We always enjoy Port Alfred. It is one of the places that we think we would be able to stay one day when we move away from Jo’burg. After lunch at the Fresh Fish Market we settled in at the local Municipal caravan park in exactly the same spot as before!
For our evening meal we decided to walk to Guido’s. We did not have the convenience of Suzi and we needed the exercise. It was cool, overcast and pleasant to walk.
Roger noticed a fishing charter boat on the river soon after we arrived so he contacted the owner and arranged for a trip.
After a sumptuous lunch at Graze… by the river the next day we were collected at the agreed time and spent about four and a half hours fishing on the river with Chris. Well, Roger was trying to catch fish while I was parking off and taking photos…
We had a braai on board and eventually called it a day, empty handed, at about 9 pm.
Bathurst was our first stop the next day. There we browsed a second-hand bookshop and bought an arm-full of books, once again! We just cannot resist…
We met John Waterson during the ‘Toys for Boys’ event at Tedderfield earlier in the year and he invited us to his farm should we ever be in the Eastern Cape. He is the agent for Savannah Light Sports Aircraft in South Africa and has a small factory where he assembles the kits. His farm is en-route to Yellow Sands, our next destination, so a visit was mandatory.
On our way there we started noticing a knocking noise at the rear of Ufudu whenever a bump in the road was encountered. Stopping at John’s was fortunate because upon inspection it turned out that bolts which keep Ufudu attached to his chassis needed tightening. John had the right tools and in no time it was sorted out and we were on our way again.
Yellow Sands was recommended to us by Gavin and it really is worth a visit. We spent two nights there and would have liked to stay longer. This trip is only a few weeks though, so we had to move on.
You may have noticed by now that this trip was largely about meeting up with old friends and acquaintances. Next was getting together with an old school friend of Roger’s, Andrew Hart and his wife Jenny. We got together at the Pinecreek Inn, which was more or less half-way between Cove Rock where they live and Yellow Sands. After a long afternoon of much chin-wagging and wine drinking we set out again. This time to a place called Gubu Dam near Stutterheim. Andrew mentioned that he had often seen the turn-off but had never been there himself, and of course we are always keen on going to new places.
The road was long, dusty and very bad and when we eventually got there the place was a great disappointment. It was in the middle of a pine plantation; cold and totally uninviting.
We left at first light the next morning.