Welcome to 'The Old Crow'!

Well now, I can hear you all thinking.... at last!
And look how the time has again flown by!!

Reading the title, you may think that this is another chat about birds, well, it's not. Although birds do come into it.

You have read about our caravan Hyacinth, if you have been following my rambles closely, and you may remember that we bought her in 2013!! You also may remember that Rob and I did not fit together into the bed, we managed half an hour on the first night before I shuffled off to the other end and re-arranged the cushions and the table.....

What I did not tell you was the frustration with the curtains in Hyacinth!!! Now, as any woman knows, if there are curtains on a window, they must open and close... easily... at the touch of a hand or the gentle nudge of a finger. Not these!! They looked gorgeous, cream with a navy blue trim at the top, small round metal rings in the navy piece that fitted on to a thin metal rod. They had a 'stop' screw at the end of each rod to prevent the whole curtain sliding off. In theory. In practice the metal rings were too small to slide along the rod, they just went sideways and stuck!! Plus, if you tugged too hard, the whole rod just slipped off the bracket which caused a lot of cursing from me! Rob finally became the Curtain Man as he has far more patience than I have, but it took him ages to get them either open or closed as each little metal hole had to be gently moved bit by tiny bit.......

Moving on.....
Last month Rob decided to take Hyacinth to have her yearly service back at the dealer as we were planning to head off for a week's break. So we emptied every cupboard and hooked her up and off we set to Cape Town. While Rob booked her in, Alfie and I wandered round climbing in and out of the New and also the Previously Loved Caravans..... and I fell in love!

Fun With Floyd!

Last week we went camping!

For ages we have been thinking and planning and deciding whether to hire a Mobile Home and spend a week trundling from camp to camp, spending one night at a time and moving on each day. We wanted to see whether we preferred a Mobile Home to the caravan, so Rob did some homework and sent off an enquiry to see what the costs etc would be.

Well.
Back came a very nice mail confirming that the dates we wanted were indeed available, and after Rob had deposited R48 000 (that is forty-eight thousand rand) into their account (for insurance you understand, returnable when we dropped the vehicle back), we could organise a day to come and have a quick lesson, pick it up, and drive off into the sunset.

As you can imagine, we abandoned that plan and loaded up our trusty Hyacinth!

The campsite we chose was one of our very favourites, 'Koningskop' on a working citrus and rooibos tea estate. We went there last year, and vowed to return!

So, last Monday we rolled into camp just after lunch (a brilliant burger at Piketberg), and went straight to the site that we had last time. Grassy, shady and right next to the all important Ablution Block!

Home sweet home! Ablution block to the right!

Rainy Days and Mondays.....!

Picture this.......

Last Monday morning, just home after a wonderful week of camping. The wash basket is full. There are two sets of sheets from the house, a weeks clothing from camping, plus bedding, towels and washing-up cloths from the caravan......and it is raining!

Don't get me wrong, the rain was not a problem. This was, read on....

I looked down the bed to see who was still lying with us feline or canine wise, and saw, near my toes, a pile of something. Something suspicious. A lorry act!*

Now, let me explain *.

When I was teaching last century (scary thought that), we used, among other schemes, a wonderful reading scheme called 'Gay Way'. These were first published in the '50's and updated with new covers and pictures as time went by. The Red Books were the starter readers, then came the Green books and so on until the Violet books. They were lovely, and the children enjoyed the easy wording and the funny stories. They met Fat Pig, Sam the Fox, Meg the Hen, Deb the Rat, Ben the Dog, Jip the Cat and Tod the Giant and the stories were simple and the updated illustrations were just lovely. (I always felt sad for Fat Pig because he had no name, so my classes used to choose a name for him to make him feel better!)

Sam, Fat Pig, Meg and Deb!

Camping With a Wet Dog!

From the title you would be right in deducing what we were doing last week, and what the weather was like!!

Rob heard about a Caravan and Camping park on a citrus farm between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, inland about 150 km from us. So, being up for a camping challenge, we looked at the website and I decided to send off an enquiry. Having a 'No Pets' policy, I was a little concerned that they would simply say 'Sorry'. But, they had obviously heard about Alfie and realised that he was famous enough to grace their property, so they came back and said that he would be welcome! Now that last sentence is not strictly true (you may have gathered that), but they do relax their No Pet rule midweek and out of season.....

