Road trip review December 2019
It all started a few months ago. Over breakfast in Boksburg with my cousin,
Zettie (daughter of Marlene, my dad Bertie’s sister) the invitation was thrown
out … ‘if you feel like a holiday, come stay with us in Napier and travel from
there.’ Napier is between Caledon and
Bredasdorp in Overberg, Cape.
2019 was quite a year … at the young (giggle)
age of 53, I started working for a psychiatrist at a clinic. Absolutely love my job, although dealing with
patients every day (some more cantankerous ..argumentative ..uncooperative..)
is exhausting. Hein’s contract job in
Midrand required him (of his own free will in order to avoid heavy traffic) to
leave home around 05h15. With both of us
exhausted, shoulders tensed, and tempers frayed, we started to consider
Zettie’s offer. A week away from home
sounded really nice.
After 16 years, we lost both our beloved
cat-daughters. Minx we lost in December
2017 (kidney failure) and for the year and half following that, Sammy-girl kept
our home filled with her quirky personality.
Sadly, we lost Sammy-girl in July 2019, also kidney failure.)
Planning our trip, we decided to stay over in
Bloemfontein and Victoria West.
Friday 13 December 2019
Not an unlucky day for us at all … the start of
our road trip to Napier. Wanting to
finish off some last-minute work, I rocked up at my office at 07h30. Finalized a few things, but with my boss and
one last patient only scheduled to arrive at 10h30, I was given the go-ahead
and were back home at 08h30.
Deciding on what to pack was a nightmare for me
… we ended up packing 1 duffel bag for Hein, 2 duffel bags for me. A cooler box with our favorite filter coffee
and bodum was essential. Locked the
house, handed the keys to our neighbor and left Joburg at 09h30. Road trip has officially started!
At Kroonstad, we stopped for brunch. Hein really wanted a ‘messy burger’, so at
the Steers he ordered a cheeseburger and my word … was it messy!!! His mouth had a cheese ring all over and his
fingers were beyond cleaning with paper napkins. My toasted sandwich was yummy.
Just after 2pm we booked into the Protea Hotel,
Nelson Mandela Drive, Bloemfontein (https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bfnbf-protea-hotel-bloemfontein) .
Paid a special price of R800/room and wow, what a lovely hotel! Love the décor … earthy colors, comfy chairs
in the reception and a spacious room. A
nice touch were 2 small chocolates on the work desk. The work desk (unlike most hotels – attached
to a wall, so you sit facing the wall) is stand-alone – so you can either face
the window or the room. After a quick
nap, we visited Hein’s aunt & uncle, Adriana and Johan – enjoyed coffee
& tea while catching up on family news.
Cooler box filled with my homemade strawberry chili
sauce, my homemade ginger meringue kisses, my homemade ginger jam and my
homemade fruitcake muffins, we visited Cornie & Adre for a dinner
braai. Cornie, Pieter (more about
that on Tuesday 18 December) and Hein were at Stellenbosch University together,
so I’ve known Cornie since meeting Hein – 28 years.
We sat down on their AMAZING ‘farmhouse
stoep(patio)’, nibbled on olives, crisps and mini salami sticks. Adre jumped up, returned with a small bowl
filled with my strawberry chilli sauce and we decided it was indeed a perfect
dip for the salami sticks.
With the wood fire blazing on the side, Hein
was sitting with his back to the (now dark) garden. The next moment Hein said: ‘I just saw a fox
streaking past’ – Cornie and Adre burst out laughing, said it was their shy
(hiding from strangers) cat, Stoney.
Wine, lamb chops, salad and braaibroodjies – by
11pm we drove back to the hotel.
Saturday 14 December 2019
6 am. Strong
black coffee, showered, packed and booked out of hotel. Hein decided to start ‘checking in’ at all
the little towns we pass through via his Facebook phone app. People loved it! They commented and followed us on our
trip. When we mentioned Napier, our
friends Linda & Kobus Potgieter (who stays in Melkbosstrand) said they’ll
be in Napier the weekend. We arranged to
meet them for lunch on Monday, the 16th.
The previous night we talked about the route
down to Victoria West … and the little Afrikaans town Orania was mentioned … it’s
on our way … yes, we’re going there. Orania
is an Afrikaans town next to Orange River in the Karoo, Northern Cape. With our low Volvo, Hein prefers not to
drive on gravel roads … pity that the GPS couldn’t warn you about that …
following the GPS, we ended up driving a gravel road … only to found out after
driving through Orania, there actually WAS another tarred road!!!
Drove into Orania, stopped at a few shops to
look for earring-related keyrings. Found
little rubber keyrings – picture of Jan & Marie van Riebeeck on –
‘Moeilikheid makers sedert 1682 – Kom tuis in Orania.’ Translated: Trouble makers since 1982 – Come stay in
Orania.
The Koeksister Monument, erected in 2003, celebrates the women who baked
and sold koeksisters, a syrupy sweet Afrikaner delicacy, to collect
money for charity and is one of the town's tourist attractions
Since we haven’t breakfasted
at the Bloemfontein hotel, we drove towards the Orange River, looking for a
breakfast spot. Found ‘Die Orania
Oewerhotel’ (https://www.oraniahotel.co.za/) with a patio overlooking the
lovely river. After 2 black and strong
coffees, Hein had the farmers’ breakfast (sausage, bacon, mushrooms, eggs,
tomato & toast). My choice was
French toast with banana, bacon and maple syrup. Excellent breakfast – stunning view. (The hotel has all kinds of accommodation –
worth checking it out.)
Next overnight stop Victoria West. When I looked for accommodation in this
little itty bitty town, there were quite a few interesting options … luckily I
asked my friend Antoinette for a recommendation … she suggested Melton Wold (http://meltonwold.co.za/) and said the food was good. They claim to be the oldest guest farm in
South Africa since 1935.
