Trip Report:
Two Weeks in South Africa, January 1999
Richard's Version
Day 11
Monday, 1/18-
We didn't sleep in too late in the morning. Breakfast at the Pond was (unexpectedly) do it yourself. There was cereal and bread on the counter, eggs, bacon and yogurt in the fridge, but we had to cook for ourselves (it could certainly be worse). Again we had dogs as guests (probably hoping for scraps). We planned on staying in Swellendam again on our last night in South Africa, as it was fairly convenient to the winelands and then the airport. We made arrangements with Zita to stay and said our goodbyes.
We packed our stuff into the car and went down to the Drostdy museum. Swellendam is the third oldest (Dutch) town in South Africa, and there are many very old buildings. The Drostdy museum consists of half a dozen or so buildings that have been restored. One is an old prison, which serves as the gift shop, and also has a nice display on the representation of Khoisan peoples by the Dutch colonists. Out back are a buildings for a smithy, cooper and tinker, and a working water mill. Quite an interesting display of tools and trades.
Across the street is the garden and house of the early governer. Lots of nice furniture, and one room with a unique floor made out of peach pits. There is also a beautiful Victorian house that was occupied until just a few years ago, when it was left to the museum. It wasn't the best time for the rose garden though, partly the season, partly the rain.
Since were were coming back, we decided to get back on the road to the Garden Route. The drive was longer than I expected (about 3 hours to George), and the scenery became quite repetitious. Then suddenly we could see the ocean as we arrived in Mossel Bay, the official start of the garden route. We immediately got lost in town and had to stop at the Tourist Info Center to get a map (and use the bathroom). We were a bit tired from the drive, I was hungry, and Alison had a stomach ache, so we decided to press on to
George.
Zita had told us that George was 'just a town', and as we approached it (or at least the turn off), we could see a beautiful beach just ahead, so on a whim we decided to continue on a few more kilometers to Wilderness. There, sandwiched between the beach and a lagoon was, essentially, a truck stop. A tavern, a gas station, and a couple of fast food places. The guidebooks point out, though, that it has lots of accomodations (too many if you really want my opinion), and a great TIC. We stopped there and went in to check out the B&B situation. There were dozens to choose from (and a couple big hotels as well). We picked one or two that didn't have rooms available, and then were sent to Bruni's where they said they had a room. The house was marvelous, with white walls and a thatched roof, and it overlooked the beach. However, the two rooms were not what we had hoped: one was essentially a walk-in closet with twin beds, the other a luxury suite with a hot tub and sauna (for about 500 Rands a night). Neither was what we were looking for. The woman at the house said her friend (sitting at the kitchen table) also had rooms in Sedgefield ('just down the road') and if we followed them we could take a look. Well, 20-30 kilometers later we got to their house. The room was really just a bedroom that opened right off their living room, no common area, no sitting area, nothing. They also had a 'cottage' but that had only twin beds, so we passed and went back to the Wilderness TIC to try again.
This time we had better luck. They sent us to Clover Leigh, just down the road on the banks of the lagoon. This was what I would call a motel, but each room was its own little building. We had room 3, a little box that backed onto the woods and was away from the road. It had twin beds that were pushed together, but it also had a table and chairs. It was tiny (careful not to step in the toilet when getting out of the shower), but cosy and comfortable. The young couple that ran the place were also very nice, so we decided to stay. Best of all, for 30 Rands they would do a load of laundry for us! That was much appreciated, since we were tired of washing in the sink and running low on undies. The owner brought us mugs and cream for coffee, and we had a much needed cup to recover from the road.
It was about four when we were able to start moving again. We were told that just around the corner was a place called Eden Adventures that did canoeing and biking tours, so we walked over to see if there was something interesting to book for the next day. At the house we met a couple of friendly dogs, and a friendly proprietor, Chris. He said that the next morning they were doing a half day tour that included canoeing on the Touws river, a trip to Big Tree park and the Map of Africa, then a downhill mountain bike ride back to town. For 90 Rands it sounded like a great deal so we signed up.
From here, we walked along a boardwalk that ran along the edge of the lagoon (through the reeds) all the way back to 'town'. We were ready for dinner, but Tom's Tavern, the main restaurant, was closed until 6pm. We tried the place across the street, but they only ordered out for food, and from places that were closed until 6 also. So, we wandered around some more. We stopped at a small gift/antique shop and were stunned for a bit. They had some gorgeous armoires for only 1500 Rands (about $200!). We started to drool, and think about how much shipping might cost. The one frustrating thing though was that all the gorgeous furniture was stripped!! Didn't they know any better? In the US they would be drummed out of the business for taking the original finishes off of furniture! We didn't leave empty handed though. We got a couple of tablecloths that were hand painted. One with 'San' designs for us, and one for a gift.
Now it was 6, so we headed to Tom's for dinner. We stopped at the one ATM in town first, only to find out that it wasn't working, leaving us without enough cash to pay for our tour the next day. We'd have to ask for leniency until we got to an ATM.
Tom's had some really decent food. Alison had fish (Kingklip) and I had pizza. She definitely had the better deal! Very tasty! Again, dinner came to about $19 total. Now we were stuffed to the gills and sleepy, so we tottered back to our 'lodge.' The sun was setting over the lagoon, and the boardwalk was peaceful (we kept disturbing ducks though). Back in our room we relaxed, wrote, read some South African shelter magazines, and went to bed.
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Notes/Resources
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Last Updated 19 February, 1999
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