I suppose some of you readers have realized that my 3 th Jan blog actually covered the 3 th and the 4 th. After 2 1/2 months the days are starting to run together. Anyways, we traveled from Beaufort to the Graiep Dam which covered about 350 KM but it was on N-1 which is basically a freeway without Tolls so it was clear sailing all the way.
The Gariep Dam is the largest Power Dam in South Africa and the resorvior backs up some 85 KM from the dam site. This area is a fantastic recreational area and by all appearances the ZA folk flock to this area during the summer school break. It also has a large marina and about 50 chalets for accommodations.
The trip to the Graiep Dam actually started to change the landscape from GRAPES to actual farm land as we could see that they had Ranches and Farms with some dairy herds which were mostly Gurseys. I did expect to see more Holstein cows than I have seen. It seems that the crop most prevelent in this area was corn and of course they grow their crops continuiosly all year round. So there was some corn planted about 2 weeks ago and some already in tassle. The farms are extremely large and the Farm House is located far from the road so I have never been able to see what equipt they have and i have seen very little field work. As i may have mentioned before most large farms have several permanate staff so it is very common to see 6 to 10 small house for the staff, usually located near the highway.
After arriving at the dam site check-in desk they said we could have any vacate site so that told me that most of the "Summer Vacationers " had headed home as the new school year starts on 11 Jan. The park was great with nice size lots so we grabbed a level one, as it is hard to level our MH and then took the rest of the day off. But we will be on the move tomorrow, just not sure where... yet.
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Thursday, 5 January 2012
3Jan Tuesday Calitzdorp to Beaufort West
When we left Calitzdorp our plans were to go to Karoo National Park which is near Beaufort West. But when we arrived at the gate to the Park; " Sorry Mister the camp ground is fully booked ". Since we were only a couple of miles from Beaufort West, we grabbed our favourite camping book and checked to see if there were any camp site nearby. We called the first one on the list and they had plenty of site, so come on down, so we did. From the road, (a better definition is a Laneway) into the barn yard, I repeat " barn yard" as there were ducks, geese, chickens and dogs, not to mention old trucks, tractor, loader and a scraper. Before I get out of our MH, I thinking " oh no" are we at the wrong place. Then a lady alites from a bldg and says, just grab any space want and i'ii collect later tonight. I'm thinking we are the only ones here so I ask and she says no, there are two other campers . So we go in and to our surprise it was a nice camp ground and all grass. We really did not have to be concerned because by evening there were 12 camper in the park. They also had a pool so we took a dip since ithe temp was in the high 20's C.
Just before we entered the camp site the ENG light on the MH came on and I lost power. I was hoping it would "reset" itself during the night but it did not happen. But that story can wait. It gets better!!!
Around midnight two camper pulled into the park and one pulled up quite close to us. Carroll wakes up and investigates the situation, then wakes me , thinking that I need to know about this at midnight. Basically, if there is no terrorist attack or if I don't win the Lotto I really don't need to be awaken for any other reason. Then at 4AM these same two campers decide to leave. And again Carroll seems to think I need to know about it. Then at 4:30 AM the family next to us decides to pack up and leave and again Carroll advise me, for reasons I don't understand. I think I got another hour of sleep before the roosters decide wake everybody.
Now I have to solve the ENG lite problem so I go to the camp owner and ask if he can direct me to the Mercedes dealer. So he invites me into his house and starts to make some phone call. After 3 phone calls and 1 text msg he gets a hold of "Peit" the mechanic and advises him that I will be there in 20 mins.
So we head out the lane way knowing I can only travel at 30 or 40 kmh due to the lost of power. However, when I shifted into 4 gear, the ENG lite went out and I now had full power, so I decide to go the garage and thank Piet for his concern and then be on my way.