Driving through Victoria West just after 4pm, I
realized that not choosing accommodation in the town was a good choice … all
the B&B’s were on the main streets with no safe parking areas.
Melton Wold is a gorgeous farm 40 kms from Victoria West – lawns around the
huge sprawling farmhouse, old creaking wooden floors, huge bedrooms, comfy
chairs and couches in lounge and more seating on the wide patio. First thing we noticed in the bedroom was no
coffee-making facilities. Bummer. Although there’s a coffee-making area next to
the lounge, it’s quite a distance away from the bedrooms – meaning you walk on
creaking floors waking everyone. A perk
apparently is coffee in bed … we said no thanks.
After a short nap, we relaxed in the
lounge. Dinner was a 3-course meal
included into the DinnerBedBreakfast price and normally served at 7pm –
announced by someone walking around with a bell.
Brunch in Orania felt like a lifetime ago, so
promptly at 7pm we seated ourselves at a table.
A smooth veg soup was served with a lovely homemade slice of bread. It
was good, nothing spectacular. The main
course was meatballs with rice as well as a ‘venison stroganoff’ with
vegetables. Sounding like a lot of food,
I opted for the meatballs, Hein for the venison. My meatballs were dry and lacked spices – the
venison (if it was venison) was tough and the sauce? Definitely not stroganoff! It was dark red – good taste, but not a
stroganoff. The side dish filled with
sweet pumpkin, green beans and potatoes however were delicious.
Hein had the dessert … a bowl of bread &
butter pudding – and found a piece of eggshell in it.
All in all?
Not a happy dinner experience!
Afterwards, we found out their chef has been there for more than 40
years … well, maybe he should retire then!
Wanting to leave really early the next morning,
we thought about asking for sandwiches (since breakfast was paid for) but after
the dismal dinner, we opted against it.
Sunday 15 December 2019
Our destination for the day - Napier – so we
had to hustle hustle. Just after 5 am we
woke – Hein walked the creaky floors to make coffee, we showered, packed and
left the farm just before 6 am. A sign with Loxton – 40 kms - just outside the
Melton Wold’s entrance triggered Hein’s attention.
Okay, so here’s the story about
Loxton. In 1985 I was in the
Stellenbosch Technical College boarding house, Rozenhof. My roommate was Suzette and her family was
from Fraserburg – about 90 km from Loxton.
During a summer holiday, I spent time with Suzette at Fraserburg … and 1
night we drove to Loxton for a dance. Obviously
stayed over somewhere with friends. I
can clearly remember what I wore that night … red cotton pants, a white
boat-neck top with red dots and red laced flats. For some reason, during the past 28 years
that I’ve known Hein, if someone says ‘Loxton’, Hein will look and me and say:
‘what happened at Loxton?’
To Loxton we drove. A clean little town, too early for anyone to
be outside. Our next stop was Beaufort
West … we saw the sign and as we drove in that direction … we realized … it’s a
gravel road. Nuh uh … no ways. So we drove back the 40 kms to the Melton
Wold farm – and then another 40 kms to Victoria West.
Quite peckish by now, we arrived at the
Travalia Farm Stall (https://travalia.co.za/farmstore.html) just after 9am. Doors were open, so we stretched our backs,
walked to the entrance where a blackboard sign PROUDLY claimed ‘Homemade pies –
takeaway/sit down’. Yes, a pie would be
great! We asked the waitress about a pie
… ‘Oh, I will first have to check if we still have pies available – we were
really busy the previous day’. ?? Really???
We drove away.
Just 1 km along the way, I saw another (newly
built) farm stall – as we passed, I softly shouted to Hein ‘stop stop turn
around’. Walked into the farm stall - we
saw these amazing golden and obviously homemade pies – lamb pies for R32. Ordered 2, they heated it for a few seconds
in microwave and we devoured them! It
was amazing!!!!!!! Watch out Travalia –
your competition is around the corner and they are GOOD!!!!!!!
At Montague farm stall we browsed … bought some
aniseed rusks (no aniseed detected), some Zebra paté and then I
spied … Suurvyekonfyt (sour fig jam). OH
MY GOONESS, I gave a little squeak and a happy dance (the lady behind me looked
up and when I said to her sour fig jam, she pulled her mouth downwards.)
Sour figs (https://www.randomharvest.co.za/en-us/South-African-Indigenous-Plants/Show-Plant/PlantId/535/Plant/Carpobrotus-edulis?Filter=All) are a ground-creeping succulent
mostly found in the Cape. The fruit can
be made into jam. The first time I ever
saw (or tasted it) was at the Wild Oats Market, Sedgefield (http://www.wildoatsmarket.co.za/). If
you’re ever in the area on a Saturday morning,
do yourself a favour … this market is amazing!!!! On the day I found the Sour Fig Jam, we also
bought fantastic venison pies!!!!!! I
mean … really good!! The whole market
has cut-down tree trunks for seats and cute little stalls, selling homemade
products.
Just after 3pm we arrived at Napier … my
parents are both from here. My great
grandmother and grandmother & step granddad had houses here. I was born in Bredasdorp, a mere 10 km away. We
have arrived at my cousin Zettie’s farm – their 4 guard dogs welcomed us ..
Boeta (don’t know what breed) is the only male.
Shylo and Didi are Jack Russell girls and Sky a black dachshund. Zettie’s late dad Attie and mom Marlene used
to head horse trails. They also had
Oxwagons for a real unique sleeping experience. Marlene was relaxing in Uilenkraalsmond
during December (more about that later) in a lagoon-facing chalet.
The house is big with a fabulous stoep (patio)
overlooking the fields. Fat squishy
chairs invite you to sit and relax. In
Marlene’s living quarters, I unpacked all our clothes. Weather was overcasted, but with coffees in
hand, we enjoyed the peace and quiet.
