Swellendam Backpackers Adventure Lodge

After a full day yesterday we were happy to have a late breakfast and so it was after 10am before we said goodbye to our new found friends. On Victor's recommendation we headed back south for a few km to the winery of Blaauwlippen – the second oldest on the country, dating from 1680 - where we got stuck into the wine tasting. Two very nice Cabernets, two Shirazes and a Malbec later, it was gone midday before we eventually hit the road to Montagu.

We were soon out of ...

... we get to Swellendam it is a quiet little town nestled in the mountains; the place we are staying at has a huge garden with a tree house, hammocks and plenty of space. Eden finds a ride on tractor which she calls a choo choo, she asks to ride it and the boy there says she can. She has a nice ride and Marianne sits in a hanging chair, whilst I relax in a hammock and enjoy a bottle of the vine dessicated Shiraz that I bought from Solms-Delta.

At seven o'clock we are served a meal ...

... plenty of old Cape Dutch style buildings and wide tree-lined streets. The Boers chose the site as it was surrounded by mountains and isolated but this isolation made it difficult to reach the nearest big town- Swellendam- in order to trade and collect supplies, they had to cross the river eight times with their bullock carts and the journey took several days. Eventually to improve this journey they blasted a hole in the rock face at Cogmans Kloof to allow ...

We set off for Montagu and Route 62, calling in at the Olympia Cafe in Kalks Bay for a take-out coffee and a quick look at the harbour and the local fish. Then we hit roadworks for 30km.... Finally arrived in Montagu late afternoon, which is a beautiful little village set in a gorge. We found a very nice place to stay, wandered around a bit and then found a very nice place to eat dinner, in the courtyard of a Cape Dutch mansion under a 100-year-old pear tree.

... For example, after asking someone for help in locating an ATM in Cape Town, having tried a nearby ATM that seemed to be broken, the woman offered to leave her office and come with us to see if she could be of assistance.) After checking into our incredibly cute cottage room, we left for De Hoop - an almost 90,000-acre coastal reserve apparently mysteriously seldom visited, given its incredible beauty. We ended up on the "long road ...

... with her choice, and Duncan will have to come back with a girlfriend for a second go at it.  We were going to try to make it back to Hermanus or there abouts to have another attempt at shark cage diving but the evening was drawing near (a dangerous time to drive for many reasons) and as we approached Barrydale, passing farms of sheep, cows, ostriches and the occasional baboon at the side of the road we decided this was the type of trip where we could afford to stop anywhere we liked ...

... It was cloudy and cold, so we didn't get to see Wilderness in its full splendor. But the bar was chill and they served pizzas from their own wood-fired outdoor oven, so it was a lovely vibe and a great place to be. We played some guitar and had a good chat with the bartender/surf instructor, enjoyed some beers and a few games of pool. It was the kind of chilly night to ...

... de kinderen een 'rubbish-fashionshow'gedaan en dat was echt enorm leuk. Op vrijdag zijn we nog op een boottripje door de haven geweest, waarvan de kinderen erg genoten.. Van dit kamp heb ik veel geleerd over hoe je met de kinderen om moet gaan, en hoe dingen er aan toe gaan op een schoolkamp. Een erg leerzame ervaringen dus die ik zeker niet had moeten missen. SUPER!! En de kinderen waren ook helemaal gelukkig dat ik mee gegaan was samen ...

... All in all, it was one of the best birthdays I ever had. You know what else is weird about this hemisphere? I'm pretty sure the phases of the moon are reversed. It looks like it should be getting smaller (spells a C), but I'm pretty sure it's actually growing. I may have to double-check this to make sure I'm not talking out my ass like usual ... Yesterday I checked out Cape Agulhas, which is very pretty but not spectacular, and I was the southernmost person in Africa for ...

... river, and started following a path along the banks. The path was very narrow, and there was a bit of scrambling required up rocks, and ducking under bushes. We were feeling quite adventurous. We took the trail up onto Aloe hill. The top of the hill was very similar to the Russian Steppe. Lots of low grasses and tiny ground hugging plants (and lots of wind). As we began down the slope though, we entered an actual forest of Aloe and thorn trees. Many of the ...