The Husons

Woke to rain and the river rising – but not dangerously. Another daughter, Lisa, helped serve breakfast – dressed in trousers with braces and a brimmed hat – rather eccentric, but very friendly and charming. Also met Julie, our hostess – unfortunately her husband died of an unexpected heart attack last year.

 

Obviously a popular place as breakfast room is full, including a couple we’d spoken to the previous day in town – without realising we were all staying at the same place.

 

Even before we left England and a friend, Mark, had told us of their favourite experiences in SA, I’d said we needed to ‘drop down’ into Hermanus (which Mark and Mary had really enjoyed) on our way from Swellendam to Franschoek. John thought it would be a ‘huge detour’ and was less keen. But spoke to Lisa and she said we must go – it was only an hour away and we might miss the long roadworks on the N2 – then she realised she might have caused a marital split by taking sides with the ‘wrong’ party – hurrah for sisterhood I say! She then handed us a ‘Have safe journey’ goodie bag of apple, plum and 2 moist chocolate brownies. Very thoughtful.

 

Had more thoughts about the Springbok cushion and decided it would be lovely souvenir and go very well with my sofas, so back to the shop… Also have to have a certificate to prove it’s not an endangered species – the owner had explained yesterday that they have to cull the Springbok, so they are not killed just for the skin and meat.

 

Tom Tom showed 1¾ hours to Hermanus, but the decision was made, so tough… and it was definitely worth the detour. A huge bay, more crashing waves, lovely views and eating places – it’ll be on the itinerary for next time. The weather had gradually cheered up as we travelled but there was a still a strong, but balmy wind.

 

We didn’t in fact miss the roadworks, but we were lucky to join the line of traffic on the one-way stretch. If we’d arrived a minute later, we’d have had a 10 minute wait as it was a long one-way stretch.

 

Then a beautiful drive through countryside that got more and more lush. At one point there were police cars coning off a short stretch of road on which was parked a load of vans and a vehicle with a tarpaulin, and some cameras. Can only think they were going to film an advert against the stunning backdrop.

 

Spotted at least 6 eagles, but didn’t manage to stop to snap one for the record. Past a huge reservoir (Theewaterschloofdam – a World Heritage site) and then into the Franschoek pass. Unfortunately got stuck behind a log lorry for most of the time, but that didn’t deter 6 German black 4×4 vehicle, that were obviously on some kind of mission/rally overtaking us and the log lorry on bends that we thought they couldn’t possibly have been sure of no oncoming traffic.  

 

To distract myself from the frustration of the log lorry…

I haven’t mentioned townships.

On the edge of most of the bigger towns and sometimes in the middle of nowhere it seems, there are townships. Some of them are literally built out of anything people can lay their hands on – corrugated iron, wooden fencing slats – all cobbled together to give some shelter. It’s a sight that is depressing and the government runs projects to build new townships – simple concrete dwellings to rehouse the people in these settlements. But as soon as one project is finished, it’s not big enough to house the inhabitants of the ‘old’ townships, so it’s an uphill task. Interestingly some of these new buildings are then enhanced with corrugated ‘extensions’ resembling those dwellings in the old townships. The inhabitants are often transported in the back of open back trucks to their work in the town, or, more often in the country, you see them (and the school children) walking long distances between the town and their dwelling.

 

Arrived at Auberge Clermont B & B – working vineyard, plum and olive farm. Greeted by Stephan, the son, a charming guy, whose first priority is to get us booked in for our meals! A man after John’s heart. Apparently being the gastronomic centre of S. Africa (being a French settlement), tables are at a premium. Reubens was top of the list (his and ours) and we’d already phoned, to be told they were booked up to 19^th Feb! However Auberge Clermont are allocated one table each night for their residents. Tonight’s allocation was taken and it appears that a ‘phantom’ guest has used tomorrow’s allocation – so Stephan is looking into it.

 

Walked round the vineyard and met Chris, the host – a former TV cameraman who was involved in filming Margaret Davies(?) a social worker in Nottingham who exposed the scandal about children being shipped to Australia and being told their parents were dead. His four dogs – a Yorkie, a German shepherd and two mongrels were duly introduced to us. Then I met Sue, his wife, a former de Villiers (meaning her family was from Villiersdorp nearby) who mentioned her daughter lives in Putney (like Ben and Susie) and is coming home next week to help make arrangements for her wedding in May to a South African she’s met in London.

