Day 341: Knysna, SA – 13/12/10

I have found a jewellers that can set the pearls Mike bought me in Fakarava and spend quite some time drawing out exactly how I want the setting to look, with the help of the photo of some beautiful earrings I saw in Sydney).  Armed with this, I go to the jewellers and discuss price, always a thorny subject.  The nice young lady has given me three quotes so far, but today we agree on a price we are both happy with and I give them the go-ahead and hand over my pearls.

It’s an exciting day for Mike - he continues to work on our tax returns.  However, while he is doing this he is able to watch TV and catches up on a whole load of Top Gear.

He is running out of people to contact regarding the broken freezer.  The only refrigeration people that he has been able to find in Knysna don’t want to come out to the boat even though she is in a marina, and all the boat builders here buy their units in and just fit them.  I don’t want to wait until Hout Bay because I want to do the provisioning here.  It will be so much easier.

Taking a break, Mike goes to the people who are making the cover for the dinghy and they give him some off cuts of blue sail material so that we can make a temporary fix for the chafing on the genoas.

For Ann and Terry it’s a frustrating day.  Apparently workmen are the same the world over.  They are having a whole load of work done on the house and garden and just like in the, UK they never turn up when they say they will.

In the late afternoon I speak to Eline and Jutta from Chessie.  Eline was just checking in for her flight from Cape Town to Perth although she will be back on Christmas Eve.  They are all coming to Knysna for Christmas and have checked into the beautiful hotel at Simola, Terry’s golf club, for a few days.  Instead of flying back to Munich for 10 days, Jutta and Jochem are now staying in Hout Bay in an attempt to get the rudder repaired on Chessie.  This broke when they were on their way to Hout Bay and in 80 knots of wind they had to be towed into the marina by a rescue boat, along with Brown Eyed Girl who also ran into difficulties.  I’m glad we missed that one although I am now even more nervous about what this last bit of the Indian Ocean has in store for us when we leave Knysna after Christmas.

Day 340: Knysna, SA – 12/12/10

It’s a nice hot day so Ann and I spend some time lying on the deck before the heat builds up too much for me and I go down to the boat to make hummus.  Yes, this may sound weird but Ann doesn’t have a blender and the one on Jeannius is not the right voltage to use at the house.  I gather up a few more things to bring back while I am there.

Mike starts putting together the stuff that the accountant needs for our tax returns.  He loves this job every year (not), and being away from all the paperwork makes it ten times harder.  At least when he had to do it last year, he was back in the UK with access to all the necessary information.

Terry goes off to practise his golf swing but comes back a while later having had a bad afternoon which culminated in the deliberate breaking of one of his golf clubs across his leg in a fit of frustration.  Apparently, his golfing prowess is taking a backwards turn.  Once he’s calmed down a little, he goes back with Mike in tow to video his swing and work out what he is doing wrong.  Mike proves to be a valuable asset and gives him a few tips, earning him the new position of life golf coach.

Unfortunately, just being there on the beautiful course at Simola reminds Mike just how much he misses golf.  He tries to hold a club but with his arthritic fingers, he just can’t grip it properly, and even trying hurts.

In the early evening, Ann and I have a mad moment.  Terry bought some new shorts this morning and I see them lying on the bed.  I joke and slip them on, managing to get both my legs in the same leg hole.  Giggling, I encourage Ann to stick her legs in the other side, and we shuffle up the hall, by this time nearly crying with laughter, still both modelling his new apparel.  Poor Terry.

Photo:  Ann and I having a mad moment in Terry’s shorts

Day 339: Knysna, SA – 11/12/10

It’s that day again – the Farmers’ Market in Sedgefield – and Ann is determined to get there early although I drag my heels a bit, consequently arriving a bit later than we should and have a bit of trouble finding a parking space.  By the time we arrive, although it’s not quite 9 am, it’s really hot already.

The market is full of delectable, edible goods.  Well they look delectable anyway, and we buy lots of things we shouldn’t just because they take our fancy.

We eat Indian food for breakfast – mine is a roti stuffed with curry (yummy ) and a custard tart (not very yummy at all).  Mike is looking for stilton cheese and visits the cheese stalls only to find that they don’t make a version of stilton here at all and don’t import it.  How strange.  They do more obscure things like Shropshire blue.

Before heading back to Knysna, we take a little detour to the beach at Wildernis, 10 kilometres on from the market.  It’s a lovely beach, another one where the beach shelves so gently that the waves break continually from a long way out and just keep coming.

Ann and I pose for photos (she is forced to) and we sit for a while, admiring the views.

Photo:  Big Sis posing under duress

Photo:  Me, just posing

Photos:  Admiring the view from the bench.  All we need now is the blanket and the bath chairs!

Photos:  The beach at Wildernis

The rest of the day is spent lolling around and watching the clouds roll in.  Ann sleeps.  Terry works.  Mike would have been revelling in being able to watch live football on the TV apart from the fact he is watching Liverpool and they are up to their recent standard and lose.  I catch up on some blog.  Exciting stuff.

