9 May UPDATED Beaufort West (Karoo Nat Park) to Prince Albert

I am here, and I am too tired to write tonight. Today would rate as the hardest day yet, due to very strong wind. I will write more tomorrow, but now you know I am safe. Will be in Prince Albert for 2 days, so backside can have a rest tomorrow!
Cheers

Here follows the news - I am now all there again!:

As mentioned in the first paragraph, yesterday must rate as one of the hardest days of this trip. It was not the furthest, highest, coldest or even windiest, it was just very long, because of a head wind for the last 55km. As a matter of fact, I was out on the trail for 9h25, of which 8h55 were spent in the saddle. I had over 1000 metres of vertical climb and as mentioned above, a very strong head wind for the last 55km. This means that you have to sit and pedal non-stop, unless you want to come to a dead stop. It also means blisters on your bum! And I am doing this for fun?

I left Beaufort West at 8:15. (Photo of view back towards Karoo National Park in northerly direction) It was quite cool and the wind was very strong. I again, had a short stretch to cycle on the N1, fighting the wind and having to contend with big trucks. Scary stuff! Once I turned south on the N12 (road going to Oudtshoorn via Meiringspoort), I was flying. The wind was more or less from behind and I was doing an average speed of 25km/h +, even though I had some climbing to do. I stopped for a quick bite to eat at the 50km mark, but after that things started getting more difficult. The wind was blowing at 50 - 60km/h, and probably gusting up to 80km/h (I kid you not!). At times the wind was from the side, which meant that I was being pushed all over the road. It is just by God's grace that I did not end up under the wheels of a big truck.

By the time I turned off the tar road and headed west to Prince Albert, my average speed had dropped to 21km/h. This was where the fun and games began. I still had 55km to go, straight into the wind. My average speed for this last leg of the trip was only 11.1km/h! At times I was doing only 5.5km/h. BUT, I made it. Nerina was waiting for me just as you enter town, to show me where we were staying. It was 17:45, cold, windy and very grey! What a long day. I did however see a Kori Bustard while on the bike. This is the world's largest flying bird, weighing up to 19kg and they are under serious threat and one usually only sees them in our National Parks - a big bonus for me.

I opted for a self-catering cottage, while Thys and Nerina pitched their tent.

We spent today exploring Prince Albert and had a fantastic, late breakfast at the hotel. Most of the old homes are in good condition or beautifully restored. The gardens are neat and the Bougainvilleas love this climate - all colours to be seen. There are water canals that run through town, and the residents have "irrigation rights" (lei beurte) and may channel the water to their gardens on particular days/times.

I include a photo here, taken at Bougain Villa Guest House. The owner, a retired farmer, is keeping himself busy, training his Bougainvilleas.

At 16:00 we visited the local dairy to buy some cheese. After this, we popped in to see Ailsa and Andrew Tudhope, friends of mine from when I still lived in Cape Town. They have lived here for 12 years and have seen the changes taking place in Prince Albert. It happens so often that the sleepiness of an old town appeals to people from the city, but once they move in, the character of a place gradually starts changing. One can even see that some of the newer houses have different architectural styles than the original homes. I suppose this is what we call progress?!

Ailsa and I joked about the number of grey hairs that we have acquired since we last saw each other but she takes the prize as she recently had to play the role of the 90 year old Miss Sophy (Dinner for One) in a fund raising concert. I must admit though, that she used baby powder on her hair! A play I would have loved to have seen. After coffee and scones, we returned to our campsite.

I have convinced T and N that we should stay another day, as the weather forecast for Wednesday is more favourable than for tomorrow. We are a day ahead of schedule anyway and my backside can do with another day off the bike. I might have to move back to my tent tomorrow evening though, as there seems be a booking for my cottage. We will get confirmation tomorrow morning, but it seems that I will tackle the Swartberg Pass on Wednesday only and in sunny weather.

So, it is cheers for now, until a day or two!