Round Robertson

According to the blurb, Robertson is surrounded by 49 million vines - wonder who counted.  There are 48 wineries that produce 199 000 tons of grapes, each ton of which makes about 720 bottles, are we a bunch of pisscats or what?  A few months back I discovered a very pleasant colombar made by one of my favourite vinyards, Van Loveren, so imagine my surprise when I found the estate right on the doorstep.  Immediately bought half a case at a really good price.

Went atlassing along the McGregor road a while ago and came across what appeared to be a huge dune that had been carved away by a river - guess the sea-level must have been a lot higher once as it's now at least 80 km from here.

Stopping on the side of the road to have a "listen" I noticed a pair of Blue Cranes striding magestically across a field.  My attention was momentarily diverted and when I looked back they appeared to be dancing, jumping up into the air flapping their wings and kicking their legs.  Only then did I see the menacing black form that was causing the fuss.  A Verreaux's eagle was mantling over the carcass of a chick which it had obvoiusly just snaffled in front of the parents and they were trying to drive it off.  The eagle unable to take off with its' outsized prey and had to defend itself by spreading its' wings and lunging repeatedly, causing them to back away.  They continued to hover calling anxiously to no avail, then part two of the drama started.  A Secretarybird wandered in stage left and decided the eagles' prey was just what it was looking for and began a concerted attack.  Just for good measure a pair of Pied Crows arrived to see what they could scrounge.  This was all happening about 300 m from where I was parked so the photo isn't great, however the eagle eventually prevailed and I left it munching the unfortunate chick.

Another morning was spent up in the hills where I spotted a splash of colour in the field near an abandoned farm.  Closer inspection revealed a splendid poppy, cannot imagine where it came from unless the local dagga growers have decided to go into something a bit more hardcore.

A patch of fynbos was littered with these sunshiney daisies Euryops tenuissimus..

Other than vines there are large orchards where most of the trees are allowed some freedom but these peaches are trained to a ridiculous degree - they look like they've been crucified.  Went for a stroll around the golf course and noticed a group of workers in another grove.  Took a while to figure it out but they were "thinning out" and at least half the fruit was on the ground - guess the bees are too efficient.

Shortly after moving to the new site I noticed a little fairy ring of arctotis had popped up through the lawn - enter the men with mowers which left me cursing as I'd wanted to get a pic.  No worries mate, two days later they were back.

Robertson, like many other villages in this area has it's share of beautiful old buildings, this one particularly appealed - the date on the gable is 1869.

Between here and McGregor is Vroulikheid Nature Reserve situated in this magical valley.

I spent a couple of hours birding and while there I was delighted to renew my acquaintance with a Booted Eagle - not once but three times, though it was probably the same bird.  Though their plumage is variable they have a trademark, two white patches at the wing root that look like headlights when they turn.

The predominant tree species is Acacia karoo and one young specimen took self protection to the extreme.

The Wine on the River festival happened over last weekend and as the camp was totally full I'd arranged to leave the Beast in storage while I gapped to the Tankwa Karoo.  Between here and Worcester another of those "wow" moments occurred...............

................and again deep in the Karoo.

Accommodation was provided at the delectably quirky Gannaga Lodge and owner Johann greets all his guests with "Welcome to the middle of nowhere".  As the fourth generation of Visagie, he didn't have any interest in farming so sold off all but 20 hectares to SANParks, converted the outbuildings and became a publican.  He confided that most people in the Karoo will speak English if they have to: "But remember that it's not a second language, it's a foreign language".  As Saturday was busy he was joined by Rrrrobert, a retired judge from Edinburgh who has a house in Middlepos 28 km down the road and is pretty fluent in Afrikaans.  He spends six months a year "back home" and says by the time he gets back he's forgotten most of it.

A few kilometers along an atrocious road brings one to the edge of a gorge carved out by the Renoster River, not quite Grand Canyon but impressive, looking downstream..........
.

................and up. The Tankwa Karoo NP started out as a 14 000ha. farm and currently stands at 147 000 ha. as more and more farms have been added.  SANParks are still buying as the aim is to create a corrodor from here to the Cederberg Mountains to allow free movement for the leopard population.  There are only males in the Tankwa so they currently have to make their way across farms whose owners are quite trigger happy.

The Cape Clapper Larks were in full voice and really entertained with their lovely display consisting of a steep climb whilst clapping their wings, followed by a swoop back down while emitting a long drawn out whistle.

Five of the lodges rooms are in Oupa se Huis that grandad build in the 20's, my room was previously the kitchen.

Getting to Gannaga involves negotiating 140 k's of mostly good dirt road but the last 20 require a kidney belt, particularly the pass right at the end.

When stopping to take the photo above this little fellow came and settled nearby a Karoo Widow               and a lifer for me, hey bird lifers are extremely scare so I'll take what I can get.

A whole day was spent in a fruitless search for Burchell's Courser which was the main reason for the visit but I did end up at Oudebaaskraal Dam which is the largest dam in South Africa built with private funds but apparently SANparks wants to blow a hole in the wall as it's not "natural".

On the way back to "civilization" I very nearly ran over one of these magnificent creatures - a Cape Cobra.  Didn't have time to get a pic before it ducked so had to resort to the internet.

Wineland wanderings

One of Appel's (the Citrus Creek handiman) sources of income derives from taking people horse riding along the river and when I expressed an interest for a bike ride he gave me directions.  Unfortunately he didn't mention the dogs.  There I was quietly birding when all hell broke loose and I was surrounded by a pack of yapping ankle-biters.  No problem for horses of course but my legs took a hammering before I managed a hasty retreat, bleeeding profusely.  Of course when I told him, his reply was "Ja goed now I can shoot them."  They apparently belong to a squatter, so after cleaning and banadaging myself I made an appointment with a local doctor who prescribed antibiotics and an anti-tet.  Also found my blood pressure was through the roof which required a change of medication.  The search for the next stop took me down the road to Paarl, so had to stop and add this to the "What a stunning country" portfolio

One of the parks was near Worcester which necessitated traversing the Du Toitskloof mountains and rather than go through the tunnel I took the old road.  It had rained heavily overnight and streams that are normally not visible were now raging waterfalls.

