The Hankey Sundial

Just outside the town of Hankey in the Gamtoos Valley visitors will find the biggest sundial in the Southern Hemisphere.  Kids will always be kids and the monkey comes out of them when they see something they can climb.  It was no different when Drama Princess decided to see how far she could go up the Hankey Sundial.  The sundial was built by local farmer Mr Dirk Schellingerhout in 1989 to commemorate the town's 160th anniversary.  It is located at the entrance to the town and just below Vergaderingskop, the final resting place of Saartjie Baartman.  The Hankey Sundial has a diameter of 34.6m and the gnomon is 18m high, and weighs one ton.

Early morning mist on the mountain

Early morning mist on the Outeniqua Mountains.  The first thing I saw when I came out of my log cabin at Eight Bells Mountain Inn outside Mossel Bay.

Oudtshoorn's CP Nel Museum

The CP Nel Museum in Oudtshoorn is one of the top town museums in South Africa with a fantastic range of exhibits representing the history of the town and surrounding area.  Most visitors pass through town on their way to the ostrich farms or Cango Caves and never see this Klein Karoo gem, but the few who do stop gets to learn so much more about the area.

The museum owes its origin to the private collection of colonel Charles Paul Leonard Nel, successful local businessman and collector of antiquities.  He's collection was so valuable that by 1938 it had received full recognition from the Historical Monument Commission.  When he passed away in 1950 the newly constituted Board of Trustees took over administration of the collection.  In 1972 the C.P. Nel collection was brought to its present home, the C.P. Nel Museum on Baron van Rheede Street.  The sandstone building with its prominent clock tower was designed by Charles Bullock and erected in 1906 during the so-called second "ostrich feather boom".  Before the museum took it over it used to be the Oudtshoorn Boy's High School and taking it over saved the building from demolition.

 

In the main hall the cultural and natural historic aspects of the ostrich are depicted.  The exhibit takes visitors back to the ancient history of the ostrich where it was first discovered ten thousand years ago, carved into rock in the Sahara desert. The ostrich is known as the biggest bird in the world, but is unfortunately unable to fly because of its weight. It can run sixty to seventy km/h and weighs between ninety and a hundred kilograms.  The collection includes a big variety of feathers and feather products, something that played a big roll in the early boom of Oudtshoorn.

As you walk through the museum you encounter a street scene that includes an unique chemist as it was known in 1895.  The pharmacist himself mainly produced medicine making use of a Pill Machine, described as a pill roller and cutter. 

 

The CP Nel Museum also boasts the only Synagogue to be situated in a museum with an Ark that is one of the tallest in South Africa.  What makes the Synagogue so amazing is the fact that it's still being used.

For those who appreciate the finer things in life, the museum's collection of porcelain and glass will make a statement.  The original designs of Willow-Pattern crockery (1850), Cranberry crockery (1880) and Earthenware, originating in Tzechoslovakai (1918) surely enjoy the attention of most tourists.

Even though there are so much more to see in the museum which also includes a natural history side, the last display I want to show is one of a typical 1911 sales store.  Older folks would remember stores like this with the kids of today having never seen anything like it.

So next time you pass through Oudtshoorn for any reason, make sure you at least pop into the museum for a look at the town's fascinating past.

Eight Bells Mountain Inn

Eight Bells Mountain Inn used to be one of my regular stops on tour back when I was a tourist guide but since then I haven't had a chance to visit.  Until a few weeks ago.  A return trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth meant that I had to stay over in Mossel Bay to be able to do some business on the Garden Route and Rene' Bongers, MD of Eight Bells heard that I was heading that way and invited me to come and spend the night.

 

Eight Bells started out as a holiday farm 80 odd years ago and has developed over the years to become a full service hotel with 25 en-suite bathrooms.  I was lucky enough to stay in one of their log cabins which is only a short walk from the main building.

The log cabins are great accommodation and feels a bit more private than being inside a hotel so ideal for honeymoon couples - which I clearly wasn't being on my own on this trip.  But I wasn't complaining.  As I mentioned, Eight Bells is a full service hotel so I decided to have dinner in the Oakroom Restaurant, the hotel's in-house restaurant.  I noticed a tour group having pre-dinner drinks in the lounge area so I made sure I was in the restaurant before them.  What amazed me most during my stay was that I recognized the two ladies working there from when I used to stay and that is a good 10 years ago.  Just shows that the staff is like family.  The food was just as good as I remembered as well with the ostrich bobotie my meal of choice this time around.

Waking up early the next morning this was the view waiting for me outside my cabin.  The Outeniqua Mountains in their full glory.  Its been a while since I've crossed from here over to Oudtshoorn on the Robertson Pass but as I'm heading to the Garden Route it may have to wait a bit longer for my next trip over.

After a hearty breakfast I took a walk around the grounds before heading off to Mossel Bay.  The outdoor facilities include everything from a swimming pool, tennis courts, squash courts and bowling green to hiking trails and horse rides.  The perfect family break away. *makes note on my "to visit with the family" list*

Disclosure: I stayed at Eight Bells Mountain Inn as guest of the hotel

but paid for my own dinner and transport

The best Currywurst on the Garden Route

Everybody has their preferred road trip food and drink stops.  Some like to pull over at a Wimpy for their favorite coffee, stop at the same farm stall for a pie and fresh pineapple juice or that certain restaurant where the owner is also the chef and makes his pizza bases himself before popping it into the wood fire oven.  I don't travel on the Garden Route as often as I would like to, but my fav Garden Route food stop at the moment is Jan's Wurst Express (@WurstExpress) in Sedgefield. 

Jan serves the most delectable curry wurst from his mobile food trailer next to the N2 from Tuesdays to Fridays while he sets up at the popular Mosaic Market on Saturdays.  The Currywurst is grilled bratwurst, sliced and served with Jan's own home made curry sauce (flip, but my mouth is watering just thinking of it right now), a bit of curry powder sprinkled over and next to a crisp bun.  This is an absolute winner.  Best of all, Jan rewards his regular customers with a loyalty car which will give you every 10th purchase for free.  I've got to be honest and say that I have never stopped there and not seen locals stop for their daily Currywurst fix.  Wonder when my next trip is down that way *checks calendar*

V&A Waterfront after dark

I really don't get to go to Cape Town anywhere close to as much as I would like to.  When I do though I make sure I visit some attractions and touristy spots to soak in the Cape atmosphere.  A short two night visit for World Travel Market African meant that I only got to take a quick drive down to Hout Bay for a meeting, walk the streets around the International Convention Centre at lunch time and pop into the V&A Waterfront for dinner.  Just before dinner I strolled down to the Robben Island Ferry jetty to find a geocache and snapped this picture of the waterfront lights. 

The Cockscomb Mountain - second higest in the Eastern Cape

The Cockscomb mountain is situated north of the Gamtoos Valley and visible from not just in the valley but also from the Baviaanskloof, Uitenhage and Addo areas.  The reason its visible from all over is that it's the second highest mountain in the Eastern Cape.  It gets its name from its resemblance to a rooster's comb.  The Cockscomb is part of the Groot Winterhoek mountain range with the higest peak being 1 768 m above sea level.  This picture was taken from Vergaderingskop (the burial place of Saartjie Baartman) outside Hankey.