The Road to St. Francis Bay

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Beautiful blue skies this morning.  Ate breakfast, packed the car and we were on the by 9:30.  The drive to St. Francis Bay is not very long. I asked Elmore if he had any suggestions of where to stop along the way.  His suggestions: Eersterivier, a small coastal town, and then up to Kareedouw, a farming town which would then hook up with Route 62 that heads down to St. Francis Bay.

With that in mind, we set our course for Eersterivier.  All was good until we made the turn down the dirt road that lead to this little hideaway.  Talk about being off the beaten path!  After about a half hour of dust and bumps, we managed our way down to the coastline.  Pretty, yes, but by now we were really spoiled.  There was no town to speak of and since this is Sunday, everything we saw was locked up tight.  Took some parting shots as we drove out of "town" and back to the main road.

When we got Oude Bosch, we asked the nice information kid wearing an Amsterdam t-shirt covered with marijuana leaves, if the road to Kareedouw was paved.  Would it be worthwhile taking route 62 instead of N2, which is the major highway.  Answer:  The road is paved, not much to see in Kareedouw, and the ride along 62 is much nicer than N2.  Well that settled it.  Thanked Mr. Amsterdam, told him I really like his shirt, and we were off to Kareedouw.

Headed out on a very nicely paved road. We figured we stop for coffee if we could find a place open - when we came upon Norma Jean's Restaurant! NO SIR!! What is up with the US nostalgia in this country??  This place was crawling with bikers (motorcycle types) all having a good old time out for the their Sunday morning ride.  The decor was mainly Marilyn with some Elvis thrown in for good measure.  Grabbed a seat out in the garden and were quickly joined by two couples who came out here from Port Elizabeth on their bikes for breakfast.  I asked about this nostalgia thing and they said that South Africa is trying to turn Route 62 into their own Route 66.  They said there were a few more of these along the route to Cape Town.  Really mind blowing.  I can't think of any other country whose "eras" are emulated so much.  Maybe the British Beatles time but that's all I can come up with. Finished our cappuccino, said goodbye to the nice folks and got back on the road.

Well, they were all right.  Route 62 is a beautiful ride, even if you have to be in a car.  We put on
some tunes and I did my best to snap some photos as Geoff eased on down the road.  Arrived at our B&B, Brisan on the Canal, early but Sandy, the owner, was very happy to let us into our room - which is quite lovely.  We are right on the canal with a nice patio.  Fixed up a pbj for lunch and got our bearings. 

Looking over the map Sandy gave us, we saw the lighthouse.  Destination one!  She also mentioned that the beaches down along Cape St. Francis are worth a visit.  We packed for the beach - Sandy gave us some mats to take and away we went.  A 10 minute ride down to the lighthouse.  No climbs, just pretty views.  We took our time taking in the feel of the place.  As it turns out, this is the most southeastern point of Africa.  That makes a trifecta for us: southern most, southwestern most, and southeaster most - all in one trip! 

Got out and walked around. Watched the fishermen for a while. One guy hauled in a small fish - probably use it for bait. From the lighthouse, we rode down to the closest beach.  Got out and watched the action for a bit.  There were a couple of guys trying to get a tandem kayak in the surf. They managed to do it too.  Decided to grab a spot on the sand and get wet.  Made camp and jumped in the ocean.  It was breezy but pleasantly so.  The water was refreshing and the waves were just enough.  Another pretty empty beach.  This one even had life guards - a bunch of young kids.  We got comfortable on the sand and read for a while.

A guy down the beach started pumping up this thing that I initially thought was some sort of wind blocker or beach shelter.  Turns out it was a kite for kite surfing. I've never seen this in action before. I've just seen these guys already out in the water.  So this guy blows up the kite's frame, gets some air into, straightens out all the leads attached, picks up a small surfboard, all while throwing his dog a stick (basically to keep him out of the way).  As the kite fills with air, he takes off on foot with it down the beach and eventually launches into the water with the board.  It was quite a production.
And the poor dog, was thoroughly exhausted by the whole affair running back and forth after him.  Eventually giving up and waiting by the pump -- he has to come back for the pump, doesn't he?  Boy, this guy was flying back and forth with the waves.  Very impressive.  We watched until he finally stopped and we called it a day.  Back to the car.

This town is very strange.  The architecture is all the same - whitewashed Dutch style homes on a canal system. There is a big golf course here designed by Jack Nicklaus.  It is deadly quiet.  I have to admit, that is what I asked for -- I was beginning to regret it, but I always feel better with a little beach in my life. After a shower, we went into the village for dinner.  After we ate, we took our chances and went to the ATM that was at a bank branch and tried our card.  We both held our breath until we finally saw the Rand come out of the machine. Phew!!

Not sure if anyone else is staying here. Guess we'll find out at breakfast.  Have no idea what to do tomorrow.  We'll see what turns up.

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Next time.... Clueless