Today we would start heading for home, but there were still a whole bunch of things to see and do. I noticed that one of the back tyres was a little flat - 1.5 bar - and decided to try pumping it up to a bit harder than normal and see how quickly it lost pressure. That was quick to do. Herholdt stopped on his way out to spray locusts and chatted for a while before heading towards De Aar. He proudly showed us some of his artworks. He very creatively cuts animal figures and names into old wind pump blades and sells them. We also discovered that he had a little shop with basics for the workers. We were a bit more leisurely in getting going, enjoying looking around the farm buildings and at the wind pump that delivered water all the way up the hill to farm house. It was a bit sad to head back south and not north for Britstown and the Kalahari. We did some more looking around at the Yeomanry Hotel and then took the direct road to Richmond. The road was long and straight and rather boring, but generally in reasonable condition. We saw a young springbok running along the road. It was trapped by fences and could not get back into the lands. We also passed a grader heading towards Deelfontein. Always a welcome sight! It had just graded the road to Merriman, which was perfect when we turned onto it. In Richmond we had to go to "B Blessed", a guest house where Ingrid had forgotten her pillow when she stayed there during the book festival. They were expecting us and handed over the "precious" pillow. Next we went shopping at the local Spar, which had very limited stock. Marianne came back with some chicken for our braai and some strange rusks. Then it was on to the "Vetmuis" for a cup of coffee, but they had been shut down for not complying with regulations. They recommended going to the "Die Krip", but that was also closed. There was not much happening in Richmond! The town itself was rather attractive and boasts several restored buildings. With no possibility for coffee in town, we decided to have coffee along the road and headed for Nieu Bethesda via back roads. Just north of Richmond we turned onto the gravel road to Middelburg, which we would follow for some time. But it was again a rather featureless road and our hopes of finding a good stopping place were fading until we crested a gentle hill and found an abandoned farm with shady trees, a flowing river and a dam full of water! It was just what we were looking for and we stopped in the shade next to the sign that said "Nooitverwacht". Very appropriate after almost giving up hope to find a place to stop. There was even the sound of running water from a wind pump that was pumping water into an overflowing circular tank. Walking across the road to see what birds were on the dams , we were amazed to see a mountain tortoise swimming across at least twenty meters of water, something we had not seen before. Two shell ducks were "duetting" each other. It was a rather idyllic scene in the otherwise dry Karoo. Just before we left, two Eskom bakkies with workers pulled into the farmyard to enjoy their lunch in the shade of the trees near the house. Water and shade make the Karoo very livable. While on the road, Marianne tried to phone Ganora, but got a very confused answer to her question about camping. We were a bit puzzled by the apparent disinterest at Ganora until we realised that she had phoned the Drostdy Hotel in Graaff Reinet. Her phone had somehow dialed the Drostdy instead, although it was the correct number for Ganora. Very strange. A bit further on we turned onto the AP 378, a rather minor road that headed towards Nieu Bethesda. This road was rather narrow and rough and corrugated at times, but much more interesting as it headed through the mountains. We enjoyed distant views of Kompasberg (2502m), but then it disappeared behind the Bakenskop (1940m) as we neared the junction to the road to Nieu Bethesda. The mountains are big here and the Sneeuberg is a formidable mountain range and is often covered by snow in winter. It is also near here where Princess Irene owns the beautiful farm, Bergplaas. Once rounding the Bakenskop, there was another direct view of Kompasberg so we stopped for photographs. It is remarkable how this mountain dictates the topography in this part of the world. It was strange to think that we were clinging on for our lives on that peak a few years ago in a howling gale. From here it was a short drive to the little town and we drove through the dusty streets to see what was new. There were a few new restaurants and the place looked a bit more touristic, but not much had changed. Even Jakob van Staden and his donkey cart was still there, although not many people were making use of his "services" these days. Marianne had a quick chat with him. She knows him well from her visits with tourists. It was lunch time and we went to the Nieu Karoo Country Restaurant for coffee and shared a pizza. It was lovely to sit in the shade on the stoep. We had been trying to phone Ganora to check that they had camping available without any luck, but fortunately the restaurant owner was able to help with Louis's number (Hester and Jan Peet Steynberg's son). Hester was away and JP was building in town, hence the house phone was not being answered. After enjoying our lunch, we drove on to Ganora where we were welcomed by JP and Louis who runs the campsite. Sadly Hester was away. To think we got to know the family when they were just starting off with their first holiday cottage by converting some old farm buildings so many years ago. Today it is a well known guest farm and very popular with overseas guests. The campsite is new and sits beautifully under tall trees behind the lovely old farmhouse and we were the only campers. The plan for the afternoon was to walk up the track across the Gats Rivier that runs through the farm. Although it was quite hot, we had a lovely walk, following the road to the top of the hill and then cutting through the veld down to the river. Once again there were wonderful views of Kompasberg. There were lots of sheep along the way and we sadly saw three carcasses. Jackal and rooikat are a big problem for farmers. This farm is an amazing source of fossils - JP has a a properly registered fossil museum - but although we kept our eyes open there was no sign of any. It needs a trained eye to spot fossils. The walk through the bush showed how very different this veld was from Melton Wold, all big stones and boulders and most unsuited for scrambler herding. Here the farm workers still herd the sheep on foot. There were also an amazing number of thorny vygies (mesems) that were flowering profusely. On the road back, we heard a very strange animal like sound and discovered that JP had also started a piggery and there were some very big pigs in the pens. One huge boar was making the disgusting sounds! After getting back to the campsite we got a fire going, still using the wood we had collected along the Deelfontein road. We had a wonderful braai without wind for the first time in days. The wind was actually still blowing, but we were sheltered by the tall trees. We enjoyed the spacious and well constructed showers and one could see that most of it was Louis's handy work. He is an expert handyman and a very skilled welder. Plans to go for an evening walk somehow got forgotten and bed called - it had been a longer walk then intended and it had been rather hot.

Geschreven door Leartravels