4: Victoria Bay - Aliwal North (South Africa)

South Africa Pictures Here:

Week four update:

Day 22:

Funny thing then… Cameras ready for the spectacular sunrise was greeted with torrential downpours just before dawn and a heavily clouded sky. So you will still have to take my word for it!

The clouds did part and the sun did come out in time for us to pack up and move on to our next accommodation. After speaking to a surfer who was camping next to us, and discovering that the sea temperature was an acceptable 20 degrees, we decided to try and make a SCUBA dive in Knysna the next day. Google revealed the existence of a dive operation close to the heads and a phone called confirmed such an existence as well as a willingness to provide us with the necessary air and knowledge needed to make a dive there.

The dive master did say that we could only dive at high tide and that it was subject to conditions. He also said that high tide was at mid day the next day, and we were pleased at the prospect of not having to get up early for diving.

The drive to Knysna along the N2 is always pleasant, even in the rain and upon entering the town we noticed a garage advertising free internet Wi-Fi. We found a suitable camp site in town called Monks and booked in for two nights at a very reasonable R120 per night. (High season rates I noticed were R450 per night.) We quickly set up camp before the next rain came, and after it had passed decided to take a stroll to the garage with the free Wi-Fi. The camp site is right next to the lake and you get a key to a gate opening up onto a walkway on the lake when you stay there.

It was this walkway we took and after half a kilometre decided that the relentless hammering of the wind against us made the slightly less picturesque, but infinitely more pleasant walk along the main street the preferred route. We reached the garage without getting wet, turned two laptops on, connected to the Wi-Fi and the internet… and that is where it stopped! I tried to download QuickTime for the Nettbook for about half an hour and got to about 3% before giving it up as a bad joke and contemplated a hot cup of coffee back at camp.

On the walk back we decided to ask at a shop called the Coffee Connection whether their “hotspot” sign meant free internet, as Catt had thought on the way to the garage, or WI-FI Hotspot that you had to pay for, as I had thought. To my surprise, they did offer free internet and we immediately accepted an invitation to a table and promptly ordered two mugs of their coffee for the day. Almost an hour later I had managed 4% of QuickTime and had not yet been able to download my emails successfully. We paid for the coffee, walked back to camp, fired up the 3G card, downloaded emails, uploaded the website and did everything internet related in about 15 minutes. We did appreciate the walk and the fresh air though.

Day 23:

Our SCUBA diving day… or so we thought. We received an sms from the dive master saying: “All diving cancelled because of last nights rain, bad visibility and strong currents” we looked at each other, sighed, smiled, and went back to sleep happy!

When we eventually awoke, it was a gloriously sunshine day. There was almost no wind, almost no clouds and the temperature was warmer that we had felt for days. It was washing day! We found a laundrette in town who insisted that we did not have to wait for the washing and strolled around the greater Knysna shopping district for an hour before getting bored. We returned to the laundrette in time to read for about 20 minutes before being handed a neatly folded pile of clean clothes and walked back to camp, along the windless lake.

We had planned an afternoon stroll, weather depending, to Thesen Island. This seems to be where the new rich people in Knysna hang out. It used to be the Knysna Heads. Thesen Island’s highest point can’t be higher than 10 feet above sea level and I would personally hate to sleep there in fear of drowning in my sleep. The well planned high street contains more estate agents per square meter than I have ever seen anywhere and there are luxury cars, yachts and boats everywhere you looked! It was designed to look like a harbour town, or village and the designers did this well. It’s very chic and pretty and everything from the cafés and restaurants and art galleries seems perfectly in place! I glanced at one poster in an estate agent’s window and saw a price tag of R16 Million (Roughly £1.5 Million) for a neat little three bedroom semi detached.

We left the island feeling slightly underdressed and wandered over to the yacht club and waterfront. This was definitely more in our range. Many restaurants offering oysters, which Knysna is famous for, at discount prices. There were impressive boats in the moorings and everyday and ordinary people lining the walkways. It was however still absolutely littered with estate agents.

The rain stayed away for the whole day and on the walk back along the wind still lake we stopped to take some “contemplatingly” photographs at an old wooden boat in a make shift dry dock.

Day 24:

It was time to get a move on. The heavy dew from the night soaked the tent and awning, but we packed it all up none the less. We set the nose of Magurudumu north towards the mountains and headed inland. Driving on tar has become a little bit of a bore by now, so we started our journey by way of dirt mountain passes to Avontuur and then using the Prince Alfred pass to get to Uniondale. These seldom used dirt roads wind their way up through indigenous forests and then some plantations to the highest peaks north of Plettenberg Bay before descending into what I assume to be part of the Karoo on the other side. It is an awesomely entertaining drive which does not require any special vehicle and I honestly don’t understand why more people don’t use this route.