Now the good part that can only happen to the Eslers. As I entered the city of Beaufort west I did notice a Police woman who had a Van pulled over and I assumed she was writing a ticket. I immeadately drop my speed to 60kmh although I was not aware of my speed. I thought to myself that I guess I wasn't speeding until I travel about 200 m and a cop traveling towards me was waving his arm which I thought meant "watch your speed" . However, when I looked in the mirror and seen that he make a quick U turn I knew I did something wrong. So after I stopped I jumped out and met him at the rear of my MH and I said i guess I was speeding; how fast I going. He said, you were not speeding but you are driving a vehicle with expired plates and an expired Roadworthy sticker. I said what are you talking about so he showed the 2 stickers and they expired on 31 Dec2011. I explain that this was a Rental and I was a Canadian tourist so I had no knowledge of these sticker. Technically,he said, I should impound you vehicle, then take you to the police station to pay a hefty fine. I said I would call the company immediately and let them deal with. He said, I'll call my Boss and see what we can do and he did. The finally decision was to let me go and I was to advise the Rental company , which did immediately. When I went to thank the mechanic I ask how long to do the Roadworthy inspect and he said a day but getting an appointment was the problem.
By 10:30 another crisis averted , we were again on the road heading for the Gariby Dam camp site. All is well.... That ends well
Just before we entered the camp site the ENG light on the MH came on and I lost power. I was hoping it would "reset" itself during the night but it did not happen. But that story can wait. It gets better!!!
Around midnight two camper pulled into the park and one pulled up quite close to us. Carroll wakes up and investigates the situation, then wakes me , thinking that I need to know about this at midnight. Basically, if there is no terrorist attack or if I don't win the Lotto I really don't need to be awaken for any other reason. Then at 4AM these same two campers decide to leave. And again Carroll seems to think I need to know about it. Then at 4:30 AM the family next to us decides to pack up and leave and again Carroll advise me, for reasons I don't understand. I think I got another hour of sleep before the roosters decide wake everybody.
Now I have to solve the ENG lite problem so I go to the camp owner and ask if he can direct me to the Mercedes dealer. So he invites me into his house and starts to make some phone call. After 3 phone calls and 1 text msg he gets a hold of "Peit" the mechanic and advises him that I will be there in 20 mins.
So we head out the lane way knowing I can only travel at 30 or 40 kmh due to the lost of power. However, when I shifted into 4 gear, the ENG lite went out and I now had full power, so I decide to go the garage and thank Piet for his concern and then be on my way.
Now the good part that can only happen to the Eslers. As I entered the city of Beaufort west I did notice a Police woman who had a Van pulled over and I assumed she was writing a ticket. I immeadately drop my speed to 60kmh although I was not aware of my speed. I thought to myself that I guess I wasn't speeding until I travel about 200 m and a cop traveling towards me was waving his arm which I thought meant "watch your speed" . However, when I looked in the mirror and seen that he make a quick U turn I knew I did something wrong. So after I stopped I jumped out and met him at the rear of my MH and I said i guess I was speeding; how fast I going. He said, you were not speeding but you are driving a vehicle with expired plates and an expired Roadworthy sticker. I said what are you talking about so he showed the 2 stickers and they expired on 31 Dec2011. I explain that this was a Rental and I was a Canadian tourist so I had no knowledge of these sticker. Technically,he said, I should impound you vehicle, then take you to the police station to pay a hefty fine. I said I would call the company immediately and let them deal with. He said, I'll call my Boss and see what we can do and he did. The finally decision was to let me go and I was to advise the Rental company , which did immediately. When I went to thank the mechanic I ask how long to do the Roadworthy inspect and he said a day but getting an appointment was the problem.
By 10:30 another crisis averted , we were again on the road heading for the Gariby Dam camp site. All is well.... That ends well
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
2Jan Monday montage to Calitzdorp
The " dorp " in Calitzdorp actually stands for the word town in our language. We chose Calitzdorp because it had hot pools, cool pool and a " Jacuzzi " as if we needed a Jacuzzi in this weather but the cool pool was great during the hot afternoon and the hot pool was great in the evening when it cools down. Besides the hot pool is great for conversation and information gathering , of which Carroll is a master at that. Iwas talking to a guy and he is an oil worker who specialises in the installation of Ocean Rigs and pipelines and is going to Canada next week to do a job off the East coast. He works for a company called Stolts for you oil guys.
