Rainy road trips

We took advantage of the rainy days in Bonnievale and decided to take a road trip to George. The mission was to buy an identical fireplace to the one in the sitting room of our cottage in Woodstock. Keith saw the fireplace at an antique shop on our previous visit. We could unfortunately not buy the fireplace at that stage as the bakkie was already fully loaded with Cape Regency dining chairs. The fireplace has the exact same design pattern as the existing one which in itself was a rare find.

Near Heidelberg, Cape

Ever since Keith saw the fireplace he had a bee in his bonnet about buying it. I could not prise the bonnet away from him as he had embraced the bee. It was clear that we simply had to go and buy the fireplace. We decided to make a road trip out of it and our first stop was an antique shop in Swellendam. We had previously bought a pair of antique inside shutters for a Towerwater bedroom there. Unfortunately a shutter was later found to be missing two original hinges and Keith was determined to find the exact hinges to match those remaining. The stop at the antique shop involved a search for them in the workshop. The owner allowed Keith to search through an old crate of ironmongery for them. True to form, Keith emerged from the workshop triumphantly with a pair that matched the existing on the nineteenth century shutters.

The road to George was a pleasure and we stopped repeatedly so that I could photograph the undulating green wheat and yellow canola fields. We decided to take a detour to Mossel Bay to eat seafood overlooking Munro’s Bay, which is named after Keith’s maternal ancestors who settled there in the nineteenth century.

With the fireplace securely in the back of the bakkie and a copy of 'The Cape Kitchen' by Dr Mary Cook next to me on the seat, we headed off to Calitzdorp via Oudtshoorn. We wanted to buy some Bo-Plaas 8 year old brandy. With very little time to spare before the cellar was scheduled to close, I phoned ahead and asked the proprietors to wait for us. They graciously agreed.

Wet vineyards at Boplaas, Calitzdorp

With the rain falling on the Cellar roof, we had a brandy and port tasting. We bought some excellent brandy, port and moscato. We then headed back to Towerwater via the Huis Rivier Pass, Barrydale and Montagu.

Huisrivier pass between Calitzdorp and Ladismith

After a great trip taking a circular route along the garden route and the Klein Karoo it was exciting to return to Towerwater.