Circles in the Eastern Cape

My wife, Arina, and I fulfilled a long-standing wish in May this year when we ventured on a circular route through the Eastern Cape with our caravan. It was an unknown part of our country for us, and we were very surprised. We tow a Sprite Swing with our Nissan X-Trail, and our first stop was at Kleinplaas in Oudtshoorn. Between Willowmore and Aberdeen, we pulled over at Santjie Meiring’s Oppi-Vlak farm stall and enjoyed delicious freshly baked pies and roosterkoek. We also checked out the tall steeple of the Dutch Reformed Church in Aberdeen and spent two nights in the Kamdeboo National Park’s Nqweba camp – it’s just outside Graaff-Reinet. Of course, we also visited the Valley of Desolation, then joined up with some friends in town and drove to New Bethesda. Here, we saw the famous Owl House and visited a brewery. Not far from there, we also paid a visit to Letskraal –the farmstead of Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius. The homestead, barn, and an old wagon are still in their original condition and are properly maintained. These are sacred monuments that take you far back. The Mountain Zebra National Park at Cradock, with its small yet neat camp and scenic beauty, was next, and a hectic thunderstorm surprised us at Die Kaia campsite in Somerset East. Thereafter, we drove through a string of small towns to Yellow Sands on the other side of East London and we set up camp up for a week. We also visited smaller resorts at Cintsa and Gonubie, and Morgan Bay’s campsite looked good for a future visit. If you’re ever in this area, do consider the Areena resort. On Thursday evenings, pensioners come to enjoy a meal at a special discount – I can highly recommend the fish. For the next four nights, we camped at Green Fountain Farm, just outside Port Alfred, and enjoyed the convenience of a private bathroom. A great experience followed at the Addo Elephant Park – our first – but only after a quick stop at the famous Nanaga farm stall. We stayed over with some old camping friends in Jeffreys Bay, visited a few nice spots around St. Francis Bay, and headed to Storms River Mouth for three nights. We made sure to visit the Marilyn’s 60’s Diner in Storms River village, where we relived the music of the past and enjoyed delicious food. There, we also saw the hordes of wheelbarrows belonging to Kallie Müller, a local resident, standing on the sidewalk, all of them filled with succulents.

Our final destination was another SANParks resort and an old favourite of ours: Ebb and Flow in Wilderness. We decided to do the Rooted in Time selfdriving trail in Knysna – what a special experience. I recommend a bakkie or an SUV for this outing. Our journey took 28 days; we overnighted at 10 places and drove 3 383 km. The accommodation cost R5 238, which works out to an average of R187 pn. The fuel cost was R6 642. (The main routes are in very good condition.) Seasonally, May is a good time, and you could, where applicable, make use of pension discounts. Depending on the time of year, you could get a 20-40% discount at some SANPark resorts.

JOHAN CILLIERS Wellington