The trip from Montagu to Calitxdorp was very scenic and there seemed to be endless farms of grapes, olives and a over abundance of fruits trees, mostly peaches and apricots. With the amount of grape farms we have seen on our travels, ZA must produce the most wine in the world. This area is all mountains ( not the Rockies of course) and the roads wind their way around and thru the passes making it very enjoyable drive. We sent an email to KEA to advise them we intend to keep the MH until 12 Jan but today is a holiday so we will get the reply tomorrow.
The trip from Montagu to Calitxdorp was very scenic and there seemed to be endless farms of grapes, olives and a over abundance of fruits trees, mostly peaches and apricots. With the amount of grape farms we have seen on our travels, ZA must produce the most wine in the world. This area is all mountains ( not the Rockies of course) and the roads wind their way around and thru the passes making it very enjoyable drive. We sent an email to KEA to advise them we intend to keep the MH until 12 Jan but today is a holiday so we will get the reply tomorrow.
Monday, 2 January 2012
1 Jan 2012 Sunday at Montagu
I already did a Blog for 1 jan but I lost the signal during the " Publishing" and it said it went but I don't see it so this is a repeat blog, just so you know if it shows up.
Sunday was a slow day so we went for a drive up the mountain mainly to see if the "Tractor Ride" up the Mountain was open even thoygh we were told it might be closed. It was closed. But the scenic drive was breath taking. I don't know how these people can farm on the these mountain but they do. There never seems to be an end to the grape farms but there were many other farms that grow peaches, apricotes, Olives, strawberries and other vegetables which we could not identiy from the vehicle. There were a few dairy herds and some beef cattle. We also seen 1 farm that had recently combine either oats or wheat. Most of the farms, whether it be grapes or cattle have 6 to 10 houses for the families of their permanate staff. This is quite common throughout ZA and I assume the housing is part of the pay package. The unique part is that all the houses are exactly the same design and colour.
The round trip up and back down the mountain covered 70 KM and was most enjoyable because of the scenery. We never seem to tire of the farms as the layout of grapes , trees or vegetable are in perfect rows and are as neat as can be.
Sunday was a slow day so we went for a drive up the mountain mainly to see if the "Tractor Ride" up the Mountain was open even thoygh we were told it might be closed. It was closed. But the scenic drive was breath taking. I don't know how these people can farm on the these mountain but they do. There never seems to be an end to the grape farms but there were many other farms that grow peaches, apricotes, Olives, strawberries and other vegetables which we could not identiy from the vehicle. There were a few dairy herds and some beef cattle. We also seen 1 farm that had recently combine either oats or wheat. Most of the farms, whether it be grapes or cattle have 6 to 10 houses for the families of their permanate staff. This is quite common throughout ZA and I assume the housing is part of the pay package. The unique part is that all the houses are exactly the same design and colour.
The round trip up and back down the mountain covered 70 KM and was most enjoyable because of the scenery. We never seem to tire of the farms as the layout of grapes , trees or vegetable are in perfect rows and are as neat as can be.
Sunday, 1 January 2012
31Dec End of 2011
Today we are leaving Stellenbosch and going to Montague, about 200 km away. Why Montague you ask; because it is the start of Route 62 which has the same type of Nostalgia that Route 66 in the USA has. This was a very scenic drive as we came thru the fruit belt with grapes, peaches, pears and others we did not recognise from the MH. We also seen a few Chicken Ranches and some Dairy herds. This route took us thru the mountains and in particular pass they cut a Tunnel thru the mountain and at first I assumed it was a km long, then I decided it must be 3 km long and finally when I exited it I now think it was about 5 km in length. I don't like Tunnel so it was too long for me.
When we reached the town of Montague we trusted our GPS to find the camp ground, which is right in the town. As we are going down the street we seen that we have to " fjord " a river and I'm thinking , no way in hell are we crossing a river. But then I/we seen it was actually a one lane bridge with a shallow layer of water running over it so it wasn't so bad after all. Then as I hit the bridge there were 2 vehicle coming the other way but I took control and made them wait.