 

Bit of a relax to catch the last of today’s sun  and chatted to Iain and Margaret, a couple from Glasgow on their first trip to S.Africa. A very cheerful, friendly pair with a cheeky sense of humour which is very endearing. As with most folks we meet, we swap experiences of the trip.

Then we head for Grand Provence, a restaurant at one of the many local vineyards, for dinner. In a converted barn, with comfortable leather high back armchairs, in a gracious setting. Charming staff. The menu suggests you can have 3, 4 or 5 courses – choosing from the menu of about 20 dishes – in any order. What a good idea! So you could have 3 starters, or your pudding first or whatever… Fairly conventionally we had tempura prawns in a veloute sauce/smoked salmon, Smoked Duck/Blasebok, and Cape Salmon. John’s duck was a bit chewy so they didn’t charge him for that course and gave us a complimentary pud (chocolate tart) as well!

 

Got back to B & B to find an e.e.cummings love poem sealed with a leaf, on our bed. Is it Valentine’s Day already? No – just a poem to set the scene for a peaceful night’s sleep

 

 

We take leave of J & C Beach House and continue back along the Garden Route to Swellendam, in the lee of the Langeberg mountains and the 3^rd oldest town in S. Africa which was founded by a bigwig in the Dutch East India Company in 1745.

 

Some musings while John’s driving the 120 miles towards Swellendam…

 

We pass through the Karoo countryside, and start seeing livestock again – cows, sheep, ostriches – but, surprisingly, since we been offered bacon for every breakfast, no pigs. Must check next time in a supermarket where the bacon is from.

 

Another comment is about the roofing on properties here. Buildings are mostly brick, sometimes rendered, and the majority have terracotta colour roofs. However, there are quite a few green roofs and rather peculiarly, some blue roofs – both of which seem to be something like corrugated metal. The mixture can make for quite a colourful sight as you catch a bird’s eye view of a town. Then there are a few thatched properties, emulating the indigenous boma style dwellings. They’re really attractive and soften what otherwise might be a harsh roofing horizon.

 

Re car number plates (no we haven’t been playing ‘that’ game!). I haven’t yet worked out the formula, but most in this area start with ‘C’ – CA seems to be Cape Town, but there’s also CBS, CE, CG – no idea where they’re from. An interesting diversion from this is on ones that end with ‘WP’. This seems to indicate that you choose whatever number plate you like and we’ve seen ‘SUSIE’ (sorry to say, Susie, we were moving at the time and the photo came out blurred), ‘LOOT’, ‘SLAGGY1’, ‘KOFFIE’ (of the Traumerei coffee shop in Franschoek), ‘M UNITED’, ‘WIN 100’ but evidently some are company name. Takes personalised number plates to a different level. We’ve seen no foreign number plates, unsurprisingly, apart from a GB one on a Rolls Royce and that also had a diplomatic badge – so that explains where our foreign budget is spent!

 

Final musing – there are Aloe ferox (a relative of our Vera – but better according to the locals of course) plants all over the place, but this area seems to be where the juice of the plant is extracted and made into all the beauty and digestive products we are familiar with.

 

Aan de Oever B & B is a typical Dutch style bungalow – as are the majority of the residences here, on the banks of the river Koornlands which flooded its banks last November.  Their swimming pool was swept away and the filtration system for their Koi carp pool demolished. They are in the middle of reparation works. One of the charming daughters shows us round.

 

We decide to book La Sosta for our meal tonight based on a recommendation by David Fenton and pull up outside to phone up (the place was shut). Just as I’m talking, John comments that someone is pulling out of their driveway and I notice he’s talking on his phone, so the 3 of us burst out laughing as we realise we’re only a few yards apart and supplement the phone conversation with gesticulations to confirm our booking.

It’s a charming town – very Dutch colonial and well-kept. A coffee and apple cake keeps us going while we wander round the fascinating museum of old trades and I hang my nose over goodies in the adjacent craft shops. Managed not to buy a springbok skin cushion (from quite a pushy 6’4” lady!), but at least I can say I stroked a springbok, even if it wasn’t alive and kicking.

 

Arrived at La Sosta and met our host in person – an expressive Italian from Milan. He was an optometrist and his wife worked in a bank and they decided to change direction and certainly seem to have made an excellent move. The food – antipasto meats/mozzarella-tomato and scottato (barely cooked) beef strips with a mini souffle, cubed potatoes and beans, finishing with a shared chocolate selection and ice cream – was delicious and charmingly served.

 

Raining as we left.