Huge pine trees around the house and the ox wagons on the side, the
garden filled with quirky old pots, lovely plants and fresh herbs gave the farm
serenity and peace. One of the Jack
Russell’s, Shylo dropped a pine cone in front of Hein. They warned Hein not to start a game … but it
was too late. Shylo has found a new
playmate. Again and again Hein threw a pine cone … and again and again the little Jack Russell kicked up dust and
stones fetching it.
John’s daughter Charmaine with hubby & baby
girl arrived … also Eugene (Genie) and hubby Jannie. With some of my sour fig jam, crackers and a
few cheeses – glasses of wine and beers were enjoyed while supper was baking in
the oven.
The kitchen butcher block (used as serving
table) groaned under dishes filled with Bobotie, baked chicken pieces, pork
roast, vegetables and roast potatoes.
Tummies full, we stumbled back to the patio to enjoy the evening air.
Monday 16 December 2019
Zettie was off to work, so after coffee &
rusks for breakfast, we drove just after 10 am to Linda & Kobus. After a few suggestions, we decided lunch in
Struisbaai sounded fabulous. It was a
perfect day!!!! Open skies, no
wind. A mere 48 km’s away.
Entering Struisbaai, police officers were
handing out pamphlets – the little town had no water. Driving slowly, we saw the ‘Sea Shack’
restaurant on the beach, but it was swamped with people. At the harbor, we drove in and the ‘Catch
Cook’ (https://catchcookrestaurant.com/) restaurant caught our eye. Huge place with inside and outside
seating. Orders are taken and paid for
at the counter. Their menu has seafood,
burgers, ribs, steak and schnitzels.
Hein and I opted for the battered & fried hake & chips (SOOOO
GOOOD!!!!!!!), while Linda & Kobus chose the Calamari Steaks with chips (it
looked absolutely delicious!!!!!!!! Next
time I’ll defo order that!)
Our table was on the covered patio, overlooking
the harbor. Weather still absolutely
fabulous! No wind at all. Fisherman boats offloaded crates of fresh
fish! Bikini’s and speedo’s walked by
licking ice creams and were painted white with sunscreen. Such bliss!!! (the ocean view, not the
bikini’s and speedo’s.) This restaurant has only been open for 3 weeks! And sometimes have live entertainment
too.
There was no question … after lunch we must
drive to Cape St Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa.
Dropped Linda & Kobus at their B&B and
at the farm took a nap. Zettie cooked
meat earlier, so after 5pm we peeled potatoes and added waterblommetjies to the
meat & potatoes. (Waterblommetjie
is also known as wateruintjie (water onion) or vleikos in Afrikaans, and Cape
hawthorn, Cape pondweed, and Cape asparagus in English. It’s indigenous to SA
and specifically to the Western Cape.
It’s available during winter months.
The first tender blommetjies (flowers) require a much lighter touch than
their more robust older sisters. The sweet-smelling flowers can be made into a
succulent traditional Cape waterblommetjie bredie (stew) or chopped fresh into
salads).
Relaxing on the patio with drinks, we nibbled
from a cheese board. This time there was
a cheese roll – I forgot to wrote down the name. It looks like a mini sausage roll –
essentially a pliable cheese that’s been layered with ham and rolled up
tightly. Absolutely delicious!!!
The Waterblommetjie stew was so yummy!!!!! Zettie’s mom said over the previous months
she eyed the frozen waterblommetjies, but Zettie was adamant it be kept for
us.
Tuesday 17 December 2019
Zettie had an appointment in Hermanus, so we
jumped to the opportunity to visit with Pieter (remember I said Pieter, Hein
& Cornie used to be in same University). After rusks and coffee, I discovered my gums
were quite tender. At the local Caltex
Garage, there’s a Country Store – for breakfast we bought the Houwhoek Chicken
& Mushroom pie, as well as a Sausage roll.
Oh my goodness, they were absolutely delicious!!!!! I sat in the shade of the only tree – licking
the pastry crumbs from my fingers.
Picked up Zettie at 09h30 at her work and drove
to Hermanus. The weather was still good
– little bit of wind, open skies. At the
Hermanus square, we walked to Pieter’s silver jewelry shop (Village Jewellery,
Village Square) and invited him for a coffee.
At Fusion Café (http://www.fusioncafe-hermanus.co.za/) we sat outside and enjoyed the sea
view. No whales though. When Zettie heard about Pieter’s shop, she
remembered buying jewelry there before.
Miniature Africa earrings caught her eye this time.
After we dropped Zettie, we drove to the Whale
Coast Mall Hermanus. Yes, yes, madness
this time of the year, but I really wanted to buy fruit mix at the Food Lovers’
Market. Not sure of my time available, I
speed walked through the mall – bought luxury festive fruit mix at Food Lovers’
Market (for fruitcake muffins) and popped in quickly at the Woolworths.
Close to lunchtime, we stopped in Stanford at
Ou Meul Bakkery (https://oumeul.co.za/).
Lovely outside patio with very clever screens for privacy and wind
protection. I ordered a chickpea-lentil
patty burger with chips, Zettie a croissant with gypsy ham & rocket, Hein a
sourdough open sandwich topped with chicken, sriracha sauce, avo & feta. Wow, the food was all absolutely
scrumptious!!!!! But all of a sudden,
the weather changed – at one stage, we thought to move indoors – the wind was
getting nasty.
Relaxing on the stoep, it was decided Hein and
I would make bunny chows for dinner. Dinner
time, I fried onions in oil, added mince, spices and tomato paste and let it
all simmer away. With the ends cut off a
whole (unsliced) bread, we hollowed out the bread ends and filled with meat
mixture. No cutlery allowed.
Being up on the hill, the wind was blowing
through the pine trees, but we still sat outside, Hein playing fetch with
Shilo.
With Zettie showing me how to work her oven, I
jumped up and made fruitcake muffins.
Because it’s such a fab 3-ingredient recipe, it was quick and easy.
