Two nights in this part of the world was not enough. The history, food, restorations of the old dwellings and the friendliness of the locals was outstanding. Apart from a wine, tourist town it is also home to many learning institutions with it’s own conservatorium of music. We spent the morning shopping and had a delicious blue cheese and biltong soup with a little bev at Liesels which they say is “A Taste of Africa”. We then walked through the Botanical Gardens before going for a drive through to some vineyards. A very laid back day before an afternoon drink at the Slug & Lettuce and back to 1802 for another top meal. As we had been there the night before and asked if we could have a seat near the fire, when walked in on the second night and the fire wasn’t lit, it was quickly blazing away, such is the measure of there attention to detail and friendliness.

After a relaxing break in Swellendam we woke to a crisp sunny winter morning. It was time to hit the road for our pre booked accommodation in Slellenbosch. A lovely drive through the fertile valleys flanked by very rugged mountains. We stopped off at the Excelsior Vineyard for a taste and ended up with a bottle for welcome drinks at De Hoek Manor Stellenbosch. The property started out as an ostrich farm, then a horse stud and finally a vineyard. It is also a 5 star B&B. We then drove on past farms with sheep and cattle and also hay producing properties. We stopped at a farm butchery called The Happy Hog to stock up on biltong & dryworst. We passed through several towns which seemed predominately coloured with their very basic style of accommodation. They were obviously there due to the high need for labour to work the orchards, vineyards, wine bottling and farms which meant the place was as clean as a whistle and very organised. We had to travel through the very long Huguenot Toll Tunnel to get to Stellenbosch, where there were plenty of well manicured vineyards, dairy farms, strawberries and orchards. Being so fertile and close to Cape Town it is the fruit bowl of South Africa. We had no problems finding the accom with the help of Gladys, marvellous invention. I don’t think Ros and I would have lived through the map days. Stellenbosch is a seriously upmarket town, Double Bay meets Hastings St Noosa with plenty of fantasic eating establishments and a lovely little English style pub called The Grub & Lettuce. The De Hoek Manor is right in town and a very nice property with a crazy German lady called Elsa, she is a real hoot and lots of fun. After dinner the first night we set the alarm off when we opened the front door, it is now a standing joke and makes it way into our conversations. We are being spoilt here, heated bathroom slate floor, bed tuned down and chocolates and cherry in the room when we return from our nocturnal ramble.

Woke up to a wet, cold & stormy morning, after heavy rain & wind through the night. Not knowing what was ahead to Stellenbosch, we decided to chill out in our very comfortable loft room over looking the stream at the bottom of the garden. It was good internet access so I was able to catch up on the blogs. After a little shopping in the town we drove to the tourist info for things to do. As it turned out it was situated in the Drostdy Museum. The museum is a collection of several historic buildings which was the old goal dating back to 1747 & built by the Dutch East India Company. The preservation of the items was first class and we ended up spending most of the day there, stopping only to have an enjoyable meal in one of the buildings which had been converted into a restaurant. We ate in the Coca-Cola room which is the biggest collection of memorabilia in South Africa. It was over the top and some. The people were extremely friendly and a good day was had. We also visited the Dutch Reform Church which replaced the origin thatched roof building erected in 1802. The present one was built in 1910 & had polished brass taps in the garden. Very well cared for & typically Northern European presentation.

Another great breakfast and it was off to the Safari Ostrich Show Farm. The farm is one of the world’s foremost suppler of ostrich products and the industry has been operating in the area for over 100 years. We had a guided tour seeing Kenyan Red, Zimbabwe Blue, South African and the Australian Emu. We were able to stand on the eggs which 3cms thick then sit on one which was kinda weird and then an ostrich race with 2 jockeys. Not your average day at the zoo. We then headed south on Cape Route 62 to Swellendam via Barrydale. A sleepy little town on top of the plateau. The drive down the range was nothing short of spectacular. The road was carved through these valleys with large red rock cliffs either side. Swellendam is situated at the bottom of the mountains and forms a very formidable backdrop to the town. After a little drive around we settled for another award winning property called Aan De Oever Guesthouse, which means by the water as there is a creek flowing through at the bottom of the garden. We had transport arranged to take us to Koornlands Restaurant for a lovely meal of Springbuck by the fire. Once again it was not a taxi in the real sense, it was 2 guys in a mini van who took us over & back. The reason there were 2 of them was for safety and someone to open the door. Come to think of it I haven’t seen a cab in the towns we have visited. Being a sunday night it was very quiet night and were looked after very well. The restaurant specialisers in African game meat.

