Roosje van de Kaap Swellendam

... we visited a local linen shop that was holding a pre Christmas sale. This was actually two rooms of a private house, but the owner made us really welcome (I really love the English language she said) as Vanda browsed the goods for sale against a backdrop of Hark the Herald Angels Sing. We could only buy small (no space in the cases) or non food or plant (Australian Customs) stuff, so Vanda settled for a couple of pretty linen angel tree hangers.

The meal was the best yet. Sat in the ...

... say they smoke it because it tastes nice. The boy gets out a guitar and I get out my harps and we have a bit of a jam, neither of us know anything the other knows so he just strums chords and I play the blues, Marianne says it sounds pretty good anyway.

When we've played for a while, we all call it a night because they all have work in the morning and we have to drive back to the coast.

During the night it rains pretty hard and the rain on the tin roof wakes us all up.

... House, the oldest house in the town which has been restored and opened as a life-style museum. In 1853 22 year old Pieter Joubert was sent by his father to build the house for the family. I guess I those days one didn't need a degree in bricklaying, he appears to have a made a good job of the build as it is still standing today despite being badly damaged by floods in 1981. It was interesting to see how the early settlers lived, the Joubert family were ...

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.

... of antelope, birds and other animals, and rarely another human in sight. Irene and I spent some time on the dunes and then hiked a bit along the coast, making our way to a tiny cove. We then left with enough time before the sunset to make sure we were off the dusty backroads and back in Swellendam before dark. That night we had an incredible dinner at our guest house and shared with the cook and waitress a bottle of wine Irene ...

... 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 ...

... zebra and Steve came across the smallest frogs in the world. We thought they were insects but proved not to be and they were all over the grass. When the temperature dropped we headed over to the jacuzzi and opened a bottle of bubbly from the mini bar and had that whilst enjoying the other bubbles! The hotel recommended a few restaurants and we opted for the closest one which was conveniently across the road! It was like ...

... Agulhas adn took the pre-requisite photos that you must at the sign that says you are now at the most southerly point in the continent and where it points out where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. I dipped a hand in both oceans (it was a bit too chilly to dip my feet in the ocean). We meandered our way back to Swellendam and it was a great day. Hans, Miriam and there 13 year old son Casper are great people and I now have another ...

... Carmella and the english lads were gone, but there was a new batch of english people at the hostel, so I played some pool and hung out and made it a pretty early night. And then the next day, Tuesday I guess, I went shark diving. Yes, sharks, the great white beasts of the deep. This was something else. First we were bussed to a nearby town called Gansbaai, about 45 km. You know how I was saying before that I have trouble talking to people I'd just met? Well I shared ...

... were doing a half day tour that included canoeing on the Touws river, a trip to Big Tree park and the Map of Africa, then a downhill mountain bike ride back to town. For 90 Rands it sounded like a great deal so we signed up. From here, we walked along a boardwalk that ran along the edge of the lagoon (through the reeds) all the way back to 'town'. We were ready for dinner, but Tom's Tavern, the main restaurant, was closed until 6pm. We tried the place ...