Swellendam

After a hearty breakfast we were soon off on the near three hour trip to Swellendam through fantastic scenery and mountain passes. This part of South Africa is turning out to be very picturesque and the towns immaculate. Even small towns like Barrydale which we reluctantly drove by made us feel we could have stopped there for at least a day.

Swellendam, the third town populated by Europeans in South Africa, is more of the same. We pulled into our lodging, the Old Thatch Lodge, and soon met the owner. We learned our room had been booked by the folks who’d been there the night before and that we’d be bumped to the honeymoon suite. She also suggested a few things to do in town and soon we were off.

We first visited the Sulina Faerie Sanctuary. This sort of thing is not our normal port of call but we’re trying out different things. Young girls (and some boys) would would be enchanted here. The adult perspective, we understand, is that the lady of the house, a couple of decades ago, started seeing / hearing from the faeries around her. She started making porcelain figures of them and planting them around the garden. This obsession turned into an attraction and now a museum and shop, the profits of which all go to charity. So we understand.

Next stop was a light lunch at Pennantwing where we both had the most delicious apple strudles.

Then we were off to the Drostdy Museum which portrayed a little of the history of the town. This is all very much original Dutch territory so a lot of the history is told from their perspective which makes it all the more interesting.

With our minds full of wonder we picked up some food for the evening and settled in for the rest of the afternoon / evening. The common area for the lodge has a real fire which the owner sets and we light if we want. Helen and I feasted on Brie and Salmon rolls accompanied by some Calitzdorp red plonk in front of a nice fire watching an old TV show on the laptop. A different type of heaven to what we’ve been used to over the last few years but a wonderful way to spend the evening nonetheless.