Arniston

Not without a sad heart and a tear in the eye, we parted from Koos and Monique in Mosselbay this morning to top-up 'rats' for the days ahead. The morning was certainly chilly with a considerable wind pumping, so we loaded up and left for 'Witsand', just over 100km away.

We drove the entire way, against the wind that never abated. A number of people had previously given 'Witsand' the nod. When we arrived at Witsand it looked like the opening scene of the movie I watched at school...'The Cruel Sea'! Beautiful waves with the crests being blown off, to several waves behind. We decided to abide by one of our objectives being, ‘to stay if it's good, and move on if its lousy' and that it was. If we pitched our caravan tent here, it would have served better as a 'spinnaker' and we may have been able to recover it on Marion Island!

Soon after leaving, Karen called Waenhuiskrans Campsite, inquiring availability and weather conditions? “Nay Mevrou... hier is die wind al vreeslik los!!!" was the weather report from Arniston.

So as to not waste any time, we moved on anyway, further south! Time on our side, we headed off the coast inland on the N2 toward Riversdale => Swellendam=> Heidelberg and Bredasdorp before Arniston/Waenhuiskrans. The views around every turn were photographic, with the Langeberg way off, as a backdrop.

Agriculture here on thousands of hectares of wheat on such arable land, in comparison to the 'Little Karoo' is so contrasting. Though out of season, just to see so many hills being made ready for the new crop, would equally bring tears to Malema's eyes!😢 This is what's keeping the nation alive Julias… jou ‘Tonteldoos’!

Like a parachute being tagged behind a dragster, we arrived in Arniston, checked into the campsite and pitched. The wind was substantially less and we were issued with campsite #28, directly adjacent to the only other campers…. a 21st Celebration of around as many youngsters! Those along with the usual seriously ‘kak’ music we battled to sleep until way after midnight. Now I sound so like my parents and as much as I try not to be like that and try to understand, why would you even buy such unadulterated crap? It can only be to fill in the background silence that did not exist and more reason to just shout louder and louder!

After a 5km run through Arniston and the iconic ‘Fishermen’s Village’ to make up our Vitality Points deficit and to get away from the pending chaos next door, Karen and I drove to the Arniston Hotel (one of my most favourite places on earth, is this view out onto such a pale blue bay) the wind by now has dropped to zero knots! Here by chance and again out of the ‘pale blue’, I met an ‘old Woolworths Head Office colleague’ Terry Brewis from Cape Town, 100 years back! So great to catch up and we chatted before they went to dinner.

We returned to our digs, to find the festivities lifting off. A combination of ‘Black Label’, smouldering wet ‘Rooikrantz’ firewood, already shreaking chicks and numerous more ‘CY Number Plates’ that had in the meantime arrived, we were set for an epic “2022 Western Cape style ’Woodstock’ festival”🥹😳😫 Earlier Karen was telling me to “just chill, they are young kids having a good time” by Saturday morning side of midnight, I was telling Karen to “just chill they are young kids, having a good time!”

That was, the Friday that was!

Love, Peace and Light,

M&K
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