And we were off yet again to what promised to be an adventure of a
life time a bucket list trip for sure.
I can't resist a farmstall. They always have some treasure that you just have to have
Our first stop Jonkershoek Guest Farm
Loving this place and could willingly waste my time in it
Doing nothing slowly and intently
Trusting that the rest of this day will be as great as that first sip.
Ek weet daar is tenminste 44 mense wat die sal kan lees.
Dankie Jonkershoek Guest Farm en Elcke vir 'n wonderlike ervaaring.
Ons kom beslis weer.
We are not quite in the middle of nowhere but we can see it from here.
According to the map we have only gone four inches
Prins Albert - Velore gedagtes op Karoo vlaktes
Our accommodation for the night Wolvekraal Guest Farm Prins Albert
We could get used to wide open spaces
Stary stary night. Without the dark we would never see the stars.
(cellphone image on a very windy night, so not the best result)
Eash sunrise is a new page in your book of life, don't let it stay blank.
Out and about in Prins Albert.
From classy gins at the Green Prince Gin Bar to
tasty olives at O for Olive,
to slumbing it at the Bushpub.
PS I beat Frank at darts and pool
(or did he let me win, you know happy wife happy life!)
At the foot of the Swartbergpas, best place to have a cheese & wine impromptu picnic.
Don't listen to what we say...come see for yourself
I love places that make you realize how small you and your problems are
We had inspiration
And so our last morning at Wolwekraal Guest Farm in Prins Albert dawns....
and oh so beautifully.
God made the earth round so we are not able to see too far on the road ahead.
In saying that, today we pray & trust that God will guide us on the extraordinary road ahead.
As we head into the Gamkaskloof (better known as Die Hel)
A narrow isolated valley about 20 kilometres long and a max of 600 metres wide.
The travelling time from the top of the Swartberg Pass to the bottom of the
Gamkaskloof (37km) can take about 3 hours.
A high clearance or 4x4 is advised.
We also don't know if we will have power or reception in the valley.
So chances are we will be off the grid till midday Tuesday
See you on the flip side
Gamkaskloof (Die Hel) is alles wat dit beloof het om te wees en nog meer.
Wat 'n belewenis
Gamkaskloof, of tewel "Die Hel". Wat 'n belewenis, wat 'n voorreg. Die pad tot onder is 'n riller, maar dit is 100% die moeite werd. 37km in 2,5 uur. Dit gaan stadig oor die klippe en netsowel want dis wonder mooi en jy wil stadig, sodat jy niks mis nie. Proteas by die duisende, alwyne en steenbokkies en 'n asemrowende uitsig. Fontein Plass ons bestemming en tannie Annatjie Mostert Joubert wag ons in. Sy is afkomstig van die heel eerste gesin wat hierdie hul tuiste gemaak het. Die Mostert's met 'n "t" want hulle is sterker as die Mosterd's met 'n "d". Ons hang aan tannie Annatjie se lippe terwyl sy ons al die kloofstories vertel. Haar oe skiet vol trane wanneer sy die storie van die groot brand vertel. 25 Nov 2019 toe 'n verwoestended brand deur die kloof gewaai het en alles in sy pad in as agtergelaat het. Sy dank weer die Liewe Heer dat Hy hulle daai dag gespaar het.
Sy oorhandig aan ons die sleutel vir ons oornag plekkie. Hendrik Mostert se huisie. Jy moet buk om by die lae oopplan huisie se dubble houtdeur in te stap. Dis eenvouding maar gerieflik. Daar is nie krag nie, net lantern ligte, maar ons stort darem warm. Stap, se tannie Annatjie, die plaas is mooi. Pasop net vir die luiperd en indien jy hom tee kom vermy oogkontak. As hy eers in jou oe gekyk het steel hy jou siel en dan is dit klaarpraat met jou.
Ons eet soos konnings, plaastjoppies en braaibroodjies afgerond met smul lekker koeksisters.
Slaap kom gou danksy die vars koof luggie. Bo skyn die miljoen sterre blink en onder hoor jy net so af en toe die doringtak se gekrap op die sinkplaat dak. Wat hou more in?
Hier raas die donkie en die hoenderhaan jou wakker lank voor die sonstrale by jou venster inloer. Verbeel ek my of proe die koffie hier ook beter. Volgens tannie Annetjie is dit wel so want dis fonteinwater in die ketel. Van water gepraat, ons verneem die Gamkaskloof dam se sluise is oop en ons ry om vir onself te gaan kyk. Die rivier loop so 100m wyd en kniediep. Dis mooi om te aanskou en nog moeier van bo. Ons ry verby die begrafplasie, hy le vol hartseer stories van koof gesinne wat was. Die ou skootjie en die Meestershuis le mooi gerestoureer maar daar loop lankal nie meer voete deur daai deur nie. Hier le soveel onvertelde stories in die vallei ons sal maar net weer moet kom om die res te hoor. Twee dae was beslis nie lank genoeg nie. Ons groet tannie Annetjie met 'n swaar hart. Sy is dierbaar en haar kloofstories sal ons altyd saamdra.
Travelling is the only thing u can spend money on that actually adds
value to your life. We made it out Die Hell. Past oom Koos se klip one more time.
Read up on Oom Koos se klip the story is really interesting.
The forna and flora is spectacular and the water streams ice cold,
clean & fresh (had to take a sip) & a bos piepie too.
When you get a fork in the road ........ take it !
Familie is soos takke aan 'n boom. Almal groei in verskillende rigtings
maar ons wortels bly as een. So lekker by Hanna en Carlo gekuier. Dankie vir
julle gasvryheid en dat julle die tyd afgestaan het om julle mooi omgewing
vir ons te gaan wys.
Our time in Rawsonsville was short but seeing family was heartwarming.
