HARTENBOS – OH MY GOSH – MAY 2010
For quite a while
now, Hein and I talked about a vacation at the Eastern coast of SA. Somewhere around Mosselbay, George, Knysna.
With Hein’s business
hectic and my creative ‘mojo’ a bit deflated, we started to look for accommodation. Preferably on the beach. After a few enquiries, we found a block of
flats in Hartenbos – right on the beach.
(Hartenbos is a holiday town just outside Mossel Bay.) Deciding to take the trip to Hartenbos (1384
km) slowly, we looked for a place close to Colesberg to spend the first 2
nights. (Colesberg being halfway to
Hartenbos.)
With Minx &
Sammy, our woolly 4-legged kids safely in their hotel, we filled up Bubbles
(our new Golf 6 car’s nickname) on Thursday night, packed most of our clothes in
crates and went to a roadhouse for dinner.
Burger Box is a roadhouse in Witkoppen
Road. Its
been there since the 1980’s and has a most impressive menu. Everything from the usual burgers and thick
milkshakes, to ribs (most delicious I may add), curry (a huge plate – and Hein
said yummy), pizzas, vetkoeke, etc. I
should have ordered the banana split – my mom used to order that in
restaurants. At the Burger Box you can sit
inside and have your meal, have it outside in your car or just take it away. Very good value for money. And they still have the trays that you
balance on your window.
Back home, I added
towels and books to the crates. We
didn’t pack any groceries whatsoever, except of course our trusty coffee
machine.
Friday, 21 May 2010
Just after 6am, we
woke up. Hein complained a bit cause
I’ve woken him during the night to catch the burglars and look for sticks.
(Silly nightmares of mine.) I made us
some strong coffee. My youngest sis,
Carla from Perth, Australia, sms’d me to wish us a
good holiday. She told me I should buy
Tim Tams (choc biscuits) and have it with police coffee (coffee with either
brandy or whisky in it).
With everything
packed, we left the house at 07h41 – temperature 13 oC. Of course we had to stop for breakfast ... at
the McDonalds on Beyers Naude
Drive.
Hmmm. Sausage-Egg Burger for me,
Sausage-Egg McMuffin for Hein. Once
again I’ll say this ... I don’t care what negative things you have to say about
McDonalds. I have very good taste buds
and that egg burger is magnificent!!!
Their coffee is always strong and fresh – a real pleasure. With 2 hashbrowns thrown in, breakfast was
R48 – for both of us!
While we drove, I
chattered away. Telling Hein this and
that. At one stage, Hein just burst out
laughing and said: ‘you keep on interrupting yourself.’
So let me explain
... I was telling him something or other.
We drove past a guy standing next to his truck, looking like he’s
starting up a lawnmower. Which of course
caught my attention. So mid-story, I commented
on that guy. And then just continue with
my original story. Hein said sometimes
he’s really got to keep his wits to follow the threads of my stories. I told him: ‘you’re so cute, I sommer take
you home with me.’ His reply: ‘just so long as you feed me.’ (oh
yeah, I will.)
Driving through
Kroonstad, we felt the need for biltong and droëwors (dried sausage). A little place sold us lovely black pepper droëwors
(a first for us and very tasty), chilli sticks and not-too-dry sliced
biltong.
There are some
beautiful old buildings in Kroonstad.
In Ventersburg, we
stopped at ‘Koffie & Krafte shoppe’ for a cuppa. ‘Koekie’ was the waitress/manager and I was
careful not to stare too boldly at her eyebrows. What was left of it anyway. When we asked for toothpicks, she said she’ll
fetch some at her house. She stepped
through a door and within 2 seconds stepped back with the toothpicks. How handy is that for a business.
On the other side of
Bloemfontein,
we had lunch at the Wimpy. While looking at the menu, Hein showed me the
waffles option. It gave me an idea. When our waitress, Queen, arrived with our
coffee, I asked her if I could have the following: a waffle.
Topped with scrambled eggs and bacon.
With chocolate sauce on the side.
She was quite taken aback. When
she realised I was serious, she hunkered down with her notebook and said: ‘wag, ek moet nou die hoor.’ (Wait, I’ve got
to hear this.) Shaking her head, she
walked away with my order.
Bringing our orders,
she hesitantly asked me if the order’s right?
