Last week we took a 4-day/3-night road trip to Prince Albert.  Normally we just zip over for the day and back in the late afternoon (see this earlier postfrom 2014), but this time we decided to stick around awhile...

So, all checked in and bags unpacked, it was time for a wander up and down the main drag, ducking in and out of the various little shops and galleries.  For dinner, went to the Gallery Cafe (we went there 2 out of 3 nights).  Besides the art gallery, they've got a restaurant with outdoor seating on the upper veranda - white table cloths, little hurricane lights and wine glasses and a spectacular view of the Klein Karoo and Swartberg Mountains makes for a wonderful ambiance, topped off by good food and a convivial host.

It was a birthday celebration (not mine), and we had a full-day cooking lesson booked at African Relish- the theme: vegetarian.  hmm, and here I thought the only vegetable on a South African braai was the chicken - apparently not!  Incidentally, if this piques your interest, you might find a full day pretty long (we did). Especially in the heat (the mercury hit 49 degrees).  Instead, I'd recommend their half-day option.

We were welcomed by African Relish's new chef, Jaco Fourie.  Having just started on December 1st, he must have been run off his feet with the holiday season, and here he was running a class - no rest for a chef it seems!  The kitchen is quite spectacular - check out the slideshow on the right.

I think our favourite part of the class were the outings, which I think was a really inspired start - first we went out to O is for Olive for a quick olive oil and olive tasting (including tapenades and relishes).

Then it was out to see Basil and pick some tomatoes from a local farmer's garden (no, I'm not being funny, that's his name).  The heat made for some pretty scrawny looking plants, but there was no shortage of tomatoes to be picked.  We even picked up a pomegranate or two, straight off the tree.

From there it was out to see the doctor.  What?  Yup, you heard right, we were off to see Dr. Reinders who has a spectacular garden which I'm guessing covered about 1 hectare.  He took us around, offering even more tomatoes, a variety of eggplant (including Cambodian and Assyrian, the latter being *very* bitter and tobacco-ey, by the way!), and other assorted veggies - oh, and he threw in a yard-long bean at the last minute.  Then you go to the reception desk in his surgery where the bounty is weighed (African Relish picked up the tab for this, of course).  I thought it was pretty cool - imagine going to the doctor and him "prescribing" a walk around his garden in the sunshine for a bit of vitamin D and maybe some cruciferous veggies for your iron deficiency!  That was probably the highlight of the day for us.

Then back to the kitchen at African Relish to figure out what to do with all our bounty of veggies.

Lunch done, we get a 1.5 hour break to refresh ourselves.  It was pretty hot.  So, we wandered down to the Lazy Lizard for a quick pick-me up, then back to Dennehof for a catnap and a dip in the pool.  

Times up, so back to African Relish we head - for dinner we'd make an Italian-style tomato sauce which we'd combine with grilled eggplant (aubergines to you) for a parmigiana-inspired dish, together with a butter nut and blue cheese risotto.  Dessert in the desert:  stewed plums with ice cream.

And finally, it's time for dinner with stewed plums for dessert - bon appetit!

Good deed done for the day, we pay a visit to the Fransie Pienaar Museum - probably one of the better local museums I've experienced.  Museums aren't normally my thing - usually within minutes my legs feel like lead, I start to feel light-headed and find it difficult to breathe (I experience a very similar condition in shopping malls).  In fact, we usually have a pact for our European road trips:  no churches or museums, but we made an exception in this case and I have to admit this one was not bad at all.  

The affable greeter at the Museum gave us a quick introduction to the place, then left us alone to discover the rest.  But he planted an idea in our heads:  he said the waterfall at Meiringspoort (see the great MountainPassesSouthAfrica website for photos of the pass and an overview as well as these TripAdvisor Reviews) was worth a visit.  Bingo!  The deal was sealed:  that's what we'd do in the afternoon.  But first, over to see Gay's Guernsey Dairy (see: TripAdvisor Reviews) to check out their cheeses (you can do a tasting at no charge - we bought a mozzarella and a parmesan-styled cheese).