Our stop over town was Graaff-Reinet. The guidebooks paint a picture of an affluent farming community and some historically significant buildings and the world’s largest grape vine. We found the municipal camp site, complete with the resident drunks playing loud music despite the stern “NO MUSIC” sign by the gate.

After pitching tents we took an almost compulsory walk into town to see the sights. The impressive church in the centre of town glistened in the afternoon sunlight and the sight did not disappoint! I found it a little strange that a house of God would have locked gates on a Saturday afternoon, but with a manicured lawn like that; I assume they do that to keep people off the grass.

The begging of the hordes of beggars on the streets became so relentless that we made a quick getaway back to the beat coming from the boot of the car of the resident drunk and dived into a serious game of scrabble while there was still light. As if by magic, by the time the scrabble was over, the drunk got quiet, the wind died down and the sun was behind the horizon. We prepared ourselves a feast in a quiet and eerily massive camp ground before retiring to our dry and comfortable bedding inside the tent.

Day 25:

The Graaff-Reinet camp site’s shower heads were bizarrely aggressive. They pointed horizontally and when the taps were open, there was absolutely no way of escaping the lashings from the surprisingly hot drops. Although effective, they were strangely unpleasant and the rest of the ablution blocks reminded me of high school gym class. The ladies ablutions were painted bright pink with luminous yellow behind the doors.

Our route for the day took us further north and inland and higher up into the mountains. We crossed the last parts of the Karoo and ventured into the Eastern Cape by Aliwal North and settled in a camp site called “Karnmelkspruit” some 15km south of Lady Gray. This is where we were to meet up with my parents and some of their friends for their annual touring and 4x4 holidays. From this point on we would become part of a 5 vehicle convoy.

We managed to reach it before lunch, knowing that they would only reach it by late afternoon and contemplated the meaning of us becoming part of those noisy crowds of people we always try to avoid... like the ones we met on our last night at the Richtersberg camp site in week one…

There was one other group in camp and they told us about the phenomenal fly fishing in the river. This excited me greatly as I was convinced that my father would not travel to the Eastern Cape without the necessary fly fishing gear. The gang arrived mid afternoon… without any fly fishing gear, but followed by a lone biker, Jamie, who was at the start of a four month trip around southern Africa. Perhaps we will meet up with him again in Malawi.

The facilities at the camp site were fairly rustic. There was a nice area where we could all squeeze in, not be too noisy and have our first social gathering since leaving home. We discussed the logistics of convoy driving and voiced our concerns about driving slower than anyone else and stopping more often to take photographs. It was all well received and we were asked to lead the group the following day to ensure that we could set the pace. My mom brought us an extra blanket, so we managed a surprisingly comfortable night camping in very low temperatures.

Day 26:

The purpose of the first part of the group’s trip was to drive 8 mountain passes in the Eastern Cape. Much has been written about them recently and everyone was excited about the prospect of seeing the magnificent views for themselves rather than in photographs and magazines.

Our first pass was the Joubert Pass just outside of Lady Grey. It was in fairly good condition and the steep inclines made all the heavily loaded vehicles work hard to the summit. The best view for me was looking back at the town from just before the summit. It always amazes me how fast you can gain altitude in a pass like that. The descent required some fancy gear work and the road settled in a valley meandering through some farm land. I was happy to be driving in front and not having John with his trailer behind me. It was breathtakingly beautiful with the Poplar trees in brilliant yellow autumn colours complimented occasionally by a sandstone farm building with red corrugated roof and rusty gates.

We found a Grey Rhebuck stuck between the jackal proof fences on the road and took the best part of fifteen minutes waiting for it to find a way through the fence before promptly disappearing into a valley. I was a little surprised that they still exist in the area and being a fairly scarce buck to see felt strangely privileged to be able to watch it for a while.

The circular route took us back to the tar road between Lady Grey and Barkley East and after heading south for a while we left tar again towards the Otto Du Plessis Pass, the second planned pass for the day. As leaders of the pack it was also our responsibility to find a suitable lunch spot. This proved quite challenging for a five car convoy. When we’re on our own, we simply need a space the size of Magurudumu and these roads were all in-between private, fenced farms with no trees around at all and no picnic spots. On my father’s recommendation we stopped at the summit of the very wind swept pass. Hiding behind the bulk of the Land Cruiser and overlooking what seemed to be the whole of the Eastern Cape we spoilt ourselves with the last of our Ostrich pate and three cheeses.

