Marianne took the Kits to their Angels "hotel" while I got the final packing done. After moving the cars, disconnecting their batteries and informing security we finally got away at about 11 am. Our route to Cradock was well known, but the number of trucks on the road was a bit of a shock. Most were the now common side tippers which we call Gupta wagons. They seem to have taken over from the railways for transporting coal and other bulk cargoes that more sensibly should go by rail, and are ruining roads and making them much more dangerous. The Gupta name comes from the fact that the notorious Guptas are thought to have convinced the past president that trucks should replace the railways for bulk cargo. Very bad for the railways and very good for them! These trucks are now even to be found on fairly minor back roads.
Our first stop for lunch - no Nanaga farm stall in Covid times - was Middleton. We had stopped their before on our trip to Northern Natal last year, but the now the restaurant and the Padstal were closed. The green Bedford truck was still there, still waiting for someone the restore it. A nice project for someone! After a quick lunch we got back on the road and turned onto the gravel road to Mortimer where we stopped at the Agri. These farmer shops are always interesting and have lots of fascinating stuff. We bought some rubber cement and tube patches which are difficult to find in PE.
Then we continued on the gravel to Cradock and were surprised to see a train on the line parallel to the road. This road enters the town the proper way, on the axis of the DR church. There was no need to stop so we headed on towards our campsite 16km along the road to Hofmeyer. The road skirts a spectacular cliff which I had forgotten about. Then we passed the turnoff the Sanctuary activity center and campsite. We had thought of camping there, but understood it was closed so we made a u-turn and went to have a look. The road follows the Fish River and we found a good place to stop for afternoon coffee at the Langhoek River Drift. It was at a bridge over a side stream and there was a bit of wood to collect. A few cars came past making dust and Marianne almost got caught with her pants down. But it was a lovely stop. Then we drove on to Sanctuary that turned out to be a pecan nut farm. There was no one about, but we found the campsite. It was not very appealing, a manicured lawn next to the farmhouse. We quietly left again and drove a bit further along the road before turning around and heading for our campsite. The turnoff took us over a bridge and then to a delightful campsite in a grove of Pepper trees, hence the name "Onder Peperboom". The "farmer" Koot van der Merwe was very friendly. He had recently moved down from the Free State where he had been a dairy farmer and had gone into partnership with the owner of the farm to develop a tourist setup. We had a lovely site next to the river - there was actually water - and a big bag of wood was part of the deal. We made a fire on the ground and then Koot came back to tell us that there would be other campers arriving. We were just finishing our braai when they arrived, a couple from Maritzburg who were very quiet. They were late because they had been waiting for an aardvark to leave it's hole in the Mountain Zebra Park. It did just in time for them to leave the park at 19:00. We chatted a bit and then turned in at 10:30 pm.

Geschreven door Leartravels