Afrique 7 – OUTSHOORN TO GRAAF REINET FIRST PART

 Outshoorn-Graaf Reinet

We take the road to De Rust. It starts by 2 climbs along town ships, better say slums in concrete. Well just to say Hello to the inhabitants, and they are so surprised and enjoyed, that the danger falls down. Then the road goes flat in farm land, a bit boring, with in the distance the usual hills covered with small shrubs. Far away we see the Swartberg mountains, all white by the snow, but also partially hidden by clouds. We have a last big hill, and we arrive in De Rust, which is a village with a township at the entrance. We find a take away restaurant at the end of the main street, the bakery with the elephant, and we eat just in front, in the garden behind the tourist office. We notice that it is in fact a caravan park, so we ask to the woman who cleans the toilet who is the owner. And we camp in the courtyard of the owner lodge, for 12$.
Next day we follow by the R341, a backroad nearly without traffic. We have head wind, and it is hilly, always up and down, so we go slowly. Mostly we pass by shrubs land, with time to time a farm with fields. We can see better the white mountains behind, as it is sunny. After a long strech straight, we make the tour around a big hill, very slowly, with strong head wind and climbing. Then we continue by the hills, slowly taking altitude in fact. We cross 2 little villages, a few farms in fact, and in the second we see a primary school, but it is closed. Fortunately, just belong there is a farm, and Gaspard, the owner, lets us camp in his courtyard. By the end of the day, he invites us in his home, to chat and offers a shower. He lives here alone with his mother, in a 200m2 house, with garden and dam around, behind the hill which protect him from the wind. He grows onions seeds for Monteso. What he says about black people could be said by any Sarkosy fan, very right side way of thinking. Well the black families who work for him lives on the other side of the road, in the wind, in small simple houses, without trees for the shadow. That is the typical farm in South Africa yet, the white in a palace, and the blacks in the misery.
Next day we continue by the same road and the same countryside, shrubs land. We cross 2 more very little villages, just a few farms. We stop to ask water at a farm. First we ask at the blacks at the small house, but they dont have tap water, the man drives me a hundred meters away, at a tap near the hedge of the big house of the farmer. Then we take te road N9, which have a few traffic too. We stop just before the first pass, Ghwarriepoort, and we ask to a farm to camp. They refuse as they just have a lot of invities, but they phone to the neighbour farms to find room for us. They send us to a farm 7 away. So we cross the pass, which is in reality an other defile made by a river, like before Montagu. Well it is not so beautiful, but it is easy, nerly flat, along the river. In fact the farm is a lodge, and we pay 20$ to camp. Fortunately later the owner comes and tells us to sleep in one apartment, as all is empty, and because she doesnt want we suffer the cold and the strong wind outside. The young woman who receives us was very nice with us too, but she cant do nothing for us, as she is just an employed. So we have hot showers, comfort, and coffe in the morning.
Next day we continue by the N9. The second pass is easy too, a short climb, 1000 m high, and we arrive at 11 h in Willowmore. It is an other sad dark town. The main street have no animation, a few shops for tourists, 2 very dark supermarkets, and the usual small groups of blacks wandering or laying on the stairs at the entrance of the shops. Most of the buildings are in bad condition. And at the get out we can see a large township. Such a place gives me quickly the blues, and I follow for a while with bad mood. We take 2 plates in the take away, as we are very hungry. We didnt managed well the shopping for the food when we moved from Oushoorn, and we were short. The take away have a little terrace closed by walls, which i live like a refuge. Then we continue by a long climbing in the mountain, with a lot of small trees in open forest, that means that the trees are espaced each other of a few meters, because they miss water, so they keep space around by poisonning the soil, to have a sort of plate of rain for each. There are also views on rocky and colourfull slopes, where we can read the geologic lanes. We finally cross the pass, and enter in a flatter part. We cross a first big farm, and the second is far from the road. We see further a house near the road. But it the house of the caretaker of the dam, and the entrance is forbidden. Fortunately 200 m later we see a sport ground and the gate is open. We decide to camp here. We let the bicycles in and we go for water. We walk first till the small houses for workers, but all is abandonned. So we continue till the big house, which is empty, but we find rain tankers behind. We feed the bottles and return to the sport ground where we pitch the tent. By the evening we ear noise near the big house. The caretaker comes back home with his family. They walk till the dam and then they make a barbecue on the terrace. But they let us quiet, may they saw us, maybe not, anyway they dont care about.