Day 338: Knysna, SA – 10/12/10

When we wake up I switch on Mike’s mobile to see if there is a text message from Victoria to say that she was on her way from Dubai to Birmingham but instead get one sent last night from her boyfriend, Tom, with the news that our pet chinchilla, Basil, was very ill and not expected to last the night.

The news saddens us, not just because we have had Basil so long (we work out that he is nearly 15) but also that Victoria is going to have to deal with this when she arrives home.  Poor Basil.  Poor Victoria.  We know how upset she is going to be.

We go to the boat with Ann and get some more clothes and other bits and pieces that we need then do a supermarket run.  We also take a look at the much improved Fruit and Veg City and get very excited about the meat section.  If we could just get our freezer working, I could stock up really well here.

In the late afternoon we manage to talk to Victoria.  She has just returned from the vet having had to have Basil put to sleep and is terribly upset.  I feel bad that I’m not there with her.

Day 337: Hermanus to Knysna via Cape Town, SA – 09/12/10

As it’s Victoria’s last day she gets to decide whether to stay in Hermanus or go into Cape Town before going to the airport.  She opts for Cape Town and after a relatively hearty breakfast we head out on the coast road.  It’s over 70 miles of wiggly waggly roads and could take some time.

It’s a lovely day but as we drive, it turns very hazy, almost like a sea mist is coming in.  We keep a sharp look out for whales as we go although we don’t expect to see any as they are normally here in numbers from June to November so we are a bit late for most species.

Photos:  Lots of mist and haze but no whales

We arrive in Cape Town around 1 pm and just miss a parking spot in our usual place although a kind parking attendant lifts the barrier and lets us part in the secure parking area belonging to the Grace Hotel at the V & A Waterfront.  We wander along the dock and knock on Wild Tigris to see if anyone is home and disturb Sean, all on his own while Sophia is back in Sweden. 

We have our last meal together sitting outside the Alfred Hotel, looking at Table Mountain in the distance, almost obscured in the haze, so different from the last time we were here.

Photo:  Mike, me and Victoria enjoying our last lunch together for a while

While Mike goes back to the car, Victoria and I make a mad dash to Woolworths, the SA equivalent to Marks and Spencer, to buy some more biltong for her to take back home.  We all love it.  On our way through the wonderful Alfred Mall, I am glad I am on a tight time schedule as I could do amazing damage with my credit card if I had more time!!  There are some wonderful shops.

Biltong in her possession, we drive out to the airport and take Victoria into the terminal.  She’s fine until she seems me crying then she starts and together we turn into two little red-eyed, drippy-nosed creatures.  I know I’ll see her in a few months time, but I will never get used to saying goodbye.

We watch her go through security and wave until she disappears from view then it’s back to the car and off of the N2 again to do the 480 odd kilometres back to Knysna.

As we go through the outskirts of Cape Town and through the townships, the air is strange and there is a slight smell of burning although we can see no sign of anything.  The haze is thick for a while, gradually thinning out as we leave ‘civilization’ behind.  It’s a long, long drive.  I’m miserable and Mike has a headache.  We stop for ice cream and a Red Bull for Mike, which eventually clears the headache up and gives him the burst of energy he needs for the journey.  There are some long sections of road works which hold us up adding time to an already long journey.

About two thirds of the way back, clouds start to form and the wind picks up.  As the light starts to fade, the colours across the landscape are beautiful.

Photo:  Somewhere along the N2

By the time we reach Knysna, it is about 9 pm and the journey has taken almost 6 hours, quite a bit longer than when we went to collect her. 

Ann and Terry are out visiting friends when we get in, and not long after I have unpacked and made a cup of tea, we are both tucked up in bed, although I get up when they come in and sit and chat for a while.

I miss Victoria already.

Day 336: Knysna to Hermanus, SA – 08/12/10

We get up relatively early but leave later than we should – Mike takes pity on Victoria and I dithering around and doesn’t nag therefore we don’t shift quickly.

It’s over 200 miles to Hermanus but the roads and traffic are kind to us.  We stop for petrol and ice cream on the way at a funny little petrol station cum restaurant cum children’s farm/zoo.  I had noticed that there were chickens running all around the place but on closer inspection, 20 feet away from the pumps are pens holding swans, goats, geese, rabbits and pigs, as well as an aviary.  It’s hard to imagine what the reasoning behind this little venture actually is, but it gives us something to look at while we eat our ice creams.

Turning off the main road, we have a lovely drive through vineyards at we south and arrive at Hermanus around 1 pm, too early to check into our hotel so we go straight to the old harbour to find the restaurant that Ann and Terry recommended so highly.

