It was good, as always, to see Bool and Sam at their farm Zeekoegat in Riversdale. After a hearty welcome Bool took us for a walk on the property to show us the progress with his river rehabilitation project which he had started when we last visited. It really is very impressive.
Besides his passion for the environment, Bool also has a soft spot for injured farm animals. There are always a number of ‘rescues’ to be fed and cared for. Animals reign supreme in that household!
Sam prepared a yummy meal for supper. They enjoyed the granadilla beer from the Moerse Padstal, while Roger and I had our customary glass of wine with dinner. Thanks once again for your hospitality and generosity Bool and Sam.
Monday brought the very shocking and extremely sad news that our neighbour and friend, Nigel Little, had passed away from COVID. What a huge loss to his family, friends, and the legal fraternity. His legal advice and dry sense of humour will be sorely missed at our complex. May he rest in peace.
Bool recommended a visit to Baviaans Lodge. It sounded most interesting, and we’re always keen to explore new places, so we decided to do just that. From Riversdale we chose to travel inland through the Langkloof rather than coastwise. This is one of the major apple-growing regions of our country and we just marveled at the extent of the industry. Now I had a picture in my head of where my favourite daily apple comes from.
Just before Mossel Bay we passed Kevin and Lucy travelling in the opposite direction, on their way back from honeymoon. We had to contend with hooting and waving as it wasn’t possible to pull over and chat.
Roger meanwhile phoned ahead to check on accommodation options at the lodge. They do not offer camping facilities, but owner Rob agreed that we could stay over in Ufudu. He advised waiting for morning before attempting the approach to the lodge as the road would be challenging in the dark. With that in mind, we turned in at the first campsite we spotted when the time came to call it a day. Witteberghoek Campsite was deserted and all facilities were locked up. It took some effort to find the owners and arrange payment and access, thanks to non-existent cell phone signal. We eventually managed and after they came to unlock for us we settled in and had a peaceful, isolated and cut-off-from-the-world night; the only campers there. There was light snow on the surrounding mountains but as always, we were snug inside Ufudu.
Rob advised us to stop in at the Sweaty Dutchman in Karreedouw for a bite to eat and then to confirm our route with the owner, who apparently knew him well. It was pouring with rain when we arrived. We made a squishy, splashy sprint from Ufudu to the restaurant where we found the owner busy locking up for the day, despite the fact that it was lunchtime. In his defense, it was lockdown, there were no other customers, but he clearly had no intention of having a conversation with us, let alone offer us a cup of coffee. Roger, always the gentler of the two of us, asked whether there was anywhere else we could try. The answer was ‘no, nowhere else in town that he could think of’. I did not even try to engage with him, thanks to his obvious reluctance, so I just turned around and sprinted back to Ufudu.
Back in the vehicle we spotted a signboard almost in front of us for a place called Twin & Co. We decided to go and enquire there. Much to our surprise it was a coffee shop, right behind the Sweaty Dutchman! Now, I ask myself, why would he not have told us about it? Be that as it may, we had a very good coffee and pleasant lunch there instead, with friendly staff and lots of interesting goodies for sale which we browsed while waiting for our meal.
With new energy and enthusiasm, we now headed into the mountains on the last leg to Baviaans Lodge. It was still raining but we found ourselves stopping frequently along the way to take photos and admire the scenery.
When we eventually reached the access road to the lodge it was lined with trees that did not allow enough space for our high vehicle, so we had to take the delivery road. This too was overgrown so Rob and his son had to cut down some branches with the help of a chainsaw before we could pass.
It would be hard to find a more remote spot than Baviaans Lodge. Perhaps due to that there did not seem to be any staff. Instead the whole family work together in running the place, including the provision of meals. There was a welcoming fire burning, an open bar and not a mask in sight. When we asked Rob about the regulation prohibiting the sale of alcohol he scoffed. The place is so remote that policing was not an issue. He needed to make a living and that was that. Mmm…
Below: An accommodation unit and me warming up with the youngest daughter, while waiting for breakfast
The only other visitors at the lodge was a couple from Cape Town. Johnny works for Petro SA and we had lively discussions and sharing of stories, sitting around the fireplace and sipping wine. These discussions and the lack of electricity reminded me of a rather embarrassing incident while on a business trip a good number of years ago.
I presented an SAP IS-Oil Upstream training course at Petro SA for a number of days and stayed in a nearby hotel. That was when loadshedding was first instituted and alternate measures were not yet in place. So, each person was issued with an emergency light when checking in for the night.
The wall between my room and my neighbours’ had an interleading door, which obviously was locked, but provided no soundproofing. Whether they were on a ‘dirty’ night out, or newlywed, or whoever knows what, their lovemaking cries were loud and non-stop. I was amazed at the stamina and the never-ending “ohhhh” and ‘ahh’ and ‘uhhh’ sounds emanating from that room. Eventually, agitated and unable to sleep, I decided to do preparation for the next day’s presentation. But the power was out, and my emergency light was not working. No problem, I went to reception to have it exchanged.
At reception I was promptly issued with another, working light by a rather pleasant, handsome young man. As I turned and started back up the stairs it suddenly dawned on me that I had only my sleepshirt on and nothing else. The shirt was rather short, and the stairs went up steeply, right in front of a well lit reception area. All I could do was to keep my pose and ascend the stairs as nonchalantly as possible, walking dead straight while gently pulling the shirt from the front in order to get it to fold in under my ‘cheeks’. Hopefully. I had no idea what the view from down there was like or even if anyone was watching, and I wasn’t about to look back!
I sneaked out very quietly the next morning, thankful that my ‘night watchman’ was not on duty…
We slept in Ufudu as usual. It was bitterly cold and, no surprise, we woke up to a blanket of frost.
It was a crisp, clear morning when we left Baviaans Lodge, taking our time, and enjoying the beautiful drive through the Kouga Mountains!
Next stop was Van Stadens River Mouth. What a welcome relief to have good sunny weather for a change. We found a camping spot and spent the afternoon walking on the beach and just enjoying being at the coast.
It was so pleasant that we just had to stay for another day.
Meanwhile, back home Jan-Louis had his first introduction to a piglet.
