2012 Weekly Summary #5: 5 Feb 2012 – Papendorp to Garies

Fifth week review here we go…we move from the Western Cape (Stage 1) to the Northern Cape (Stage 2) in the space of week 5.

30th Jan 2012

Day 30:

Papendorp to Lutzville

We arrived at the Golden Grape B&B to be greeted by a smiley and warm Jan and his wife Debbie. They made us a beautiful meal that night and you felt right at home in their guesthouse.

31st Jan 2012

Day 31:

Lutzville to Klawer

Sadly not a lot seemed to be going on in the small town of Klawer. Not only that, but Oasis Country Lodge didn’t exactly live up to its name, not being an oasis at all really. A run-down old place with a lot of potential to be great, the only thing we really enjoyed about staying there (sorry to say) was the swimming pool! Nice sponsored meal at the Klawer Hotel along with a couple of games of pool and a few rum and cokes.

1^st Feb 2012

Day 32:

Klawer to Koekenaap

Happy to move on from Klawer and even happier when we arrived at Nama Karoo B&B in Koekenhaap. After a very busy morning in Vredendal, we were pleased to relax for a while. That morning we met with Marthie from the organisation Dorcas (providing food and care to people living with TB, HIV/AIDS and other related illnesses), we went to visit the All Pay system where people were collecting their monthly allowances and we interviewed Gertruida at MADA (Mothers Against Drug Abuse). All in all a very successful morning with a lot of vital information gathered. Spent the afternoon chatting with Doug and Naide and was treated to a delicious braai that night. After one too many brandies that night, we stumbled into bed and woke up with very fuzzy heads indeed.

2^nd Feb 2012

Day 33:

Koekenaap to Vanrhynsdorp

Vanrhynsdorp was not meant to be on the list but we’re very pleased we added it. Talk of the Town is a quaint little place with a certain charm and Jannie was more than accommodating and friendly. We cooked a lovely meal of roast chicken that night and had a very relaxed evening.

3^rd Feb 2012

Day 34:

Vanrhynsdorp

Rog went to the Cape Nature office and met with the conservation manager. That afternoon they took him out on a drive while Maddy stayed back and caught up with a load of admin that was slowly starting to mount up after almost a week of limited internet signal.

4^th Feb 2012

Day 35:

Vanrhynsdorp to Garies

We were meant to first stay in Nuwerus and Bitterfontein but on arrival in both towns, we both agreed we would much rather not! Striking us at the type of towns where they may have filmed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we decided to move on to Garies, a slightly bigger and livelier-looking place. We couldn’t really have been wrong arriving on a Saturday afternoon because before we knew it, every shop was shut and not a single soul was to be seen. To add insult to injury, the owners of Sophia Guesthouse were cold and unfriendly and didn’t make the weekend in Garies any nicer.

5^th Feb 2012

Day 36:

Garies

A positive aspect of our town however was meeting Percy, the man running the drop-in centre in the township. He seems to be running the centre very successfully as has many projects currently running, from a youth programme to needlework. He hopes to set up a town newspaper which will bring income to the centre and allow him to set up even more projects. His main aim is a crèche which will be wonderful as will allow more mothers to go to work and bring some more money into the family home. That afternoon we went up to Letterklip high on the hill where English regiments from the Boer War used to hide out and take some time off. You can see why; the view from up there is fantastic and they would have had a good idea who was coming in and out of the town.

…of the week:

• Towns visited this week –Papendorp, Lutzville, Klawer, Koekenaap, Vanrhynsdorp, Garies
• Accommodation sponsored this week – Seabreeze, Golden Grape, Nama Karoo, Talk of the Town, Sophia Guesthouse
• Food sponsored this week – Golden Grape B&B, Klawer Hotel, Talk of the Town
• Highlight of the week – Talking to Percy in Garies about the drop-in centre
• Lowlight of the week – Garies all over
• Quote of the week – ‘I have always been told if you have nothing nice to say then not to say anything at all. Well here is what I have to say about Garies….’
• Meal of the week – Golden Grape B&B home-cooked braised beef
• Comedy moment of the week – The cat at Talk of the Town sitting up at the table

See you in a week…