It was perfect. Although, after
I’ve dribbled over the choc sauce, I needed golden syrup. When another waitress brought me the syrup,
she was laughing and shaking her head.
Oh well – I’ve made their day.
And yes, my concoction was very good.
I’ve always loved the combination of sweet and salty.
Over a lovely train
bridge, into the miniscule town of Norvalspoort. Blink your eyes and you’ve missed it. A lovely old hotel is in the main street,
with black kids playing in the dust.
I’ve booked us into
the River Destiny Lodge (www.riverdestiny.co.za
– 051 753 0203) into a safari tent on the dam. They also have rooms and chalets (2 on top of
each other) facing the river.
Arriving at the
lodge after 3pm, we had a look at the Safari Tent (R310/night) but liked the
chalets overlooking the Orange River
(R440/night) better. Luckily they had a
chalet available. The chalet is open
plan bedroom and kitchen with bathroom.
No shower. They have LUX soap
dispensers at the bath and basin – what a wonderful idea! Maybe more chalets & guesthouses should
explore this option. Unpacking the
crates from the car (not unpacking the clothes – quite unlike my usual self),
we had a drink on the lookout.
The river flowed
steadily and we could see the highway’s bridge with trucks and cars
passing by. There’s also a big swimming
pool outside the restaurant. We went
back to the unit for a nap.
With a restaurant on
the premises, we booked for dinner and breakfast in advance. I had the fish & veg. 2 Big pieces of battered fish with lovely
green beans, stewed with onions & potato and sweet carrots on the side. Yummy.
Hein had a steak with veg and said the steak was really done well. For dessert, I had a Fudge Picasso. A smallish round dessert – ice cream with
Amarula liqueur, topped all around with a white fudge layer.
At another table sat
3 young strappy guys (looked like rugby players). Driving a Cape Town registration car, we figured
they’re students from Pta or Jhburg, on their way home. Funny thing was ... they each had on
identical sweat jackets, drank the same beer and ordered the same dish. But didn’t look like brothers.
Behind us sat
another couple, celebrating their 9th anniversary. On TV was a show with Patricia Lewis. One of the guys said: watch, she’s going to flip her hair. And while she’s singing a song, she flipped
that threadbare mane of artificial blond extensions this side and that. I laughed, because even the young guys don’t
find her attractive. We chatted a bit,
then went back to the unit and read for a while.
Saturday, 22 May 2010
We woke early, made
coffee and went outside to drink it.
Mist was shrouding the river and restaurant and it was 9 oC.
After a quick bath, we went for
breakfast. Bacon, eggs, cheese sausage
and toast. We drove to Colesberg and saw
‘The Mall’ in the main street.
A far cry from any
of our malls. There are some lovely old
buildings and quite a few guesthouses in Colesburg. At the Gariep Dam, we stopped to take
photos. It’s a huge dam!!
Back at the unit, we
read a bit, had a basket (chips, Samoosas, fish, chicken, cheese nuggets) for
lunch. Then went for a nap before the
rugby game. Dressed in my Sharks shirt,
we parked ourselves in front of the TV in the restaurant. I ordered a Dom Pedro with whisky and we
cheered the guys.
I’ve been smelling
soup the whole afternoon, so I ordered the Veg and Meat soup. It was divine! Hein ordered a Steak with Pepper sauce, once
again perfectly done. For dessert, I had
Chocolate Brownies with ice cream.
Deciding to leave early the next morning, we paid our bill and thanked
the guys. Really a lovely experience.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
We woke at 6am, had
coffee, packed up and left just before 8 am.
It was 2 oC! Outside Colesberg,
we stopped at the Shell Garage’s Wimpy and shared a breakfast wrap. It’s quite a big portion, so we were happy to
share it. Lovely and not greasy.
I had my hopes and dreams
on 3 Susters (Sisters) Farm stall,
outside Beaufort West. For some time I
felt like a real homemade pie. The road
stall didn’t disappoint. It’s a big barn
with a coffee shop at one end, deep freezers with their homemade
meat/sausages in the centre and shelves filled with preserves, gifts and
cookies.
I ordered the Chicken
pie, Hein the Beef Curry for lunch. Lunch was R55 each and the coffee nice and
strong. Hein took a photo of a bottle of
‘Boegoeblits’ (Boegoe/Buchu is an
indigenous South African herb and used successfully for a variety of ailments)
and
blits is raw alcohol (top centre) and a jar of quince preserve. I found these absolutely divine cookies,
called Angel Biscuits.
