The intention was to get going early in the morning on the day after the wedding. But it was winter in Cape Town, and it was drizzling. It was oh so cosy sitting under the duvet with a cup of coffee and recalling the events of the past few days. Then Colleen called and invited us to join them at 10 o’clock for their Sunday ritual of croissants and coffee. That got us going and in no time we were packed up and ready.
After a nice long chat over coffee with Colleen, Paul and Hazel (Colleen’s sister), we eventually departed, leaving behind us four deep indents in their lawn. It was strange to think that we met face-to-face two days ago and now parted ways as family! Everything worked out well in the end though.
Lucy was still supposed to be working until Tuesday, so Kevin had arranged for their honeymoon to start on Wednesday. In compliance with the new lockdown level, she actually finished off on Friday, so we phoned and invited them to join us for lunch at Mariner’s Wharf in Hout Bay, our favourite Fish & Chips takeaway restaurant. They gladly accepted and invited Liam, Kevin’s friend and groomsman, along as well.
After a pleasant meal and lively conversation, we said our fond goodbyes and moved on to start our usual visiting rounds to see all our friends in and around Cape Town. First stop was at Chapman’s Peak Caravan Park in Noordhoek. This would be our base for a day or two while visiting Henk and also Carol and Mike.
But first we needed to replenish stocks and just ‘be’. We decided to leave Ufudu parked where it was and walked to the Noordhoek Mall. It was quite a distance and by the time we got back to the caravan park Roger’s tracker showed 10 km. This was the longest walk since my foot operation so my feet were very tired, but it was good to get the limbs moving after all the days of sitting!
Lunch consisted of takeaways from Valley Coffee Company & Roastery. After opening our food parcels, I had to go back and ask for utensils because none were provided, presumably in an attempt to dissuade patrons to sit around and eat right there!
Carol and Mike came out to see us at the caravan park, and we had a good few hours of chatting and catching up.
Henk had an urgent project-related issue and had to cancel our get-together the next day. I was disappointed but I do understand project demands. So, we went to the Village Market for lunch instead, again on foot.
Back at Ufudu we packed up and left Noordhoek, destination Mountain Breeze Caravan Park outside Stellenbosch where we usually stay when we visit Hannlé. To our disappointment and dismay, it was closed. According to hearsay the property belongs to the municipality and the lease was not renewed to the lessee’s satisfaction. Now what?
A Google search showed the nearest caravan park to be The Hollandsche Molen in Franschhoek. We’ve been there before and liked it a lot. It was quite a distance to go and already dusk so Roger phoned ahead to make a reservation, only to hear
“Sorry sir, we are closed. We’re making use of the lockdown to do maintenance”.
Oh, my word! Fortunately, Roger was able to persuade the owner that we needed nothing besides a place to park and a power point. He relented and agreed that we could come through but expressed great concern about our safety, travelling at such a late hour. When we arrived 45 minutes later he looked relieved, confessing that he’d assumed we were foreigners, being in a motorhome and all, hence his concerns.
It was great. We were the only people there and we had everything we needed, including washing machines and tumble dryers. We spent the next morning doing laundry before having lunch in Franschhoek and exploring the town a bit.
Much to our surprise the Huguenot Monument’s grounds were closed. No visitors were allowed “due to Covid restrictions”. Really? An open-air monument? Same thinking as not being able to go to the beach, I suppose. The mind boggles…
Hannlé was quite happy for us to park outside her house for the night, so we headed back to Stellenbosch in the mid-afternoon. We had a wonderful evening of chatting, drinking wine and eating. She had prepared a meal fit for a king and I have to confess we both over-indulged. Nothing compares to a hearty home-cooked meal with Karoo lamb to boot. Thanks for your hospitality Hannlé and a special thanks for the two bottles of olives; yours are the best!
Our next stop was Standfords Bay, parking in Rinette’s driveway as usual. We spent two nights there, enjoying her delicious home-cooked meal on the first night while we prepared the second evening meal. For lunch we bought the most delicious calamari and chips from a pop-up trailer on the beach.
It is just so amazing to live at the coast. There is always something to do. Before leaving town the next day we just had to go back to the same beach. We went for a long walk and, of course, another portion of that calamari. Thanks once again for everything Rinette; your hospitality, the lamb chops, the soup, etc. Until next time.
From Standfords Bay we took the coastal road and decided to camp at Die Dam. However, we had no reservation, so they would not let us in. Fortunately, we had enough time to reach Napier but again, Napier has no camping facility. Thankfully, the folk at the Moerse Padstal had no problem with us parking under a tree outside their premises. After we bought a whole lot of goodies from them, of course… Roger was fascinated by their FROG jam (Fig, Raspberry, Orange and Granadilla) and thoroughly enjoyed it as well.
The temperature reached -1°C during the night. As we looked at the heavy frost, sitting comfortably in bed and sipping coffee, we decided that we should seriously rethink our return route via Rhodes. There was no reason to attempt those treacherous roads with a vehicle as top-heavy as Ufudu.
We stopped in at the Napier Farmstall for breakfast on our way out of town. It turned out to be the best farm stall we’ve encountered on our travels to date! Because of the restrictions on sit-down restaurant meals, they even served our breakfast in Ufudu! With great flair, I might add. It was delicious!
After this unexpected luxury we left Napier and took a slow drive to Riversdale for a visit to Bool Smuts.
