into the undergrowth as we passed.  We made our way up to a beach by the river - it really was a sandy beach on the hillside.  There were otter prints in the wet sand.  We opened our Christmas day coka cola and relaxed - heaven!

The Mountain beach at the Kogelberg Reserve

On the way back down, Pete was walking in front along the narrow path and very quickly, a black mamba shot past his right leg, then up onto a bush in front of him.  It turned and reared on the top third of its 8-10 foot length and part hooded up in preparation for attack.  Pete said it looked at him, seemed to assess him, then just as quickly, turned and was gone.  We decided to move over to the wider path!

The narrow path we were walking - the Black Mamba was further along

We celebrated Christmas Day with a pasta, a good bottle of wine and a packet of Marks and Spencers chocolate biscuits!

Sunday, 26th December 2010
Our friends had invited us to spend the night with them just outside of Somerset West, prior to flying to the airport for home next day.
We spent the morning doing our last bits of shopping in Hermanus and then packed up our luggage rady for the flight.

Our friends were staying in a lovely house, quite grand compared to our little rondavel, with a small pool out the back.  They had prepared a lovely barbacue, and thoughtfully added some salmon as Carole still can't face meat.

Monday, 27th December 2010
Our friends took us down to a lovely restaurant at the local hotel on the Estate for breakfast.  It was so lovely to sit there in the warm morning sun with such dear friends and so sweet of them to treat us.

Last breakfast in South Africa

Then we went up to the Raats Vineyard, where their younger sister, Jan, her husband, Brewer, and their lovely boys live.  Brewer was entertaining a client with a wine tasting and invited us to join in - it was such a privilege as the wines are truly brilliant.  After, he gave us a bottle of MR, which was so sweet of him; we have decided to keep it safe for our 40th wedding anniversary in 6 years time as it should be better for the keeping.

Reluctantly, we headed off for Cape Town airport, took the car back and caught the flight to Joberg.  We just had time at Joberg to claim our VAT and blow the lot on spirits, before we caught our flight for home.

Our adventure was over, we felt very, very sad and both agreed that we could have stayed abroad, living like hermits in the glorious warmth of South Africa.

Camping

Travelling for up to 5 months and staying in hotels, lodges etc would have been very expensive, we therefore decided to take a tent.

We already had two medium sized suitcases (approx 20kg each) so we needed to ensure that any camping gear could be carried onto aircraft as hand luggage (approx 7kg each).

We settled on a VANGO lightweight 2/3 person tent as our previous Vango tent (Force 10 mark IV) was still in use after 35 years. We also took 2 sleeping bags with mats, a kettle and 'Pocket Rocket.' To carry this we chose two Berghaus Mules (40+20).
This was ideal as we flew with numerous airlines and never had any trouble either with weight or size.

It was while camping that we had some of our most memorable moments. Spectacular locations, friendly wildlife, freedom, peace and quiet (unlike camping in the UK), and, of course, cost.

Here are some of the best locations...

Telegraph Cove on Vancouver Island. Carole got a sleepless first night because of the fear of Bears. Helena's tent looked really flimsy but it was quite stable (only extremely small).

Hovenweep National Monument. Note the gravel, which made sleeping a little uncomfortable as we only had thin sleeping mats. This was a spectacular location as there was a canyon behind the tent. In the evening we sat and watched a Great Horned Owl.

This was a wonderful, and deserted, site within the 'Cedar Breaks' forest (USA). It cost 15 Dollars (£10). It was really welcome after staying at the 'Ruby's Inn', Bryce Canyon the previous evening. (this was a very comfortable hotel but a truly horrible blot on what was once a beautiful landscape).

Big Pine, in California. We stayed here just before entering Yosemite National Park.

Yalgarup National Park, Western Australia. This was the most remote and idylic site we stayed at. We ate after dark and were visited by a (rare) Quenda, (small marsupial). In the morning Wallabies were browsing right ouside the tent..... It was a little cold as can be seen by Carole still in her sleeping bag.

                                             Yes, it really was this quiet.

Pemberton, Western Australia.

Rottnest Island, Perth. A very small site, which, although quiet when we were there, would be pretty crowded at peak season. Nevertheless, the Quakkas (like a small wallaby) were hilarious and kept us constantly entertained........but the flies,the flies, the damned flies!

                                      Quakkas are not afraid of entering your tent...

Bontibok National Park, South Africa. A great site. We woke up to Bontiboks grazing around the tent.

The Karoo, South Africa. This site was full of giant Tortoises, and.... boy, was it HOT.