Shortbread
cookies with nougat pieces! Apparently
you can buy them at some Checkers stores. 3 Hours to Hartenbos.
Outside Klaarstroom
(one of those ‘sneeze-and-you-miss-it towns’), we stopped at a road stall with
lots of stuffed dolls outside.
Hein had a rugby chat with the elderly gentleman while I visited the
loo.
Driving through the
Swarberge (black mountains) we were gob smacked! The rock formations are indescribable!
I was by now
watching the GPS with an eagle eye. When
it said 10 km to Hartenbos and we were still in the hills with no view of the
sea, I started to panic. But no
worries.
Hartenbos is mainly known for
its lovely ATKV (Afrikaans Language & Culture Association) beach
accommodation. We drove to meet the
owner of the flat and followed him to undercover parking. Already a good sign. He showed us the
flat and we were speechless!
Lovely open plan kitchen and lounge, big
bedroom with double bed, spacious bathroom with bath & shower and a huuuuge
balcony with a kettle braai.
Also another bedroom with 2 single beds and en-suite with shower, toilet
& basin.
Overlooking the
ocean! www.wheretostay/debranders37/
(Contact: Johan Steyn Tel :044-6952125 Cell :082-7482985) for R400/night! Mind you, this is because it’s out of
season. When we unpacked the car, Hein
looked at the fuel gauge of Bubbles.
We’ve driven 1384 km from home and only used 82,5 litres of
diesel!!!! What an absolute pleasure!!!!
Around the flat are
a few small shops, a Spur, an OK grocer and a bit further away a Spar, butcher,
etc. We drove to the Langeberg Mall,
about 5 km away. It’s quite a big mall
with most of the usual shops. At the
Pick ‘n Pay, we stocked up on basic groceries and drove back. Quickly unpacked everything and decided to walk
to the Spur for dinner. Hein had a Pepper-melt
burger and I had Nachos with side order of onion rings. We read in bed and slept with open sliding
door and the mighty crash of the waves.
Monday, 24 May 2010
Woke at 6am, I made
coffee. I’ve decided to go for a brisk
walk. Next to the beach is a lovely paved walkway, done by the ATKV (top
right).
Now I usually do 6 km in an
hour, so I’ve set my phone to remind me of 30 min, so that I know I’ll just
double up the distance and it will be more or less 6 km.
The flat is
somewhere in-between the Spur on one side and a camping/caravan area on the
other. So I started to walk towards the
spur, past the spur to where the walkway stopped. Turned around, past the spur, past the flat,
past the camping area. Then the walkway
stopped. Turned around and only when I
got back to the flat, was it 30 min. I
laughed so much, that I only did 3 km that day.
Hein made boerewors
for breakfast and it was just awesome!
We drove again to Pick ‘n Pay for more groceries. Funny how at home your staple cupboard
essentials are ‘just there’. But once
you’re in another place, you sort of forget about them. Things like tomato sauce, mayo, herbs, etc. Made chicken burgers for lunch. Hein started to read Jefferey Deaver’s ‘Roadside
Crosses’.
Walking on the beach
late afternoon, we saw a jellyfish and Hein took beautiful
photos of a rock on the sand.
For dinner, we had
some of 3 Susters Farm Stall lamb
chops, quince preserve and a mixture of cooked green beans, onion and potato
cubes. Yum!
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Woke at 6am. Hein made coffee, I had 2 viennas and dressed
for my walk. This time I knew how far to
walk to finish my hour. All along the walkway
people are strolling or walking and every single one greets you. After yesterday, I’m actually starting to recognize some of these people.
Made Hein an egg
burger, some maize porridge for me. I
dressed, showered and Hein begged to be left at the flat since he’s afraid
something will happen in his book. I
left for Langeberg Mall. In Pick ‘n Pay, I bought the only packet of Tim Tam
biscuits.
Walked through most of the
shops, bought 2 stunning bead necklaces.
Returned after an hour, bought us fish and chips at the local fish shop
– Seespens. (Sea Pantry). Very yum.
For dessert, I had some Tim Tam biscuits and coffee with whisky. Read our books and took a nap.
