Route 62 - From Oudtshoorn to Hermanus

South Africa/ Day 13 (Sat.) - 3.9.2016

Originally, we wanted to go on a meerkat safari this morning. Unfortunately, it was cancelled because meerkats don't leave their burrows when it's cloudy, let alone raining. What a shame, I even wore my meerkat shirt!

Then - just an hour later - the sun came out. But by then we were already having breakfast. The chef was already awake and standing with two housekeepers ready to take care of us.

Our table was lovingly set, the rich buffet was laid out. There was everything your heart desires, and the chef prepared the egg dishes to order.

Then we set off for Hermanus. We had 360 kilometers ahead of us, the longest tour of the trip. We started at 9 am and arrived at our destination around 4 pm. But don't think it was a wasted day, no! We drove through such different regions, vegetation, and over the famous Route 62 - it was magnificent and very beautiful for the eyes and the soul!

This route is said to be comparable to Route 66 in the USA. 'See the Karoo on Route 62!' Where the Karoo is a very dry area. If you come from the lush green coast region, especially in our case the rainy one, then you will be amazed by the dried-up riverbeds and barren mountains. Karoo is a semi-desert, slightly larger than Germany, and its name means 'land of thirst!'

You can see it in our pictures and yet it's hard to believe that these were all taken on just one route.

We made a stop in Calitzdorp, the Port Wine center of South Africa. It's a small town and JC bought some water there. Since it was payday and the weekend, there were a lot of Black people bustling around the supermarket. By our standards, they looked rather poor. Many were drunk, from the port wine, of course.

Next stop: Ladismith at the foot of a very high mountain called Toorkop. We liked it much better there, and the many people in the squares and streets were better dressed and happier than in the liqueur village.

Last stop on Route 62 was Ronnie's Sex Shop. It's a small white house in the middle of nowhere. You have to be careful not to overlook it. It's a snack bar, made in a very original way, and it is claimed that Ronnie wanted to expand his shop and his buddies simply wrote the word SEX between 'Ronnie's' and 'Shop'. Ronnie is now an old man with a gray beard and gray long hair braided into a ponytail. He occasionally grumbles and leaves his employees to work. The interior of the sex shop is simple. Thousands of tourists have glued their passport photos and business cards to the walls. We enjoyed a banana shake and JC had a brief chat with a group of South Africans.

Then we left Route 62 via Tradouw Pass. Tradouw means 'path of women!' It was built around 1870 and paved and reopened in 1980. 14 km of pure beauty. Mountains in green, red and yellow, plenty of waterfalls - almost like in Norway.

We arrived in Hermanus around 3:30 pm. The place stands for white villas, beach, sea, and whales!

By the way, I made a mistake in my previous report to test your attention and had a good laugh while writing it.

So, do you know which part of my story was nonsense?

Okay, I'll tell you:

There are no brooms made from wild boar beards (I don't believe there are any wild boars here) and there are no transgender ostriches. ;)

But now let's continue with the travel description:

See you soon...
Tatjana

By the way, I also write on: https://www.facebook.com/rucksackfrei/