The southern side of the pass had very steep down hills requiring low gears complete with a few spectacularly big rocks that had come dislodged from the hill side. At one point we came upon a cow and three calves stuck on the road between a sheer cliff and a sheer drop. Between my father and I, who was driving behind us, we managed to herd them down the hill and off the road using the vehicles.

Once we were down in the valley again the road winded its way through picturesque farmland and mountain streams all the way to the small town of Elliot, our destination for the evening. We popped into the local Spar for supplies to my great surprise found a very well stocked fly fishing cupboard complete with the exact rod I have been looking for, for ages!

It’s a 5 weight rod that comes in four parts and the kit even had a floating line and reel. It was a no brainer at the price, so I paid it immediately and got a little excited about trying it out that day as we were camping by the Thompson Dam which apparently had Bass in.

We arrived in convoy at the dam camp site and discovered with horror that the state of their ablution facilities were utterly disgusting and completely unacceptable despite the assurances of the lady where the booking was made. To be fair, the cost of camping there was only R6 per person per night, so we were not completely taken by surprised. It belongs to the town council and I did phone them to ask for the cleaners to be sent, but that obviously did not happen. I’m sure they also have picnic spots with dustbins that never get emptied.

Ablutions aside, the setting was incredibly beautiful and although there was no biting on the flies I expertly casted into the water, I enjoyed the activity and the place a lot. The sunset was spectacular with a few clouds, a mirror reflection on the dam and autumn colours in the hills. I suddenly had to pick up the rod, run back to the car and grab a camera to take some photos. As fly fishing seem to go hand in hand with good photographic conditions, I should really have taken the camera with me in the first place… So we learn.

Day 27:

We woke up from the bray of Zebra standing no further than 100 meters from our sunbathed tent. It was a glorious morning in the Eastern Cape and the excitement in the group was growing steadily with the prospect of driving three passes for the day.

First on the list was the Barkley pass. Although a tar road, it zigzags through glorious sand stone formations and provides the access to the turn of to the Bastervoetpad Pass, the second for the day. We elected not to lead again and found it a little challenging to keep the pace of the group until we left the tar.

The Bastervoetpad pass was amazing! The climb to the summit is steep and steady and passes through farms with pretty dwellings. The summit itself offers the most breathtaking panoramic view imaginable! It was a lot less windy than the day before and we lingered at the top admiring nature, spotting a pair of endangered Black Eagles and feeling a little small in the vast expanse which lay before us.

Through all the passes I was astonished to see the amount of abandoned houses and buildings. It seems like every farmer simply decided to move out of the original sand stone farm house in favour of a newer, more modern dwelling. It is such a shame to see so much wasted accommodation in a country with so many homeless people.

Driving down towards Maclear was very interesting! The road can best be described as “slow and rough” The first part descends so quickly that I often used my lowest gear to slow us down and manage the rocky obstacles. We were overtaken by a motorcyclist who obviously did not have the same issues. We criss-crossed a brilliantly clear mountain stream, passed a few rickety dwellings, some cattle and drove past spectacular sand stone cliffs on either side of the road. Once we were down in the valley we passed through some pine plantations with the light dancing in-between the trees. We found a random bath in the middle of the field which I wanted to go and pose in, for the photo only to discover that it was being used as a water trough for livestock…

After a quick bite by the roadside we passed through the village of Maclear, left the tar road again and started making our way up to the Naude’s Neck Pass between Maclear and Rhodes, our destination for the evening. The snaking dirt roads towards the Neck of the Naude brothers suited Magurudumu and our driving style perfectly. By this time we selected to be at the back of the convoy and told the group not to wait for us.

The Naude brothers apparently farmed on either side of this mountain and completed this pass in 1911 to enable them to visit each other easily. I found it almost ridiculous to imagine the mammoth task of carving a road so steep and so long even with today’s techniques and equipment, not even considering what it must have been like in 1911!

By this time we have come to realize that every uphill eventually has a downhill and this downhill took us through the Afro Alpine environment on the tops of the mountains all the way down into the National Monument which is the town of Rhodes. The bulk of the group were booked into an Inn for the nights, but we selected the municipal camp site for our accommodation. In great contrast to the camp site at Elliot, this was a tiny camp site with clean and neat facilities in the middle of town. Rhodes itself reminded me very much of a farming village in the Yorkshire Dales. We were told that it is permanently inhabited by about 25 souls only, and when taking your dog for a walk, every dog in the village will eventually join the group and find its way home when walking time is over.

