Just so you know; Table Mountain has been voted as the 7 th Wonder of Nature in the World. We we awoke today and it was a gorgerous day so we decide to hit Table Mountain, which is outside Cape Town but you can drive thru Cape Town to get there or take a mountain road and enter the back way. We decide to take the easy but slightly longer route thru the city. Our GPS was acting "stupid " as it sometimes does so I had to stop and ask directions. As it turns out we were going the right way.
We wormed our way thru the city and up the mountain to the parking area and the Gondola entrance. Unforetunately , 10 thousand people beat us to the parking area so there was no room. However, there were about 10 or 12 parking stalls for Buses and about the same number of parking moniters, who will help you park for a price. Since we followed a Bus up and you had to circle around to get out of this jam, the Moniter said to follow the Bus and we will get you parked. After he and his partner parked the Bus they motioned for me to park in the last and only Bus parking stall left so I did. I said how much is this going to cost me and he said whatever is fair, bearing in mind that the option for me was to park about a KM away. So I said , how about R10 ( 1.30 cdn ) he said how about R 50. I countered by saying R 30 is fair to me and they both agreed and since I had it in my hand the took it gladly and WE had a VIP parking. Talk about luck.
Then we headed for the ticket office and since we already have a Annual National Park Pass, called a Wild Card , which we purchased in Kurger Park in Nov, we are entitled to a 20 % discount. However, the clerk now requested my drivers licence as she had to take a copy to prove that I am the same guy as the name on the Wild Card. What a charades. Suffice to say we got on the Gondola or as they call it the Cable Car and up the Mountain we go. The floor of the cable car actually rotates 360 degrees as it goes up the Mountain, that way everyone gets to view the entire Cape area on the way and on the way down.
Before you get on the Cable Car they insist on taking your picture as I'm sure you are well aware of this procedure. We did not intent to purchase the Pic as we had lots of our own but we did buy it after we seen how it was presented. For 20.00 Cdn you get 2 picture, 3 post cards with our pics on them, a Key chain with our pics on it and a CD with a 15 min video of the constuction and history and that CD includes 30 professional photos which you can copy. Not a bad deal.
We spent about 2 hours on the mountain taking pics, listening to a " Black " jazz type band and then had coffee and a muffins. The weather was cool , and at times foggy, on the mountain and they advise you of the fact before they sell you a ticket.
After coming down the mountain we went to the Waterfront to catch a Double Decker; Hop On Hop Off tour Bus which takes you on a 1 1/2 hour , narrated city and beach area tour. But; always a But, We could not find or get into the parking areas due to our height. But about a block for the Bus tour ticket office Carroll spotted a gated parking lot manned by a security guard, dressed in a suite and he had an official looking badge, so we stopped to ask if we could park and he said "NO' it is private but it had 50 stalls and only 5 vehicles and it appeared to be a parking area for an office bldg and it is Saturday, so Carroll kept talking and she said, let us park and we will pay you because you got lots of room. I guess when he heard pay, he opened the barrier. After parking I ask how much and he said depending on how long you stay because it is by the hour. So I slipped him R10 and said I see you in about 3 hours. After the Bus tour and our 1 hour Waterfront "Walkabout " we returned to our vehicle but they had change security guards so I just said that's my vehicle over there and he said OK and open the gate. I told Carroll to slip him a R20 on the way out as we figures that to park on the Waterfront in a secured lot for 3 or 4 hours , for R30 was very cheap by our standards.
After leaving the city we decide to take the scenic but moutain road back to our camp site. We also stopped in Hout Bay ( another small picturgues town with a beautiful beach ) for Fish and Chips. Then we headed up the mountain road for home. Near the peak they have a Toll booth and it cost R43 which seemed a little steep . Then about another KM they have a check point so i stopped and said " what do you want ". He said I need to see your ticket. I said ticket for what, I'm thinking ,maybe this is a National Park and he needs to see my Wild Card. He says, your toll Booth ticket. I said, Christ, i just paid it a KM down the road. He said I still have to see it. So we show it to him but I'm thinking, this another of those ZA " make work " programs.
