March 30
The landscape does not look the same as yesterday. No more banana plantations, citrus groves or lush landscape. The road is flat and dry. Barely a town along the way. Ultra City Petrol stops are a must. They consist of a few restaurants, some have grassy play grounds, bathrooms, and of course, petrol. The drive was long, but not too much traffic. South African courtesy is to flash your hazards at anyone who pulls to the shoulder to let you pass. Three cars are often side by side on a two lane highway.
Buttes are frequent and break up the flat landscape.
I had read blogs of families who make the trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town in three days. We were not looking to do it in three days, but all blogs mentioned the town Colesberg as an overnight. That was to be our destination today.
We travelled 5.5 hours and pulled into the Onze Rust Guesthouse and campground. We thought we would camp but it was very hot, and the camping area was rock covered. Rooms were available and we were all happy to sleep in a bed. The boys were glued to the computer as they were able to get Netflix; internet actually worked.
The gardens were amazing. Hundreds of pots of different cacti, and plants. A true oasis. The evening was so warm, it was nice to eat and then sit outside playing cards. Jack and I cooked supper, but the owner was catering for a school group that was spending the night and suggested we try a South African dish, pap en saus (pronounced pup and sauce). This dish has maize meal, which is like a dry oatmeal on the bottom and a stewed tomato sauce on top. It is usually made on the braai and served with braaied meat or sausage. We all thought it was delicious and that we could try to make it ourselves.
Colesberg is an accommodation town. No wonder it was listed as an overnight stop. I asked if it was safe to run along the streets in the morning and the owner said, "Of course, this is Colesberg!" It was a clean, cute town, very Dutch looking, for Luke and I to run our 11 miles. School children and teens were out early in the morning. I wondered why they were not in school and then remembered it was a three week school break. They were walking to school to collect their report cards. This reminded me of how happy I was not to have to write report cards!
The landscape does not look the same as yesterday. No more banana plantations, citrus groves or lush landscape. The road is flat and dry. Barely a town along the way. Ultra City Petrol stops are a must. They consist of a few restaurants, some have grassy play grounds, bathrooms, and of course, petrol. The drive was long, but not too much traffic. South African courtesy is to flash your hazards at anyone who pulls to the shoulder to let you pass. Three cars are often side by side on a two lane highway.
I had read blogs of families who make the trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town in three days. We were not looking to do it in three days, but all blogs mentioned the town Colesberg as an overnight. That was to be our destination today.
We travelled 5.5 hours and pulled into the Onze Rust Guesthouse and campground. We thought we would camp but it was very hot, and the camping area was rock covered. Rooms were available and we were all happy to sleep in a bed. The boys were glued to the computer as they were able to get Netflix; internet actually worked.
The gardens were amazing. Hundreds of pots of different cacti, and plants. A true oasis. The evening was so warm, it was nice to eat and then sit outside playing cards. Jack and I cooked supper, but the owner was catering for a school group that was spending the night and suggested we try a South African dish, pap en saus (pronounced pup and sauce). This dish has maize meal, which is like a dry oatmeal on the bottom and a stewed tomato sauce on top. It is usually made on the braai and served with braaied meat or sausage. We all thought it was delicious and that we could try to make it ourselves.
Colesberg is an accommodation town. No wonder it was listed as an overnight stop. I asked if it was safe to run along the streets in the morning and the owner said, "Of course, this is Colesberg!" It was a clean, cute town, very Dutch looking, for Luke and I to run our 11 miles. School children and teens were out early in the morning. I wondered why they were not in school and then remembered it was a three week school break. They were walking to school to collect their report cards. This reminded me of how happy I was not to have to write report cards!
