The long road trip

Day 4 – The morning after the night before! Sundays in South Africa are quite odd, nothing appears to be open, the restaurants are closed along with any liquor stores, despite the influx of thousands of tourists normal life seems to be carrying on. This causes us a little problem which we solve by ordering a dozen pizzas and finding a supermarket that sells red wine. We retire to our cottage to watch Germany v Australia and feast on our recently acquired provisions until the early hours of the morning, not a good idea when you have breakfast planned for 7am.


A monster hangover accompanies all of us as we head for our final breakfast at Apricot Hill Farm. I take one look and decide to give it a miss and snatch another 10 minutes in bed before we begin our long trip south west to Cape Town via a nights stop in Colesburg. We say goodbye to Wendy who has been an excellent host and the mini bus and car set off down the long N1. What strikes us is how empty this place can be, virtually nothing to look at for mile after mile, just grass lands and blue skies. The other thing is how big this country is, and we’ve so far only seen a very small part of it.

We drive for hour after hour meeting other supporters on the road, flags flying from cars and trucks and impromptu singing competitions at the toll booth stops, which we win as usual!! Eventually hunger takes over and we stop at Tom’s Place, a roadside diner, barbecue area and campsite nestled beside the N1 and a large lake where people are enjoying the fishing. We order beers, Steak sandwich and chips and chat with one of the locals while we wait. Gus, our new friend introduces himself to everybody who walks through the door and welcomes them to South Africa. Before he leaves he buys a dozen beers for us, nice fella! We also get talking to some ex-pat English people who are making their way to Cape Town and find out that one of them hails from Doncaster, it’s a small world.

We carry on with the road trip, the roads are relatively empty apart from the frustration of all the road works progress is made and we make our way to Kuilfontein Stable Cottages just as the sun is setting. The sunsets here are extraordinary and we all take pictures while we settle into our stable rooms. It’s a pity we only have one night here as the setting and scenery is wonderful although it does begin to feel cold and we won’t be partaking in the swimming pool and other outdoor activities. Penny, the host is very helpful and offers me the use of her computer so I can update the blog which I welcome. We have a few beers in the cosy little bar they have here before settling down for dinner. I remember Tracey Campbell telling me to try the lamb when we are here and I duly order the lamb for 9 people. The local lambs are all free range, they have 27,000 hectares here, and they eat on the local bushes which infuse the meat with a taste similar to rosemary. The Great Karoo lamb, according to our genial host, is the most famous lamb in the world but I must confess to never having heard of it before. It’s gorgeous! A fact not lost on all the local cats and dogs who stare intently at my plate waiting for any droppings or tit bits, no chance!

Several bottles of red wine later we retire back to the cosy bar, partake in more liquid refreshments and watch Italy struggle against Paraguay. The atmosphere is now boisterous and we make friends with some other England fans, Julie who supports Aston Villa and her husband who is a Southampton fan, much to the delight of Rich who is pleased to meet another Saints fan! We chat away to the owners who describe what it’s like to live in this part of the world and Skip is intrigued by the stories of the snakes that live in this area, not only the frequency but the size and tactics used to protect yourself, apparently you just hit them with a stick!



Day 5 – We wake to see the Great Karoo covered in snow! A once in a ten year event according to our hosts and we get to witness it. Breakfast is delightful and we all enjoy the ‘cuddled’ eggs which are a new one on me. Our hosts present me with the bill, which is as follows;

                                            9 x Dinner 1305

                                            Drinks 2286

                                            Total 3591



A source of amusement, the drinks bill is nearly twice the size of the bill for the famous Karoo lamb dinner! We settle up, say our goodbyes and hit the road for Cape Town.

The Great Karoo looks pretty good covered with snow but its causing havoc on the roads as we see accident after accident and trucks that can’t negotiate some of the steeper inclines are left where they are in the middle of the road.