I have been lazy about updating my travels on this site this year. Although I have not been overseas, I have done various short trips with my friend T seeing parts of the country I haven’t visited before and revisiting old favourites.
Eastern Cape Spas, flowers and no whales Swartberg sandwich
Mossel Bay and Still Bay
In March, we spent a night in Mossel Bay and stayed near Cape St Blaize with its lighthouse and cave. We walked up to view the cave and along to where the long zipline starts. I was fascinated by the way the rocks are arranged in parallel reefs here, making for sandy swimming gullies at high tide.
We also found time to visit the excellent Dias museum complex. A replica of the cross erected by Diaz is in the grounds, but more impressive is the enormous milkwood, under which reportedly, mail was left. The old town also contains several impressive sandstone buildings, including St Blaize terrace.
From Mossel Bay we drove down the N2 stopping at Albertinia to visit the legendary hotel there. I last remember staying overnight here on a trip to Cape Town with friends while a student at Rhodes in the early 1970’s , when we ate our way through a menu of mutton dishes. This is a true country hotel and does not seem to have changed much. The sandwiches we had now were equally generous and the pub was filled with friendly locals, who advised us where to stay in Stilbaai.
Fortified, we drove on to Stilbaai (Still Bay). This town has grown phenomenally over the past decades. It sprawls along both sides of the Goukou river mouth. We first explored the east bank which has a long sandy beach before going in search of accommodation options. The tourism office was located in the old Palinggat (eel hole) Homestead, along with an archaeological museum. One can feed tame eels here, but not on the day we were there. We chose to stay in Jongensfontein, a small settlement on the coast west of Still Bay. This has a tiny beach, a camp site and a tidal pool and seems a pleasant spot for a holiday, but we were just there for one night.
The next day we set off back home, stopping off in Swellendam to track down the carrot cake my daughter had raved about. I am not sure if I nailed it, but Swellendam does offer lots of tempting nibbles. We found a very nice place with soup for lunch (the weather had turned cold and rainy) just below the N2, and then it was home to KSU.
The Back route to the Cederberg and the Baths in Citrusdal
In April we set off on a short visit to the Cederberg and the hot baths near Citrusdal. We chose the back route, up through Ceres and the Koue Bokkeveld into the southern Cederberg. The views were attractive, but the gravel road was poor in places.
Cederberg
In the Cederberg we stopped at the small graveyard at Matjiesrivier to admire a delicately carved gravestone and then at Dwarsrivier to buy some craft beer and wine before taking a walk through the amazing rock formations near Lot’s wife. I realised with horror I had forgotten to pack a costume for the Baths, so we drove on via Algeria and the N7 to Clanwilliam, where the shop assistants at Vogue Modes were able to retrieve a cozzie to fit from their storeroom upstairs! Much relieved, I enjoyed the rest of the drive through the northern Cederberg, over the Pakhuis Pass to Travel’s Rest where we spent the night in one of their cottages. The next morning we followed the well laid out trail to see the San Rock Art they have on the farm. This is well worth doing and only takes about 90 mins.
The Baths
We travelled back down the N7 to Citrusdal, stopping on the way to visit Louis Leipoldt’s grave in the Pakhuis Pass. The Baths hot water spa is situated in a kloof about 10kms from Citrusdal. Of all the Cape hot water resorts, this is my favourite. The water is crystal clear. They have a hot pool and a cold pool, and some small tepid baths at the top of the kloof, as well as various indoor jacuzzis. The old Victorian buildings add to the charm. Along with a nice restaurant, there are cottages and campsites hidden in the kloof. Large Namaqua Rock Figs, Ficus cordata, trees with their pale stems and bright green leaves shade the kloof. We were only at The Baths for 1 night, far too short a stay!
Click image below to enlarge
