Saturday
Dear Elsie
Today was the day we drove from Jeffrey’s Bay to Swellendam to see you! You have been sick and so have your parents. Your Dad described it as ‘properly sick!’ You poor thing. All of you have got antibiotics and have had rotten coughs. It was wonderful to see you and we will keep our distance so we don’t take germs home to David. I am so looking forward to your birthday tomorrow!
For today, we got up early and by just after 6am, we glided quietly out of Jeffrey’s Bay and hit the N2. There was not much traffic. We got to Storms River where a man asked us to buy a subscription to his YouTube channel!
When we drove into the Wilderness, we decided to turn right to Hoekwil. Back story – Almost 37 years ago, part of our honeymoon was at a remote wooden cottage on a river in Hoekwil. We have not been back since so we wanted to see if we could find it. One of the things I remember clearly was we were doing a lot of walking because we were about to walk the Otter Trail (also on honeymoon), so we went for a walk and I remember the Hoekwil Post Office. We found it – it’s still there and looking pretty smart.
We found the road the house was on but there have been changes and it’s not as remote as it once was. We couldn’t get down to see the actual house. We did find some friendly curious cows.
And a fabulous friendly Hoekwil cafe which wasn’t there 37 years ago.
We bought the most delicious lemon cheesecake (for breakfast – as one does) and cappuccino. Inside the cafe..
We stopped at a layby overlooking Wilderness and with this view we drank the coffee and ate the cake.
Onwards, we drove through the beautiful Garden Route. We had decided to do a detour to Stilbaai because we’ve never been there. Mike saw a turn off on Google map and thought that would be a good road. “As long as it’s not a dirt road” I said. “Oh good point.” He took another look and decided it probably was. Looking at other options, he said, “There’s a road coming up shortly, take that one.”
This would take us to Stilbaai. The road less travelled. A beautiful tarred road with lots of great scenery.
Finally we got to the sign to Stilbaai.
We had no idea all this lovely tar would end…
40km of dirt road. Mike was really unhappy! We encountered this unusual sight. Horses were being guided along the dirt road by a lady and her workers in the car. Not sure if they had escaped or what.
But after crawling along, we arrived in Stilbaai, visited the market and drove around a bit. By 2.30pm, we arrived in Swellendam and I have to say, we were tired! Enough travelling for one day. Visited the family and we are now tucked up in bed. I’m typing this superfast because we are loadshedding and my laptop battery is about to die.
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.
It’s not about now – we are only passing through.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you.
In His Grip,
Gran xx 🙂