 

 

 

 

Woke to quite heavy clouds and Cameron saying it could rain later. But in true S. African fashion, by 11am the sun had come out and we were about to board the catamaran again – this time to go to the Featherbed Nature Reserve on the eastern head of the ‘lagoon’.

Our guide John, an ambitious 27 year old who works for 6 months and then studies for 6 months – working towards an economics degree. His wife is in Germany as a travel agent and he is leaving in a couple of days to go to Kiel to continue his studies. An interesting young man who has travelled well – in fact, one of the other tourists who works for DHL said he was just the kind of person they look to recruit for international management.

From the jetty at the Nature Reserve we boarded a 4×4 to make a slow ascent to the hillcrest, with useful commentary on the fynbos and history of the Reserve which is in a huge sand dune, only stabilised by the dense vegetation. A Mr J. B. Smith discovered a living fossil – the coelacanth that had thought to be extinct for 80m years – in the lagoon and wrote a book called ‘Old Four Legs’ and then used the proceeds from the book to start buying up parcels of land on the reserve in order to preserve it. (I might have got two pieces of information muddled up there so I need to do some research!) There are about 80 native bird species and a plethora of local flora. Many years ago a non-indigenous azalea was brought in as part of the vegetation, but they are slowly (they have to be aware of keeping the dune stabilised) replacing it with the indigenous plants. 

At the top, our driver chucked us out and we made the slow descent through the forest, admiring some stunning views of the heads from a variety of different viewpoints. We finally arrived at the sea’s edge and some caves which were refreshingly cool after the searing heat. A flat walk along the cliff edge back to a delicious buffet of local produce – calamari, white fish in curry sauce, tuna carpaccio, lamb curry, roast beef, greek salad, green salad, lentils, roast potatoes, ratatouille – a feast. Then mavla, chocolate brownie, fruit salad, water melon, milk tart, ice cream… Surely we won’t need to eat tonight! Just spotted the Knysna Lourie bird as we were eating, so another bit of wildlife ticked off our list.

Interesting to talk with an Irish couple who’ve been coming to South Africa for over 30 years. They’d been to the Phantom Lodge, when it still existed, and were sad to here it was no more. They recommended us to visit the Simola Golf course for the views and Sunday lunch (but that’ll have to be for another time now). So once off the boat – which John, our guide ably piloted back (under the tuition of the ‘real’ captain) – we headed up to the complex which is still being expanded. Very much  based on the Portugese complexes it certainly has stunning views of the ‘lagoon’, excellent facilities (including a spa – perhaps there’s future employment for me?) and apparently is quite a challenging Jack Nicklaus signature course. John’s hoping to ‘sneak’ back here with his mates for their golf holiday – over my dead body I say. Not sure what the locals think about the amount of water that must be consumed in keeping the course up to scratch – must be a hard job for the greenkeepers.

 

I took a walk down to beach before sunset and the beach was scattered with people and camera capturing the waves crashing over Castle Rock and the imminent dramatic sunset. Typically it was the one time I’d left my camera behind charging up, so I did the best I could on my camera’s phone.

 

An informal meal at the Nauticus beach restaurant – pizzas and shared Greek salad. As we were leaving the couple next to us started talking to us and we ended up having a delightfully friendly end to the evening, enjoying another beer and sharing S. African experiences. Interestingly Sean is here – semi on holiday – while writing a book on business strategy for government while Sandy can fully indulge in relaxing away from her job in immigration at Gatwick. They’re self-catering, which Sally feels has the downside of having to shop – which she feels she does enough in England – rushing to Sainsbury’s after work etc., whereas Sean enjoys the novelty of the different food in the shops – I’m with Sean on that one.

Am feeling rather embarrassed now to think that we’ve exchanged emails/blog address with them and my 10,000 (to date) chatty words are in direct contrast to the 40,000 words he’s working on so seriously and earnestly!

At this point perhaps I ought to make some kind of disclaimer that the ‘facts’ in this blog are mostly from memory and the anecdotal commentary of our guides not to be taken seriously in any research project!!

Woke up to a misty but warm morning, so we strolled down to the beach before breakfast, where there were quite a few others doing the same. A lovely start to the day.

Met Cameron with J D – an 8 week old Staffordshire bull terrier – a bundle of muscle and very excited to see us. We later met Jayne, his wife, with Emma, the matriarch Staffs bull terrier who was less enthusiastic about the lively bundle that had interrupted her quiet life.