Fruitcake
muffins
(you can
easily double the ingredients for 24 muffins)
This
recipe makes 12 muffins
500 g cake
mix (*see below for notes)
1 cup self-rising
flour, sifted
1 cup
liquid (**see below for notes)
***spices
(see below for notes)
Soak the
cake mix in the liquid for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
Preheat
oven to 160 oC. Stir in the self-rising
flour, the mixture will look a bit dry, but don’t add more liquid – stir till
white of flour isn’t visible - spoon into muffin pan. Bake for 35 minutes.
When
cooled down, sift icing sugar on top /decorate with marzipan / brush with
melted jam & extra glazed fruit
*Cake mix –
AS LONG AS IT WEIGHS 500 GRAMS, YOU CAN PLAY WITH THE INGREDIENTS … I like
glace cherries, so I took 400 g cake mix and 100 g glace cherries (cut up
finely). You can also add cut up
preserved figs, nuts, dried pineapple etc.
Food Lovers’ Market has a ‘luxury cake mix – R70/1 kg – it already
has bits of nuts & fruit in).
**Liquid
MUST NOT BE FRESH JUICE OR MILK – it will go sour! Use any flavored soda / coffee / soda and brandy or whisky or vodka / Oros mixed
with water / Rose’s Lime Cordial mixed with water / iced coffee / flavored iced
tea / flavored tea bags (apple & cinnamon tea bags with extra cinnamon is
yummy)
***Spices –
you can add cinnamon, ground ginger, mixed spices.
With the oven heated up, I then decided to
also make the 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies. Zettie loved them all.
3
ingredient peanut butter cookies
1 cup
peanut butter (smooth / crunchy) ½
cup – 1 cup white sugar
1 large egg
Preheat
oven to 180 oC. Preheat oven to 180 oC. Mix the ingredients together, roll in small
balls and place on greased baking sheet.
Press down with fork. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes and let it cool down
completely on wire rack.
Wednesday 18 December 2019
No plans for the day, so we just relaxed … read
.. drank coffee and had an afternoon nap.
Weather was still holding nicely, so Hein lit the fire. Did you know pinecones are excellent fire starters? John
and Hein braaied chicken pieces and pork chops.
I made my Samp ‘Potato Bake’ dish.
Everything was just delicious!
Thursday 19 December 2019
With a fish dinner planned for the night,
around 10 am Hein lit the fire – for brunch sausage. ‘Oom Hen se wors’ was just plain delicious!!!
This evening our cheese platter (joined by
Genie & Jannie) had the Zebra paté (really quite yummy), chilli jam,
mini biscuits, crackers and cheeses.
Zettie prepared a couscous salad with veggies,
boiled a potato for John (he loooves his potatoes) and made a creamy sauce with
prawns! Hake fillets were fried in the
pan and Genie & Jannie treated us with pink cheesecake portions! Delicious!!!!
However, since Tuesday my gums have gone from ‘tender’ to really
sore! I knew a dentist had to be
found! Browsing through the local
business directory, we couldn’t find a dentist.
I was in agony.
Friday 20 December 2019
Just after 8am I googled Bredasdorp dentists. Pulling up the info of the first dentist, I
took a chance and phoned – yes, they answered the phone! Yes, they had an opening at 10h15. Whoopwhoop!!!
Quickly showered, drove to Bredasdorp and stopped at the Mozart Café
while waiting for my appointment. I
drank water, paged through a magazine while Hein had a telephonic business
meeting.
At the dentist we filled in the forms and I
walked through. Explained to the dentist
what’s what – he saw the trouble tooth with open cavity, took XRay photo and
gave me a quote – I immediately said yes – go ahead. At 11 am I walked out of the dentist’s room –
tooth fixed, wallet a bit lighter and lips swollen and skew. But hey, I thanked Him for having a dentist
available.
On our way back to Napier, I asked Zettie if
she wanted to go for a drive towards Caledon.
A popular cheese place, The Stone House Cheese (https://stonehousecheese.co.za/). They
make their own cheeses – some with bell peppers, other rolled in ash, others
with chilli. However, even with tables
& chairs outside they don’t cater for lunches. A good suggestion is that they sell a
Styrofoam plate with few small cheeses on, a little container filled with jam,
a small packet of crackers and a plastic spoon/knife.) No kitchen staff necessary, no cleaning up
necessary and no breakages involved.
Just a few km’s away we stopped at The Van
Brakel Stoor (http://vanbrakelstoor.co.za/) – operating since 1921. The store still has its original counter –
shelves are filled with delicious homemade jams, pickles, cookies and
pies. All around the inside vintage tins
and memorabilia fill the store with nostalgia.
However, as we walked inside, 2 big tables had not been cleaned from
their previous eaters. Hein and Zettie
both ordered a pie and chips, but it wasn’t that great. My plate of chips was okay … not fabulous.
At 4pm John joined his friends at the Bowling
Club – Hein prepared a pot for the night.
Pork shoulder, dried mango pieces, mango juice, tomato paste, curry spices,
potatoes and carrots. Although the
weather wasn’t great, the pot was simmering away outside.
Feeling adventurous, I heated up the oven –
added ground ginger to the 3-ingredient peanut butter cookies and baked them …
goodness, they were just amazing!!!! So
nibbling on them, Zettie and I thought about other combinations … then Zettie
said: ‘how about choc &
chilli?’ She had dark cacao powder … I
must go shopping for more peanut butter!
Genie & Jannie joined us later and with
left-over Samp ‘Potato Bake’, heated up cooked Samp – we enjoyed the pork mango
curry pot … went back for seconds … sat outside to let our tummies rest a bit
before dessert.
This time Genie & Jannie treated us to a
shot glass filled with dark choc mousse – with a secret ingredient. No one could guess it, but it was avo. Rich and delicious!!!
Saturday 21 December 2019
We slept late (meaning till 06h30). Hahaha.
