Traveling Through South Africa: Stops in Clarens and Graaf-Reinett

After leaving Swaziland, we drove for a day and spent the night to rest up. Then drove for another day, spent the night and rested up for our next big stop on our tour of South Africa. (That stop was in Oudtshoorn...that will be the topic of another post.)

Our first stop on our way to Oudtshoorn (from Swazi) was the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, near Clarens, South Africa. We stayed in one of their chalets. This was a 'self-catering' place - so we had a full kitchen in which to prepare meals. The nearby hotel also had a restaurant, which we visited for dinner. I was on vacation - as little cooking as possible for me!!!

This was the incredible view from our chalet. In the evening this magnificent "cliff" was illuminated with man-made light. Just beautiful. I regret not capturing a picture of that sight. In the morning, we spotted several hikers atop this "cliff". The park has innumerable hiking trails. A hiker's haven.

This was our chalet, with attached carport. We had 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, full-kitchen, TV! and patio with braai (grill) facilities.

Another spectacular view

The girls going 'exploring'

Our next overnight stop was in the historic town of Graaff-Reinet We stayed at the Cypress Cottages - a lovely bed and breakfast. The gardens on these grounds were just beautiful, as you can see. We stayed in what is considered a 'family room'...one big room for us all. It was very nice and we all slept wonderfully! This was our room.

Our cottage

Cypress Cottages was very kid-friendly. The garden area featured a trampoline, which the girls thoroughly enjoyed, as well as swings. (The girls now want their own trampoline!)

I thought this was pretty neat - jumping on a trampoline, with this incredible view of the mountains as a back drop.


Isn't he adorable? A little weathered, but quite adorable. 'Sleepy' was 'guarding' the door of one of the buildings (next photo below) in the gardens - a building probably used for potting plants, etc. Or maybe it's a place where the 'rowdy' kids are sent?!. Hee hee. Looks like it would make a fun 'play house'.



Just swingin'! The seats were quite wet from a recent rain, so the girls stood up instead. Fun! B is really getting in to it - rather, showing off for the camera.

I just had to take these pictures. Just like in NC, it seems you can't drive anywhere without encountering the dreaded 'road construction' zone. On one particular stretch of highway (2-laned most of the way), we would encounter these 'stops'. The little booth for the attendant featured red and green lights to inform motorists of their required action. I thought that was nifty.

This is the roadside view while at the construction stop. Most stops were a max of 15 minutes. Some were only a minute or so. Sometimes our stops were by an ostrich farm. Didn't take a picture of that. Sorry.

Hooray - a green light!

While still on our way to Oudtshoorn, we stopped off at this 'overlook', like those on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the mountains of NC. This looked like a scene from the NC mountains to me - who would think this was South Africa?

Dad and his girls

Me and my hubby

Now for a 'change of pace' on this photo tour you've been on with me so far.........

Check out this 'Abnormal' truck. In the US this would be labeled "Wide Load".

Now it's time to start working on the next blog post......stay tuned for more!
Thanks for stopping by.