Sunday 21st August 2016: we were told the weather in Swertberg could change in the blink of an eye and that is what happened. We awoke to a hurricane cold wind and breakfast is over there in the other building. Apparently they now seal their windows with silicone as they used to blow out with putty. Leonie & Reon brave the weather to wave us goodbye - very hospitable hosts they have been. John & I win the lottery draw today to sit in the front seat and we are travelling East through, you guessed it, more mountains - but no wind here - in one section they will close the road if there is a high wind. 
 
We head to the Ostrich farm which has been owned since 1932 by several generations of a Jewish family. They have diversified and also have cattle and sheep to spread the risk. The farm is 1008 hectares and runs between 3 & 4000 ostriches. They grow 2m tall and weigh between 120-150kg. The male is black and the female a dull grey/brown. They can be plucked/harvested 2 times a year. The farm exports 7 tonne of feathers to Rio each year for the Carnival/Mardi Gras and 4.5 tonne to France for the Moulin Rouge and the smaller feathers are used for dusters. On the lawns of the 'Feather Wealth' (so named in the 1800's when feathers were as valuable as gold and these palaces were built as a show of wealth) we are served tea and cake. The demise came with WW1 and Henry Ford's invention of the open air motor car when ladies could no longer wear hats with feathers all over them, so ending a good market.

 
Heading South now over a mountain range to the sea and the township of Knysa - from the mountains to Knysa is known as the 'Garden Road' and it is a lot greener with the rain falling on this side of the mountains and a rain shadow on the other. We pass several lakes and Knysa Lagoon flows along the town's shores and out through the rugged heads. We board a paddle boat and are served a 2 course buffet while we go out on the lagoon towards the heads - a very narrow and dangerous entry in from the Indian Ocean, apparently Lloyds of London won't insure any boat coming through these heads.
We have a bit of free time to wander the board walk and marina area and then make our way up to the our lodgings situated on the Simola Golf Course overlooking the bay and town. This is a full sized apartment - the rain comes down - hopefully tomorrow is fine for some outdoor excursions. Disappointed that it is wet as this really deserves a walk around, lots of plantings of native bushes just coming out into flower.