This selection does not include any of the wonderful  camp sites in The Yellowstone or Grand Teton parks.I really dont understand why I did not take any photos. The lodge accommodation within the park would have cost us more than 200 Dollars a night. Camping cost 15-20 Dollars and was an absolute joy. The only down side was that we had to drive about 10 miles for a shower!....and Bears could be a realproblem.

Back to Cape Town

Monday, 12th December 2010
After leaving the Karoo, we travelled along the barren N2 towards Cape Town.  We stopped off at Worcester and walked round the gorgeous botanical gardens, where we saw our first Paradise Sunbird.

 Pete in the Worcester Botanical Gardens

Our new lodgings were at Houts Bay; a wooden cabin on the side of a hill, which had great views and comprised a kitchen/lounge area, a bedroom and a shower - it was in a great spot and suited us well.

Cabin at Houts Bay

Tuesday, 13th December 2010
We spent the day at the V&A Waterfront, visiting the aquarium, which had the most enormous spider crabs, black seahorses from Knynsa, and local types of beautifully coloured fish.  After lunch at our favourite Italian, we did a bit of shopping and then went into the cinema to watch 'The Dawn Treader' in 3D.  When we came out of the cinema, the Salvation Army Band were playing and singing a mixture carols and pop hits.  It was so wonderful to see so many different races brought together to produce such a glorious sound in the open air; I found it particularly touching when they finished with 'He aint Heavy, he's my Brother.'  Excellent ending to a particularly brilliant day.

                                                                    V & A Waterfront

Wednesday, 14th December 2010
A cold and windy day!  In the morning we went into Hout Bay to do some shopping.  Two little black boys and a black girl were playing in the rough sea.  They jumped off the pier into the shallow water, but unfortunately, the tide was coming in, the wind was strong, and the little girl was out of her depth.  She was drowning in the strong currents.  Pete ran for a rope, but all around people stood and watched, unaware that the girl was in distress.  Pete managed to get the rope round her and pulled her to safety; if we had not been there, we think the girl would have drowned. By now a crowd had gathered but still no-one seemed to know what to do; the people were like children themselves, oblivious to danger; it was so sad!

We drove along Chapmans Peak Road to Boulders Beach where there is a small colony of African Penguins.  On the way, we had to stop for a troop of baboons on the road; there are about 16 in this area but they are killed by the local inhabitants as they raid the bins etc.  As we still had a valid wild card, it cost us nothing to walk along the boardwalk.  The penguins are also called Jackass penguins as they bray like donkeys when they are trying to attract a mate; its a wonderful sound.

African Penguins at Boulders

We drove back via Table Mountain for a walk at the Silverdale reserve; it was so cold!  A guy was swimming in the resevoir in a wet suit - so brave!

 

Cold & blustery day on Table Mountain

                                             

Thursday, 15th December 2010
The weather was much warmer today so we visited the beautiful Kirstenboch Gardens.  The proteas were the star performers on this visit.  We had a fab english tea at the restaurant; cheese and cucumber sandwiches, quiche and cheesecake with Earl Grey tea, beautifully served on a tiered cake stand!  In the afternoon we walked along one of the tracks up from the gardens along the side of Table Mountain.  The view over the Cape is glorious from up there, albeit it is a large urban sprawl!

Proteas in the Kirstenbosch Gardens

King Protea

Friday, 16th December 2010
Today we thought we would visit the Tygerberg Zoo to see some of the conservation work they are valued for.  We knew is was on the N1 and for some inexplicable reason, we thought it would be sign posted.  Silly us!  We drove back to the Tygerberg reserve and asked if they knew where the zoo was - 'oh', they replied, 'so many people ask us that question.'  So - where is the zoo?  'We have absolutely no idea!'  We drove away and saw a Protea Hotel - the receptionist could not have been more helpful - she gave us a map and we found the zoo was where we had given up and turned back!

Anyway we found it, and it was worth it!  The zoo looks run down compared to European Zoos with huge cash injections, but it was clean and the animals seemed to be healthy and happy.  There were rescued bat eared foxes, wild dogs, raccoons, monkeys - all ex-pets or in the way of the farmers.  The collection also had a pair of white lions which were beautiful and an extensive breeding programme for beautiful African cats.  Gerald Durrel was a supporter of the zoo and we could see why.  However, it really needed more information on the animals, why they were there, breeding programmes etc.......I think I should volunteer....!