While talking to Cameron it turned out he had played varsity cricket for ‘Wits’ University (Witwatersrand near Jo’burg) during 3 years against Clive Gie (a local gynaecologist who lives in Upton)  and who was at Cape Town Uni! Cameron had also stepped in as 12^th man for England during the Rebel tour to S. Africa. His nickname was ‘Bokki’ – a) because people couldn’t remember his surname in full and b) cause he was ‘fast on his feet in those days’. Jayne is English – from Scotland, then Oxford – her parents live in Devon. They’ve got the B & B up for sale as they want to downsize and free up some time to travel.

We didn’t put in an offer…

Had an interesting chat with Christine who asked about us and our family. Turns out she has 4 children – a girl of 21 who’s completing her studies at Cape Town and is hoping to be a teacher – she’s obviously very proud that her daughter is working hard to make a good life for herself. She has a son who lives with his father’s family in Oudtshoorn and is planning to follow his father and go into the army. She’s supportive of his decision and is again proud that he’s got ambition. Her two ‘babies’ of 11 and 13 are in Outshoorn with her mother and doing well. But it is sad that she obviously doesn’t see them very often – a hard decision to ensure your children’s future.

The houses in Brenton are mainly built on stilts – because it’s on a hillside and each house wants an elevated view of the sea – it makes for quite a quaint sight and some quaint (or naff!)  names – the house next door but one is called ‘Daddy Long Legs’!

 

Down to Kynsna quay just in time to catch the 11am boat trip to the ‘heads’  – the two headlands which form the channel to the ‘lagoon/estuary’. This stretch of water, through which  between 1000 and 2000 litres of water passes every second, is one of the most dangerous in the world and no ship can be insured to pass through it! The only ship which does so is the S.African Navy once a year when they come for Knysna’s Oyster Festival in July, when about 2m locally grown oysters (of Chile origin) are consumed!

 

Knysna has a unique seahorse in its waters – which is fondly called the Chameleon seahorse because (depending on which guide I should believe, or perhaps both?) a) it can roll it eyes independently like a chameleon or b) it can change colour like a chameleon. The seahorses mate for life and perform a 3 day courtship during which they entwine tails. Then when the male indicates he’s ready (he probably wouldn’t if he knew what was in store for him!) the female lays eggs in his pouch. After 21 days they hatch and the process starts again so the male is pretty well pregnant for the rest of his life! The locals call it ‘Nature’s revenge’!

 

We saw a man in a fishing boat catch an electric blue eel, – we heaved to a while to see what would happen – he would have to throw it back, but I couldn’t see how he was going to get the hook out without getting electrocuted!? There are about 100 species of fish in the ‘lagoon’ and even dolphins, sharks and whales have been spotted.

 

There is the Featherbed Nature Reserve on one of the headlands encircling the lagoon, but just before that there is the most enormous private house which a couple have built. Its land runs down to the beach, but because the shoreline can’t be owned privately, anyone can land at the beach (by boat because there are no public roads accessing the beach) for swimming, picnic etc. so despite the huge house, they don’t have a deal of privacy.

 

Anyone wishing to build must buy a plot no smaller than 10 hectares and can only build one property on that plot. If only, in England…..

 

We reached the ‘heads’ and heaved to again to admire the phenomenal waves and swell which was enormous – and this was a calm, windless day. Only twin engined boats are allowed to navigate the channel and the National Sea Rescue station is very close by – there have been numerous shipwrecks here.

 

Wandered round Knysna – very quiet being a Sunday and rather ‘tacky’, so headed back to the waterfront where it was all happening. A delicious sushi meal at 34^o South restaurant and some welcome beers.

 

Took a detour on the way to the Phantom Forest Lodge which was billed in Rough Guide as having the most splendid views in South Africa – particularly of Knysna’s lagoon and also serving unusual local food. Up and up the dirt track, barely a view in sight! Then we hit the N2 again. Where was this lodge!! It was indeed a ‘phantom’. When we asked at the restaurant later, the lodge has been bought and is now privately owned, so will pen a note to Rough Guide.

 

Ate at Pemburys – an interesting fusion of county and haute cuisine. The menus were handwritten on chalk boards about 2ft by 4ft and brought to the table complete with the easel! Crab tortilli/butternut squash ravioli, slow roasted lamb shank/lambs tongues and again crème brulee ‘test’ – good crispy topping, but slightly runny crème. I had bread and butter pudding and real vanilla ice cream – blow the diet!