Did a load of washing while enjoying coffee and rusks on the stoep. When we planned this roadtrip, Zettie
suggested we visit her mom at Uilenkraalsmond.
It was decided we’ll go there on 24 December and stay for 2 nights. However, we decided why not go to Laaiplek
Hotel for 2 nights. The details are a
bit hazy, but a few months after our wedding in 1992, Hein and I stayed in the
Laaiplek Hotel – we met a group of people in the hotel bar and even drove to
their home for a braai. It was up a hill
and after dinner, I had to drive back down in the dark.
After booking, we drove to Napier Farm Stall
for breakfast. (https://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/westerncape/napier-farm-stall/)
The weather was bad – umbrellas in hand,
long-sleeve tops and closed shoes, we looked at the Napier Farm Stall menu for
breakfast. Look, I know I’m weird … but
I just love to eat ‘non regular’ things.
My eye caught ‘creamed kidneys’ – sold!
It was absolutely delicious served alongside bacon, eggs, sausage &
chips. Hein had an omelet with
sausage. He didn’t want a bite of my
kidneys.
Planning to have lunch in Arniston at Willeen’s
restaurant (https://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/westerncape/willeens-restaurant/) in Kassiesbaai, Zettie had a hair
appointment in Bredasdorp. With
groceries in hand, I heated the oven again.
With my 3-ingredient peanut butter cookie mixture, I added dark cacao
powder and cayenne pepper. Wow, it came
out absolutely fabulous!!!! It was
Zettie’s favourite cookie by far!
After 12, dressed up and hungry, we slowly
drove to Arniston – weather was actually better than in Napier. Outside Willeen’s shaded tables and chairs
invite you to sit down. Turn around and
you can see the ocean! John raved over
their fishcakes, so he ordered the main portion. I ordered the starter fishcake, as well as
the curried fish with bread (as did Zettie) and Hein ordered a normal
burger. The fishcake and curried fish were
just delicious!!!!!!!!! Hein walked
around the corner of the building and saw someone braaiing roosterkoek … I
asked the waitress and ordered one … it was served with butter and jam … soooo
delicious!!!!
An afternoon nap, some coffee and cacao chilli
cookies, we decided to leave really early the next morning to Laaiplek. Eating leftover pork-mango-curry pot (gosh,
it really is better the next day) with heated up tortillas, we said goodnight
at 9pm. Packed up our bags, charged our
phones and off to lala-land.
Sunday 22 December 2019
Luckily Zettie gets up early for work. Our alarm woke us at 5am, we showered, had
coffee, packed the car and left them just before 6am. At the Caledon Total Garage we bought more
coffee. Driving through Botrivier
(between Caledon & Grabouw) around 7am, we HAD to stop at the Botrivier
Hotel. So this is the story: back in 1990, when I met Hein with his
friends Cornie & Pieter, a frequent weekend destination was a holiday home
in Sandbaai, outside Hermanus. In order
to get to Hermanus though, one passes through Botrivier. The Botrivier Hotel had this pub – and the
barman Oom Willie (for 40 years) was a legend.
Apparently, he married again at a ripe old age with a young lady. This pub was visited every time Hein and his
friends visited Sandbaai.
From the outside, we took photos of Botrivier
Hotel, walked around a bit and drove on to Gordons’ Bay and Strand. With rumbling tummies, we stopped at the
Timeless Café, Strand. Sipping strong
black coffee, I ordered a toasted cheese & tomato sarmie with chips and
Hein breakfast with sausages & hashbrown.
A kid in his pram was drumming
his heels on the plastic cover …. repeatedly!
Driving along the coast, we drove past
Yzerfontein and stopped at Langebaan farm stall. Aniseed rusks and guava jam for Zettie. Onwards to Velddrift. At the entrance of the town, a roadside stall
with row upon row of dried bokkoms (dried fish) were begging me to stop – I
wasn’t allowed to buy any – that smell will never leave the car – but Hein took
a photo of me next to the fishies.
Our
GPS led us to the harbor, with Laaiplek Hotel (https://www.eigevis.com/laaiplek-hotel.php) in the centre.
We stopped, but couldn’t see the hotel.
Asked a guy where’s the hotel – he said ‘youre nearly there’ – turned
around and there it was!
Our room was number 7 … and it looked out over
the harbor. Sliding doors open up onto
the patio and overlook the hotel’s newest addition, ‘Onder die Bome’ (Under the
Trees). A small fridge and coffee-making
facilities (with individually wrapped mini biscotti on each cup) and a lovely
comfy chair, made the room special.
At ‘Onder die Bome’ Hein found a front table,
overlooking the harbor. Ordering beer
and still water, I chose calamari rings with chips, Hein the hake & chips. What a surprise when our food arrived … it is
served in disposable containers (or take-away containers), with no paper
napkins but individual wet towels and plastic cutlery. The tartare and tomato sauce came in big
squeezy bottles and salt & pepper in glass pots. I thought the containers quite genius – no
washing-up, no breakages – just throw away.
Hake and chips were just awesome!!!!
And my calamari rings were soft and delicious!!!!!! Watched flamingoes on the lagoon and just
relaxed.
When we booked into the hotel, we were told their
restaurant close on Sundays at 2pm. Dinner
we decided to have in the room – so we drove to Spar, bought fresh buns, cold
meat & spread cheese. I walked into
the gift shop opposite the Spar where the girls all ‘oohed’ and ‘aahed’ over my
African drum earrings. Spotting their
keyring display, I found the most gorgeous keyrings – white & pink-red
fish; a small pink-red boat and a
pink-red ring buoy – all made from a very light faded wood. Worried about the weight, the 1 girl quickly
went to the Spar’s grocery division to weigh the keyrings – they were not even
5g each!!! I was delirious – although I
wished my jewelry tools were packed.