For dinner, I made a
mushroom sauce with Portobello mushrooms, onions, herbs, milk and cheeses - added
that to cooked spaghetti. It was
absolutely delicious! I wanted a glass
of red wine, but although we looked everywhere, we couldn’t find an opener.
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
Got up
after 7am, had coffee, decided no walking today.
We handed in a load of washing and drove to Mossel Bay for breakfast. Stopped at Santos Express Train. The weather was quite dreary and misty with
all the seagulls on the beach.
And waited for
service .. and waited and waited. Hein
walked 3 times throughout the shop, couldn’t find a waiter. At last out came this young colored man,
with a big diamond stud in each ear and a serious attitude. I lifted my eyebrow to him and asked if they
make Americano coffee. A definite no was
his answer. I explained to him how to
make it and he left. Luckily we were then
served by a very friendly colored lady.
However, they charged us R20 for ‘double espresso’! Outrageous! Hein doing business on holiday –
cold beer and phone in hand. I had some
potatoes with ham, jalapeno’s and cheese.
Very nice. Hein had mince on
toast with eggs on top.
We drove to
Albertinia, a few kilometres away. Quite
a small little town. A lovely hotel,
quite a few liquor stores, shops selling ‘potskoon’ (pot clean) tripe, few
butcheries and a museum. We then drove
to Gouritsmond (left), thinking we may find a coffee shop at the sea. No such luck.
This house’s front was decorated with driftwood.
Driving back to Mossel Bay,
we went to Sea Gypsy in the harbour.
Years ago, we stayed
in Mossel Bay en route from Gordons Bay.
And had the most divine oysters at the Sea Gypsy. Hein ordered the fish and chips and I had
mussels in a sauce. An older couple
immediately guessed we were tourists and we had a lovely time chatting. I finished with a decadent mud pudding with
ice cream.
After lunch, we
picked up our laundry, bought a corkscrew and went back to the flat. I just had some leftover mushroom pasta and Hein
a mince vetkoek for dinner.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Woke at 5am,
dozed till 7, and woke again with a start.
Saw this amazing sunrise, dressed quickly and while scoffing a blueberry
muffin, walked down to the walkway. I
had a pleasant 6 km, greeting everyone.
Got back, had my
first cuppa of the day, showered and Hein said he felt like a boerewors
braai. We walked to the stores close by
and Hein bought a second hand book, although their collection was poor. Then I saw this guy selling dried fruit from
a trailer – he called it ‘takvars’.
(branch fresh)
At Tollies Butchery
we walked in. (Before we left on
holiday, my friend said she saw that this butchery won a platinum cleaver award
nationwide.) We bought some boerewors,
chatted to the owner and walked slowly back.
Hein started the
fire and I made a tomato relish. My gosh
– the sausage was absolutely divine!!!!
Really good! I enjoyed mine with a glass of red wine.
We read and mellowed
out. The next moment, Hein went out and
came back with Tumble choc raisins (one of my favourite snacks) and
Astros. I ended up with the choc raisins
and he ate the Astros. Later I made a
chicken stew with some red wine, chunks of onion, red wine and served it with
my jalapeno-feta-jasmine rice. Smashing!!!
Friday, 28 May 2010
During the night
Hein told me it has started to rain.
When we woke for coffee, it was dripping – so no walking. We decided to go for breakfast. Luckily the older couple in the Sea Gypsy
restaurant told us of another place at The Point in Mossel Bay. Delfino’s.
We drove there and saw they had their generator on.
Although it was a
bit intruding with its noise, we didn’t mind cause we had awesome Americano
coffees!! We sat at an open door,
watching the sea turned from grey to blue, as the sky cleared. The couple next to us had a very appetizing
pizza, so we ordered the same.
Pizza covered with
scrambled eggs, bacon and cheese. But
boy, it’s big. We only finished half of
each. Some locals begged for food outside
(the little birds) and we managed to give them a few crumbs. Astonishingly, the whole breakfast with about
3 cups of coffee was just over R100.
Quite a bargain. It’s a lovely
place and we’ll go again. With the pizza
in take-away boxes, we drove away.
We drove through
Glentana and Groot Brakrivier and handed the left-over pizza to a petrol
attendant. Back at the flat, we read our books, I only had toast with cheese
later the afternoon, Hein had nothing.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant in Mossel Bay
called “Jazzbury’s’. We arrived at 6,
hein starving. Big was my surprise when
I saw them advertised ‘BBQ Ostrich Wings’.
