Here’s the second Part of the GBS Holiday, enjoy.

We left Brenton-On-Sea and travelled the 30 odd kilometers to Wilderness, where old PW Botha also had a home.

Here we stayed in a Hotel for 3 days, giving us enough time to go to all the sights around Wilderness and George. I’d lived in George in the early 90’s and therefore know the area well.

I took the family to Victoria Bay, to Map of Africa, via the Lakes area and back roads to the Big Tree and all the way down back roads to Sedgefield.

I also had the opportunity to catch up with old friends I had not seen in years.

BonzaiGBS goes to school in George, so I collected him from the Airport in George and he spent the day with us, prior to his Matric year starting the next day.

Wilderness:

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On Monday 18 January we were on our way again, via Herolds Bay and all the way to Hartenbos, where we stayed at the ATKV Resort.

This is probably where we had our greatest time around the beaches and rock pools.

We also made a day trip to Mossel Bay from here, where we went out on a boat from Mossel Bay harbour to Seal Island and back. That was the calmest I’d ever seen the Ocean, it was like a dam… flat and virually no swell to speak of.

We also went to the Diaz Museum and old Postal Tree. Bartholomeo Dias was a Portugese Discoverer, who sailed into what is now known as Mossel Bay, in 1488.

We also visited the Cave at Cape St Blaize (Mossel Bay Point) and on the hill above that the St Blaize Lighthouse.

Hartenbos & Mossel Bay:

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On Thursday 21 January we left Hartenbos, reluctantly, took the In-Laws to George Airport, for their flight back to OR Tambo International Airport near Johannesburg and then started heading inland, away from the sea.

We briefly stopped at a Strawberry Farm just outside George and then proceeded via the Outeniqua Pass over the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain range.

We quickly drove through Oudtshoorn, without stopping and went to Calitzdorp, 57km from Oudtshoorn.

Calitzdorp and the valley there, is famous for it’s desert wines and port wine.

Here we visited Calitzdorp Winery, where we had a sit-down wine tasting session with cheese and biscuits galore. From there we moved on a kilometer or so to Boplaas Wine Estate and another wine tasting session. From Boplaas it was another kilometer or so to De Kranz Wine Estate where we sampled more of the Angels Juice of the area.

We bought boxes and bottles of these superb wines, ports and desert wines from each of the 3 wineries.

In he evening we went to Karoo Life, a nice restaurant in the area with their own Executive Chef. BonzaiHandbriekie had a Fillit Flambe and Handbriekie and myself each had a Fillit with Camenbert Cheese and bacon and caramalized onions on top….. and we sampled a bottle of fine red wine and another bottle of even finer white wine.

We stayed over at Spekboom Cottages B & B, which basically are old converted “Nagmaal Huisies” (Communion Cottages)  which was used in days gone by to accommodate the farmers from afar when in town for Holy Communion at church every few months. Lovely place!

Removed a huge spider from our bedroom, and when I say huge I mean BIGGG, with the old shaving cream trick as seen on TV. Scooped it into a pot and released it outside after hosing it down to remove all the shaving cream.

Calitzdorp:

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The next morning we travelled back to Oudtshoorn, stopping first at Highgate Ostridge Show Farm, where we did the tour, fed some ostridges and where I rode an Ostridge like a pro…. and where we also watched an Ostridge race.

Then it was off to Kango Wildlife Ranch where we also did the tour.

After that it was off to Prince Albert via the reknowned Swartberg Pass, a dirt mountain pass over the impressive Swartberg Mountain range which seperates the Klein-Karoo from the Karoo.

It was well worth it!

Oudtshoorn & Swartberg Pass:

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Just on the other side of the Swartberg Pass is the quaint little Karoo town of Prince Albert, where we booked in at the Karoo Khaya. This little town still has water furrows (Leivore) where each stand gets a turn to block the water off and let it run over their property to irrigate.

We ate at the Swartberg Arms Restauant that evening, a local hang-out and the next morning visited the local farmers market in town for some Roosterkoek, pannekoek and gingerbeer and to mix with the locals.

At about 11:00 on the Saturday morning we left Prince Albert for our second last stretch home, through the Karoo to Gariep Dam on the border of the Cape and the Free State.

It was cloudy, luckily for us, because the Karoo sometimes gets up to 50 degrees Celsius, this time of year. We had pouring rain through parts, especially near Richmond and every farmer’s dam, every stream and big dam was full to the brim, except of course near Beaufort West, where they have been suffering severe drought.

At Gariep Dam we stayed at the Forever Resort Gariep Dam where we walked to the dam and drove to the dam wall to see the torrent of water released from the sluce gates, gushing down into the rushing Orange River.

Prince Albert and Gariep Dam:

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The next morning, Sunday, we tackled the last long stretch home, through the rest of the Karoo and the Free State, into Gauteng.

Hope you enjoyed this quick glimpse.