Goodbye Yzerfontein, Hello Jon’s Home (close to Napier). Another beautiful and interesting road trip. We pass ample vineyards again, and stop for a seafood lunch in Franschhoek, one of the more famous (and thus extremely touristy) ‘wine villages'.
“After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France in 1685, when Protestantism was outlawed, hundreds of so-called Huguenots fled their homeland, 277 of them arriving by ship at the Cape of Good Hope. Many of them were given land by the Dutch government in a valley called Oliphantshoek (Elephant's Corner) - so named because of the vast herds of elephants that roamed the area. Soon after they settled here, it become known as Franschhoek (French Corner).”
Just another nice ‘on the road’ picture.
Caledon, ‘the capital of the Overberg’ – one of the many typical South African villages we drive through.
Finally: Jon’s, Bas’ and Niels’ home in South Africa, close to Napier. We’ve heard so much about it, we’ve seen so many pictures, so it’s great to finally experience it for real. It’s super – a real nice old house, with only a couple of other houses close by, surrounded by nature.
We happen to arrive on the same day Jon and her son Niels are coming from Botswana. With a car packed to the limits; they are moving from Gaborone back to their own house because of Niels’ schooling. Actually we arrive half an hour before them – and are almost shot by neighbour Judy, who takes her responsibilities as the security crew very serious.
Nice art all over the house!
Jon and Maud went shopping, and found witlof – imagine, WITLOF in the R of SA. So we have a yummy witlof salad, with equally yummy midget roasted potatoes, and Ostrich sausaties.
We are real close to Kaap Algulhas, and both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. And, so, real close to fresh seafood. In short, a ‘must do’ day trip; have lunch at the best fish & chips place in the world, buy some fish to bring back home, and see the famous cape.
Windy and cold, no swimming – Henk had imagined something totally different when thinking of an African mid-summer...
"Cape Agulhas (Cape of Needles) is a rocky headland in the Western Cape. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa, and the official dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. (The actual division between the ocean currents is a different matter. The point where the Agulhas current meets the Benguela current fluctuates seasonally between Cape Agulhas and Cape Point, located on the Cape Peninsula, about 2.3 kilometers east and a little north of Kaap de Goede Hoop.) Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a major hazard on the traditional clipper route."
Rocky indeed!
On our way back we drive through Elim. Elim “was established in 1824 by German missionaries as a Moravian mission station. The missionaries picked a location where there was water available on terrain that was suitable for planting vines so that wine for communion could be produced. As well as preaching the Gospel, the missionaries taught the villagers a variety of trades and skills. The village is picturesque and has changed little over the years. It is filled with whitewashed cottages, fruit trees and fynbos. All the roads in the village lead to the thatch roofed church. The community, still mainly Moravian, consists of farmers, farm workers and artisans. Elim is known for the export of fynbos. It is also an emerging area in the production of wine.”
Fynbos (‘fine bush, referring to the thin leaves) "is the natural shrubland or heathland vegetation you find in a small belt of the Western Cape, mainly in winter rainfall coastal and mountainous areas with a Mediterranean climate."
One of Jon’s many talents is making flower arrangements. She made us a marvelous one to give to our next host Monica.
Male boomslang loitering above Jon’s door, spotted by Maud. The boomslang (Dispholidus typus) is a large
venomous colubrid snake. Shredded skin of a boomslang is one of the ingredients to make the Polyjuice Potion in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Okay, another picture, just because it was so exiting. Jon’s neighbour Judy doesn’t only serve as the security crew; she’s also the snake lady. She came with a ‘snake bag’ and two ‘snake sticks’. It is like magic! The snake is sitting just underneath the roof over the veranda, close to the door. We all have to stand back and be very quiet. Then Judy walks up to the boomslang with her tools, and entices the snake to go into the bag. We then take bag & snake into the bush well away from the houses and free it.
One of the many, many birds we see: witkeeljantie. This poor guy has to fight that intruder in the reflection of Jon's kitchen window every day - much to our delight.
We had a marvellous time with Jon and Niels – baie, baie dankie julle!
Next stop: Monica @ McGregor.
3 comments:
Prachtige fotoos bij een evenzo prachtig verslag.Wonen er ook negers in de mooie buurten waar jullie doorheen reden?
The majority, 50.2%, of the people of the Western Cape described themselves as "Coloured", while 30.1% described themselves as "Black African", 18.4% as "White", and 1.3% as "Indian or Asian".[18] Afrikaans is the majority language, spoken as the first language of 55.3% of the province's population. IsiXhosa is the first language of 23.7% of the population, while English is the first language of 19.3%.
en volgens ons is bijna iedereen daar een miksie (coulored), spreekt zo ongeveer iedereen van welke kleur dan ook allereerst Afrikaans, en heb je aan Engels niet zo heel veel - dig that Rooineks, Khakis, Pommies!
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