We park up, having had to hand over R5 to get into the harbour complex (it’s just an old harbour too, nothing smart or complex) and walk around checking it out in case we need to come into here if the weather turns grim on our way round to Cape Town later this month.  For the first time, I am tapped for cash by a couple of small children, or at least I think this is what they are asking me for as I can’t understand either of them.

Photo:  The old harbour at Hermanus

We find the restaurant but from a distance it looks ominously quiet.  When we get to the door we find a note - ‘closed for staff party’ on the door.  Of all the days!  Going back to the car we spot a small bar/restaurant at the dockside and decide to eat there but they have a private function going on which turns out to be the Christmas party for the staff who work at the other restaurant.  Of all the bloody luck!!!

We have no idea where to go but end up back in the centre of town, eventually settling on a seafood restaurant, The Fisherman’s Cottage, where, instead of having a snack, we are tempted by the sight of the people on the next table having huge mounds of mussels and all three of us order the same.

Now, we all love mussels (obviously), but neither Mike nor Victoria like celery and Victoria doesn’t like fresh coriander, so naturally the mussels come cooked in white wine and, you guessed it, mounds of celery and fresh coriander.  I love both so eat the mussels, slurping down all the cooking liquid as well while the two of them skirt around every mussel picking off the green stuff.

This is followed by wonderful malva pudding for Victoria and I and whiskey steamed pudding for Mike, just what we all need on a hot summer’s day.

Stuffed, we go back to the hotel to check in.  It’s a bit rough around the edges but good enough, and has good views of the sea just over the road.  Every room is furnished in a different style and there is lots of African art around, some of it really nice and all of it interesting and both our rooms have huge balconies.

Photo:  View from our balcony

Both Mike and Victoria want a little nap so we all go down to bed for a while.  I lie and wriggle - I want to get onto that beach – and after an hour I manage to convince them to go for a walk.

We cross the road and walk down a leafy lane.  Looking around, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Dorset with all the thatched roof properties around, and nasturtiums growing wild in the grass although the huge granite hills in the background give the game away a bit.

Photo:  Dorset in South Africa

We walk through the dunes towards the beach but we get to the end we find that there is a small, marshy lagoon between us and the beach, so we stop to watch some guys kite surfing, and very good some of them are too, sometimes letting the wind take them 20 feet or more up into the air.

Photo:  The marsh behind the lagoon behind the beach

We walk back up the lane and along the road until we guess that we are past the lagoon and walk down the next turning.  Success.  Straight onto the beach.  Unfortunately the wind has picked up so much that the sand whips around like mad, sandblasting our legs.  Mike moans like crazy, not understanding that he is getting a free exfoliating treatment, so once I have done my hunting for treasure bit (shells usually, but there are none of interest here) we start back.

Photo:  Getting blasted

Photo:  An abandoned beach

Photo:  Shifting sands

I stand for a while watching the sand dunes change shape before my eyes in the strong wind, then we wander back to the hotel where Victoria uses the free wifi in the failing light on our balcony.

Photo:  Victoria wrapped up against the strong winds

Photo:  Well I’ve missed the sunsets out at sea!

None of us is really hungry, having eaten quite late, but as it’s Victoria’s last night, we don’t want to stay in so we drive into the centre of Hermanus but it’s like a ghost town and hardly any restaurants are open.  Hermanus really is a holiday destination and loads of the properties are rentals and not yet occupied as the season starts next week when the schools have broken up.  After driving around the whole place, we settle on a tapas bar but I find the food bland and disappointing and there is no atmosphere in the place at all.  What a pity.  I wish we had gone back to the place we had gone for lunch and just had the wonderful malva again – bugger that diet!  It can wait.

Day 335: Knysna, SA – 07/12/10

We have a really lazy day today.  Terry goes out early and comes back to find Mike and I both lying on the bed using our computers. 

Photo:  I’m sure there’s more interesting things we could be doing!

The weather is glorious and allows us to sunbathe on the deck, Ann and I topless, and Victoria far more decorously.  However, there are a succession of workmen coming to do things such as the guttering and some external woodwork, so every time we hear the gates open at the front, we hastily cover up again.

I take the opportunity of catching up with some blog – I have got horrendously behind and have no real excuse.

In the evening, we go out to Firefly, the lovely restaurant we ate at when we first arrived in Knysna.  While everyone else drinks cocktails, I stick to white wine.  Such a good girl.  Unusual, you might say!!

Photo:  Mike and Victoria

Photo:  Terry reminds Ann that he is her burning desire not her cocktail

We have a little trouble understanding the heavily accented waitress who helpfully describes all the specials but we end up ordering from the menu as we are none the wiser after her explanations.

Photo:  Me and Victoria

Photo:  Mike’s ‘hot chocolate’ dessert turns out to be a drink rather than a pudding

We have a lovely meal only marred by the realisation that tonight I have to help Victoria pack.  We are off to Hermanus tomorrow then she will be flying back to the UK from Cape Town on Thursday.