All in All it was a great day. We still have to return to Cape town another day as they have a longer Bus tour to some outlying tours and other areas of the city. And we are going to spend Christmas week in this area.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Friday, 9 December 2011
9 Dec L Agulhas to Kommetjie
Last night while camped in L'Agulhas we encountered high winds and rain. The rain was light but the winds rocked our RV all night. however the Sun came out about 9 AM and it turned out to be pretty nice day. We drove thru mostly farm land and seen many dairy herds, most made up of Gurnsey, Brown Swiss and Ayrshires, Which was a surprise to me as we would have thought that dairy herds would be Holstiens. Also, there is a large amount of grain farms and they seem to have many more grain elevators then we in western Canada have. The fields are humoungas. I'mI sure their fields are in the hundreds of arcre lots. Because the area is all hills and rolling land they have few if any square or rectangle fields. I have not seen the large equipt that you would associate with such large fields.
The trip was uneventful until I decided to drive like a ZA would. We were on an excellent two lane hwy with 8 ft shoulders and the 18 wheeler slide over to the shoulder indicating that I could pass. At the exact same time an oncoming car decided to pass an 18 wheeler coming up the hill. Neither one of us had the right to pass but that never stops a ZA from passing. As we got closer Carroll shouted "Oh no..Oh no, I on other hand used words that not found in the Bible. As we got closer, everyone squeezed over and we all made it thru.
We stopped at a "lay by" at the top of a mountain to take some pics of the city below and the gorgerous view of the beaches along the waterfront. Unforetunatedly for me there were several Hawkers there with their carving etc and Carroll clean out my wallet again. So now I had to go into town and find an ATM because I can move without money in my pocket.
Now we are heading for our destination called kommetjie ( pronounced kom mo key ) and as we are worming our way along the shore line of the Indian ocean when we entered a small town and then we seen this railroad underpass which read 2.7 m and we are 3 m and now panic mode kicked in. Luckily there was a street that we could turn off and get out of the jam but we still had to get to the other side. So we circled back to an information booth that we had just passed. The lady said can I help and i said your dam right you can. She directed us to a crossing albeit down some dam narrow streets.
We contiued on for another half hour and found our camp site, which incidentally cost 33.00 Cdn per day. This now is the high season and we are inthe most sought after camping area for the Christmas season. When we signed in Carroll inquired about the laundry facilities. The lady said we do not have any but there is lady at the Shell station wHo does laundry, So down we go and for 5.00 she will do all our laundry. It did take long for carroll to say "and when do I get it back and a will it folded.
The trip was uneventful until I decided to drive like a ZA would. We were on an excellent two lane hwy with 8 ft shoulders and the 18 wheeler slide over to the shoulder indicating that I could pass. At the exact same time an oncoming car decided to pass an 18 wheeler coming up the hill. Neither one of us had the right to pass but that never stops a ZA from passing. As we got closer Carroll shouted "Oh no..Oh no, I on other hand used words that not found in the Bible. As we got closer, everyone squeezed over and we all made it thru.
We stopped at a "lay by" at the top of a mountain to take some pics of the city below and the gorgerous view of the beaches along the waterfront. Unforetunatedly for me there were several Hawkers there with their carving etc and Carroll clean out my wallet again. So now I had to go into town and find an ATM because I can move without money in my pocket.
Now we are heading for our destination called kommetjie ( pronounced kom mo key ) and as we are worming our way along the shore line of the Indian ocean when we entered a small town and then we seen this railroad underpass which read 2.7 m and we are 3 m and now panic mode kicked in. Luckily there was a street that we could turn off and get out of the jam but we still had to get to the other side. So we circled back to an information booth that we had just passed. The lady said can I help and i said your dam right you can. She directed us to a crossing albeit down some dam narrow streets.
