And here we are, in Loxton. I had a cold 110km ride today and had a bit of a tricky wind part of the way.
We stopped over for 'n toasted sandwich in Carnarvon, at the hotel. They have a pub with a very impressive collection of beer cans from all over the world - I have included a picture.
While we were there my phone rang and I had a lovely surprise - a call from my brother Hansie, all the way from New Zealand. Hansie, thanks, it was so lekker to hear from you and thank you so much for all your encouragement and support. It means more to me than you will ever know!
To get back to the start: I didn't give you much info about our stay on the farm. I know the Bernards from my years as a kid in King William's Town. They lived 4 houses from us and their oldest son was in class with me. Their daughter, Jean, was a year after me and we spent many an evening, sitting on the pavement, somewhere between our homes chatting away. Jean visited us a few times in Upington while we camped there a few days ago. It was great to catch up again.
The Bernards farm with sheep and currently have about 1800 sheep. They lost many animals recently due to "Slenkdal Koors". They started shearing the sheep on Monday and use contractor teams from the region. Back breaking work. It was interesting to watch the whole process from shearing, sorting and baling the wool. See photo's. "Tannie" (Aunty) Mima, was a good friend of my mother's and we had a few good laughs and cries about the past. It was good to be there and we were spoiled rotten.
We are staying in a little guest house in Loxton tonight and leave for Beaufort West tomorrow. We will then spend a few days in the Karoo National Park. I have been warned (again!) that the road from here is in a bad state, but have decided to forge ahead anyway. The alternative would have been a detour of more than a 100km! Part of the road is tarred, but the bigger part is gravel. There is a fair amount of climbing involved, but there is a long down-hill pass in the last stretch.
The weather seems to be turning and winter is approaching fast. It has cooled down a lot and more cold is forecast. We will more than likely have a cold stay in the Karoo National Park and I am thinking that it might be worth my while to buy a hot water bottle tomorrow!
So cheers for now, will hopefully have signal in the park.
We stopped over for 'n toasted sandwich in Carnarvon, at the hotel. They have a pub with a very impressive collection of beer cans from all over the world - I have included a picture.
While we were there my phone rang and I had a lovely surprise - a call from my brother Hansie, all the way from New Zealand. Hansie, thanks, it was so lekker to hear from you and thank you so much for all your encouragement and support. It means more to me than you will ever know!
To get back to the start: I didn't give you much info about our stay on the farm. I know the Bernards from my years as a kid in King William's Town. They lived 4 houses from us and their oldest son was in class with me. Their daughter, Jean, was a year after me and we spent many an evening, sitting on the pavement, somewhere between our homes chatting away. Jean visited us a few times in Upington while we camped there a few days ago. It was great to catch up again.
The Bernards farm with sheep and currently have about 1800 sheep. They lost many animals recently due to "Slenkdal Koors". They started shearing the sheep on Monday and use contractor teams from the region. Back breaking work. It was interesting to watch the whole process from shearing, sorting and baling the wool. See photo's. "Tannie" (Aunty) Mima, was a good friend of my mother's and we had a few good laughs and cries about the past. It was good to be there and we were spoiled rotten.We are staying in a little guest house in Loxton tonight and leave for Beaufort West tomorrow. We will then spend a few days in the Karoo National Park. I have been warned (again!) that the road from here is in a bad state, but have decided to forge ahead anyway. The alternative would have been a detour of more than a 100km! Part of the road is tarred, but the bigger part is gravel. There is a fair amount of climbing involved, but there is a long down-hill pass in the last stretch.
The weather seems to be turning and winter is approaching fast. It has cooled down a lot and more cold is forecast. We will more than likely have a cold stay in the Karoo National Park and I am thinking that it might be worth my while to buy a hot water bottle tomorrow!
So cheers for now, will hopefully have signal in the park.
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