The next morning we got up, had another delicious breakfast - it was busy, there was a large group of friendly Danish bikers of the motorcycle variety who had made this their first stop on a Cape Town to Durban trip (they'd ship their bikes back via container.  But within minutes we had our coffee and freshly-squeezed orange juice - and thereafter our "stack" and meringue omelette (delicious!).  

We had a good chat with Ria before leaving - guess what?  She suggested (in fact, strongly suggested) that for our next road trip we might like to check out Karoo Cuisine in Murraysburg - Ria said that after spending time with host Susanna and Chef Erika she always comes back inspired with new ideas.  Judging by the quality of the food that comes out of Ria's kitchen at Dennehof (they often also serve dinners, but sadly not while we were there...), that's definitely a vote of confidence.   hmm, that just may be a thought.... stay tuned!

But first we have to get home - so it's over the Swartberg Pass where the watermelon pink petals of the proteas are blooming as we approach the summit.  Incidentally, with little recent rain, the gravel road, which can be rough at times, was in very good condition.  Then it's over the Robinson Pass where we see a few more protea (though not nearly as many) and home via Hartenbos and Little Brak.  Figure 8 done and dusted!

If you're planning a visit to Prince Albert be sure to check out their website or download their free app for Android or iOS for what's to see and do.

Did I mention I love a good road trip?  Our food-inspired road trips started well before our love affair with the Garden Route (or risotto, for that matter).  Back in the last 1980's when we lived on Canada's west coast, we used to drive the 510 km's to Portland, Oregon just to visit the nearest location of our favourite pizza chain, California Pizza Kitchen (aka CPK).  Six hours of salivating on the drive down, we could barely get the words out to place our order, but somehow we managed.  Then, after gobbling up our gourmet pizzas, we'd wait a few minutes for our eyeballs to roll back to the fronts of our heads, pay the bill and clamber back into the car for the return drive home - another 510 km's.

So, whether it was a flash of inspiration or nostalgia, when the missus pulled our our faded CPK cookbooks this afternoon, it was a foregone conclusion:  I'd be braaiing pizzas tonight.

We cheated a bit this time - we didn't make our own pizza dough like we have with previous patio pizzas.  Instead, we bought a bag of bread dough (which does tend to rise a bit more, BTW).  But all the slicing and dicing of various toppings is time-consuming, so this was a handy shortcut.

Tonight we had two different types:  prosciutto with figs and rocket; and buffalo wings chicken (using chicken breast, not wings, of course) with blue cheese.  Both delectable!

So, how do you do it?  Well, first you roll out your dough - thin is good (though rather wobbly when using bread dough...).  It helps if you stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to help firm it up while you're working on organizing your toppings.

So I spent much of yesterday afternoon power washing the exterior of the house to get rid of bat scat aka guano.  You don't really want it sitting on your paint job, otherwise it'll end up discolouring.  

It's clear these furry little guys (and gals) are really into a diet of fruit.  Unfortunately, they seem to love to strafe the west side of our house (with a few errant bombings on other walls).  I've seen it before - but that was on *other* people's walls, not mine.  I'm not so smug now.

Okay, nearly wore out the pressure washer, but job done.  Just in time for dinner (steaks and blue-cheese filled mushrooms on the braai, together with cherry tomatoes with garlic, rosemary and balsamic vinegar roasted in the oven).

This afternoon, working in the garden, I look up.  That was a mistake - I should have just kept my head down and kept weeding.  "What?!?!"  All my good work yesterday, spraying to the top of our 2nd floor windows no less, has been completely undone.  Yes, that's right, Dr. Seuss fans, the scat came back the very next day....

Guess I'll just have to wait until the tree fruit is all gone - grrr!

It was a beautifully calm day - perfect for heading out for a beach walk towards Hersham and up the long flight of stairs to see if we could spot any dolphins.

Each year we have a bit of a holiday tradition with a couple of other fun-loving Islanders:  a bottle (or 2 or 3 or ...) of champagne and a raw oyster fest!  It's a shame to have to wait a year between these events (okay, I admit it, sometimes I resort to some secret shucking in the intervening months...) - we always have a lot of laughs, and well, yes, a lot of oysters (and champagne - did I mention the champagne?).