We contiued on for another half hour and found our camp site, which incidentally cost 33.00 Cdn per day. This now is the high season and we are inthe most sought after camping area for the Christmas season. When we signed in Carroll inquired about the laundry facilities. The lady said we do not have any but there is lady at the Shell station wHo does laundry, So down we go and for 5.00 she will do all our laundry. It did take long for carroll to say "and when do I get it back and a will it folded.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
8 Dec Stilbaai ( Stil bay ) to L'Agulhas
I know I got the dates wrong on yesterday's Blog but I'm sure you realized that. Today we traveled from Stilbaai to the Most Southern tip of Africa and as you all remember you history lesson, it is where the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic meet. I know, you want to know if I actually stood in the Oceans, with one foot in the Indian Ocean and One foot in the Atlantic. You dam well know i did because I did not travel half way around the world to miss such an opportunity. Also, just as Carroll was snapping the pic a huge wave came in and swamped me and I got soaked. I'm not sure which Ocean wave hit me but it was sure salty.
Before we left Stilbaii, I filled the MH with diesel. At the filling station the diesel pump was separate from the Petro and they had 4 young ladies operating the one diesel pump. ( It seemed like a make work project to me ) however, one girl turn the pump on and started to fill the vehicle ( i assume she was the crew chief ) another young lady monitored the filling and took the money. One lady ask if she could check the oil and water. I said no but you wash the windshield, so two ladies did the windshield.Of course they all wanted a tip.
The trip from Stilbaii to L'Agulhas was uneventful as most of the trip was on good road with one or two slow downs for road construction and we covered about 250 KM. We went thru one town and I took a wrong turn but the navagator corrected me within a block so all is well that ends well.
This quaint little town of L'Agula has miles and miles of fabulous beaches and is a favourite for people from Cape Town. We met a young couple on the beach, from Cape town and they have a 'summer " home here and i'm thinking as opposited to a " winter " home somewhere. I think the weather goes from Summer to Spring to Summer. If this country was 10 hours closer to North American , nobody would every go to the southern USA or MX for the winter. This place is heaven. Fish and chips for lunch again today. Life is a Beach... i couldn't help it.
Before we left Stilbaii, I filled the MH with diesel. At the filling station the diesel pump was separate from the Petro and they had 4 young ladies operating the one diesel pump. ( It seemed like a make work project to me ) however, one girl turn the pump on and started to fill the vehicle ( i assume she was the crew chief ) another young lady monitored the filling and took the money. One lady ask if she could check the oil and water. I said no but you wash the windshield, so two ladies did the windshield.Of course they all wanted a tip.
The trip from Stilbaii to L'Agulhas was uneventful as most of the trip was on good road with one or two slow downs for road construction and we covered about 250 KM. We went thru one town and I took a wrong turn but the navagator corrected me within a block so all is well that ends well.
This quaint little town of L'Agula has miles and miles of fabulous beaches and is a favourite for people from Cape Town. We met a young couple on the beach, from Cape town and they have a 'summer " home here and i'm thinking as opposited to a " winter " home somewhere. I think the weather goes from Summer to Spring to Summer. If this country was 10 hours closer to North American , nobody would every go to the southern USA or MX for the winter. This place is heaven. Fish and chips for lunch again today. Life is a Beach... i couldn't help it.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
8 Dec wedesday Mossel Bay to Stil Bay
We started the day by checking out the town of Mossel Bay as we actually camped on the other side of the bay of which the town is located Mossel bay is a tourist town and with 3 large camping areas this became obvious. Also it's beaches are great for swimming and Surfing. There did not seem to be too much industry but it did have a port and there were 3 ships waiting off shore , to enter. There definitely were many boutique store, which tells me it is mainly for the tourist. I must say that we were surprised to see that 99 percent of the signage was in African not English. About 10 KM out of town we seen a huge plants which I would assume was a Petrochemical plant but they don't have any oil or gas and whatever is processed would have to be trucked in and out.
