On 22 August, with my car packed to the roof and a bicycle hanging off the back, I said bye to my family and hit the road for a rustig drive along Clarens Drive, first stop, the Dassiesfontein Farmstall for breakfast.
It was a beautiful sunrise and drive along the coast, and I was looking forward to seeing all of the canola fields. Unfortunately, as I swung inland, the low cloud had different ideas, and all I could see was about 1km ahead. Oh well, still a nice drive. It took over an hour to get to Dassiesfontein, and I was looking forward to a strong coffee and brekkie (they came highly recommended from a friend). But, all the breakfast options were huge and I wasn't that hungry. So I settled for coffee and a bacon and egg sandwich. While the bread was delicious, it wasn't worth R60.
Oh well, at least I was fueled. So I got back on the N2 and carried on east, Scrat (the teddy bear version) perched on a stack of pillows on the passenger seat in the hopes it would deter people from asking for a lift. I didn't see that many in the end.
The N2 is such a nice road, far better than the N1.
In my original planning, I completely misjudged my distances. I had planned on breakfast at Dassiesfontein, early lunch at Ou Meul in RIviersonderend, roosterkoek at Rolandale near Swellendam, and maybe a coffee at The Blue Crane Farmstall...
You can see my problem I'm sure... they are within one hour of one another.
So I skipped Ou Meul, but fortunately decided to take my sister's advice and stop in at Rolandale.
What a lekker little spot! Definitely a great place to stretch your legs, especially if you have kids as they have a huge play area. I got myself a bacon, egg and jam roosterkoek and some moer koffie. Or at least I thought it was, until recently.
As it was still early I forced myself to wait before eating, and set off once again. I was undecided about popping in to The Blue Crane as I am a sucker for biscuits, but fortunately fate had made the decision for me- they were closed. So I pulled in to the parking lot and ate my roosterkoek instead. O.M.G. Delicious. And massive. The actual roosterkoek could've been a touch crispier, but I had bacon, egg and jam, so who cares! Yum!
I will be back!
I was going to meet a friend for coffee in Mossel Bay, but he was busy, so I arranged to meet another friend at George. I went past the airport, keeping an eye out for the PC-12 (it wasn't there), and then pulled in to Red Berry Farm. Swak, if I had known about this place I would've walked there instead of sitting in the airport Wimpy every other day.
Oh well, my friend and I caught up and I then I set off for the final leg of my journey for Day 1. Destination Kynsyna. Via Buffelsbay (my sister's orders. A nice little seaside spot!).
I stayed at Lakeside B&B in Knysna as I wanted to be close to the Waterfront. After packing my valuables away in the room, I offloaded the bicycle and went to explore.
I was last in Knysna... I don't know... 18+ years ago? And I remember being so happy because my parents let me walk around the waterfront by myself, and it was so big and exciting. Turns out when you're a little person, everything seems huge. I got shouted at for cycling, so I walked around with my bike a bit (took all of 2 minutes), then rode across to Thensen Island. Now THAT is a lekker spot! Such a cool concept! I briefly glanced in the window of a realtor but cycled away quickly when I saw a figure of R12mil.
I followed a cycling/running track heading out of town and then looped back past the waterfront and along the sea a little bit before heading back to my accommodation. A nice little 10km ride to wake the legs up. And what a stunning afternoon!
Unsure of what to do with myself, I changed and walked to the waterfront in search of food, eventually settling on pizza, and then turned in for the night.
Day 1 done, it was sinking in that I had left home. I was both excited and a little sad.
Topic: My African Dream (Read 202399 times)
