The Garden Route (Eastern Cape) Cont

Even in this weather the forest is lovely with striking fungus and plants but by now we have been walking for over two hours and it is getting dark! I have the GPS out as the track meanders up and down dale crossing rivers and streams, there is no way this is just 7km!

Eventually we climb out of the forest and the track heads back into the open to the ranger camp, great except by now the rain is torrential and it is 6.15pm! Three hours after we started we get back to the Landy by now everyone has gone for the day so God knows what would have happened if we had not found our way back. We read later that many people have complained that the tracks are poorly marked and in no way does the map reflect the actual distance.

With Sue's views on walking ringing in my ears we head back to camp, very wet and very pissed off. Its dark when we arrive back at Woodbourne and the site is being hammered by the storm, we have never envied folk in caravans till now!

The next day is cloudy but at least the rain has stopped, during the night we discover everything stored on the roof has got soaked so nothing for it but to start drying everything out as best we can. The weather slightly improves in the afternoon but we decide to move on first thing in the morning and leave the Garden Route to go inland in the hope we will find some Sun.

The next day dawns bright and sunny but we decide to stick with the plan and head inland. On the way we pass the Spitskop plateau which is described in the guide book as being spectacular for those hardy souls "prepared to brave the road up and down". Needless to say even though we have a long way to go the temptation is too great so up we go!

When we reach the summit and Sue has stopped shaking we find quite a few cars up there and parking is a bit tight but the views are spectacular. Unfortunately time is also tight so after taking photo's and having a quick look around we have to head down. Now Rupert's turning circle is massive at the best of times but here was even more cramped and with steep drops on all sides it certainly made you concentrate.

Sue is not too amused when we fail to negotiate the first sharp turn in one go and have to reverse backup hill to have another go, no problem normally however Rupert is carrying a lot of gear and is too heavy for the steep gradient so we have to drop down to low range to do it during which Sue's side of the vehicle is hanging over a sheer drop!

Thankfully we reach the bottom unscathed and head inland to Uniondale. The road winds through the mountains with some stunning scenery towards Aberdeen and on a normal day we would have dallied but we still have a long way to go so on we press.

Up to now the weather has been lovely but as we cross the highveld before Aberdeen we see coming from our right what we think is smoke from a bush fire until we realise it is a massive dust storm which before too long completely obliterates our view. Within minutes we are in the middle of a huge storm with  forked lightning striking the ground on all sides, it is exciting and we are not unduly worried as we still have a long way to go before we reach our destination at Mountain Zebra N.P so we are bound to drive out of it, however we keep forgetting this is Africa! 

We drove on, the storm got so bad you could hardly see the road ahead and to make matters worse we had now reached the R61 to Craddock which was undergoing road works so it was narrowed. This road crosses the mountain passes and links the Eastern Cape with the N1 to Joburg and beyond so it is used by a lot of coaches and tour busses looking for the fastest route North.  It was getting very hairy as they thundered towards us in the dark and driving rain doing over 70mph with with just a few feet between us! 

We had set out from Knysna at midday and apart from the brief stop at the Spitskop had kept moving all day, it was now 6pm and we had reached the Wapadsberg Pass with warning signs of occasional snowfalls and ice, just what we needed to know just now!

At last at 18.45 we turn onto the dirt road to Mountain Zebra and arrive at the gate just in the nick of time before they close the park at 7pm. The rain is still torrential, we are very tired and totally not in the mood to camp that night so I ask if there are any chalets available? The girl on the gate gets on the radio to the reception but they say they are fully booked, bugger! I run out in the rain  where Sue is waiting in the Landy to give her the bad news.

We are just deliberating whether to drive onto Craddock to see if they have any rooms when a car pulls up and a woman rushes into the gate house, another last minute arrival! Imagine our  relief when she comes rushing out saying we also have a room, don't know how, don't care at least we will sleep in a dry bed tonight!

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