Another morning for a beautiful sunrise before our breakfast which was ordered for 7.30 arrived. We talked with Carreen for some time before we headed south towards George and then back up into the mountains to the Ostrich capital of South Africa, Oudtshoorn. We had a very easy day driving stopping off at an African Arts shop that also sold local cheese and of coarse Biltong and dryworst, all of which were purchased, then we came across this country market where we bought some homemade bread to compliment the cheese. They had a DJ playing 60’s & 70’s music interrupted with adds for various stalls. Food was the predominent item on sale with some very well made wood products. It was then onto Knysna renowned for their oysters for obligatory plate of the same. The Oyster Festival had been on earlier in the month and supplies were short, they were presented on a bed of ice and served with salt & pepper bread. Washed down with a nice beverage it was very pleasant. The restaurant was on Thesen Island in the middle of the bay with a causeway over to it with a very high bridge in the middle. It was just like a new waterfront development you would see in the States. After a little drive around the main shopping area we headed south to George and turned right up through a steep pass to the mountains again and onto Oudtshoon. It was a cross between Dubbo & Armidale. Rugby a big part of the town just like most of South Africa. We happened upon a place called the Yotclub which was a Tripadvisor winner this year. A B&B situated down the end of a private lane, on the river which was a bird sanctuary and home to the cape clawless otter. Built in the mid 19th century, it is a traditional Karoo homestead. We had the garden room which overlooked the landscaped gardens and up to the Swartberg Mountains. It was a very pleasant afternoon watching the sun going down helped along with a local bottle of the finest and our cheese and bread from the market. Des, the owner arranged a table by the fire at the restaurant across the road called Nostalgie where we feasted on Ostrich.

Up early for a walk on the beach and watch the sunrise. The weather was good enough for me to have a dip after the walk. I stumbled across my first biltong shop and couldn’t resist, great travel food. We had an easy drive down to Plett Bay, the roads in this part are speedways over big rolling hills. The usual, what ever you can get away with. We found a lovely B&B on the hill overlooking the ocean called Rus en Raas, he was of French decent and she was dutch. Carreen couldn’t do enough for us and came up with the best breakfast the next morning. We had enough time to unload the car and head back up the road to walk with the Cheetahs at Tenikwa Wildlife Reserve. It is a sanctuary and rehab centre for injured & abandoned animals, most of which are cats. We were shown around the various camps as they call them before heading out for a 2 hour sunset walk with 2 guides and 2 cheetahs. Of the big 5 to see in Africa, the cheetah is usually the hardest as they are not daytime hunters and can see up to 3km and travel at 110kph. Every now and then on the walk they just flop to the ground for a rest which gives you plenty of time to pat them, which they love. They are very gentle creatures if your not on the menu. They purred like a kitten, which we were told was contentment as with all cats. We gave one of the workers a lift back into town and had a drink up town before back to the accom. We had dinner just down the hill at The Fat Fish restaurant which was superb. Ros had sole and I Line fish which is basically fish of the day. It was a white flesh salmon caught in the southern ocean. The waitress was English and when she could not migrate to Australia, she settled for South Africa. Pity she was the most efficient waitress I have ever seen.

A great breakfast, a quick walk in the 39 steps arboretum park and we headed off down the mountain toward Alice then onto Cookhouse were we fuelled up again and passing by Port Elizabeth arriving Jeffreys Bay about 3pm. It was more fast straight roads where we saw Ostrich inn the paddocks and a very pretty red plant called Aloe, which I think is related to our Aloe Vera. We finally found the iconic surf spot where they were on the final stages of the Billabong Pro Surf Comp. As we were driving in we saw Occy driving out. He was eliminated earlier that day. We found a beautiful Guesthouse right on the beach just up the road from all the action. It was a real find. Being a guesthouse, they had this beautiful lounge and self serve bar upstairs overlooking the beach, it was a nice way to finish a day on the road. The manager organised a so called Taxi to take us to dinner at a seafood restaurant called Kitchen Windows which was right on the beach. The cab ended up being a clapped out early model Datsun with a very friendly and talkative Armenian surfer. The food was fantastic washed down with a local wine. Dinner over and the taxi was summoned and off we went back home in the same wild and funny way.

Rained overnight enough to clean the rental and give us a crisp clear morning. We watched large speed boats with about 15 guys on board trying to get out over the treacherous bar to go and catch sardines. There must have been 20 boats. Breakfast here are very substantial and keep you going all day. The waiter Solomon was sponsored by the owner in return for working in the restaurant. He counsels street kids by day for the local community. We fuelled up and headed west back up to the plateau and through Umtata (near Nelson Mandella’s birth place). We travelled the inland road to Hogsback via Cathcart. The countryside consists of massive rolling treeless hills, dotted periodically with clusters of brightly painted little buildings not much bigger than a garage. They nearly always had a rondavel which is the traditional building of the local people. The roads were very straight in good condition and 120km limit. By the way they drive over here, I think that was the minimum speed not the max. I was sitting on 140 most of the time and I was being passed like I was nailed to the fence. The GPS which we know as Gladys, advised from the outset that there would be an unpaved road, so we thought that would not be too much a problem, until we started out on it. Unfortunately she doesn’t know the difference between road and track. The surface was so rough with a lot of sharp rocks I thought the low profile tyres on the car would take a hammering. I wasn’t worrying about 1 puncture it was 2. After the last 40 rough and scenic kms we arrived at Hogsback. A sleepy little art & craft English style village. It has many walks and water falls in the area. It was very cold and windy and looked like it could snow, which they do have through winter. We stayed overnight at the Arminel Hotel, an English stlye complete with thatched roof. No Wi Fi. They had a fireplace in the bar which would been very welcoming if the fire was actually burning instead of smoking the joint out.