So, we booked a site and also booked our wonderful cat-sitter, and on Monday morning we set off. Not as early as we had planned because Eskom decided to switch off the power for a while and I had a washing machine full of towels! Eventually all was well and off we went.

After a few hold-ups (holds-up, holds-ups hold-up) at the STOP/GO roadworks between Velddrif and Piketberg, we arrived at the camp. We booked in and went off to find our allocated site, number 28 with parking on number 27! This had been pre-booked for us because I asked for a shady site overlooking the dam so we could sit and birdwatch.

The dam with waterlilies. 

The entire camp was empty and we drove past beautiful grassed stands with shady trees and a spotless ablution block until we found 27 and 28..........with a tent, a couple of elderly people nicely settled in chairs refusing to look at us, and their towing vehicle parked on the adjacent stand. Our stands! Refusing to move, they insisted that they were told to park anywhere except numbers 24 and 25. (They lied!) So, after much difficulty in the space he had, Rob turned the car and caravan around and we humped off to find another site!

Beautiful site number 18!!

And we found a beauty! Actually much nicer than 28, and right next to the ablution block, with a wonderful view of the stunning mountains, shade and plenty of bird life, so we really owe the 'squatters' a vote of thanks!

The view from the tent.

And Alfie found a 'tennis ball tree'!

He stared at the tree for ages!

Oppiwa = #%$^&*@!!

We have just returned from a somewhat shortened trip!

Read on!

Once a year over the first weekend in February, (apart from those manic few weeks over Christmas), Jacobsbaai becomes a frenzied village, so we do the right thing and leave!

It always amazes me how, once people have moved here exclaiming loud and long about how quiet and peaceful it is, they decide that it all must be changed and that Jacobsbaai 'must be put on the map'. So a few years ago, a few people (hoteliers and estate agents mainly...) put their heads together and 'Oppiwa' (meaning 'on the wagon') was born! This festival consists of some obscure singers and the odd poet or two, each sitting on a wagon being pulled by a tractor, singing or reading or quoting or whatever, while a bunch of visitors and villagers, who have paid handsomely for the privilege, sit in awe on said wagon, drinking their wine and getting covered in dust from the road, especially if the wind blows! While they are being trundled around the village they stop off at various demarcated homes for coffee, a braai, a loo stop, tea and biscuits etc, and then on the Saturday evening they all end up at one of the Guest Houses for dinner and more wine.

On Sunday they all go home.

So, in order to avoid all this unpleasantness, we head off on the Thursday and stay away until it is safe to return.

Home Comfort Camping!

Now, if you have all the comforts of home when you are camping, where are you?

Yes, at home!

For the last couple of weeks we have had the most glorious weather (apart from no rain at all), and we have bragged about our 'natural air conditioner' (aka our cool wind), and our low temperatures, to friends and family who have been suffering temperatures in the high 30 degrees C. My daughter has been heard to remark that its cooler in Dubai, so they have been dashing between the air-conditioned office and the swimming pool!

Anyway, I digress!

Yesterday the weather got its own back on us! By midday it was 38 degrees in Vredenburg and not a lot cooler here in the Baai. With no wind at all, not even a gentle zephyr to knock a degree off, by evening we were still hot hot hot inside the house. The fan was working overtime and the cats were splayed out on the tiles. Going up to bed, the higher we climbed the hotter it got, and our bedroom was like an oven. We opened the balcony doors wide and the cool air poured in.

Robertson, Donkeys.......and Home!

The day we left Prince Albert was misty and wet! As we drove past the turn-off to the road that we had taken up the Swartberg Pass, my only thought was that no-one would be nuts enough to do it if they couldn't actually see where the road ended and the plunge began!

A misty moisty morning!

By the time we got to Klaarstroom we were feeling a little peckish, so we stopped for pies at 'Ant Dora's Spens'. Now, I am not sure whether Ant Dora was supposed to be Aunt Dora, but it didn't matter because the shop was an Aladdin's Cave! Basically everything in it had been made by the lady who owned the place. (I never did find out what her name was!) Everything from the most exquisite glassware, bead work, hand-made table cloths and napkins, place mats, mosaic work, jam, chutneys, marmalades, pottery, you name it, she made it!