Had noticed outside on the road indicating its entrance yet another chalk board on which they wrote a ‘saying’ of the day. Today it was ‘Love is a sport in which the hunter contrives to become the quarry’. Quite succinct – how true?

Which reminds me of the petrol receipt from the BP garage at Uitenhage – the message at the bottom was ‘Thank you for your custom – Jesus loves you’! Can you imagine the BP garage in Southwell adding that?

 

I woke up early to a clear blue sky, so went for a walk down to the river again. After about 10 paces, I spotted a snake – my worst fear – but it was only pencil thin and quickly slid away into the bush. Made me pick my steps very carefully.

Packed up to leave Hitgeheim – with sadness because it really is a superb place, beautifully situated in the middle of nowhere with charming staff and delicious food. We promise to be back. Then just as we’re talking to Archie and Ronel, the fish eagles start circling overhead – I’d been hoping for a sighting, so they made it just in time – very graceful soaring on the thermals and hardly moving their wings.

Of to Daniell Cheetah Breeding Sanctuary near Kirkwood. John’s not so keen to cuddle cheetahs, but I’ll use his turn!

It’s a blistering hot day with no breeze but that was no deterrent to this unique opportunity.

Cheetahs are eminently tameable and there has never been any reports of them attacking humans. However, once they have mated, their natural instincts kick in, so they are less able to be stroked and can then be naturalised and sold onto Game Parks.

So Ola, a 2 year old female was lying dozing in the shade and was very happy for us to stroke her. Although she is related to the cat family, cheetahs are unusual in that they have non-retractable claws and like a dog, they aren’t sharp – only the dewlap claw is sharp in order to tear apart their prey.

They are the fastest of creatures, accelerating 0 – 70 Kph in 3 seconds. They run up to 120kph, but only for 4 seconds. They then need 5 hours for their breathing and heart rate to slow back to normal. Unfortunately, during this time, they can’t eat, and because they don’t have sharp claws, they can’t climb trees (like leopards) to hide their booty, so any prey they catch might well be nicked from under their very nose by another scavenger while they lay asleep.

Then into the lion’s den – well into the cubs’ den – where 2 two-month old and 1 four-month cubs are waiting to greet us. I held one of the 2 month olds, but he fidgeted – he’d had enough as I was second in line to hold him, so reluctantly let him down. We couldn’t hold the older one, as already he’s getting strong and his huge paws could unwittingly inflict a nasty blow, but he was more than happy to let us stroke him and tickle his tummy – just like any housecat. At 5 months old, this close human contact is stopped so the training program can begin to ensure they cope in the wild – mostly they are sold onto Game Reserves. Apparently there’s never been a problem with these lions surviving successfully in that environment after this early tame start. The warder has close contact with the cubs from the beginning, with them even sleeping on his bed!!

A mature lion will fetch about £20K whereas younger lions and females fetch about £1K. Cheetahs are more expensive to raise because their environment needs to be carefully monitored and quite sterile because they’re prone to renal failure.

 

We’re now at the furthest point of our travels – over 500 miles from Cape Town as the crow flies – we’ve clocked up about 1,000 miles with detours and windy roads.

We stocked up with a picnic in Spar in Uitgehade – always fun shopping in exotic places (S. Africa I mean, not Spar!).

Now we turn around the head back via different towns. Firstly Knysna where there is a huge lagoon – although strictly speaking it’s a huge estuary as there is no sandbank at its meeting with the sea where river and sea water mingle.

We arrive at our B & B in nearby Brenton on Sea – J & C Beach House – in the middle of a (upmarket) housing estate, set high on the hillside with amazing views of the crashing waves. Christine the housekeeper shows around as Jayne and Cameron Boccaleone (our hosts) are out. We try not to giggle as she shows us round our room which is decorated profusely with shells – as ornaments or printed on curtains, towels etc. – really a bit twee! It’s listed as the honeymoon suite! It has verandahs on 3 sides, but all viewable from the road or the garden, and it doesn’t seem very soundproofed, so I’m not so sure about the honeymooners’ privacy!

We’re about 30 minutes from Knysna centre so we’d already taken the precaution of booking a table at a lodge restaurant at Belvedere nearby rather than trek backwards and forwards after a long day’s drive.

Uniquely and refreshingly so, this is the first establishment where the entire staff appear to be black – front of house included. They were exceptionally cheerful and welcoming and we enjoyed a tasty meal of scallops/baked brie, kudu/beef steak and again we tested the crème brulee. A trifle warm and not much crispy caramel topping, but tasty.