Dec 21, Wednesday & Dec 22, Thursday

Dec 21, Wednesday  &   Dec 22, Thursday

Dec 21, Wednesday 
I was on the road by 10:30 driving out of Jo-burg when I encountered cars backing up on the freeway (N1) heading out of the city.   Woa !   I waited to see what they were doing:  crossing across to a highway going toward Soweto.   Probably a detour they know about, so I decided to follow them.  Good thing because the cars that had gone further were stuck there for hours while an accident was being taken care of.   I spotted a gas station near the Soweto Hospital and pulled in to ask for directions.   A gentleman who was waiting to pay for his gas saw my map and immediately asked if he could be of assistance.  So polite !   He had been a tour guide for Soweto and had just done the same detour I had.  He pointed me in the right direction and in less than 5 minutes I was back on Highway 1, having by-passed the accident.

I was not sure how long it would take me to drive the 1,375 km since I did not know what the road conditions would be like, nor where I would be able to find accommodation;  the cities/towns are “few and far between” on this route.   The scenery was very flat and reminded me a bit of the Texas panhandle.  I saw herds of cattle, horses and sheep along the way.

  You can see for miles

  Plowed fields ready for planting

  View from one of the rest stops

  Lots of "table" mountains along the way

  Just like driving through the prairies

  The wet road after the storm

Made it all the way to Colesberg and stayed at the Colesberg Lodge (one of the few hotels advertised at the exit ramp.   It used to be a majestic huge 2 story hotel.  The hallways reminded me of the hotel in a Jack Nicholson movie where he plays an axe murderer; the title escapes me today (The Shining?) but I remembered it as I walked down the long halls.  The grand lady has lost a lot of her charm, but the furniture in the bedrooms are all period pieces.

 The dresser

  The pool beside the dining room

Did not get to use the pool unfortunately because I had just driven through a storm about half an hour outside Colesberg, and there were leaves and twigs floating in the water.   I went to shower and change, then went to the restaurant/bar where I met 2 young South-African ladies who were spending their Xmas holidays together.  We had a nice chat and one of them recommended a drink I might want to try, as well as a meal of lamb, which is a Cape Town specialty, but also a specialty of the region I was in.   Yvette, you would have LOVED this dish;  she said it was a mild curry, but I thought it tasted more like a spicy chutney.  In either case, it was delicious.  I gave my compliments to the chef and called it an early night.

Dec 22, Thursday

Next morning I was on the road again by 9 am after having eaten a continental breakfast.  Coffee was horrible !   The scenery was pretty much a repetition of the day before until I got to De Doorne. 

  This was my chase vehicle for about an hour

  Long vistas

  In case you can't read the sign, it says "Three Sisters    80"   Hélène and Yvette are definitely in my thoughts.

  Majestic views

All of a sudden there were mountains and green valleys; VINEYARDS !   

  Is this gorgeous ?  Breathtaking

 Beautiful rocky mountains

The closer I got to Paarl, the darker the clouds became, the lighting was incredible as well as the winds.  The rain came pouring down for about half an hour.  Luckily, as I approached Cape Town it cleared up.  I drove thorugh the city streets and made my way towards Camps Bay and by the time I got my first sight of the Atlantic ocean, it was sunny again.

 My first glimpse at the Ocean

I had looked at possible hotels before leaving Johannesburg and that’s why I was heading towards Camps Bay.   I figured I could find an internet café somewhere, log on and check out BOOKING.COM
Well, there were no internet cafés, nor could I see a “regular” hotel where I could use the internet.  Since I was on the main street which fronts the beach, there was no parking to be had, so I drove up to a secondary street, found a parking spot and got out of the car, intending to try finding something on foot.
I hadn’t gone 10 steps from the car when I met a lady on the sidewalk, who seemed to “belong”.  I asked her if she knew of internet cafés in the area and she replied that as far as she knew, there weren’t any !  But she did direct me to one big hotel just down the street from where I had parked and said that they would probably assist me in locating some type of availability.   Turns out I had just driven by this VERY EXPENSIVE hotel so I went in, explained what I needed, and Mark the hotel clerk said “no problem” just come in to the lobby and use the wifi connection.   Off I went, back to where I had parked the car to get my laptop.  Rather than walking back, I drove the car and parked in their back lot.  It took me a while to find something, but I managed to make a booking, locate the hotel on my map and off I went, back into Cape Town proper, in an area called Sea Point, on Beach Street, right on the waterfront.   It’s like a small bachelor apartment with a hot plate, bar fridge, microwave, table & chairs.  

Very nice and not that expensive.  In fact I’ve found the prices in South Africa quite reasonable.  After unpacking and having a nice hot shower I went out for dinner at around 8 pm in a nearby restaurant.