                                                          White lion at Tygerberg Zoo



Saturday, 17th December 2010
We meant to spend the day at the V&A, but as we drove along the cliff road, we realised that the movements we could see were Cape Fur Seals chasing the shoals of pilchards.  We spent ages watching them and, because it was such a beautiful day, we went back to the the Cape of Good Hope lighthouse and reserve.  The conditions were so different from earlier in the week; more flowers and proteas were out, birds and butterflies abounded, the bontibok shone in the sunshine, it was glorious.  We walked up to the lighthouse and watched another seal just below us.  The path was lined with blue agama's and black skinks and we saw a mongoose in the rocks.  A tortoise crossed our path - heaven!

                                                                           Path to the lighthouse

                                                                 Tortoise crossing the road

In the evening, our dear friends Nikki and Simon joined us for dinner at the Groot Constantia vineyard in the aptly named Simons restaurant for a lovely meal; Simon treated us to a bottle of champagne for starters and the rest followed through nicely!

Carole, Simon, Nikki, Pete

The Karoo

9th-12th Dec

We were not really impressed by the Garden Route, it was nothing like it was cracked up to be. I am sure that this part of the coast was once very beautiful but unfortunately uncontrolled development has left only small pockets of unspoiled landscape. We therefore decided to travel north to explore the Karoo.

We drove back to George and then north via Oudtshoorn and the N12 to Beaufort West and the Karoo National Park. The journey through the Swartberg mountains was spectacular, it was just a pity that we did not have more time to explore the area but we had a long journey ahead of us. I am sure we will return to explore the Swartberg and Oudtshoorn areas some time in the future.

The Karoo National Park was very arid but starkly beautiful. Wildlife included Gemsbok, Bontibok, Eland, Springbok and Mountain Zebra but we were really interested in seeing the nocturnal creatures for which it was renouned, such as Bat Eared Foxes, Aardwolves, Aardvarkes and Caracals. We were also looking forward to some walking because 'as far as we knew' there were no really dangerous animals.

Oops! No-one had told us that these (Lions and Black Rhinos) had only just been introduced and you should not get out of your car !!!

The camp site was small and full of caravanners who were using the park as an overnight stop on their journey from Johannesberg to The Cape. This was unfortunate as anyone who wanted to explore the karoo would find it difficult to get accommodation. It did, however, leave the park almost deserted during the day.
Our tent was surrounded by lots of giant mountain Tortoises, Carole was very amused by their 'mating' antics.

                                       It would be really funny if this photo had 'sound'.

We only camped for one night because it was just too hot for comfort. The next two nights were spent in one of the parks very comfortable and spacious lodges. I would recommend self catering as the restaurant was pretty poor.

                        Not a bad view from the lodge.


We spent the days exploring the park's very rough dirt roads, each afternoon would end with a refreshing dip in the wonderful swimming pool. On two of the evenings we joined a night drive and we had great views of Aardwolves (with young) and a Bat Eared Fox. One afternoon was spent exploring Beaufort West, which was only mildly interesting.

During the three days we saw lots of animals, except the Lion and Rhino (thank goodness). The birdlife was surprisingly good with Verreaux Eagles a particular specialty. The park was great, and really deserves more visitors.

                                            Gemsbok
On Sunday 12th we returned to Cape Town via the Karoo Botanic Gardens at Worcester. This was a very interesting, but hot, location. We had the garden to ourselves and spent ages trying to identify all the species which were familiar to us. We also had a good view of Cape Sugar Birds feeding on the Proteas.

                            Karoo Botanic Garden

We arrived at our lodge in Hout Bay early in the evening and were really surprised how good it was. The view from the veranda was spectacular and there was food and wine waiting for us. What a great way to end the day.

The Garden Route

Sunday, 5th December 2010
From Greyton, we journeyed across to the Bontibok Reserve where we camped for the night.  The road in was long and bumpy, so by the time we had put the tent up, we couldnt be bothered travelling back out to eat.  The shop at the Reserve is very basic, so we bought a bottle of wine and a large packet of crisps for our evening meal!  It was delicious!

The walking at the Reserve is lovely, especially the trail over the well named Aloe Hill down to the river.

Monday, 6th December 2010
The next morning, we woke up to Bontiboks in the campsite so we didnt need to do the bumpy drive to see them.

                                                           Bontibok in the Campsite
Then we set off along the Garden Route  via Mussel Bay to Knynsa.  The drive was a little bit disappointing as we expected so much more.  Knysna was more built up than expected and the bay, which harbours rare seahorses, had been extensively built on.  We did have a lovely lunch at the Ile de Pain close to the Waterfront.