Appel has two cats, predictably called Kat and Katjie.  Kat decided that I was her new best friend and became a pain in the butt, especially when food was around.  Had to resort to chucking her out the van and closing all the windows and vents because she had those sussed in no time.

The day of departure arrived and while packing I noticed this huge beastie wandering through the grass.  At around 100 mm long and as thick as a forefinger it was impressive.  I had confirmation that it's one of the Emperor moth's and probably a Zig-zag - thanks Peter.

Next stop was Fish Eagle River Lodge which has a number of sites next to the Berg River.  Getting there involved going through Gouda where one of the largest wind farms in SA is situated.  While in the area I passed this lot at least four times and every turbine was feathered every single time - even though the wind was blowing.  So much for Eskom's commitment to renewable energy.

The campsite was 20 k's from Wellington and one of the roads out of town heads for Ceres via the Bainskloof Pass, which has been declaired a National Monument.  It was originally built by Andrew Geddes Bain, father of Thomas who followed in his footsteps and was responsible for many other famous roads. Using convict labour, hand tools and some dynamite he carved out a track suitable for carts as a short cut to Ceres.  The present road closely follows the original route and may be seen below snaking its' way upward to over 680 m ASL.

From the summit it winds down through some fairly tight squeezes.

Driving back I noticed some fellows with what appeared to be climbing gear wandering around under a 760 kV power line and glancing up, discovered what they were doing - attaching bird scaring devices to the return wire of a newly erected line.  Practically had to get to full zoom to get a picture and when he saw me he gave a friendly wave as if this were the most natural occupation in the world - hanging from a pulley at least 10 stories up.

The Fish eagle camp was fairly close to the main railway line to Kimberley and Joburg and though not exactly hectic there was a fairly steady flow.  Was very excited to see a "Blue" train but closer inspection revealed that this was the "Light blue" version or Shoholoza Meyl.

As it wasn't too far north a visit to Matjiesfontein Pvt Ltd was deemed necessary.  That's not a typo, the whole town was bought by David Rawdon in the 70's.  He's the same Rawdon who gave his name to the hotel in the KZN midlands and also owned several other prestigious places whose names escape me.  The original hotel was a Victorian health resort and the whole village is like a massive museum - fascinating.

The cost of an overnight stay includes a perambulation around the village on this vintage Leyland London bus.......

.............Tweedside Manor is available for large self catering groups.............

..........and the gardens contain a large reservoir and swimming pool, though the river is cleaner than either of them.  After a wander around the station museum, it became necessary to obey nature's call, so I returned to my room.  Very soon afterward I noticed my wallet was missing and so began a frantic search of vehicle, museum and gardens all to no avail.  I've never felt so helpless in my life, what exactly do you do without plastic or cash?  Fortunately the toilet stop eventually came to mind and dashing back , there it was hiding next to the bowl - almost had to go again from relief.  Immediately bunged a couple of hundreds into the cubby-hole

Whilst breaking my fast in the spectacular dining room the next morning a train pulled in and glancing through the window I thought "Ah, Blue train, I've heard it stops here for a few hours".  Not quite, this was the Green train, Rovos Rails sumptious piece of hstory on wheels, the appearance of which is rather spoiled by the orange locos.  Seems Transnet won't allow steamers on the main line and they sappear to go out of their way to hook up the tattiest Electrics they can find.

While still searching for the next stop, the information centre in Ceres directed me to a place in the Kouebokkeveld which involved a climb up the Gydo Pass to the imaginatively named Op-de-Berg.  Though the road to the camp would have caused the Beast some stress the view from the top of the pass was worth the visit.

Yes, yes these Carpobrotus quadrifolius were in the last blog but nowhere near as prolific and the colour defies belief.

There's a farm on the road to Ceres that sports a large sign which reads "This valley for Jesus Christ" - I'm thinking ofchanging my name.  At present it's carpeted in something purple that I can't identify and suspect is an exotic and which nicely contrasts with the Aissie wattle!

Near here is a pass where the road and railway share a valley, and there I met up with the Shosholoza again, note the matching locos. This is the main passenger service between Cape Town and Johannesburg , which has three sleepers and the rest are "sitters" - no worse than flying I guess.

Was fortunate enough to bump into a good old PCG (Pale Chanting Goshawk) when relocating to Robertson.  These leggy beauties are opportunists par excellance and have been seen in the company of honey badgers snaffling scraps.

And so to Silwerstrand, a very popular resort and I had one peaceful night before the storm broke - school holidays.  I had booked in for five nights and spent a lot of that time trying to find somewhere quieter without success. So I took a stroll around the whole place and located this corner which was sparsely populated and decided to stay for a month.  The princely sum of R1750 was all that was required, would barely cover lights and water back home.

Never ceases to amaze me how much wood people waste, it appears at least two bags are required per steak. Took a drive around the town and in common with a lot of Karoo dorpies there once was a irrigation system which in Afrikaans is referred to as lei water.  Reservoirs or rivers feed channels lining the road and as a homeowner you are entitled to so much a week.  Unfortunately the system has been done away with and all the channels covered but the reservoirs are still full and surounded by notices saying Toe gang verbode and Vis vang verbode.  Would love to hear an newly arrived visitor pronounce those and wonder what on earth a toe gang is.

These mini irises Morea lugubris pop up regularly but at 20mm diameter are barely visible and only last a day.