A treasure trove!

Royalty, Roads and Rugby!

Because the dew was so heavy in Sutherland, we cleverly took the tent down the afternoon before we left.That meant that the next morning we were able to simply load up the few things scattered around, (like Alfie who was visiting the bikers and checking up on any 'calling cards' that Trompie had left overnight,) say our farewells and thanks to Jurg and Rita, turn left at the gate and retrace our journey to Matjiesfontein. There we made a sharp left onto the N1 and drove as far as Prince Albert Road. Basically it consists of a railway station, a petrol pump, a church and a bottle store. Turning right, we headed 45 kilometres to our next destination.

On that road to Prince Albert we experienced that strange phenomena called 'somatogravic illusion'. And for those of you who, like me, need that explained in layman's terms, it is the feeling that the road is climbing when it is in fact going downhill or vice versa! We were convinced that we were heading downhill, we could see the road dropping in front of us, but the GPS was telling us that we were in fact, climbing! It was a really strange feeling!

Prince Albert is just beautiful! A corny way to describe a village, but we fell in love with it the minute we arrived!

Clean and green!

A Key in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush!!

Here I sit, trying to remember what day of the week it is!

We are back from a lovely two week trundle round the Karoo, well the Klein Karoo really I suppose as there is a vast area to the north that we need to explore in-depth! But it was a wonderful trip and we are ready to head off again....so is Alfie I must admit!

Our first stop was at one of our all-time favourite places, Fynbos Farm. People say that animals don't remember places and people, but Alfie remembered exactly where we were, he remembered the ablution block and the walks that we took previously. He remembered the dogs there and I swear that Layla greeted him like a long-lost friend!

Even the chickens remembered us!

Anyway, Evening One and we were just relaxing, wine poured, chips in the bowl, braai planned, loving the absolute peace and quiet of an empty camp, (apart from us), when my phone rang. And on the other end was our house-sitter, with a slight problem! She could not get into the house! We had given her the remote for the garage as usual, but, the garage door was not opening as it should have been doing when she pushed the button! She had even replaced the battery in case that was the problem! And, she didn't have keys as we had neglected to give them to her, and they were lying inside on the little table where we told her that we would leave them this time!!! And we didn't have keys either! And we didn't leave a spare set with anyone else! No problem, we simply assumed that it was the usual Eskom mess-up and the power would be back within an hour or two and all would be well.........

On the Road Again............and Again.............and Again!

We have just returned from a week's adventure in Hyacinth. It wasn't planned as an adventure, we had booked to spend the week in one park, but we ended up going to three!

There must be something strange about caravanners. Here we have a lovely three bedroomed house with private bathrooms and showers, all the mod cons, and we choose to live in a 'room' smaller than a single garage! Plus, to share bathrooms and loos with total strangers, cook over open fires, sit under a canvas sheet that gets hot in the sun and cold in the wind, spend ages unpacking and repacking, and praying that it doesn't rain or the tent will be too wet to fold and put back into the bag and place under the bed again! And we just love it!

So, our week went something like this:

Monday morning we loaded up, dodged Basil and headed off towards Cape Town. We had made a booking at a Caravan Park overlooking a golf course, that we had found in the Caravan Magazine. It had a good write up, so Rob phoned. To be fair, they did tell us that they didn't usually allow dogs as they had two large ones that roamed the park as security, but that we could take Alfie, so we headed off. Well, the minute we drove in we could see that it was not for us. No view of the golf course, but a lovely view of a huge pylon and right on the approach path for Cape Town Airport. I love to watch the planes but not every few minutes and so low!! To add the final touch, a lady staying there had parked her car in the only bit of shade in our 'row' and then told us that the dogs were vicious and would rip Alfie to pieces! So, we did the right thing..................we left! They refunded our money with no problem and we headed towards Stellenbosch and 'Mountain Breeze', one of our all time favourites. Yes, they had room, so in we trekked and set up camp. Alfie spent a happy time watching squirrels and we sat back and decided that this was perfect! We should have gone there in the first place.

A-Camping We Did Go!

I realise that this is a little late, by a day or so, but I have made it extra long, so hopefully you will forgive me!