From there we drove past Plettenburg to Wildnerness, which we renamed 'non Wilderness', to stay the night at a San Park.  It was a nice place, quiet, cheap to stay, but quite built up all around it.  We went for a short walk but found the walkways were not clearly marked and some of the trails hadn't been walked for years!  The area was also surrounded by pine forests which we found surprising.

                                                               The beach at Wilderness

Tuesday, 7th December 2010
From Wilderness we drove along the old road from Knysna to Nature Valley; the road had several kilometres of unpaved road, but passed through beautiful valleys so was worth the drive, although still not as wild as the Brede River.

                                                           The Old Road above Wilderness
We saw a Jackal buzzard perched at the side of the road, and also did a walk past an 800 year old Yellowood tree.  Wild flowers were abundant.

Nature Valley is another San Parks owned site, but is gorgeous and so much wilder than Wilderness.  We managed to get hold of one of the chalets - they are triangular huts with a balcony area, but no bathroom.  Most are situated on the side of the river, and each is surrounded by trees so they are quite private.  Vervet monkeys came over to see us.                                                       

Wednesday, 8th December 2010
Next day, we drove up to the Tsistikamma Reserve; this place was simply fantastic and the best part of the Garden Route.  We walked the Otter trail to the Waterfall (about 8km) and had to rockbob along the path which was great.

                                               The waterfall on the Otter Trail at Tsisitikamma
On the way back we saw lots of Rock Dassies with babies.

                                                                     Baby rock dassies

After a lovely late lunch, we walked the other way to the rope bridges and saw more Dassies!

                                                     One of 3 bridges at Tsisitkamma

                                                     More Dassies on a vertical cliff face

                                                                    The restaurant

We returned to a new cabin at Nature Valley for another quiet nights sleep.

Goodbye to Helena and on to Cape Town and out to Greyton.

Wednesday, 1st December 2010

We drove through the Drakensberg, stopping off at Dullstrom for cushion covers, and pancakes at the slowest restaurant in the World.

We arrived at the OR Tamba Airport, Jo'Berg , with plenty of time to spare (a Whittaker tradition!).  Helena caught the plane back to the U.K.

  Pete and Carole walked across to the Airport Hotel and booked in for the night.
It was very sad to say goodbye to Helena.

Thursday, 2nd December 2010
Pete and Carole caught the flight to Cape Town.  The girl in the seat next to Carole was chanting from a book and swaying backwards and forwards as she did so.  Carole was quite worried and wondered if the girl had a rucksack......Pete realised the people she was with were Jewish so that mollified concerns.

Once in Cape Town it transpired that all the airport cars had gone, so we caught a shuttle bus to Long Street and checked into the Urban Chic Hotel.  Long Street is the party capital of Cape Town, and although the Hotel was lovely with great staff, after a night of no sleep we decided to move on.

 Also a guy turned up to show us a chalet he was letting in his garden; the guy was weird, his driving was dreadful and the chalet was hideous so we wanted to avoid further contact with him!

Friday, 3rd November 2010
We moved down the road to the Strand Hotel; the walk in price was 1400 Rand, (£130) but the Internet rate was 600 (£58)  rand, so we went down the road, booked over the Internet, then went back in the Hotel to check in!

We booked the car hire to commence on Saturday, then walked into the V & A Waterfront to do some shopping. We had lunch at a fab Italian Restaurant, right on the front.

In the evening we watched Notting Hill!

Saturday 4th December 2010
 We picked up the car only to find it was a hatchback and our luggage would not fit in, so we had to drive to the airport and pick up a saloon car from there.  Then we decided to drive to Hermanus to pay for our rondavel for last week of December; there was no-one there to pay as it was a Saturday!  Really quite an unrewarding start to the day!



The guidebook described a lovely drive along the Brede Valley to a place called Greyton, so we decided to drive it and stay overnight there.  The journey did not disappoint and Greyton itself was gorgeous.  We booked in at the Old Post Office and then sat in the bar to watch the Rugby with the locals; we were served bar snacks and lager and treated as though we were friends - it was a really great experience.

All the rooms are named after Beatrix Potter characters, with a copy of the book in each room.  We walked along the main, chestnut lined road, past Jacaranda trees and rose gardens; it was a little slice of England in a remote corner of South Africa!

The next day, we walked  up into the reserve and along the river; the scenery and flora were stunning.  Then we returned to the Old Post Office for a drink before departing to overnight at the Bontibock Reserve. (See next blog).