We managed to secure a campsite for only one night at Double Mouth Nature Reserve as the camp was fully booked for the long weekend. It has a great sea view with all the campsites arranged in a double semi-circle facing a rocky bay, and is by all accounts a fisherman’s mecca. Just a pity that all the trees in the camp are Casuarinas. We reluctantly left after a short walk along the rocky shore to the Quko River mouth.
Some internet research brought up the Yellowwood Forest Camp which sounded promising so after a phone call to owner Shaun, that was where we headed. What a lovely surprise we got! The place is different; all natural, very much into ‘recycle, reuse and reduce’. The décor is proof of that principle, as well as being arty.
The owners, Shaun and Robyn, are friendly and accommodating and we soon had a spacious and secluded grassy campsite amongst beautiful trees and shrubs, bordering on the forest.
The restaurant has a traditional wood-fired pizza oven and they only serve vegetarian pizzas, although they will add meat afterwards if you wish. Here is the story of the oven:
After lunch we drove to Kei Mouth to do some shopping. One of the items on the shopping list was bath oil. We were both suffering from numerous itchy bites caused by pepper ticks. Pepper ticks are the first nymph stage in the tick’s lifecycle and transfer to legs and clothing as one walks through grass. They are so tiny that at first they go unnoticed, but after a few days little itchy bumps appear. And can they itch!!! The only remedy once you have them seems to be a 15-20 minute hot bath with bath oil and tee tree oil in the water. This causes them to suffocate so they let go and float to the surface. A remedial bath was called for!
After a walk on the beach a visit to the vehicle ferry was a must. We were keen to give it a try but sadly Ufudu would not be allowed to come aboard due to height and weight restrictions.
Saturday was Farmers’ Market at Yellowwood where we bought some yummy food items and fresh produce, as well as books (always!), etc. That of course meant that the afternoon was spent reading in the shade.
There is a short forest nature walk which we did the following day. It was most interesting and clearly geared for families with young children. There were swings in places, a fairy circle and interesting bits of forest information attached to trees. Everything to keep the young ones interested.
Roger had in the meantime traced the problem of the tail lights to a blown fuse. This was easily corrected but there was a lot of moisture in two of the 6 light covers that had to be dried out. He is not sure if that was the cause of the problem. The side wall of the trailer wheel seems to be damaged so that will have to wait for a visit to East London.
We reluctantly left Yellowwood Forest after 3 nights and headed for Bosbokstrand, stopping at Haga Haga Hotel for lunch. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to call the folk at Bosbokstrand (we were informed that a code was needed to open the entrance gate) we decided to go to Chintsa instead.