Back at the Laaiplek Hotel, I unpacked some of
my clothes (Hein refused to unpack his bag) and we rested on the bed. With my mind whirling around my new
keyring-earrings, I jumped up – luckily quite a few of my earrings have
easy-to-open loop rings … within 5 minutes I had new ‘coast’ earrings.
Late afternoon with mild winds, the hotel staff
were having their annual party outside.
It was quite festive, but not too loud.
On the patio we sat and watched the sunset over the boats – Hein took
some amazing photos!!
Wanting to visit Paternoster the next day, I
searched for breakfast restaurants.
Adamant to find something fishy for breakfast, I searched and searched …
but no – all the restaurants are just plain boring. Why would I eat something that I can eat in
Joburg??? I was looking for haddock –
fishcake – something that says West Coast!!
Slicing our bread buns with side of teaspoon, we sat outside our room and
ate dinner. Finished the night with a
yummy coffee (for me) and beer for Hein - brushed our teeth and read a bit in
bed.
Monday 23 December 2019
Even after more than a week on holiday, we
still could not sleep late. Just after
5am we got up, Hein took some photos and we made coffee. Outside on the patio, we broke rusks for the
little birds and relaxed till 8 am.
Showered and drove to Paternoster (about 38 km).
Just before 9am we found a few places in
Paternoster open for breakfast – I quickly hopped out, checked their menu’s and
hopped back into the car. Nah…nothing
special. Even stopped at the holiday
rental place, asked the ladies there … their recommendations still were nothing
special. At Tietiesbaai (Boob Bay), Hein
took photos and grumbled, said he’s hungry.
And he wanted breakfast soon.
Sigh.
Driving past Blikkies Pizzeria (https://www.eatout.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Our-Menu-Blikkie-Pizzeria.pdf), we noticed they’re open and had a
stunning view over the ocean. Once again
the weather was great – no wind, no rain.
It was decided that even if I cannot have fish for breakfast, at least
the view is fantastic!
Waitresses were friendly, we ordered black
coffee and opened the menu. Besides the
usual English breakfast, they had a Pizza Breakfast. If nothing else, at least pizza breakfast is
something different. Hein decided on
that.
On a whim (or maybe I was guided by the Fish
Fairies!), I looked at the other pizzas …oh my goodness, they have a
Paternoster pizza – it has smoked snoek, marinated bokkoms, peppadews and
onions on top. But I know a lot of
places are quite fussy about breakfast or lunch items …. And these pizzas
sounded like they’re for lunch …
The waitress came with her order book … and
with pleading eyes, my hand on my heart and a soft trembly voice, I asked
her: ‘please tell me .. can I order this
snoek pizza now for breakfast?’
‘Of course, yes, you can’ she replied! I kid you not – I had a few tears in my
eye. I nearly hugged and kissed
her. Glory be, this is my day!!!!! Thank you Fish Fairies!!!
Our pizzas arrived … Hein’s breakfast pizza was
medium sized – my snoek pizza was large!!!
I picked up my first slice, bit into this fish-heaven for breakfast and
moaned loudly … it was absolutely heavenly!!!!
The crust was thin and crispy … I could taste the snoek and bokkoms, but
it wasn’t overpowering. (Although, I
could have even ordered anchovies on top too …)
After 3 delicious slices of pizza, I knew this pizza was NOT permitted
as take-away in the car … so not wanting to waste any of this fishy goodness, I
scraped off the toppings from the other slices …
While paying the bill, I asked to see the
manager – thanked him profusely for this amazing pizza. He told us that in a
world-wide pizza competition, THIS SNOEK BOKKOM pizza came SECOND! Although then he had caramelized sweet
potato on top too … he removed this item since it was just
labor-intensive. I’m glad he did … the
pizza was perfect as is.
From there we drove to Elands Bay (where Zettie
& John stayed for 17 years) – roadworks on the way was a bit irritating,
but we had a cold drink in Elands Bay and drove back to Laaiplek. For lunch, we stopped at the Velddrift Caltex
Country Store – looking for more delicious Houwhoek pies .. unfortunately they
were still in the oven, so I chose the only available one (spinach &
cheese) and Hein some other brand’s sparerib pie. It was okay.
Reading in the room, we relaxed – napped a bit
and looked forward to dinner in the Laaiplek restaurant. Mussels in a garlic-cream sauce we shared. I then chose another favourite of mine! Snoek kuite (fish roe) – battered and deep
fried on rice. ABSOLUTELY
DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! Hein had chicken
breast, topped with ham, cheese, sauce, chips and vegetables.
Back in the room, I packed my bags (while Hein
chilled on his bed with a sly grin, cause his bag was still packed) - we
planned to leave REALLY early the next morning!
Next stop visiting Marlene in Uilenkraalsmond.
TUESDAY 24 DECEMBER 2019
Our alarm beeped at 04h30 – not wanting to
waste time, we showered and packed our bags.
Handed in the hotel key at 05h30.
Drove through Malmesbury, approached Wellington – coffee was needed
badly!!! Would we find an open
garage????
At an intersection, I saw a Kentucky sign –
right at a BP petrol station – with a Pick ‘n Pay Express Shop. At least the petrol station should have
coffee … but the KFC doors were open … and yes, they were ready for breakfast
since 6 am. It was 6h30 now. Breakfast muffins and black coffee …
absolutely fantastic!!!! I walked into
the Pick ‘n Pay Express to use the bathroom, browsed at the pie counter and saw
individually wrapped rusks … bought 1.
Should have bought more … sooo yummy!!!
Dipped rusk in my KFC coffee, watched the clouds and drove on.
Past Paarl, through FranschHoek, over the
FranschHoek pass – fog so thick we had to drive really slow. Outside Grabouw, at The Orchard Farmstall (https://www.eatout.co.za/venue/the-orchard-farm-stall/) we bought a fresh (still warm) big
farm bread, a ‘beetroot salt – by the ‘funky ouma’ and choc chilli meringue
kisses.