My usual mission is to secure the oysters.  David's is to pop the champagne corks into the garden (he can hit a yucca at 15 meters even on a windy day).  And the e-mails start to fly back and forth a month or two in advance.  "We'll be there on such and such date - you're getting the oysters ready, right?  Don't forget the champagne!"  The anticipation builds...

They are located near the Bolton Shoe Factory and the Great Brak Hardware Store, just before the Amy Searle bridge in the village.  Make your way through the parking lot and you'll find them situated on the river bank on your right.

​Enjoy!

What can I say, I love a good road trip.  So, fuelled by a mug of coffee, it was time to go - there's no time for breakfast, we'll get it along the way.  Maybe somewhere in Wilderness... maybe Tottie's Farm Kitchen in Rheenendal, who knows, just grab your sunglasses and let's go!

So, down the N2 we head.  Turns out Tottie's is only open noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays, so we decide to try Beejuice at the old train station stop in Wilderness (on the right-hand side of the N2 about 300-400 meters before you reach the main entry to Wilderness).  The food was very good - and the coffee was great.

Fed and coffee'd up, time to carry on down the N2.  Next stop Old Nick Village just past Plettenberg Bay for a look at the raw wood furniture, ceramics, soaps and textiles, with a few old bits of machinery thrown in, presumably to keep us guys amused.  Me, I cover the whole hectare (?) in about 5 minutes and then I'm happy to have a bench - you go do your soap snooping and your picture perusing, take as long as you like, I'll be happy to wait here....

Old Nick done and dusted, we head further up the road to the Crags, heading up Monkeyland Road to pop in at The Mohair Mill and associated little shops (and tiny nursery).  Then back we come, heading down to Keurboomstrand (with Enrico's at the very end) for a little beach walk on a blustery day.

Then back in the vehicle for the push home - turns out the N2 is being repaved for a good few kilometers somewhere between the Garden Route Mall and Pacaltsdorp.  We peel off, taking the Glentana exit, ever hopeful we'll see dolphins.  I saw several the other day at precisely high tide just before Hersham.  Today, though it was rather choppy was no different - another few dolphins just off Peinaarstrand.

Inspired, we after getting home we decide we should take a beach walk.  We wade through the maze of the meandering river heading to the mouth and out along the beach to the end of Southern Cross.

No dolphins, but a nice stroll along the deserted beach and back around The Island just in time to get the braai going for dinner.  Ahhhh.... all in all a pretty successful day! ​

Well, it's nice to have our sunshine back after a few days of drizzle and grey skies (and yesterday's blustery wind).  From the moment the first rays of the rising sun streamed into the bedroom early this morning, I knew it was going to be good one.  All right, time to put irksome injuries aside (it's been a week of X-Rays and MRI's - don't ask!), quit moping around and get out there.

Aussie Eybers and the rest of his intrepid Great Brak Birding Group provided the perfect excuse for me to, well, stretch my wings and try something new.  Today's mission:  heading over to the Mossel Bay Wastewater Reclamation Plant opposite Hartenbos where they would contribute to South Africa's bi-annual Coordinated Waterbird Count.

I am not much of a birder - oh sure, I know the important ones like "Big Bird", "Tweety", "Woody Woodpecker" and "Huey, Dewey and Louie" (though I admit I can't tell who is who...), and even exotic ones like "Emu", but that's really about it.  

So I really didn't have any idea what to expect with this "Coordinated Waterbirds" business.  Flamingos, maybe?  They've got to be pretty coordinated given they stand around on one leg all day, right?

Turns out it there weren't any flamingos, but we did see quite a few other birds - a lot of Egyptian geese (including goslings), yellow-billed ducks, and various sized/shaped gull-like creatures (I told you I wasn't much of a birder - apparently I also don't have much of a memory for their names, either...).  Oh, and we saw the omni-present wagtails, maybe a weaver or two (I saw a fresh nest - the grass was still green), a couple of varieties of herons, a darter (which I mistook for a cormorant), 3-ringed plovers, white egrets, thick-kneed dikops, coots - I even got a pat on the back for identifying a moor hen (surprising even myself with that one).  Overhead there was an African Fish Eagle with its tell-tale white head, as well as some sort of buzzard.  

