Malgas to Witsand

We (and Roger especially) were very excited to get to Malgas and eventually get Ufudu across a river on a Pont. Earlier in the trip, at Morgan’s Bay, weight and height restrictions had prevented us from making use of the Kei River Pont.

The Pont which crosses the Breede River at Malgas came into service in 1830. The current Pont is the third one and has been in use since 1914! It is the only remaining hand-driven Pont in South Africa and therefore totally ‘green’; driven only by human power.

The pont is attached by means of a pulley system to a steel cable spanning the river and gets pulled across by two men with harnesses. Attached to each harness is a short length of chain which is wrapped around the cable with a quick flick of the wrist, before the person walks down the length of the Pont. Absolutely fascinating!

After the Pont we headed for Witsand. This was another destination that Roger had been looking forward to after having seen it from the air on numerous occasions. The road meandered through attractive wheat and canola fields; fresh green new growth on the wheat and bright yellow canola flowers.

We got to Witsand rather late and found the Municipal Caravan Park deserted, with no power and locked ablutions. Fortunately our GPS indicated another site near the beach. This one was also deserted, but at least the ladies ablution was unlocked and there was power – one cannot start the day without an espresso you know! The next day we decided that the place was not really worth staying at and felt rather let down, to say the least. Roger was hoping to be on the river and to do some fishing.

We left Witsand via the marine drive and there stopped at a jetty where Roger chatted to some locals. They suggested the River Breeze Restaurant for lunch and possibly camping.

River Breeze Restaurant is a few kilometers out of town and we had a pleasant lunch there. Mesaan, who manages the restaurant, immediately agreed to allow us to camp on the property. They have a small fishing cabin on the river’s edge where we could park Ufudu.

A steep descent along a muddy road had us go down to the ‘campsite’ with four-wheel drive engaged. The space was rather muddy and the river did not look too promising for fishing as Roger could detect no fish activity. The same locals who told us about the place arrived the following morning to fish, but didn’t stay long as they reckoned the river had silted up the prawn holes and the fish had gone elsewhere. Roger had also hoped to launch Splash but now decided against it because the weather forecast indicated another cold front on its way.

We were intrigued by the space around the cabin; there was a large rock-and-cement circular braai, surrounded by 5 smaller versions of the same. It made no sense but the next day Gielie, the farm owner, told us that the first Ultimate Braai Master competition of the season was held there. It will apparently be broadcast in September.

At sunset we took a drive to the mouth where we watched a local fisherman catch a decent sized White Steenbras before sharing a pizza for dinner. We definitely miss Doppio 00!

We left the farm at around 10h00 and headed for Swellendam where we replenished food stocks; final destination Bontebok National Park.