The camp site is wonderful and all site are completely grass and it is just like a carpet. As we signed in We were advised that there was a New Years Eve Braai ( that is Bar-B-Q for you folks who don't speak Afrikaan) and that we could get tickets at the " Tuck shop " for R65 PP ( 8.00 cdn ) . They were " Braai ing " 2 whole Lambs. During our conversation with people running the Tuck shop we found tht they have a daughter married to a ZA doctor who has his practise in Oyen, AB and they are coming to Oyen to seevtheir daughter in June. For you folks who never travel, Oyen is 1hr north of Med Hat.
Montague is kind of the the fruit capital of this area so they have a business that dehydrated fruit and also does wholesale and retail sales so we ( mostly Carroll ) just had to visit it and of course buy some of their product.
The New Years Briaa started at 7:30 so we joined the crowd of over 100 party " Goers" and managed to get a second helping ofthe lamb dinner. it was an excellent meal.
We called it a day around 11PM and pretended it was midnight. Well that is it for 2011. Were will we be for 2012????? Happy New Year to the blog readers
When we reached the town of Montague we trusted our GPS to find the camp ground, which is right in the town. As we are going down the street we seen that we have to " fjord " a river and I'm thinking , no way in hell are we crossing a river. But then I/we seen it was actually a one lane bridge with a shallow layer of water running over it so it wasn't so bad after all. Then as I hit the bridge there were 2 vehicle coming the other way but I took control and made them wait.
The camp site is wonderful and all site are completely grass and it is just like a carpet. As we signed in We were advised that there was a New Years Eve Braai ( that is Bar-B-Q for you folks who don't speak Afrikaan) and that we could get tickets at the " Tuck shop " for R65 PP ( 8.00 cdn ) . They were " Braai ing " 2 whole Lambs. During our conversation with people running the Tuck shop we found tht they have a daughter married to a ZA doctor who has his practise in Oyen, AB and they are coming to Oyen to seevtheir daughter in June. For you folks who never travel, Oyen is 1hr north of Med Hat.
Montague is kind of the the fruit capital of this area so they have a business that dehydrated fruit and also does wholesale and retail sales so we ( mostly Carroll ) just had to visit it and of course buy some of their product.
The New Years Briaa started at 7:30 so we joined the crowd of over 100 party " Goers" and managed to get a second helping ofthe lamb dinner. it was an excellent meal.
We called it a day around 11PM and pretended it was midnight. Well that is it for 2011. Were will we be for 2012????? Happy New Year to the blog readers
Saturday, 31 December 2011
30 Dec Friday Return Trip to Paarl
You will note that the Afrikaan language has many words with double letters that you do not see in the English language such as Paarl and a word I spelt wrong yesterday Franschhoek.
Today we returned to Paarl but we got a late start as Carroll had to do a wash as we were running out of clean clothes and the machines were not beening used. We actually ran out of time yesterday to see any sites and we did want to see the TaalMonument which and I quote " represents the growth and developement of Afrihaans and gives recognition to the language's roots that are spread over 3 continents, Africa, Europe and Asia". This huge concrete Monument was construct on a small mountain ( the whole area is mountainous ) outside of Paarl and provided an excellent view of the city and the valley below with all the fields of grapes in the Vineyards. It is amazing to see all the perfectly aligned rows of grapes. I won't bore you with any more details but if you are interested I'm sure you will Goggle it.
By this time it was around 2 PM and we wanted to see the glass Blowing at one of the winery's which the lady at the Information place told use was a "must see ". We did get to the winery but the Glass Blower was not available and in fact he has not been around for a while. I ask the lady running the shop, how long since the glass blower has been at work because the shop looked like it had not been activated for some time. Her answer was "a while" so i said is awhile; a week, month or year and she sneared at me and said " awhile". I think I might be off her christmas card list.