I should have ordered some. The
waiter said it’s only the front part of the wing they use, but nevertheless ...
It’s a lovely
stone-faced house converted into a restaurant.
Lovely red walls, oil paintings and fairy lights around wrought iron
candelabra. Hein chose the Mussels as
starter, I had a timbale (tower) of Salmon, Prawn and Avo. I had a taste of his Mussels and white wine
sauce, very nice. My timbale was served
cold and is a delightful way to present a starter. Hein chose the Tomato and Lamb Stew and I had
the Ostrich Liver starter with a Greek salad as a main. We had no dessert.
Saturday, 29 May 2010
We’ve heard of this
really nice farmers market in Sedgefield, other side of George. But it’s only from 8 to 11h30. So we woke up at 5am, dozed till 6am, had coffee
and showered. Just after 7 am we left the
flat. Arrived there just after 8am and was
amazed to see it buzzing already! They
have tree stumps as chairs and tables and bins for recycling.
With one quick
walk-through, we decided on something to munch on. Hein had Mince Vetkoek, I had a Chicken Wrap. With fresh coffee. I saw this guy selling ‘sour fig jam’ and I
bought whole sour fig jam and sour fig spread.
I grew up with it and it’s really nice.
At the fudge lady, I
bought packets of Dark Chocolate and Cherry Fudge, Tiramisu Fudge and Cherry Fudge. Then we just walked around. Spotting the cake lady, I bought a slice of
Black Forest Cake. But eating it while
walking, someone commented on me having cake for breakfast.
Then she said some
guy won a price for his cheesecake.
Well, of course I had to check it out.
Gave Hein my Black Forest slice and bought
a slice of his baked cheesecake. It was
quite nice, but I was now stuffed.
Driving on
to Knysna, we first drove through Buffelsbaai (Buffalo Bay), then
Knysna, then drove on to Plettenberg Bay.
It’s a very busy town and not our scene at all. Can’t think how busy is will be when its high
season. Most of these little towns have
such lovely old churches, I had to take photos of this, the St Peters Anglican
Church.
At the entrance of
the town, we stopped at a ‘vleisfees’.
(meat festival) (left). Hein had
a boerewors roll and if they had stock, I would have bought some sheep’s
head. There were all sorts of meat to
buy.
Tired, we drove
back. Between Knysna & George is
this bridge, inaugurated by old Minister PW Botha.
Stopped at Tollies
Butchery again for a T-bone for Hein and skilpadjies (lewer in netvet)(liver
wrapped in caul).
I was
looking for bread dough, but bought a pot bread instead. Just then the girl handed me some bread
dough, which I’ll bake at another time.
After the nap, we
started to watch the Bulls/Stormers’ rugby game. Halfway through, Hein (normally a Sharks
supporter) decided since we’re in the Cape, we shall be shouting for the Stormers. At
half-time, Hein started the fire. He
braaied the T-bone steak, 4 skilpadjies, a piece of boerewors. I made a Greek salad and some stywe pap and
sauce for him.
Then I remembered
something – a friend of my sister did this:
put pieces of the bread dough on the braai grid and you get something
similar to roosterkoek. Tried it, took a
while, but when Hein put the lid of the braai on, it went quickly. Oh my gosh.
Now that’s very neat. We only
had half of the meat, so I packed up a polystyrene holder with the left-over
pap & sauce, steak, skilpadjies & bread rolls. Hein gave it to the security guy and he was
obviously very pleased. Watched The Monk
and read in bed.
Sunday, 30 May 2010
What a lovely
day! I made coffee and then we watched
how a big ship gets petrol out in the ocean.
There’s a permanent yellow ‘petrol base’.
Then a small boat comes and collects the
petrol pipe and ‘hands’ it to the big ship.
It’s all very neat. We took
photos through the binoculars.
Hein went for a walk
on the beach, while I read book and chatted on Facebook. He saw this little fella. When he wanted to take a photo, it was
delving down into the sand. So Hein
lifted it up.
When Hein came back,
he started the fire – cause someone else’s braai got him in the mood for
breakfast. We braaied boerewors, 2
skilpadjies and it were yummy! Then we
sat in bed, reading. Hein snoozed for a
bit, we had some fudge and read some more.
