As soon as Ufudu was sorted and Suzi was hitched at the back again, we called my cousin’s wife Betsy to check if she was home. She was, so we made a quick stop to have a chat and see how she was doing. She had recently lost her husband André, my cousin, and was still adjusting to a life without him after ≈40 years of marriage. We left with a promise to stay longer next time.
Next up was a visit to my cousin Reo who lives in Paarl, so we found a campsite called Berg River Resort close by. As always, the evening with Reo and Marianna was filled with lots of chatting, accompanied by copious amounts of good wine and food. A visit to Reo and Marianna always turns into an event… Thanks to both of you!
We wanted to explore Franschhoek and do some wine tastings so Reo suggested the Franschhoek Wine Tram hop-on hop-off tour and staying at De Oude Molen Resort which was close to town. Once again, an interesting place and convenient base for the next two days.
Much to our delight, Jonathan and Debi were keen to join us on our planned ‘Wine Tram’ tour. We managed to get tickets for the 12:00 departure time on the Grey Line. Good times shared with good friends always turn out to be even better. We had such a fun day.
Dinner was at The French Connection. Very good, but pricey; perhaps geared more towards Euro / Dollar spend rather than South African Rand…
La Motte was not on our chosen Tram route and comes highly recommended, so that was our final wine tasting in
Franschhoek the next day. Well, all I can say is ‘it was worth it’.
We left Franschhoek with lots of fond memories, but not before we had breakfast at the Good Food & Co., a wonderful restaurant we discovered on our first day in town. They offer healthy food options including Banting friendly, vegan, whole food, etc. A definite favourite.
We were hoping to spend our next night at Matjiesfontein in the Karoo. Matjiesfontein was founded in 1884 and the entire village was declared a National Heritage Site in 1975. We’ve visited before and it is a truly unique experience, with loads of history and tradition. Sadly, there was no camping facility.
After a drink and a chat at the Lord Milner Hotel Roger managed to get in touch with the owner of Rietfontein Private Nature Reserve, next to Matjiesfontein. Their only accommodation option was to stay in a chalet, but the owner kindly agreed to let us stay on the premises, in Ufudu, for a nominal fee. We could use power and the shower. It came with strict instructions to keep windows and doors closed to ensure that the interior remained cool during the day and insect free at night.
We were on the road again early’ish the next morning, hoping that the Karoo National Park had an available campsite…