We decided to prepare our own dinner rather than eating a set menu at the Inn and were still feasting on our Cobb made chocolate cake when my parents returned to the camp site after their dinner with the group. My dad presented me with a fishing permit for a dam called “Lochness”. Our plan was to leave earlier than the group and then wait for them by the dam.

Day 28:

It was a cloudy and chilly start to the day. We had a beautiful English Pointer wander into camp and felt it safe to give him some attention. A habit that we both realize will have to stop once we leave South Africa. We packed up camp and left an hour before the rest of the gang.

Within half an hour of leaving town we found a sign which read: “Engage lowest gear, keep revs up, take corners wide, drive confidently” It was sound advice! We had arrived at the bottom of the Carlislehoek Pass and the road to South Africa’s only ski resort, Tiffendell. It took every one of the horses in the 4.2l engine to haul the weight and bulk of Magurudumu up that hill however it is worth mentioning that we were still on 2 wheel drive, so we had Low Range in reserve if needed.

Lochness was described on the map as Tiffendell Dam, and is a gorgeous dam high up in the mountains. The pleasantly cool mountain air made the trout active and I could see them feeding of the surface of the water. I was very excited! While Catt was making friends with the local herd of cattle and taking some photos I was casting away and disappointingly watching some trout jumping over my bait favouring some local insect floating on the water rather than anything I had in my fly box.

The rest of the gang caught up with us after confirming the rumour that Tiffendell went bust and are currently in receivership. Still fishless, but watching the trout rise all around me, I conceded that I did not have the right fly for the job, packed up and followed the group to the top of the mountain and down the other side using the Bidstone Pass.

I don’t think the Bidstone Pass is as steep as the Carlislehoek Pass, but you still won’t want to rely on your brakes to maintain the snail’s pace needed to negotiate the sharp bends and keep away from the sheer drops. It winds down into a valley far below and another gorgeous old farm house in sand stone with Poplar trees lining the road. I was by no means used to the beauty of it, nor was I getting bored with seeing it so often.

Our last pass for the day was the Lundean’s Neck Pass. Unfortunately the weather had turned quite foul. What I would think would be an environment full of colour and contrast and perfect for the avid landscape photographer was cold, dark, dull and windy. The road itself was not uninteresting to drive and the view from the top was still spectacular despite the weather. We found this brilliant little Sheppard’s hut built from stone right at top which made a welcome foreground to a few photographs.

Our journey took us along the Tele River to the Tele border post between South Africa and Lesotho. Still a dirt road, it was littered with potholes, but also with people fixing the potholes using gravel and dirt from next to the road. We joined the tar right by the border post and made good time towards the town of Aliwal North and our accommodation on a guest farm some 20km outside of town.

The farm’s name is Badfontein and we can highly recommend it! The small camp site started as their bush camp and has great facilities including piping hot water, reed fenced ablutions and a neat boma where everyone could sit comfortably and prepare a well deserved dinner after the second long day’s driving in a row.

If I had to do it all again:

It would have been nice to SCUBA in Knysna, but weather is not really something you could change. The drive up to meet up with the group was an unavoidable bore, so nothing to change there.

I would have loved to have fly-fishing gear at Karnmelkspruit, but with my newly acquired toys, that will not be a problem again.

Now the passes.. Day one was fair in terms of driving distance, pace and time. Day two was too long for me! I would have liked to stay on a guest farm between Maclear and Rhodes. I spotted a sign for something called Elands Heights on the top of the mountain. I still would have stayed at Rhodes a night because of the quaintness of it and just use the easy day to relax, perhaps go for a wander in the hills. Day three was also too long for me, but not by much. One idea would be to stay at Karnmelkspruit again, making the day about an hour shorter. I didn’t really spot other options at the preferred time or distance. I’m glad we found Badfontein though as it is such a nice place.

As for group driving and touring… This must be the easiest group to travel with as everyone, despite their vastly different personalities seem to be able to co-exist without any issues. We still prefer to travel alone, but if we had to do the group thing, this group would be our first choice.

For the record, we drove 11 mountain passes, including the 8 of which much has been written. They are, in order of travel: Joubert Pass, Grondnek Pass, Otto du Plessis Pass,

Barkley Pass, Bastervoetpad Pass, Potrivier Pass, Naude’s Neck Pass, Carlislehoek Pass, Bidstone Pass, Lundean’s Neck Pass and Dulcies Nek Pass.