On way down the road heading for Stil Bay we seen a " wild " animal farm which advertised Lions,Leopards and Tiger so in we go as we still want to see a Leopard. I still don't consider an animal as "wild " if is fenced in and the guide calls it by name but it is what it is. After spending an hour looking at sleeping animal and snapping 30 or so pics we headed out. I will say that just seeing two white Tiger was really something, however, since a female guide was siting petting them, it kind of took the "Wild " edge of the tour.
Now we are off to Stil Bay or as the sign says Stilbaai because in Stil Bay all signage is also in African. Still Bay is 26 KM off the N2, the main hwy, but it is right on the ocean, which is what we are looking for. After arriving in town we turn on the GPS to find the camp site. No such luck but the camping book says it is located on the ocean and at the mouth of the river so that sounded too easy. we found the ocean and the river and we seen a camping area but no sign with the name we expected see. Carroll suggested that we drive into this particuilar camp site anyway and as we got to the reception office, we seen the name so we are now at the right camp site.I told the reception to put a sign that person can see from the road... She said I don't need to i'm usually full. So much for my advise. At this time she had lots of empty sites so she said to pick one but I'm want to warn you that I have a lot of University students coming in later today and they are camping walong the fence so I suggest you pick one a long ways away from them.
Also , in some camps as in this one you get a key to the washrooms, which are called Ablutions, ands you get a roll of toilet paper as there is none in the washroom. In some camps you have to supply you own toilet paper.
After setting up we, we hit the ocean/beach for a couple of hours and then toured the town and picked up a few groceries. When I entered the mall parking i did not notices the one way arrows, because they are on the pavement not on a sign so I came out the wrong way. Ithiught the parking attendant was going to have heart attack.
Since we are on the ocean we decided to go out for another Sea food supper. As usual it was great and reasonable. Two sea food players, 6 Prawns for a starter, a coffee and a glass of wine for the driver all for 30.00 Cdn.
On way down the road heading for Stil Bay we seen a " wild " animal farm which advertised Lions,Leopards and Tiger so in we go as we still want to see a Leopard. I still don't consider an animal as "wild " if is fenced in and the guide calls it by name but it is what it is. After spending an hour looking at sleeping animal and snapping 30 or so pics we headed out. I will say that just seeing two white Tiger was really something, however, since a female guide was siting petting them, it kind of took the "Wild " edge of the tour.
Now we are off to Stil Bay or as the sign says Stilbaai because in Stil Bay all signage is also in African. Still Bay is 26 KM off the N2, the main hwy, but it is right on the ocean, which is what we are looking for. After arriving in town we turn on the GPS to find the camp site. No such luck but the camping book says it is located on the ocean and at the mouth of the river so that sounded too easy. we found the ocean and the river and we seen a camping area but no sign with the name we expected see. Carroll suggested that we drive into this particuilar camp site anyway and as we got to the reception office, we seen the name so we are now at the right camp site.I told the reception to put a sign that person can see from the road... She said I don't need to i'm usually full. So much for my advise. At this time she had lots of empty sites so she said to pick one but I'm want to warn you that I have a lot of University students coming in later today and they are camping walong the fence so I suggest you pick one a long ways away from them.
Also , in some camps as in this one you get a key to the washrooms, which are called Ablutions, ands you get a roll of toilet paper as there is none in the washroom. In some camps you have to supply you own toilet paper.
After setting up we, we hit the ocean/beach for a couple of hours and then toured the town and picked up a few groceries. When I entered the mall parking i did not notices the one way arrows, because they are on the pavement not on a sign so I came out the wrong way. Ithiught the parking attendant was going to have heart attack.
Since we are on the ocean we decided to go out for another Sea food supper. As usual it was great and reasonable. Two sea food players, 6 Prawns for a starter, a coffee and a glass of wine for the driver all for 30.00 Cdn.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
6 dec Tuesday
We left Oudtshoorn after filling with diesel at 1.33 Cdn per litre and traveled thru the Robinson pass as recommendEd by several tourist and it did not disappoint. The scenery was great and the mountains and gorges always seem to be covered with trees or grass. We seen many Ostrich farms on our trip but we also seen many dairy herds. The cows are mostly Gurnsey or Brown Swiss with a sprinkling of Holsteins. You non-farmers wouldn't know a Brown Swiss from a fence post, but they are a good producer and their milk is rich in butterfat.