Through Gansbaai to a Spar on the outskirts – oh my goodness, it was just plain
madness!!!! Queues were long!!! Quickly grabbed buns, cold meat and cheese
for lunch – only when at the till did we realise ice cream for Christmas Day
was supposed to be in our basket!!!! The
lady in front of us warned us the ice cream stock was quite depleted. Oh well.
From Gansbaai, 6 km on - Uilenkraalsmond (http://www.uilenkraalsmondresort.co.za/).
Entering the boom, we followed a cousin (Johan)’s boy on a bike – it was
quite a maze towards the chalet. Marlene
welcomed us warmly and we turned … the lagoon was right in front of her little
chalet.
Oh my goodness!!!! The chalet was small, but well equipped. 2 Bedrooms – each bedroom has 2 bunk beds and
a really good ‘wardrobe’ space. The main
room has a ¾ bed (where Marlene slept) and around the corner a small but
functional kitchen. With microwave,
small oven with 2 plates and Marlene’s own ‘airfryer’, it even has a chest
freezer. If Hein and I would rent
this chalet, I probably would try to see if the bunk beds are ‘loose’ – then I
would have put 2 of them together in the front room and the ¾ bed in the
bedroom.
Talking to Marlene, deciding if we should drive
back to Gansbaai to greet my aunts Lorraine & Rita there, she told us my
cousin Mike Jnr got engaged the previous night.
Everyone is taking a platter that night at his home, so we can relax for
the afternoon. Hein and I still needed
to buy ice cream for the next day, Christmas, so we hopped back in our car and
drove back to that Spar. Found lots of
ice cream – chose Dairyfresh 2 litre coconut & choc icecream (R40) and
Vanilla ice cream (R40) with waver cones.
Also sausage and chops to braai the next day. Cute cocktail serviettes with an ocean theme
was grabbed too.
Back at the chalet, I quickly (YES YES I DID)
unpacked ALL our bags – why?? Next to
the bunk beds, there’s really little floor space - it just made more sense to
unpack all the clothes, shove the empty bags under the bed and leave the floor
open.
Marlene had chicken breasts defrosted, so she
fried them in her ‘airfryer’ (okay, I may want one in the future), fried some
venison pies too. On a tray, we arranged
rows of baby tomatoes, cut cucumbers, cheeses, preserved figs, peppadews
stuffed with cheese, fried chicken strips, cocktail sausages, olives and all
the little pies.
Hein ‘checked in’ on the Facebook app and
another cousin of mine, Herman & Christina, wanted to come say hallo – they
were in Franskraal, only about 3 kms away.
We walked down to the entrance and with weather windy and cold, walked
back to the chalet for coffee.
Marlene still remembered my cousin and we had a
lovely catch-up on family. Just before
6, they left. Carefully loaded the food
tray into the car - with red wine, beers, the serviettes and a lot of my
‘flavored cappuccino sticks’ and drove to Gansbaai.
A Van Dyk (my maiden name) family home
overlooking the Gansbaai harbor, has been renovated by my cousin Mike Jnr. I was so curious to see the end product.
Saying hallo to the family was chaos … Rita and
Lorraine (my dad’s sisters), Lorraine’s hubby Mike Snr, their 2 sons JP (with
wife & 2 young kids) and Mike Jnr (with fiancée Lisa), Lisa’s mom and gran,
a friend of the family, Rita’s son Johan (and wife & 2 kids) (they also
stayed in Uilenkraalsmond in a caravan) and then Marlene, Hein and myself.
Sipping, chatting, munching away … dogs played
in-between, kids drove their bikes, played with dolls & lego’s - fire in
the ‘braai’ fireplace burning low – ready for ribs. I asked Lisa to show me the renovations and
it was amazing what they’ve done in only 6 months! Kids gathered around the xmas tree and were
soon ripping open their gifts.
Past 10, we decided to call it a night – I
drove.
While driving through Gansbaai,
we admired the festive lights – unlike any you’ll ever see … dolphins pulling a
sledge, a protea, penguins, a fishing boat … wow!!!!!
Wednesday 25 December 2019
So glad that Xmas was planned in a low-key way. Just a bring and braai with salads and ice
cream. A perfect morning!! Just after 05h30 we woke up, made coffee, had
some rusks outside on the small patio overlooking the lagoon.
I quickly dressed in a ¾ jeans, a bikini top
and a wrap knotted around my hips – with my hat on, we walked down to the
beach. Oh my … what a perfect
morning! I even sprayed on
sunscreen. No one else in sight. Hein took some amazing photos. After a while, a couple appeared with 4
ridgeback dogs … and what’s next? The bloody
dogs poo right there on the beach! I
watched the couple and the first few times, they ignored the poo … only when
they saw us watching them, did they pick up 1 dog’s poo!
Back at the chalet, we made more coffee –
Marlene went to Christmas Day church.
Around 10h30, Marlene was back with Zettie
& John, John’s other daughter Michelle & teenage kid Emily. Zettie made an amazing cold veggie platter –
fried eggplant slices (I devoured those), fried onions, fried mushrooms and
bell peppers.
While Hein started the fire, the braai was on
the floor – John brought a braai stand.
When they picked up the braai, Hein stepped onto the sand – the really
hot sand – and immediately blisters started to form on his foot. The men braaied wors, chops and Zettie made
this huge Black Forest (complete with Kirsch & sweet wine) trifle!! Luckily with our travel medicine bag, Hein
was able to apply ointment and plasters.
A couple popped in to say hallo – Marlene’s
brother-in-law and wife – I recognized her.
When Hen (probably short for Hendrik?) saw me, he said: ‘Almanakkie’.
(hahahahaha, can’t remember who gave me that nickname).