So it is now past our lunch time so we decide to find a winery that served lunch; as if that is hard to find. Within half a KM down the road we found a winery, which is something we are good at doing. As expected i did the perverbable 6 different wine tastings and talk to a couple of young guys visiting from the UK and Cape town, then we had our lunch/supper before returning to Camp and sat around the camp fire contempating our move tomorrow as we are now heading down the home stretch.
Today we returned to Paarl but we got a late start as Carroll had to do a wash as we were running out of clean clothes and the machines were not beening used. We actually ran out of time yesterday to see any sites and we did want to see the TaalMonument which and I quote " represents the growth and developement of Afrihaans and gives recognition to the language's roots that are spread over 3 continents, Africa, Europe and Asia". This huge concrete Monument was construct on a small mountain ( the whole area is mountainous ) outside of Paarl and provided an excellent view of the city and the valley below with all the fields of grapes in the Vineyards. It is amazing to see all the perfectly aligned rows of grapes. I won't bore you with any more details but if you are interested I'm sure you will Goggle it.
By this time it was around 2 PM and we wanted to see the glass Blowing at one of the winery's which the lady at the Information place told use was a "must see ". We did get to the winery but the Glass Blower was not available and in fact he has not been around for a while. I ask the lady running the shop, how long since the glass blower has been at work because the shop looked like it had not been activated for some time. Her answer was "a while" so i said is awhile; a week, month or year and she sneared at me and said " awhile". I think I might be off her christmas card list.
So it is now past our lunch time so we decide to find a winery that served lunch; as if that is hard to find. Within half a KM down the road we found a winery, which is something we are good at doing. As expected i did the perverbable 6 different wine tastings and talk to a couple of young guys visiting from the UK and Cape town, then we had our lunch/supper before returning to Camp and sat around the camp fire contempating our move tomorrow as we are now heading down the home stretch.
Friday, 30 December 2011
29 Dec Thursday... Trip to Paarl.. Rep A/C
We started the day by looking for a shop to repair the vehicle A/C. It quit about a month ago but the weather was not hot enough for us to waste a day having it repaired. But that has changed since the temp is creeping up to the mid 30's. So we first ask the Camp owner for a recommendation ( that was my first mistake ) because when they called the Mercedes garage, they had to change my English request to their Afrikan language then back to my English and it quickly became a lost cause. Finally, I took the phone and the lady at the garage said simply " we don't repair A/C". My thoughts were , why the hell did she need to know my name, the make and model of the vehicle if can't fix it anyways. I guess you have to be an Afrikan to understand that. I decided it was better to find a repair shop myself so I grabbed the iPad and found the address to 3 or 4 shops, so off we go to find them. After checking on 3 shops that were closed I ask a guy standing outside one shop and he said everything is closed until 2 Jan.
So , as not to waste the entire day, we headed for the city or town ( we did not know which ) of Paarl. We actually expected a small town but once we arrived there we realized how wrong we where. As we drove around I guessed at least 100,000 population,( as it turns out the pop. is 189,000) so we figured that just maybe the Mercedes dealer could either fix our A/c or direct us to a shop that would repair it. The dealer advised us the this shop only worked on passenger cars but they had another shop nearby that worked on Commerical vehicle so we took it to that shop. This shop apparently was overloaded with work so they sent me to a small shop that only did A/C and auto-Electric repairs and they jumped on it right away. It took them about 1 1/2 to repair and recharge the A/C with gas. The cost was R350 ( about 43.00 cdn ) I can't believe they can make a living at that price.
