A glorious buffet breakfast in the V and A got us off to a good start.
As instructed, we placed our bags next to our tour lorry, to be loaded by Swise and we were off again.
We soon learned that seating on the bus must rotate in a clockwise direction. Once that was organised , we set off.
Our guides proved taciturn about the day ahead. We drove North out of Cape Town, stopping for shopping and Bushie bushie- loo stop- and we were advised to get enough booze and water to last three days.
I got a couple of six packs of the local Castle beer and a nice bottle of Robertson wine with five litres of water, portered out to the bus by an obliging attendant.
We were to get enough Rands for Namibia too- SA rand being accepted there.
We passed through Citrusdal, so called because of the vast amounts of orange and lemon trees. The fields were covered with white sheets of netting that looked like water, to protect them from insects.
Soon, as we moved into the Cederberg mountains,we saw the Roobois tea plants, unique to this region, lining the roads.
Eventually, we stopped at a lodge called Algeria, after the town of that name in the area.
We set up for lunch, then Swise dropped the bombshell that the hike that afternoon was a three hour one.
We all opted to try it except for two German ladies.
It turned out to be a difficult hike in the hot sun, up rocky terrain with loose rocks making it more difficult. We got strung out along the trail and soon, four decided to go back to the camp, while the rest of us, about six, continued on with Tawanda. Swise had actually found it difficult himself and he took shelter from the sun in a rock like cave along the path.
We made it to the fork in the road where we could continue on up to the waterfall at the top of the mountain or take the circular route back to camp. We opted for the latter and from then on, it was downhill. Still tricky, as it is as easy to fall downhill as uphill.
Looking at the mountain from a distance, it seems to be all rocks with the occasional low bush or shrub. Once you are on it though, you see lots of colourful plants and trees. The Cape is known for its huge array of indigenous or endemic flowers and plants.
Back at camp, the group that had turned back were only just in before us. We still had an hour’s drive to our lodge for the night, Highlanders, further north, in the middle of a vine growing region.
We were greeted in Highlanders by Raul who showed us our rooms. They were simple and decorated with old wine barrels for bedside tables and headrests for the beds out of cask boards.
The day wasn’t over yet!
Next ,we had a wine tasting with the aforementioned Raul, an Afrikaans/ English speaker who was a witty and charming host.
Next was dinner by a wood fire, prepared by our guides . Chicken casserole with rice was very welcome after the day’s efforts and, of course, the wine.
I had to turn in early as I was totally exhausted.
A super night’s sleep followed in the comfort of our lovely chalet.
AH SURE AZURE 