Lorraine popped in to say happy xmas and we all
sat around the table, sipping coffee and nibbling on the trifle. The men were stoking the fires … because they
could. My cousin Johan, wife & 2
kids came to say hallo … and we decided that for dinner we’ll make
braaibroodjies. Zettie & Johan left
for Napier, Michelle & Emily left and after a while, Johan and family were
back with the makings of braaibroodjies.
Their youngest Sebastian bought a small 1 sandwich braai toaster … he
was really keen to make his own braaibroodjie!!
Talking about ingredients for braaibroodjies, I
freaked them out with : peanut butter,
banana, jam & cheese. Marlene said
it sounded really good to her! But we
didn’t have jam or bananas. No problem.
I made Marlene a braaibroodjie with peanut
butter, cut up preserved figs and grated cheese. For Hein and myself just grated cheese and
onion rings. After demolishing the
braaibroodjies, we arranged to braai the next morning at 10 am, before we left
for Napier.
Thursday 26 December 2019
Woke just after 6 am, hung washing on the
line. But quickly removed them before
they got totally wet from the rain. By
09h00 we’ve had coffee, I’ve packed all our clothes, it was already in the car
… it was still raining. I phoned cousin
Johan and apologized profusely for cancelling our braai date. Left some chicken thighs, wors and salad
ingredients for Marlene, hopped in the car and drove to Hermanus.
Popping in to Pieter’s shop again, I bought
some angel wing earrings, said goodbye and we drove on to Napier.
Outside Stanford, we stopped at The Zesty
Lemon. It was raining lightly, so we
quickly stepped onto their covered patio.
I just wanted something small, so asking for a sandwich, the waiter suggested
I ordered something from the kiddies’ menu.
Wow – I was flabbergasted! Rarely
am I allowed to order from kiddies’ menu.
Hein ordered the beef burger with chippies – it looked amazing! I ordered the chicken sandwich from kiddies’
menu with sweet potato chips – divine!
While sipping coffee, Hein took some lovely picture of the pond lilies –
we watched a mama duck and 3 little ones swimming around and the heavens opened
up!!!! It poured!!!!!
Finishing our yummy lunch, we opened our
umbrellas and after paying, quickly walked to the car.
When we stopped at Zettie’s place just after
2pm, John left to fetch her. We opened
the garage door, but it stuck. After
managing to open the door, Hein looked down and Shilo dropped a pinecone right
in front of him. He had to play.
Hein went to the room for a nap while I chatted
with Zettie. It rained on and off. She had Eisbeins cooked already. We peeled potatoes for mash, fried mushrooms
and opened a jar of Sauerkraut. After
baking the Eisbeins in the oven to crisp up the skin and heat it through, we
sat and enjoyed the smoky porkiness of heaven!!! She told us the butcher tried a new smoking
recipe … it was perfect!!!! Our last
evening with Zettie & John – after dinner we sat on the patio – enjoyed
coffee and then off to bed.
Friday 27 December 2019
Woke at 04h30 – wanting to drive all the way to
Bloemfontein (about 1 060 km), we needed an early start. As soon as Hein opened our bedroom door,
Shilo dropped a pinecone for him.
Hahahaha. A quick coffee with
Zettie & John, packed our bags and left at 05h30. An hour later, we arrived at Wimpy
Helderberg. A Wimpy waitress stood
outside, enjoying an ice cream cone! I
gave her a thumbs-up!!
Seeing boerewors on the menu, I ordered that
with eggs, toast, bacon & chips.
Hein had the usual breakfast with onions hidden underneath the burger
patty. Pouring my coffee in a to-go cup,
we drove on.
On the Outeniqua Pass, Zettie sms’d me – we
forgot our medicine bag. Oh dear. Obviously neither Hein or myself did a ‘walk
through check’. Checking in with my sister
Sanet (who stayed in Sedgefield from 22 – 27 December), wondering if they’ve
left already, I was shocked to find we’re on the same route back to
Gauteng! They were just about 1 hour
behind us.
At Uniondale we slowly drove through –
pleasantly surprised to see how this little town is now a tourist
attraction. Years ago we drove
through Uniondale and I really needed a bathroom – so we figured found a petrol
station and they would have a bathroom.
We did find the petrol station – a caravan next to the petrol
pump!!!! Luckily on the edge of town a
tourism office allowed me to use their facilities. ‘The Hungry Ghost’ restaurant … a few
curio shops … few funny signs: ‘Carrots may be good for your eyes, but booze
will double your vision.’
Just after 1pm, we drove into Graaff
Reinet. At a chemist, Hein bought more
ointment and plasters for his blistered foot – drove us to the Spur and waited
not even 5 minutes for Sanet, her hubby Eben and son AJ. What a total coincidence!!!! Quickly ordering lunch, Hein had a cheddamelt
burger, Sanet & family had burgers and I ordered a cheese-garlic roll and
onion rings. I just looooooove Spur’s
onion rings!!!!!!! Finished quickly, said
goodbye and tackled the last 430 km to Bloemfontein. Sanet & family were staying in Noupoort.
Hoping the shops were still open, we quickly
stopped at a Pick ‘n Pay in Bloemfontein.
Bought buns, cold meat, cheese and mini yogurt …it was just after 6pm.
Arriving at the Protea Hotel Bloemfontein (same
one we stayed in on the 13th), I was bone tired! Even though I didn’t drive, I kept a lookout
the whole time. With a couple in front
of us battling to finalise their booking, I sat down and closed my eyes.
Eventually we opened our hotel room. Quickly cleaned my face, poured bodywash in a
deep bath and relaxed amongst the bubbles for a bit while Hein treated me with
a yummy cappuccino. As I dressed into my
night clothes, I ate a lemon meringue mini yogurt, brushed my teeth and was
asleep in no time.
Saturday 28 December 2019
Only about 4 hours’ drive to home. After coffee, we enjoyed the buns, cold meat
and cheese. Showered, washed my hair,
packed our bags and by 07h10 we left for Joburg. Road trip officially finished.
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