It was freezing when we got up and there was a smattering of snow on the ice covered Landcruiser. A group of llamas were walking past the rondavel and the springbok we had met the night before was frolicking about. (It had been hand raised) We had breakfast in the warmth of the rondavel (thanks to our heater) and then discovered that the right front wheel was flat! As I was getting out the tools, the farmer walked up and said "Ek sien jy het 'n papwiel". He told me not to get my tools out and ambled off to get his trolley jack. He also said he thought it better to fix the puncture before we left the farm. I wasn't looking forward to trying to do so in the icy conditions, but he virtually took over and I became his assistant. A bit of rust made splitting the rim very difficult and even getting the tyre off once it was split was tricky. But he had all the tools and there proved to be two tiny punctures in the tube. Probably thorns from yesterday's lunch stop. He did the patches, insisting that it was better to take our time than rush and maybe not get it right. Eventually it was all done and we were ready to leave at about 11:30. It had been a bad weekend for him with punctures. Ours was the fourth he had fixed plus a trailer had lost a wheel and rolled on the bad road. What an incredibly helpful person he was! While we were fixing the puncture, Marianne roamed about on the farm meeting the farm cats and the pet springbokkie. The farmer produced his own drawn map and we discussed the route with him before we set off for the Ouberg pass. He knew that there had not been any rain in the Tankwa because he had a farm down there. The roads were now much drier and it was quite easy going compared to the afternoon before. The view at the top of the pass took our breath away as the Tankwa Karoo plains stretched away to the Cedarberg in the far distance. We enjoyed coffee while enjoying this magnificent view before continuing. The pass was easy going and was completely dry. We were on the edge of the Roggeveld escarpment at 1400m and we were going to drop down to 400m! At the Tankwa River we pulled into the dry bed for our lunch stop at about 13:45. It was very peaceful and the sun was now pleasantly warm. We were amazed by the sharply cut rock formations bordering the river and pictured the rushing flow of water which had carved its way through this ancient river bed eons ago. This would also be a good place to wild camp. We were tempted to drive up to the Tankwa National Park Head Quarters, but I had a mini reunion waiting for me in Clanwilliam. It was now a short distance to the main Ceres - Calvinia gravel road, but our route did at least take us through a section of the Tankwa Karoo National Park. Some of the areas were more desolate than the Namib desert, and rocks and stones abounded. We were now on what were quite literally "stofpaaie", although the roads were in fair condition. The R355 between Calvinia in the north and Ceres in the south is reputed to be the longest uninterrupted road without towns in the country (257km)!. We were doing only a short part of it. We finally made it to the Tankwa Padstal which is well known. It is a fun place and had a lot of character, but we could not linger and we had to move on. Just beyond beyond the padstal we turned right onto the road to Citrusdal via the Peerboom Pass. We were now heading into the Cedarberg Mountains. Surprisingly the steep parts were tarred and the views were superb. Then we dropped down the Katbakkies Pass to get onto our first big tar road for some time. We finally got to head north towards Citrusdal, but the tar stopped suddenly as we got to Middelberg Pass just before Citrusdal. This section of gravel was not in good condition and was made worse by the many puddles and wet sections. We frantically phoned our friends to warn them that the going was slow. They knew all about the poor condition of this pass! We later read that this section of the road dropping down to Citrusdal actually consists of three passes, with the Buffelshoek Pass preceding the route from the south and the Elandskloof being the last stretch down to Citrusdal. These passes actually traverse the Middelberg section of the Cedarberg between the Koue Bokkeveld and the Olifants Valley. Now we were on the N7 and Marianne took over the driving for the last section to Clanwilliam and Eleanore and Gilbert Colyn's farm Klein Boschkloof, arriving just after 19:00. They and David and Paula Venter were waiting for us and we were soon enjoying Eleanore's excellent mushroom soup and bobotie for supper. Eleanor, Paula and I were in matric together in 1969 and hence the "mini reunion"! It was once again very cold and we enjoyed a cosy evening in front of the fire. It was good to be a Klein Boschkloof again. Last year we were there with a small group of ladies on a flower tour, but now we were there privately and we could just relax and enjoy the good company.

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