We traveled about 80 KM to the tourist city on the ocean called Mossel Bay. We went to the Information booth to see what to see in the area and to get a location for the Caravan parks. They were most helpful but on the way back to the MH Carroll spot a craft/tourist trap/art/clothing store so in we go. I spent 20 min getting history lesson because I started asking question. His stories were not one-sided like some I get as his Dad was from East Germany and his Mom from Scotland. Carroll in the mean time went about spending money.
After Carroll finished shopping we headed for George some 50 KM away as Carroll had a doctors appt to remove the wax from her ears. I always thought she had selective hear and now I feel bad since it was a medical problem. yeh---right. I, on the other headed for the computer store as I needed some more training on my iPad and Timithy, one of the salesman, was quite familuar with the ipad so he help me. Then I was off to the Vodafone store as my SIM card for the computer, not to be confused with iPad, was running low on Airtime. I got 1 gb this time and that should see me thru to 15 Jan
Then we headed for Mugg and Bean resturaunt for two reasons. first to have lunch and second to take advance of their 30 mins of free WiFi.
After lunch we headed back to Mossel Bay and found a camp site right on the Indian Ocean. We ( meaning Carroll) opted for a site overlooking the ocean which they gladly gave us for a price. We paid R340 which include a Admin fee of 8.00 Cdn. Imagine 8.00 to punch our GD name into a computer. Needless to say, we are only staying one night. They even gave us a free pass for the Hot Pool but it closed
at 7:30. Christ, we are not even finish supper by then. However, we did get in some beach time and got a young guy to snap a pic of us standing in the Indian Ocean. i know, that and 79 cents will get you a seniors coffee at Mac Donald's. Cheers
We traveled about 80 KM to the tourist city on the ocean called Mossel Bay. We went to the Information booth to see what to see in the area and to get a location for the Caravan parks. They were most helpful but on the way back to the MH Carroll spot a craft/tourist trap/art/clothing store so in we go. I spent 20 min getting history lesson because I started asking question. His stories were not one-sided like some I get as his Dad was from East Germany and his Mom from Scotland. Carroll in the mean time went about spending money.
After Carroll finished shopping we headed for George some 50 KM away as Carroll had a doctors appt to remove the wax from her ears. I always thought she had selective hear and now I feel bad since it was a medical problem. yeh---right. I, on the other headed for the computer store as I needed some more training on my iPad and Timithy, one of the salesman, was quite familuar with the ipad so he help me. Then I was off to the Vodafone store as my SIM card for the computer, not to be confused with iPad, was running low on Airtime. I got 1 gb this time and that should see me thru to 15 Jan
Then we headed for Mugg and Bean resturaunt for two reasons. first to have lunch and second to take advance of their 30 mins of free WiFi.
After lunch we headed back to Mossel Bay and found a camp site right on the Indian Ocean. We ( meaning Carroll) opted for a site overlooking the ocean which they gladly gave us for a price. We paid R340 which include a Admin fee of 8.00 Cdn. Imagine 8.00 to punch our GD name into a computer. Needless to say, we are only staying one night. They even gave us a free pass for the Hot Pool but it closed
at 7:30. Christ, we are not even finish supper by then. However, we did get in some beach time and got a young guy to snap a pic of us standing in the Indian Ocean. i know, that and 79 cents will get you a seniors coffee at Mac Donald's. Cheers
Monday, 5 December 2011
5 Dec Oudtshoorn
Our day started off on a nice note as the neighbor lady delivered 2 freshly baked muffins for our breakfast. Now how often does that happen in a camp ground. After breakfast we decided to visit some renown Caves in the area, even thought we have been the Calsbad caves in New Mexico twice and they are spectacular.