We have just come back from a long weekend caravan trip! A return trip to Fynbos Farm, where we went for our first caravan trip after we bought our beloved Gemsquash, three years ago now. In fact, that was my very first ever caravan trip!

So, for the last three years, we have been saying 'We really must go there again, it was such a super place........', every time we drove past the turnoff. And, now we have been there twice, but, I am happy to go back every month for a week or so!

So, off we set on Thursday morning. I have mentioned the wind farm near Hopefield before now and as we got closer, we saw what appeared to be a black blob thing on one of the blades.

See the black blob on the blade?

Have a closer look.

People in there!!!

It is people! In a basket thing! Working on the blade and hanging miles above the earth suspended by little bits of wire and string! Doesn't it make the hairs on the back of your neck rise? It does mine!

Peace and Quiet and the Dog Came Too!!

Wow, doesn't time fly when you are having fun?

And that is exactly what we had, plus peace and quiet and the knowledge that I had three unread books on my kindle! It's funny, but if I had to sit and read all day here at home, I would feel incredibly guilty that I wasn't pretending to be busy cleaning, or dusting or cooking. But to sit in a camp site and read doesn't carry the same guilt at all! Well, not in my book!! (No pun intended!)

Absolute bliss, a river, a dog........and a book! Or kindle!

Now, I don’t know if this is true of everyone, but the minute we head off on a trek, I start planning our eating stops! So a couple of hours later, close enough to lunch time to be lunch time, we pulled into a little restaurant close to Hermon, called ‘du Vlei’. We have stopped there several times, either to meet friends, or on the way to or from somewhere, and we know that the food is fresh and tasty, and Alfie is welcome! Fortified with quiche and salad and a coffee shake that was so good we had to have another to prove it, we headed off to 'Fish Eagle River Lodge' to be met by the owners and their dogs.

The camping ground at Fish Eagle River Lodge.

What a fantastic place! We had the pick of sites, and we tucked ourselves into the corner, under huge shady blue gum trees, and close enough to the Berg River to simply sit and stare as it burbled past.

The Berg River, We could hear the Fish Eagles calling.

After getting the tent up in a howling gale, we decided not to braai as the wind was just too strong and would put the fire out before it was lit.

Nicely set up and ready to do........nothing! (Pic thanks to Rob)

We had booked for three nights, but we ended up staying for five. It was peaceful and quiet and for us wrinklies, the best part was the fact that no under eighteens are allowed, so it is for mature campers only! Our Malmesbury friends came for a lunchtime braai one day and every evening we walked around part of the farm. They grow olives and courgettes for the local market and their olive oil is delicious with a lingering taste of freshly mown grass. The dam is home to two Egyptian Geese mums and their combined tally of fourteen babies, all bobbing about together and Alfie finally made friends with the farm dogs.

Look carefully and count!!(Pic thanks to Rob)

And then we moved on! Read on!

Trains and Boats and Planes! (Not really Planes though!)

Well, here I am, better late than never! Home again after a wonderful few days lazing on the banks of the Berg River. We arrived on Thursday morning after a journey of 45 minutes, and were unpacked, tent up and relaxing, an hour later! Alfie stayed in the car until everything was in place and then came out to inspect, and find a convenient tree!

All set up and ready to do nothing!

What a beautiful spot. We identified 54 bird species without moving away from the campsite! The list contains 180, so we didn't do too badly! From the large flamingos to the tiny mossies and everything in between, they can be seen here.

Iron ore heading to Saldanha Bay.

Kuifkopvisvanger!

Yesterday we had our first 'trundle' of the year!

We stayed very close to home over the Silly Season, we much prefer sitting on our veranda and being quite lackadaisical (aka lazy!) to coping with crowds, no parking, and queues everywhere. So, now we are back to normal, we decided to do a recce of a caravan park on a working farm close to us, and, most importantly, dog friendly!

Speaking of dog, we first had to bath our boy as he had rolled in something quite foul and was not fit to be in the car, let alone meet new people! So, one quivering (but clean and sweet smelling) dog later, off we set.

Clean yes, but for how long?

On the Road Again!

Well, we have Christened our new caravan! Both figuratively and literally! Read on...

