It had been years since we were here and when the RCI swop came up trumps at the Wilderness Dunes, we leapt at the opportunity, given Patrick had enjoyed his week here and recommended it.
We broke the journey at Swellendam – another favourite place of ours to visit and stayed at the Aviento B&B which was perfectly pleasant and given we had booked two rooms, gave us a restful night. We dined at Koornlands, which was a mile and a half to walk, which we did on the safe feeling main road along the whole strip of the town. A good meal, with a Malay Lamb Curry and a Springbok tagliatelle although we did feel that charging us R35 for a jug of tap water was a little mean. Of course we understand the need to cover overheads and make a profit. We did have a bottle of wine though, so some margin was available in that.
We decided the walk back was too far, and a taxi was hailed. The only one in the town apparently, as when we arrived and couldn’t get change for our R100 (the fare was R50), we agreed with the driver he could pick up the fare from us the following day at 9am. Needless to say, he didn’t pitch, although our host thought she knew who it was as she had seen him returning from the B&B on her way back from dropping her kids at school. So we left the money with her.
After a hearty breakfast we set off for Mossel Bay, where we lunched at La Peron, down by the harbour side, on mussel soup (very rich) and calamari strips (very greasy). A good setting though with sandy floor and pink G&T on tap. Mossel Bay is much bigger than I remembered and we crawled out of town in heavy traffic, deciding that the delights of the Post Office tree were able to be missed.
90 minutes or so later we at the resort. What a pleasure. We dealt with the incredibly nice Francine and the rest of the team and they felt we would enjoy our chalet – number 29. How right they were. Right on the top of the dune, overlooking the beach and feeling like you were right in the middle of the ocean. 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and a good size lounge/kitchen, all spotless and well appointed. Two balconies, with a bbq on the lower deck. A slice of heaven.
Without boring you with a day by day account of our week, we had a wonderful time and resolved to come back again soon. Of course we were spoiled by the chalet we had and enquired about how one could secure the same sort of breathtaking view again. Forgive me if selfishly we don’t share that here. And no, it doesn’t involve bribing the reception staff with chocolates, although of course that won’t do any harm..
So what did we do?
Every morning I would walk the beach, taking the 222 steps from the resort and making sure I could remember the gate code. I started with 3 miles, but soon pushed that to 4 miles. You’d think that walking the same beach every day might get boring, but the conditions varied so much, that it was a different experience each time.
We ate out. A lot.
Girls on the Square, excellent prawns. Saturday lunch. Live music on offer too.
Zucchinis at the nearby Timberlake Craft Village for Sunday lunch. I had Springbok meatballs. Took quite a while to arrive as I think the kitchen was struggling. They had none of the white wine on the menu, but did come up with a Barrel fermented Chenin Blanc called Courageous, from the Dry Land Collection, which was very good. Mr Ian was the live musician – playing Rodrigues and Neil Young on acoustic guitar. He was old. Very old. And painfully thin.
After lunch we had a wander round and stopped off at the Oyster Shack where the much younger live musician Atlas was playing. And doing a very fine job. We had a glass of wine and agreed this was a very pleasant place to spend an hour or two.
On Monday we went to Sedgefield and walked the Stilbaai beach. We were looking for Gerike Point but not sure enough of ourselves to try out the route in case the tide was against us. So we stuck to the beach. We were almost the only ones there. After a fine walk we went to Pili Pili on the beach in Sedgefield. Prawns – again. Not bad. Starting to look like a prawn.
We picked up our laundry on the way back and had a bbq that evening, with chicken breasts in a white wine, oil, dijon mustard and peach chutney marinade. Plus half a roll of Grabouw boerewors. Both were delicious.
Tuesday the weather wasn’t great so we thought we’d escape to George. We wanted among other things to get Heather’s phone reloaded with data, given that Vodacom could not take an update either on their phone system or their app (not allowed to use a foreign credit card). Unfortunately the weather was worse there. After a shopping mall experience trying to find a CNA that didn’t exist, we want off to find the Grumpy Griller, which was a little bit too plastic tabled for our liking in an industrial setting. We thought of the Hussar, but that was also not very inspiring. A bit like George as a whole we thought. Having decided we wanted to do some pebble painting, (hence the CNA) Heather spotted a great craft shop on the way out of town. So a few hundred rand later we were armed with all the tools to make fools of ourselves in the painted pebble department.
We were still after that steak. But decided that George was not gorgeous, and headed back to Wilderness and the Blue Olive, where we sat inside in front of the fire. I had the Kudu Steak, which was excellent, and Heather the slightly disappointingly dry Dorado.
On Wednesday with a good forecast we left early to visit the Wilderness Park. My year of Afrikaans finally came in handy as we spoofed that we were locals rather than paying the extortionate overseas visitor rates. It was still R92. But a big saving over what we might have paid. We wanted to walk one of the several trails available but all indications were that the Half Collared Kingfisher trail was the one the park staff wanted us to take.
It was a good choice, all in the shade along the side of the river, mostly on boardwalk, with a pontoon ride in the middle and a waterfall at the end. And we saw a Loerie and I think I saw a kingfisher right near the end, although I’m not sure what type. It was moving fast. Although the length was advertised as 3.76km, each way, we ended up doing exactly 5 miles from the car park.
We didn’t try the last scramble to the higher waterfall as the rocks were like glass and there was plenty to see at the lower part of the falls. A really enjoyable walk which we thoroughly recommend. Although we would suggest sticking with the pontoon on both legs, as crossing the stepping stones leads to a path that is much more rustic, up and down with no boardwalk, and tricky especially in wet conditions.
We went to Bite, in the village square, and had nachos and beer. That sounded like a good idea, but wasn’t. That evening we bbq’d again, with two fillet steaks and the rest of the boerewors. Yum.
Thursday was the day of the Big Tree in Woodville. You couldn’t make it up. A twenty minute drive from the resort and again the Afrikaans came in handy, restricting the entry fee to just R42 this time. Although my language skills were tested when Heather spotted a troop of baboons, including a large Alpha male by the entrance to the walk, and I had to try and find out if they presented a serious risk. I think the ranger said they hadn’t attacked any people recently, but I couldn’t be sure.
We started off down the trail and the baboons took off too, although we could hear them nearby. After admiring the amazing tree, we set off on the circular walk through the forest, and I armed myself with a large baboon deterring branch just in case. We didn’t need it.
Once back at the resort, we abandoned the car and walked the 1.5 miles down the beach to Salinas where we could shake off the sand and enjoy a blow out lunch in a stunning setting overlooking the beach. Guess what – prawns… And back again afterwards to enjoy the sunny weather on the balcony and to pebble paint to our heart’s desire. Don’t give up the day job, I thought. Oops, too late!
Friday and again we find ourselves travelling on the hottest day of the week. No bother with the air-con in the little Datsun. And so we bid farewell to the Wilderness Dunes, easily the best of our RCI swops so far if you exclude the ones with additional charges.
We will be back. I hope.
Knysna found us whiling away some time in the East Side Cafe on the Heads. A great spot and great food too. No prawns this time, but calamari and hake goujons. And that’s the start of another week.
If you get a chance to go to Wilderness, particularly before the start of the school holidays, you’ll enjoy it. It’s a great place with a laid back feel and loads to do. And if you just walk the beach each day, in different conditions, you’ll grow to love it there.
The Lawsons on the Loose 