Had a great dinner at Colesberg last night, just two min walk from Coniston House, our lodging place. On arrival back at Coniston the door was locked but Liz was waiting for us in pyjamas and dressing gown, and the hearth fire was still blazing in the drawing room, where we'd shared a bottle of red with Liz before dinner. A special experience...
After an amazing breakfast spiced by tales of Africa related by the irrepressible Liz, we left on a cloudy morning for Graaff-Reinet, some 200km south.
One of the passes we went through was at an altitude of 1800 metres, around 5,500 feet.
While we weren't surprised to see the sprinkling of snow, I was surprised to find a troop of baboons making snow men nearby. I was joking about the snow men but not about the baboons, who seemed quite adapted to the climate, as they would have to be to survive in those overnight temperatures.
A diversion to the west to travel through the tiny town of Nieu Bethesda had been recommended by Sias and also Christine. The track from north into NB was unsealed but quite good quality and as we travelled west much of the way was dominated by this snow capped peak.
None of the streets of NB is paved, an unusual situation in South Africa for us, although it did bring back memories for me of towns in western Queensland 50 years ago, whose streets were similar, dusty when dry and muddy when wet.
Soup was on the menu at an eatery in NB so Mary and I lunched there before moving on to Graaf-Reinet, which is where we're overnighting.
Tomorrow we're moving on to Outeniqua Strand, near George, to stay with Lee's parents, Johannette and Sias, for a week, one of the two main reasons we're visiting South Africa. Our journey up to now has been completely hassle free and immensely enjoyable, being sprinkled with wonderful wildlife encounters and intense and interesting discussions with B&B hosts and fellow travelers.
We have two weeks left in South Africa, this time, all to be spent either on the Garden Route and in or near Cape Town. Stay tuned for more info.
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