Richard Scott Blog: 9th October 2022

Monday was the 3^rd day in on Joanne and my 10-day Klein Karoo trip. It was our 2^nd day in Plettenberg Bay and we decided to go see Leigh and Cameron at the Junction Café and Gallery. Cameron owns the Junction and Leigh curates my art in the Plettenberg Bay area. It’s great to finally have representation in the area and it is very popular with people from Joburg. We stayed in my friend Selwyn’s house on the hill. The plan was to stay 3 days and then head to Prince Albert. We really wanted to swim as the waters were really warm but there was a recent shark attack where a lady died, so the Coast Guard advised against swimming. We did manage to run 2 days on the beach from where Selwyn lives to the Beacon Island hotel and back. So, we can say we have run the entire beach at Plettenberg Bay. We even Jumped into Selwyn’s freezing cold pool after a run we were so hot and exhausted. Joanne made me a yummy breakfast every day and we had the most beautiful time there.

Bokkie at the Junction Plettenberg Bay

On Tuesday we decided to hike Robberg Nature reserve. We only managed to do the 1^st smaller half as we also wanted to chill and tan on the beach by the island. It was total paradise. You cannot imagine how isolated and beautiful it was. The day was spectacular. Joanne and I came home, and I cooked us a nice fillet steak and we played Backgammon and cards. We went to bed really early all week.

Wednesday, we were off early to Prince Albert. We decided to stay away from Highways and take the back roads. Well well, we ended up going over Prince Alfred’s Pass. I’m not sure why its called Prince Alfred’s Pass and you heading to Price Albert? As we hit the dirt road Joanne and I looked at each other and then forward again. I know she hates it when her BMW goes on dirt roads. I just slowed the car down to 40km an hour and drove really slowly.

Is was the best decision we made and the pass is spectacular. We met a wonderful woman and her daughter, Adri, halfway thorough the pass that owned the Prince Alfred’s Padstal. God alone only knows why you’d want to live halfway along Prince Alfred’s Pass but once you see the beauty you begin to understand. We stocked up on their amazing jams and pickles and Adri took the time to draw us a map and gives us ideas of where to go before we got to our destination in Prince Albert. She was very helpful and so pleasant.

As we were existing the pass we saw some beautiful modern pods at Luipaardspoort which we’ve decided to go back to one day. Just as we saw the pods we heard a loud bang and a high pitched whistling sound like a tire burst, it was very strange. I stopped the car thinking the worst, stuck with a BMW on Prince Alfred’s Pass and Joanne was going to kill me. On closer inspection we couldn’t find a thing wrong. I was very relieved but also nervous. I drove very cautiously all the way to Prince Albert.

We stopped at a the beautiful Meiringspoort waterfall for a few photo’s and to get a history lesson on how the pass was built. It’s fascinating what humans can achieve. They built that pass in the 1860. It was built so that one man could get his wool to its destination quicker. It was a fascinating story.

We decided to go through Uniondale as we wanted to visit as many small towns as possible. Uniondale is like going back 70 years in time. After Uniondale we went through De Rust to have a coffee at Rays Coffee and a slice of Lemon Meringue which was the best I have ever had – like grandma’s cooking. We popped into the local shops and Gerico Art Gallery. We bought 2 tea towels made by a local artist, Freda Schoeman, to support the locals as well as every time we wash dishes back home  it will remind us of De Rust. Joanne and I do things like that to remember each town we were in. After that we were on our way.

Late Wednesday afternoon, we finally arrived in Prince Albert and checked into our hotel, Swartberg Mont’D Orr Hotel. It was beautiful. We made a pact in Riebeek Kasteel to never book into a small town hotel again, but like Barrydale last Friday night, it was a success. We immediately went to the Gin Bar and ordered a local Karoo gin and tonic to clear our dusty throats from all the dust on Prince Alfred’s Pass. We also used the opportunity to catch up on email and work as we both run businesses.

We had an early supper at The Rude Chef across the road from our hotel. The locals said it was a must. We walked in and there were 2 ladies cooking like home cooked delivery meals in a tin Kitchen. I asked the one lady who was “The Rude Chef” and she laughed and said “there is no connotation, its just a name”. She said that they cook all the food. We had to have the roast lamb because we were in the Karoo. It was like a meal your grandma would cook. It was such an amazing experience to be taken back in time. We savoured every bite.

