Karukareb Wilderness Reservaat Lodge Clanwilliam

... br>
Talking of streetlights, if I may digress for a moment, reminds me that somebody in Oman
must have recently landed a huge contract for streetlights! I saw miles and miles of
streetlights being installed: but not in towns - along empty roads near the desert with no
towns or villages nearby. In Franklin County, voters at town meetings are bickering over
which streetlights to disconnect in their town to save money; in Oman, they are illuminating
the ...

From the desert of Namibia, we crossed into the fertile valleys of South Africa. We headed into the Cederberg region to consume some of what South Africa is so well known for; its wines. Now I must admit, by this point in the journey we had already consumed our fair share of Springbok shots, Kili, Windhock, Serengeti, Tusker and Castle beers, but now was the time for classy drinking (or so we thought). We arrived at our next campsite early in the ...

... given the size of the ribs. Very tasty white meat and done perfectly on the braai (BBQ).

We all meet on Sunday morning at 8:30 AM in front of the truck, a 20-seater Tata (a truck made in India). Our driver/guide is Rino, from Zimbambwe (his assistant is Chalton, also a guide from Zimbambwe). Rino says that the truck is a Mercedes Benz copy. Don’t think so. When was the last time you were in a MB without air conditioning or where you ...

... various rain / sun spells on the way up. The views from the top were amazing! Once at the top, we walked across to the Cape of Good Hope, another 40 minutes of wet/dry going on. The wind was pretty strong too and there were moments when I was almost blown over!

The truck met us at the bottom of the trail and after the obligatory group photo by the Cape of Good Hope sign, we set off to find a town and an ...

... 12:30 we pulled out our tent, Mozambique, to discover it covered in mould. Mmmm lovely. Think we'll be changing tents.

Grabbed the tent Zebra and put that up instead. Our new home. Sorted locker then collapsed in a heap willing sleep to come and rid me of this hangover. Thankfully it did and when I woke Muzza bought me a hot chocolate and Oliver a packet of crisps. Back on the health kick as you can see!! It's grey, rainy and cold - perfect weather for afternoon ...

... sized spitting image of our friend Jamie Brown from Nelson, so much so that I was going to ask him if he had been adopted out at birth! I hope Jamie and Tom get to meet there long lost brother soon... We spent the afternoon sunbathing and cooling down in the tiny pool before Big W again tried to get us to do some of her jobs. This time she wanted the truck completely cleaned top to bottom and again it was our teams who just happened to be on the roster ...

... the first time some sign of success. At least Peter and Wanda could put their clothes on without having to do a war dance to stop the ants from biting on them. I was so grateful that it wasn't me that had to wear their clothes as I just don't think I could deal with the idea of having the whole lot of them joining me for the trip in such close contact. Anyways, after much ado we were off. Koos unfortunately could join us for the trip as his bike was still ...

... came past and I braked....not a good idea. The bike did a real wobblyJ. Overall, the ride was not that bad....not a real long distance. Only 33km. Price of the campsite is R 100/ campsite. Not bad. Ablutions are okay. 26 June 2008 Still in Clanwilliam, but waiting for the Intercape bus to pick us up and take us through to Grunau. 26 June 2008 - 15:00 We decided to take a Busride on the Intercape across the border into Grunau which is ...

This Christmas morning, in the year of the lord 2007, the storm is still bad in Cape Town. Dr T finds us a hotel in Clanwilliam, with wireless, so I can talk to my friends this evening. On our way, we get checked by the police! Dr T has to show his driving license. They have no idea what they are looking at. Never saw an Australian driving license before. It is still raining when we arrive there. The girls at the check-in have a name tag with 'hotel trainee' on ...

... a very small town, and there certainly won't be anything open at this time, which is why you will spend the last few hours of the night in shared rooms at the Cedar Inn, (this will already have been booked for you, but you must pay for the accommodation on arrival). The Intercape Bus stops right outside the Cedar Inn.