It was now around 2 PM so we went to the Information bldg to find out what to do in the city. They were very helpful with maps and some " must see " monuments etc. Then she gave us the Wine route map and I'm thinking: those monuments can wait for another day, lets hit the wine tasting. We ( mostly carroll ) decided to go to the winery that also had "Cheese tasting" , which incidentally I had never heard of before. Well, did we hit the " Mother Lode". We pulled into the parking lot and there must have been a 100 cars in the lot. I thought , this must be a huge place and it sure was. First you had to decide if you wanted to taste wine and cheese or just wine or in Carroll's case, just cheese. You gave you a "stick-on " badge which indicated your posion. I took the whole meal deal of 6 wine and 8 cheese tastings at a cost off R25 ( 3.00 cdn ). Carroll got the 8 cheese tastings for R12 ( 1.50 Cdn )I know, this dam drinking is going to break me. The tasting bar, of which there were 6 , where an oval shaped bar, that held about 20 drunks, I mean tasters each with two waitresses in the middle pouring wine about as fast as we could drink it. With 6 bars you can visualize the size of the place. And you could float from the wine bar to the cheese bar which was in a separate room. Incidental Carroll made two passes at the cheese bar while I rode shotgun on the wine bar. I started Kibiting with the waitress as she was approaching my age so we had something in common. After I finished my 6 drinks she gave me a taste of the most expensive wine the make , even though it is not on the tasting list; as she said that was because I was from Canada.I also ask the waitress if it was always this busy and she said from 15 Dec to the 1 st week of Jan it is "bedlam" at their winery.
I made myself a "promise" of no more wine tasting on this trip as i want to leave some for another time. ha ha.
Then we headed to a town called Franchoek which means "French Place" for supper. It has another name and it called " Tourist trap " and it was crawling with tourist. But the meal was great as always.
We arrived home around 6 PM, build a fire and made plans for tomorrow. This dam planning never seems to quit. But somebdy has to do it. Happy New year
So , as not to waste the entire day, we headed for the city or town ( we did not know which ) of Paarl. We actually expected a small town but once we arrived there we realized how wrong we where. As we drove around I guessed at least 100,000 population,( as it turns out the pop. is 189,000) so we figured that just maybe the Mercedes dealer could either fix our A/c or direct us to a shop that would repair it. The dealer advised us the this shop only worked on passenger cars but they had another shop nearby that worked on Commerical vehicle so we took it to that shop. This shop apparently was overloaded with work so they sent me to a small shop that only did A/C and auto-Electric repairs and they jumped on it right away. It took them about 1 1/2 to repair and recharge the A/C with gas. The cost was R350 ( about 43.00 cdn ) I can't believe they can make a living at that price.
It was now around 2 PM so we went to the Information bldg to find out what to do in the city. They were very helpful with maps and some " must see " monuments etc. Then she gave us the Wine route map and I'm thinking: those monuments can wait for another day, lets hit the wine tasting. We ( mostly carroll ) decided to go to the winery that also had "Cheese tasting" , which incidentally I had never heard of before. Well, did we hit the " Mother Lode". We pulled into the parking lot and there must have been a 100 cars in the lot. I thought , this must be a huge place and it sure was. First you had to decide if you wanted to taste wine and cheese or just wine or in Carroll's case, just cheese. You gave you a "stick-on " badge which indicated your posion. I took the whole meal deal of 6 wine and 8 cheese tastings at a cost off R25 ( 3.00 cdn ). Carroll got the 8 cheese tastings for R12 ( 1.50 Cdn )I know, this dam drinking is going to break me. The tasting bar, of which there were 6 , where an oval shaped bar, that held about 20 drunks, I mean tasters each with two waitresses in the middle pouring wine about as fast as we could drink it. With 6 bars you can visualize the size of the place. And you could float from the wine bar to the cheese bar which was in a separate room. Incidental Carroll made two passes at the cheese bar while I rode shotgun on the wine bar. I started Kibiting with the waitress as she was approaching my age so we had something in common. After I finished my 6 drinks she gave me a taste of the most expensive wine the make , even though it is not on the tasting list; as she said that was because I was from Canada.I also ask the waitress if it was always this busy and she said from 15 Dec to the 1 st week of Jan it is "bedlam" at their winery.
I made myself a "promise" of no more wine tasting on this trip as i want to leave some for another time. ha ha.
Then we headed to a town called Franchoek which means "French Place" for supper. It has another name and it called " Tourist trap " and it was crawling with tourist. But the meal was great as always.
We arrived home around 6 PM, build a fire and made plans for tomorrow. This dam planning never seems to quit. But somebdy has to do it. Happy New year
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)