2012 Weekly Summary #3: 22 Jan 2012 – Draaihoek to Lamberts Bay

Third-week summary coming up…3 weeks already? Wow!…

16th Jan 2012

Day 16:

Draaihoek

We managed to catch the owners of the Draaihoek Lodge for a quick interview and were pleasantly surprised to hear all about the environmentally friendly and sustainable practices the lodge and reserve participate in. The interview can be found at our soundtrack site: http://theexpeditionproject.minus.com/

What a fantastic couple of days at Draaihoek Lodge. Re-charging, relaxing and doing some admin in a cool sea breeze chalet. Thank you to Draaihoek Lodge for hosting and feeding us with so much warmth and hospitality!

17th Jan 2012

Day 17:

Draaihoek to Elands Bay

Our Draaihoek stay culminated with a dawn game drive with Flemish owners Luc and Vivienne. After sightings of springbok, gemsbok, kudu and bontebok we had a bush continental breakfast on the back of their open-top Land Rover. We checked out and travelled the 30-minute drive to Elands Bay. Elands Bay is primarily a surfer town as it is home to the best left-hand wave on the West Coast and maybe South Africa. We checked into the comfy Elands Bay Guesthouse and headed to the Elands Bay Hotel for a sponsored dinner.

18th Jan 2012

Day 18:

Elands Bay

We tried in vain to meet up with some locals, surfers and the owner of the Elands Bay guesthouse but with no luck. A beach/coastal survey and a bit of photography were therefore done. Elands Bay Hotel offered us accommodation for the night, however, we decided to remain at Paul’s guesthouse and cook ourselves a ‘spag bol’ in our self-catering kitchen accompanied by a glass of ‘Place in the Sun’ Cabernet Sauvignon.

19th Jan 2012

Day 19:

Elands Bay to Leipoldtville

After a semi-disappointing couple of days in Elands Bay we moved onto Leipoldtville, a 30-minute drive north, and then turned off-road and up a mountain to the impressive Donkieskraal luxury cave and tented camp accommodation. After settling into our cool cave, we went on a late afternoon ‘self-drive’ game drive. Chris (our 4×4) however was clearly not in the mood for it because we got stuck twice in the soft sand. So after getting stuck for the second time we resigned for the night to an evening Donkieskraal lamb braai. And not just any lamb braai, an organic, fresh lamb braai with local farm fresh potatoes and an assortment of local produce….and a few glasses of Place in the Sun wine of course!

20th Jan 2012

Day 20:

Leipoldtville to Lamberts Bay

After a great night in our unique Donkieskraal cave, and a really nice breakfast we headed off on a potato farm tour and an interview with Johann – 6^th generation potato farmer on his family farm. After our tour we interviewed the second part of the family enterprise – Tillia – she runs the Donkieskraal Lodge. Tillia gave us a bit of a background on the ­­­­accommodation’s sustainability practices and plans. Blown away by the service and fantastic hospitality of Donkieskraal, Tillia and Johann – thank you!

Onto Lambert’s Bay, a short drive, and checked into the Lambert’s Bay Hotel. Lamberts Bay Hotel is an old-school hotel with a lot of charm, reminds us a bit of Fawlty Towers without all the mishaps and Basil Fawlty’s sarcasm.

21st Jan 2012

Day 21:

Lamberts Bay

A full-on admin, editing and blogging day in Lambert’s Bay Hotel­­.

22nd Jan 2012

Day 22:

Lamberts Bay

We spent the morning exploring and filming Lambert’s Bay’s Bird Island – the main conservation project in the area and one of the area’s biggest draw cards not to mention tourism and financial boost. The largest colony of gannets to be seen without going on a boat only a short walk from Lambert’s Bay Hotel and located in the quaint harbour and fishing port. A colony of seals, gannets, and seagulls – visually very impressive. As we move further up the west coast we begin to approach the diamond territory of Namibia and the Lambert’s Bay harbour already boasts diamond boats. We arranged a quick chat and interview with Eve, the conservation manager of Bird Island – the interview can be found at our Vimeo site: http://vimeo.com/theexpeditionproject

…of the week:

• Towns visited this week –Dwarskersbos, Draaihoek, Eland’s Bay, Leipoldtville, Lambert’s Bay
• Accommodation sponsored this week – Africa Sunrise, Draaihoek Lodge, Dwarskersbos Holiday Resort, Eland’s Bay Guesthouse, Donkieskraal Lodge, Lambert’s Bay Hotel
• Food sponsored this week – Elands Bay Hotel, Lamberts Bay Hotel
• Highlight of the week – Donkieskraal Lodge
• Lowlight of the week – Rog and Mads having flu.
• Quote of the week – It’ll all be right in the end. If it’s not right, it’s not the end.
• Meal of the week – Eland’s Bay Hotel mushroom burger.
• Comedy moment of the week – Rog getting sand sprayed in his face when stuck on the game reserve.

See you next week…