One night was a start, but we will have to come back.
Next destination Franschoek
Home for the next two days
Willow Brook Cottages Franschhoek
Our sole purpose for visiting Franschoek this time round was
to experience the Franschoek Wine Tram.
Grande Provance - Oyster pairing / Nougat pairing
My favourite vinyard by far. Great pairing (MCC and Oysters / Wine and Nougat)
Great place for breakfast. Lovely seating under the trees.
Service was great.
Dieu Donne - Chocolate pairing
Another of my fravourites. Chocolate and wine pairing while enjoying the
view over Franschoek. Loved it so much we went back for dinner to
watch the spectacular sunset.
Haute Cabriere - Maroon pairing
We went specifically for MCC and macaroon pairing
Absolutely yummy
I love sunrises and sunsets. But what I really love is the space i have between them to do something really incredible. Today was an incredible day. The Franschoek Wine Tram is an absolute must.
Experienced so many incredible wine farms and wine pairings. Ending it off with cocktails and a sunset dinner at Deiu Donne
Been on my bucket list for a long time, but I was not really impressed.
Always get confused between Rus and Vrede en Vrede en Lust.
We did however find a very nice Riesling.
My mind not only wanders, sometimes it leaves completely
Babylonstoren, overrated. They focus more on their other products (soaps, homewares etc) than on their wines. Dissappointed, expected so much more.
Frank wanted to do the brandy tasting. What a dissappointment, they only
had one brandy to taste. I setteled for the hancrafted chocolates.
We enjoyed a great breakfast under the trees, beautiful
Sadly we could not do the wine and pannacotta tasting.
We were not aware that we had to book a day in advance.
Stunning. So sorry we left this for last. Great fudge pairing as well as gin tasting.
Again a great spot under the lush trees overlooking the vinyard.
Found interesting flavoured turquish delight here too.
My 2nd favourite vinyard of the lot.
Go where the locals go.......Our stay in Fransschoek was amazing. We visited fabulous vinyards, met amazing people and stayed in great accommodation. I have however come to realize one thing......if you really want to experience the heart of a small town you need to find the local hangout. Old Station Pub was just that. It was Friday night and it was karaoke night. The pub was like a box of liquorice allsorts and together they made for a great crowd. Some could sing, some really could not, but man what an experience. Bonus was, I bumped into an old school friend.
Loved the experience in "all sorts" of ways"
Franschoek was good to us and we will be back. But for now it's off to Tulbagh.
The Lark @ De Weiglhuys Farm our accommodation for the next two nights.
So Tulbagh stel teleur. Nie die mooiste dorpie nie en behalwe vir die hotel en een ander eetplekkie is daar verder niks. Ons bly wel op 'n plaas buite die dorp en dit is hemels. Gerieflik, mooi, The Lark huisie is so smaakvol, stylevol en gerieflik. Die tuintjie is elke oggend oorlaai met die mooiste voeltjies.
Riebeecks Kasteel
Allesverloren wine tasting
What an awesome little town.
What we expected from Tulbagh but sadly did not get. Wish we had more time to spend here. Breafast at Bay Leaf and Tyme, browsing the quiant little shops in Short Street Square, then wine tasting at Allesverloeren. Wine tasting at Kloovenburg and lunch at 8 Feet with spectacular views.
8 Feet Restaurant
4 du Toit Boeties trap drywe, 8 paar voete pers gekleur......
en so kry die wyn sy naam... 8 Feet
Pieter Stef du Toit, heel regs (WP, Sharks, Bokke rugbyspeler) en sy 3 boetjies op
die plaas Kloovenburg in Riebeek Kasteel.
Mal oor 'n wyn met 'n storie.
We did give theTulbagh area another try and travelled through town to see
what the area beyond Tulbagh had to offfer.
Breakfast, olive tasting and then on to the wine. This was our day.
Tonight we are going to have an awesome "Fine Dining" experience.
Why, well 30 years of marriage derserves "Fine Dining"
Saronsberg, thank you for a fabulours experience and fine wines. If we can't find a
fine dinging experiencce in Tulbagh at least we can have fine wines for
or breakfast, lunch & dinner
So Franks asked around Tulbagh where we could find a resturant that
offers "Fine Dining". The aswer he got was "Mnr, all our restaurants are fine"
So for our 30th Wedding Anniversary we threw together our own
fine dining under the stars.
Totsiens Tulbagh
Our next destination Sutherland
Our intention was to go on the dirt road but due to the large
amount of rains that had fallen over the past couple of days this was not
possible as some of the roads had washed away.
Sutherland - Ons Karoo Huisie vir die aand
How beatutiful is it to do nothing and then to rest afterwards
Ons het Sutherland rooi geverf
Better to experience something once than to hear about it 1000 times
Springbokpastei op Karoovlaktes.
The best part of a road trip is not arriving
at your destination, it's abut the fast food along the way.
Leaving Sutherland and no traffic as far as the eye can see
Please tell me how you pass by a farmstall that looks so inviting.
Stall stop #? Don't know we lost count.
Nog 'n grondpad, nog 'n besonderse oornag plekkie.
Wiid Gaste Plaas net buite Hopetown
How lucky can one girl get. Two windmils, a dirt round and a karoo sunset.
Laat jou drome oor 'n hek kouter en in a veld verdwaal
And so the sun rises on our last day of an amazing roadtrip.
Thankful to have experienced all the breathtaking places our contry has to offer, friendly people that inhabit it and family that we got to share time with.
Not forgetting the absolutely delicious food and wine that was on offer along the way.
Most thankful for having covered 3200km incident free.
Here's to planning the next epic trip
We met amazing people on this trip but the ones that left the deepest impression where the ones that left paw prints on my heart. Wish I could bring them all home.
No comments:
Post a Comment