We decided to go to
Mossel Bay for dinner. En route, we
drove past the Diaz Hotel and found a bookshop open. I bought a lovely book and some
magazines.
At Delfino’s we
walked to the back of the restaurant and what a pleasant surprise – real sea
sand on the floor, lovely rustic decor with oversized mirrors, swatches of gauze
wrapped around doors, etc.
I ordered a Greek
salad and Margarita pizza. Salad was
nice, pizza without the taste I’m used to and a bit greasy. Hein ordered a Mexican pizza, but it could
well have been from Debonairs. Too much
mince, too much sauce. We ordered Americano
coffees to have on the patio and watched the seals frolic in the waves. I ordered a lemon meringue and it was delicious
– not too sweet. Hein had 2 Americano
coffees (that’s 4 espresso’s) and guess what?
He couldn’t sleep that night. But
he said the coffee was just soooo nice. Drove
home, gave the leftover pizza to the security guard, watched TV and read book.
Monday, 31 May 2010
My alarm went off at
6am. I got up at 6h30, made coffee, had
some cereal and walked my 6 km. It was
brilliant! Although with no clouds, I
had the sun on my face. Next time I’ll
put on my shades & peak.
Showered, drove to Mossel Bay,
had breakfast at BluCafe at The Point, Mossel Bay. Lovely view on the waves. I had the small Blu b.fast – 1 egg, 2 rashers
of bacon, 1 boerewors, toast & tomato.
Hein had the big Blu b.fast – 2 eggs, bacon, boerewors and 200g of
steak. And strong coffee.
I left Hein there
and drove to the mall, looking for ski pants.
Hein walked through the small aquarium.
This Octopus is apparently so clever, they put a mussel into a small
plastic jar. The Octopus then unscrews
the lid and eats the mussel!
After the aquarium,
Hein walked up a hill past a shallow cave to a lighthouse and when he came down,
landed on his behind. But he took some
lovely photos.
When I picked him
up, he said he wanted Fish & Chips next to the sea. While thinking where to go, we had Americano
coffees at Delfino’s. Then we decided to
drive to George. Nearly there, we realised
that George isn’t actually at the sea. LOL.
So we
drove to Wilderness and found this lovely hotel with a Sails Restaurant.
Stunning
view over the sea, but just notice how high it is from the beach. Loads of little steps down.
The décor is very quirky
and upmarket. I ordered the Kingklip
with basmati rice with rocket & papaya.
It was absolutely divine. Hein
had Carp with rice, cherry tomatoes and marrow slices. Very delicious. The view was just unbelievable.
Drove back to the
flat, picked up our washing and a flat Peri-Peri chicken for dinner. It was icy cold, so we put on the wall-mounted
heater. It instantly changed the room’s
temperature. The chicken on the braai was
absolutely yummy with steamed seasonal veggies and preserved quinces. We read and watched a bit of TV.
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
My gosh – we’re in
June already! Woke up at 6am, dozed till
half-past 6. Hein made coffee, I had some cereal and went for my 6 km
walk. This time I took my shades and
peak along and was prepared. It was a
lovely walk.
Came back, showered,
then Hein started the fire. For
boerewors, of course.
How do you eat a
scone? Or more importantly, how do you
prefer the jam with a scone? OK – so
here’s the deal. Scones have been around
since the Victorian times. It’s an
institution with high teas. So the jam
should be homemade jam, served in a little dish. NOT those mass-produced, commercialised
little plastic packets of generic jam.
No Sirree!!!
I don’t usually
order scones in a coffee shop, cause it’s a bit dicey. Some of them are really dry or crappy. But when we came on holiday, I had this
vision of a scone with jam and cream.
Real jam. So I’ve seen a Fynbos Coffee
Shop in Mossel Bay.
But do they serve scones like I envision it? I phoned them this morning and asked them
outright. Woohoo! Yip, they serve homemade jam in a little
dish. Guess where we’re going this afternoon!
For the past few
days, we’ve noticed an unpleasant smell in our en-suite bathroom. Then we realised that the toilet is leaking,
so we asked the supervisor and he phoned a plumber. Sorted.
After a
midday nap, we showered and went to Fynbos Coffee Shop. What a delightful little place.
Full
of little gifts, jams, clothes, etc. The scones were absolutely delicious and
Hein had some lovely toasted sandwiches.