Joanne booked us a Ghost Walk with Ailsa Tudhope. We met at the spot where the first Blue gum trees of Prince Albert were planted outside African Relish Chef’s Cafe. The trees were obviously dead now because they don’t last more than 200 years.  A local artist was given permission to carve them into women and men. He did a wonderful job of turning dead trees into art. One day 500 years from now they should cast them into bronze. Ailsa, who did the ghost walk was very knowledgeable on Prince Albert and her stories were fascinating. We didn’t get to see any Ghosts, but I could feel them in the room of the various houses we visited. She also showed us some beautiful Herbert Baker architecture. After the Ghost walk, we went to African Relish Chef’s Café restaurant and shared a bottle of wine and a focaccia. I can highly recommend the restaurant their pizza and pasta looked delicious but we had already had supper and just fancied a snack.

http://princealbertfriend.blogspot.com/2007/04/new-life-for-our-blue-gums.html

Thursday morning, we took our time and had the hotel complementary breakfast and then went to go see local artist Kevin De Klerk. I exhibited with him 15 years ago in VEO Gallery Cape Town. It was great to see him and catch up. He has relocated to Prince Albert. Joanne bought some goodies at the local shop and I felt the presence of a ghost in the one room as it was the first house built in Prince Albert. After catching up with Kevin we went to the local Prince Albert Museum where I felt 2 spirits in 2 different rooms. After that we went to Gays Dairy to taste some cheese. It was delicious. We bought some of their 12 month Cheddar and 12 month Gouda. Sitting here in Tulbagh 3 days later and typing this, we both agree we should have bought a whole wheel of each. I spotted a hand made lemon ice cream at Gays Dairy made by OL EDEN LEMON CO, Price Albert. Joanne bought us one and it was the best ice cream we have both ever had. It’s worth a trip to Prince Albert just to eat one.

After that we were on the road to Sutherland. Out next stop. After taking so long to get from Plettenberg Bay to Prince Albert we both decided to take the fastest route. The N1 highway. I really wanted to avoid it, but another 5 hours in a car was going to kill me. So, we timed it to get to Sutherland by 1pm and we did. Anelia the manager of the guest house where we were staying, Skitterland, was very accommodating. We checked in and immediately went exploring. Well that only took us 5 minutes as Sutherland is such a small town. It’s built on the Planetarium and large telescopes there. We booked a tour of SALT. South Africa’s largest telescope. It was also fascinating and a must. I didn’t realize we had such a huge telescope in South Africa and the reason behind it was studying the stars. We also go to see the Queen Elizabeth Telescope. South Africa’s first ever that was donated by the Queen.

After the tour we went for an early supper at Oumeul and we once again ordered Lamb but this time the lamb shank as this was highly recommended. Ingrid, out waitress was very on it. The lamb shank was out of this world. The locals highly recommended Oumeul and they were right. They can really cook. The carrots were so delicious I had to ask the chef if she put custard powder in them and she said yes. Joanne complimented me on my taste buds.

After our early supper we went to the planetarium to see the 3D show about the universe and stars and we wanted to do start gazing afterwards, but we happened to choose the 1 day in the year that Sutherland was cloudy. Blah.

So we went back to guest house, opened a bottle of wine and started watching DAHMER about a serial killer. It was quite weird to watch it as I felt a presence in the house. In fact while we were at the Sutherland Butcher, I got talking to Eain the owner, who is the brother of Pat the owner of Robertson Gallery we went to go see Friday last week. Eian said he grew up in that house. Anelia made us an awesome breakfast of scrambled egg and that Karoo meat: LAMB. Then we popped into the OK Bazaars to buy some chilli sauce and then to Eian the butcher for some lamb chops and headed to Tulbach via Ceres. We went over so many rivers and passes this trip that every time we did I asked Joanne to take a photo and she said I have become quite bossy in her funny comedian way. The trip together was so amazing. We grew closer and closer every day and most people we meet can’t believe that after 3 years we still sit next to each other at a restaurant, not opposite, and hold hands.

Tulbagh was the highlight of our 10-day trip. We stayed in these pods in the forest. I can highly recommend them. It was paradise. We have no Wi-Fi and no data connection. Its quite weird been off the grid. The pods were 5 star luxury and you open all the door up and you even shower in the open in privacy. It was so cool. We did a hike on Saturday and our host Charné was kind enough to grant us a extra hour in paradise. Travel tip number 103: Always ask for an extra hour or two. We did a last minute forage for pine cones as there are 1000’s here. We use them to start the fire back home. We checked out at 11 and headed home.

Its Sunday now and I’m still in the pod finishing off this blog. I will only be able to post it when I’m home around 2pm.

I popped in to see an old friend Grant Clack. He is a peach farmer in the Tulbach area. I remember in 2012 when I was training for the Cape Epic he showed us around all the farms on our Mountain Bikes. Always good to catch up.

We finished off our holiday with lunch at Montpellier in Tulbach before heading home.


Finishing off the 10 day trip. Montpellier Brut

Until next Sunday when the blog will be filled with more art related content as this week was holiday rest and recharge.

Richard