​Did I manage to take any photos of the birds?  No, of course not.  But I did get some photos of the birders!  Thanks for the outing, Aussie!

Incidentally, if you are more serious about your birds than I am, and want to find out more about birds and birding around The Island, then you'll find more in the Birdwatching section of this website, including a list of birds that have been spotted here.

I didn't have time to post this earlier, but we were running low on coffee grounds, so it was time to head out to Mossel Bay's, Blue Shed Coffee Roastery and then try out a new place for brunch: The Merchant.  A kilo sack of coffee in hand, it was back to 78C Bland Street to "The Merchant" (it's immediately adjacent to the old sandstone Searle Building).  It's set well back from the street, so it's easy to miss (I did) - watch for it.

After a morning working on the golf game at the driving range, it seemed like taking the kayaks out for a paddle seemed like a good idea - their first for the season and about time!  So, why not head into the village?  And then once there, I decided a paddle out past the Pine Creek Caravan Park to the weir was just too good a thing to pass up.

Then, on the way back, a paddle around The Island (following the winding river channel) was simply one more irresistible temptation. :)

With Mossel Bay's high tide at 15:59, heading out at just after 16:00 would mean no need to drag the kayak across the sand, and as an added bonus, it would give me a bit of help on the way back - after all, the wind picks up in the afternoons, and yesterday was no exception.  In fact, there was a good chop on a couple of small sections of the river - close to 12" under the R102 bridge and the first 100 meters after that on the way back.  But by heading out at just around the turn of the tide, you get a bit of help against the wind on the way back - the slight pull of the outgoing tide - plus, the Department of Water Affairs was letting out a slow release of water from the upstream Wolwedans Dam (you can tell whenever water is being released or is overflowing the dam - the river turns a dark tea colour - quite brackish, indeed!).

Sadly, the refuse that lines the river banks, especially from the Amy Searle bridge and out the river to the Southern Cross day park continues unabated.  Lots of plastic bottles, food cartons and bags, apparently discarded by shore-side fishermen, as well as other refuse like old paint cans and larger plastic drums....  

A couple of years ago, after plotting all of the Debris and Old Infrastructure on the river, I managed to get Great Brak River included in the international Coastal Clean-up initiative (thanks to the support of WESSA and Mossel Bay Municipality's Environmental Department), but it's only once a year and it really doesn't reach into the village.  It's a crying shame, when this could be such a beautiful, pristine paddle, where not only are there fish flopping and birds flapping (or soaring), but also horses and cows grazing, and even the occasional monkey frolicking (up near the weir).  I guess my project for this summer will be to get out there with the ol' garbage bags.... stay tuned!

Speaking of crying, maybe South Africa needs something like that of the "Keep America Beautiful (Crying Indian)" campaign which was launched in 1971, coinciding with the very first Earth Day, and ran throughout the 1970's (and, of course, crossing the 49th parallel into Canada).  That iconic campaign made a huge impact that, fortunately, lasts to this day.

According to the following article in today's Mossel Bay Advertiser, night landing exercises on our friend, "Derrick" AKA the PetroSA ORCA, will be conducted tonight.  Should be an interesting sight!

Night landings on Orca tonight
MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Indwe Aviation Team will practice a night landing exercise from George Heliport to the PetroSA Orca tonight, Monday, 4 January.
 
The exercise is standard procedure to ensure compliance associated with ORCA activities and gives the pilots continuous training in this regard.
 
The exercise is expected to be executed between 19:55 and 21:10.
 
PetroSA floating production rig, the ORCA was laid-up at the bay in Mossel Bay as from Monday, 9 June 2015 for an undetermined period whilst the company is looking at various options for its utilization. This follows the suspension of its oil production activities at Oribi/Oryx Oilfields, situated 150km offshore Mossel Bay.
 
Whilst laid-up the rig will be fully maintained to ensure compliance with variety of environmental legislation and applicable rules. The ORCA is not in production and no major work is being planned, hence there is no noise or any impact on marine environment.
 
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and the Department of Environmental Affairs: Ocean and Coasts are informed about its current location.
 
'We bring you the latest Mossel Bay, Garden Route news'

10:46 (GMT+2), Mon, 04 January 2016