We went back to Diaz
hotel and I bought 3 more books to read.
During the afternoon, Hein called me to the balcony. A school of dolphins were swimming in the
waves. For dinner, I made Spaghetti Bolognaise
and baked 2 small buns of bread. It was
lovely with red wine.
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Midway through my
morning walk, the mist became quite thick.
I had droplets on my lashes and my hair was quite wet. I considered turning around, but with other
people still walking, I didn’t feel threatened, so I finished my 6 km.
After some coffee, I
had a quick shower and when Hein said ‘where are we driving today’, I suggested
in a joke, ‘let’s go say hello to my family in Gansbaai.’ (Other side of Hermanus). He said that sounds like fun. I phoned Esme, my dad’s sister and she
invited us to stay over. We quickly
packed an overnight bag, stopped at Tollies Butchery for some boerewors and
rump steaks and left Hartenbos at 10.
Outside Hartenbos, I
bought sandwiches and coffee at the Wimpy One Stop. At Raka Wines we stopped, bought some red
wines and drove through green lands and blue, blue mountains. At one farm stall, these brightly coloured
gumboots were used as plant holders.
Further on, this bakkie filled with oranges landed on his roof. It must have been over-loaded. The drive to Gansbaai was about 2 ½ hours
long.
In Gansbaai, we
quickly stopped at the Spar, I bought a few things and we met Esme at her
sister, Lorraine’s
house. Mike, Lorraine’s
husband was there, Wilnand their brother popped in for lunch and DJ & Megan
(Esme’s son & wife) came to say hello.
Lorraine
had lovely fried springbok fillet, squash, mash & mushroom sauce. And soft, ‘non-fattening’ custard cake. Yum!!
Mike was leaving for
a long weekend hunting trip the next morning, so the men talked about hunting,
while I catch up on news with my aunts. After
5, Hein bought some beers and we went to Esme’s house.
Mike gave us 2 Snoek
fish to braai and sweet potatoes to be oven-baked.
Esme have a few olive trees in her yard, so
she harvested 5 kg and pickled her own olives.
We nibbled on them and they were delightful. She added rosemary, lemon and garlic to the
oil which gave it a lovely taste. She
also made some olives in a mixture of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Yum!! Hein braaied some boerewors as
starters, DJ braaied the Snoek – what a feast!
We ended with strong
plunger coffee and Lindt chocolate balls and went to bed at 11h30pm. Just before getting in bed, we heard a very
loud ‘barking’ sound – almost like an ape or baboon. The room under the thatched roof is
‘honeymoon quality’ and we had a lovely night’s rest.
Thursday 3 June 2010
I’ve set my alarm
for 5h44, but we dozed till 6h30. After
a quick shower, we dressed, packed our bag and went downstairs for coffee and
rusks. Hein helped Esme with her laptop
and sorted out some small technicalities.
We then drove to Esme’s office, connected her laptop with an HP
scanner/printer and then we drove to Lorraine’s
house to say our good byes.
Wanting to have
breakfast in Riversdale, we found nothing appealing, so we drove on to
Swellendam. It’s a beautiful town and I
remembered from years ago, a restaurant next to the river.
It has changed names to La Belle Alliance,
lovely Belgian food. I ordered the Chicken,
Mushroom & Broccoli Quiche with Salad and Hein had Roast Pork with Potato
& Salads. It was absolutely
divine!!! And the portions were huge!
Outside Albertinia,
we stopped at The Blue Crane coffee shop.
I walked in, started to browse when this tiny lady complimented me on my
hairstyle and colour. When I saw some Orange
Rind & Almond rusks, I couldn’t resist and told her I love citrus
things. We started to chat and she gave
me her business card ‘the cheeky chef – Pip’ and showed me she’d drawn a tiny
angel on the corner. When I told her
about my microwave jam and reading recipe books in bed, she hugged me and said
we must drive safe. “Never drive too
fast so your guardian angel can’t keep up.”
I walked out there with tears in my eyes. Life is just soooo amazing!! Talk to anyone, anywhere and see the impact
on your life.
Close to the flat, at
the Langeberg Mall, we stopped for cooked roast chicken and veg at Woolworths, Hein
bought some CD’s and we drove to the flat.
I removed my make-up, washed some dishes from the previous day and
caught up on Facebook and mail. Read
book, had chicken, veg & Portuguese buns.
