A Big Hop, Skip & Jump !!

Saturday, September 10, 2016
Calvinia, Northern Cape, South Africa


When you change plans as Terry is prone to do (CopK is his deserved nickname) not just on our bush travels by the way, as most of his family and friends have now experienced, there is most likely a snowball reaction . So now we were one day early and no space at the Springbok B&B - it was after all a Saturday night! Nor was there space at Gannaga B&B near Sutherland some 5/6 hours away which is renowned for the best star-gazing in SA and has the largest single optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world and of course Sutherland is known as one of the coldest places in the country. I as quietly peeved off with all this unnecessary hassle while Terry was fiddling with the GPS. 
 
Out came my trusted map book to establish where the best half way stop between Springbok and Knysna would be. Some town that could boast a few B&B's or even a farm stay would suffice. So much for winging it in the off-season!! Now I was sorry that I did not stand my ground to keep to the original plan. Too late she cried and never mind the fact that it was now 2pm and Springbok held no appeal for us to explore so it was press on regardless. Half way was a town known as the bulb capital of SA - really, was there such a thing as the bulb capital? Well the sign says so and best you believe it in this Northern Cape farming town of Calvinia . Here is where the GPS is invaluable - enter accommodation in Calvinia and you have an instant choice with phone numbers etc. So last minute.com, we checked into a self catering unit on the property of Carmel Villa B&B - and wasn't it just our bad luck that all their comfy rooms were booked up.!! Terry was so excited to see another Toyota Prado with a CA number plate in the parking area, that he left me to inspect the room while he headed to find the CA guests, under the premise of using the wi-fi service in the main house. Just love my FOMO hubby in full throttle!!  

Marcel & Gerzina, owners of this beautifully revamped B&B with loads of interesting history, recommended a suitable dinner spot down the road within walking distance. Unbeknown to them it was closed and the popular "Die Blou Nartjie" was fully booked. Our luck had now run out big time!! We finally walked into the Calvinia Hotel at 7.30 pm and I felt like walking straight out! Beggars can't be chooses so faulty towers would have to do ! Broken floorboards and school room furniture with old chandeliers draped with dead branches had me giggling at the bizarre situation we found ourselves in, when I could so easily have been at the romantic Canyon Lodge!! Have to give credit where it is due though - their chef produced some decent lamb chops and a lamb pie with fresh veges so at least my taste buds were satisfied!  

At breakfast the next morning, we met the CA couple, Roy & Mignon Corder from Simonstown who recounted their love of "wild" bush camping and over a lengthy superb hot breakfast (the best we have had in 27 days) we exchanged a snippet of our bush adventures and discovered mutual friends and a remote family connection . Peter and Carol you will chuckle about this, knowing our TK as you do after time spent in the bush together!! Roy & Mignon headed for Twee Rivieren in Kgalagadi with a copy of my blog link and we headed for Knysna via Fraserberg, then lunch at the Lazy Lizzard in Prince Albert and on to Meiringspoort and down through the beautiful Swartberg Pass.  
 
We pulled into a sunny and warm Knysna at 6pm after having completed a total of 7425 kilometers over 27 days, just in time for the sunset and a glass of wine and marveled at the beauty of living on the water with a lush green countryside and stunning mountains without the dust which had, after thousands of kms, settled into every nook and cranny of our car and trailer. So no guesses what we would be doing for the next few days at home, the cons of camping up north in the dry winter months ! Buggers for punishment you might say but we loved every minute of it, bar the odd hiccup and one certainly learns to live in the moment taking the good with the bad - it tests your mettle, teaches you to improvise and you don't sweat the small stuff!

Cheers from the scribe and her adorable hubby/driver/mechanic/bottle-washer/fridge technician/ McGyver AND CopK and a big thank you to our fantastic traveling companions and good friends Carol & Peter Emmanuel, we could not have done this trip without you ! The highlight of this journey for us four has to be the fly-in Okavango Delta leg and the two cutest Leopard Cubs!! 

PS : with not much wifi around this trip, I did not get to reply to those of you who took the time to comment on my blogs so a very big "thank you" to the regulars for your kind words during our travels in Botswana, Okavango and Namibia. If you do not want to receive them going forward, just let me know and I will update my blog email address book - we all have busy lives so I will not be offended in any way. 

Until our next adventure!

 "Travel while you still can!" 









Comments

Anne Matthews
2016-09-17

Welcome home Liz! Wonderful travel blog - so enjoy it xxx

Sue Franck
2016-09-17

Love your blog, Liz! Sounds like you had a wonderful trip!
xxx

2025-02-11

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