Last week we decided to go to Stellenbosch to a caravan park called Mountain Breeze. Rob had contacted them a month or so ago to make sure that we could take Alfie and they said that as long as they didn't see him then it was ok! Rob explained that he was very very well behaved and that he was a celebrity in his own right. Rob stopped short of telling them that they should be honoured to have Alfie gracing their property, but I think they got the gist!

In the meantime, I had been racking my brain to think of a name that conjured up the van's personality, and finally came up with 'Hyacinth'. Let me explain further. There is a TV sitcom called 'Keeping Up Appearances' that we just loved when we watched it, and the main character is a lady called Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced Bookay). She is large, tries hard to be correct in everything that she does, and is a bit of a snob!! Not that our van is a snob, but she is larger than Gemsquash, and more up-market! She is also blue like a hyacinth, and, wait for it, this is the best part and comes from Rob.......'We had to make the carport higher sinth she wouldn't fit!'. Get it? A play on words there! (Try saying it out loud, lisp and all!)

Basil ready to come too! (Pic thanks to Isabel)

On the Road Again!

We've just returned from a lovely few days away in Gemsquash. I say 'lovely' because it's always great fun to camp, behave like tourists, be lazy, read and generally loll about. However, the campsite was in the middle of the town of Montagu, a beautifully kept, tidy and pet friendly park. The ablution blocks were spotless and the grass was green and lush.

They visited us daily for Alfie's food!

The only other people around were pensioners, like ourselves!

Rob showing a few photos to our neighbours!

So, what was wrong I hear you asking? The noise from the traffic was unbelievable! Remember, we have about twelve cars passing us on a busy day here, so we forget what it is like in town! We were directed to a corner of the park that was next to a road that went up a hill and had a sharp turn at the bottom, so we had brake noise, revving noise, hooting noise, radio noise, general engine noise and the odd shouts of drivers to pedestrians noise! Add dogs barking and you have some idea of what it was like. Apart from that, it was super, and we met some really nice people who all fell in love with Alfie!

Superstition to Super!

You know how things come in 3's? You hear about an accident and then another one, and until you hear about a third one you stay at home? Or you drop a glass, then a plate and almost throw a bowl onto the floor to get it over with! Well, at the beginning of May, we decided to go away in Gemsquash. Rob found a perfect place only a couple of hours drive from here, pet friendly and away from 'civilisation' so we spent a happy couple of days sorting out and packing and organising food and bedding and making sure that Alfie's toys were ready.

Then, the day before we were due to go, Rob's glasses broke! They just cracked across the bridge of his nose and fell off! Thank goodness he had his old, heavy ones as backup!

Then, we decided to switch the caravan fridge on so that I could simply transfer from the kitchen just before we left. Nothing, it was dead. No reassuring hum, nothing. Rob checked the wiring and the plug, and even fitted a new plug just in case!

Now, remember we had given Gemsquash a facelift and that involved moving the fridge, so Rob pulled it out and found a loose wire! But, he wasn't sure where it went and rather than make things worse, he did the right thing and called an electrician who promised to call round early the next morning.
That was the second thing, and we just knew that there would be a third waiting for us! The next morning the electrician arrived dead on time and fixed the fridge in a matter of minutes. Phew, it rattled into life and we were set to go. Packing completed, we loaded the dog into the car, and put our shoulders to the caravan ready to push.

Then, the fates laughed and sent number three! The jockey wheel jammed solid and we couldn't move it! It would go backwards and forwards but would not allow us to turn left or right. Rob did a spot of DIY with a four pound hammer and managed to break the handle too!! By now I was wondering if there was a message hidden in this somewhere and was ready to unload and unpack!

Just then a black cat crossed my path.......not unusual seeing that we have two of them!

We decided to take a chance and go! We heaved and shoved Gemsquash into the drive and Rob reversed the car with precision, thanks to my perfect hand signals! And we were off!

What a wonderful place it turned out to be. A citrus farm with the camping area right on the edge of the Olifants River. We parked on the grass under huge trees a stone's throw from the water.

Taken from the water's edge.

A little manoeuvring was necessary to get the caravan into position before Rob unhooked it as the jockey wheel didn't miraculously unjam itself on the way, but as we were the only people there, there was plenty of room to do this.