And yoghurt for afters.
Friday,4 June 2010
Our last day! After coffee and 2 of the Orange Rind &
Almond rusks, I went for my last 6 km walk next to the beach. Sure am going to miss the sound and smell of
the ocean.
Handed in our last
bundle of washing. For breakfast,
although it was already 10 o clock, we went to Fynbos Coffee Shop, Mossel Bay.
Although they didn’t
have any ‘wow’ breakfasts, I decided on the French Toast with syrup. I can’t make French toast. It’s soggy in the centre. And previous ones I’ve had in restaurants,
just didn’t do it for me. These ones
were absolutely amazing!!!! White, soft,
eggy with loads of syrup. Hein took this
photo of me – telling him how ‘smitten’ I was with the French toast.
The shop was filled
with ladies (all dressed up, hair done perfectly and with beautiful
accessories) and a few gentlemen. Hein
had mince on toast topped with an egg.
It was just enough as a portion. Washed
down with lovely strong Americano coffees, of course.
Hein wanted to have
a haircut, so we drove to the Mall.
Our plan was to
drive to Bloemfontein
and overnight at Hein’s aunt & uncle.
While Hein had a haircut, I bought some mixed chocolates for Hein’s
aunt, Adriana.
We drove back to Sea
Gypsy, had a beer while watching Shark Cagers going out on a boat. If you look closely at the photo,
you’ll see birds flying low over the sea.
Someone said it was their migration.
There were loads of them.
I ordered Calamari
Steak with rice & salad and the Calamari was soooooo soft! Hein had Hake and deep-fried Calamari with
chips. Yummy.
After a short nap, Hein
fetched the clean washing and I started to pack the crates. We decided a Spur dinner would be just the
thing for our last night.
Hein decided on the
Pepper burger, I had Chicken Fajita with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, salad
& grated cheese. It was delicious,
although bit messy. Definitely
good. After dinner, I wanted to have
either the bite-size cheesecake or bite-size brownies. I ordered both, but preferred the cheesecake,
so we took the brownies in a doggie bag.
For the last time,
we drove through Mossel
Bay and said goodbye to
all the lovely spots we’ve eaten at. In
Hartenbos, we filled up the tank and gave the brownies to the girl fuel
attendant.
Saturday, 5 June 2010
We woke up at 5.30,
had coffee, showered and packed the rest of our stuff. On the dot 7, we stopped outside the gate to
hand the keys back to the owner. We were
very sad to leave the ocean behind.
Although a detour,
we drove to Sedgefield Farmers Market. I
had to buy more sour fig jams! For
breakfast, I decided on a freshly baked Kudu pie. It was absolutely unbelievable! The short-crust pastry was crisp, not flaky
and the pie was packed with filling. The guy said: ‘those pies don’t have any
air in them”. I could taste cloves and
gave Hein a bite. He had a vetkoek and
German Sausage Roll. For lunch later on
, we bought 2 more pies.
At 3 Susters Farm stall, we stopped again. I bought more of the Angel biscuits, lovely
thick droëwors and we ate our pies.
After 8 hours’
drive, we stopped in Bloemfontein
and cheered the Springboks with their victory.
Hein gave his uncle, Johan, some red wine and we had a lovely late
dinner of curry, rice & bananas.
While Adriana prepared dinner, I saw packets of Angel Biscuits in the
kitchen. She told me she bought it in
Hluhluwe, Natal. It also caught her eye. We went to bed.
Sunday, 6 June 2010
After a quick bath
(for me) and shower for Hein, we had coffee and drove to the Mimosa Mall to
meet Cornie (an old University buddy of Hein) for breakfast at a coffee shop,
Caramello’s. They have a fabulous offer
for breakfast, R20.10 for eggs, bacon, tomato, Vienna & toast! With a wonderful play on words.
Both Hein and Cornie
ordered these breakfasts, while I took another chance on their version of
French toast. Oh my word, another
triumph!! Their version is mushrooms
& bacon in-between slices of bread then dipped in egg and fried. Yum, double yum!!!
We had a lovely
‘catch-up’ with Cornie, then left for home.
By now, we were looking forward to our own bed and were missing our
kid-cats terribly.
Driving into Johannesburg, it was a
pleasure to see all the roadworks finished.
And so a wonderful
explorative seaside holiday has come to an end.
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