But on the way we stopped at a " Roadside Hawker " who was selling Ostrich eggs with pictures of the Big 5 or a maps of Africa or even your picture imprinted on them. Actually we stopped yesterday to check on the price and we made a deal for one egg with the map of Africa on one half and the big 5 on the other half for R120. ( they sell for R225 at the Curio stores ) but he did not have any but would have one tomorrow,hence the reason we stopped. So now he tries to up the price another R10 because he is loosing money. But I,m not buying it ( so I think )So I don't have the exact change and I whip out two R100. His eyes lite up and he says I'll give you two eggs for R200. I'm thinking , what deal, I saved R125 each by buying from the Hawker rather than the Curio shop. What a deal maker I am? Now ,how the hell do I get them home without breaking them.
After the egg deal we went to the Caves and took the 1 1/2 tour along with about 30 other interested souls about our age as they we from a bus tour group. Although my interest was original very low the tour guide gave us a lot of history and we thoroughly enjoyed it. After the tour we drummed up a conversation with a middle age couple from Joburg. They gave us a few more tips on what we should see while in ZA. They, along with most of people we meet have a long lost Aunt in Victoria, BC or a cousin working Toronto.
Now, to finish the day we decided to visit an Olive Farm which was on our way back to the camp. Although we had to travel 1 1/2 KM over a dirt road to reach the ( what we thought was a farm) turned out to be an Olive farm and a 5 Star, no... Make that a 6 Star restaurant and Guest Chalets. They did not have a tour not did the sell Olives but they did have food and beer so we stayed for lunch. We also had a short conversation with a young couple from Amsterdam and they spoke fluent English with no ascent.
We still wanted to see an Olive processing plant so we headed for another one. But they only give you the history on the Olive and about how they make Olive oil and shown you their Olive and give you the taste test. We did find it interesting and of course we bought a couple of Jars of Olives. Now that is how we spent our day. Tomorrow we will head for Mossel Bay some 88 km down the road.
But on the way we stopped at a " Roadside Hawker " who was selling Ostrich eggs with pictures of the Big 5 or a maps of Africa or even your picture imprinted on them. Actually we stopped yesterday to check on the price and we made a deal for one egg with the map of Africa on one half and the big 5 on the other half for R120. ( they sell for R225 at the Curio stores ) but he did not have any but would have one tomorrow,hence the reason we stopped. So now he tries to up the price another R10 because he is loosing money. But I,m not buying it ( so I think )So I don't have the exact change and I whip out two R100. His eyes lite up and he says I'll give you two eggs for R200. I'm thinking , what deal, I saved R125 each by buying from the Hawker rather than the Curio shop. What a deal maker I am? Now ,how the hell do I get them home without breaking them.
After the egg deal we went to the Caves and took the 1 1/2 tour along with about 30 other interested souls about our age as they we from a bus tour group. Although my interest was original very low the tour guide gave us a lot of history and we thoroughly enjoyed it. After the tour we drummed up a conversation with a middle age couple from Joburg. They gave us a few more tips on what we should see while in ZA. They, along with most of people we meet have a long lost Aunt in Victoria, BC or a cousin working Toronto.
Now, to finish the day we decided to visit an Olive Farm which was on our way back to the camp. Although we had to travel 1 1/2 KM over a dirt road to reach the ( what we thought was a farm) turned out to be an Olive farm and a 5 Star, no... Make that a 6 Star restaurant and Guest Chalets. They did not have a tour not did the sell Olives but they did have food and beer so we stayed for lunch. We also had a short conversation with a young couple from Amsterdam and they spoke fluent English with no ascent.
We still wanted to see an Olive processing plant so we headed for another one. But they only give you the history on the Olive and about how they make Olive oil and shown you their Olive and give you the taste test. We did find it interesting and of course we bought a couple of Jars of Olives. Now that is how we spent our day. Tomorrow we will head for Mossel Bay some 88 km down the road.
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