ROAD TRIP – Sodwana Bay (1)

Langebaan (Western Cape Province) to Hanover (Northern Cape Province)

Welcome to our road trip of December 2021. We are travelling by car across South Africa (from the west coast → north coast → KZN south coast → back to the west coast). The distance we will cover, will be around 5,000km (3,106 miles).

Our main purpose for this trip, besides seeing places we have not seen before, is for Berto to scuba dive in Sodwana Bay and then to be a little more adventurous … diving with sharks in the ocean in Umkomaas on the south coast of Kwazulu-Natal. We hope to share lots of pictures to show you our beautiful country.

Accommodation – Day 1:

Karoo Gariep Nature Reserve – New Holme Nature Lodge (Hanover, Northern Cape)

We left Langebaan, our home town, in perfect sunny weather. We will travel to Hanover in the Northern Cape province today – a distance of about 840km (521 miles).

When we crossed the provincial border from the Western Cape to the Northern Cape, long and straight roads awaited us with a few towns in between. When we started to plan our road trip a couple of months ago, we knew that we would like to travel on the back roads – by now, we know when travelling this way, you see unexpected beauties on your journey. Sometimes, our car was the only one on the road … just the way we prefer it!

It was on one of these straight roads (between the towns of Williston and Carnarvon), where we pulled over to enjoy lunch. We parked our car in the shade of a few small trees, before packing out our lunch to enjoy with a cup of coffee and tea.

With our tummies full, we continued on our trip. More straight roads followed and after about 200km, we drove into a very small village called Vosburg where we had to refuel our car. Although it’s a super small town, it took us some time to find a petrol station. After a while, we saw three petrol pumps – almost hidden away behind another building.

While stretching my legs at the petrol station, I noticed a couple of goats in the street. They were eating the leaves from a big tree … that was until someone came to fetch them. I love these small towns!

Our last part of today’s journey, was through flat landscapes with mountains only visible in the distance. It was already 17:30 in the afternoon when we reached our destination for the day.

Just pass Hanover, we reached a gravel road that took us to our accommodation for the night, New Holme Nature Lodge in the Karoo Gariep Nature Reserve.

And what a lovely place! We were welcomed like family by the owners of the lodge who made immediately sure that we are comfortable after our long journey. Our room is called the ‘stalle’ (old horse stables that were converted into lovely rooms with a luxurious en-suite bathroom).

Once again, we met some wonderful travelers. A couple, on their way from Johannesburg to Cape Town, also overnight here and we had great conversations with them. That’s the beauty of traveling this way, you have the opportunity of meeting some amazing people.

I saw the staff of the lodge feeding a couple of young lambs, one of them being only a week old. They asked whether I would like to help with the feeding and I immediately grabbed the opportunity of holding two bottles of hot milk while they were sucking like crazy!

After a long day on the road, we still had enough energy to make a big fire to prepare our dinner. The feeling of sitting next to a fire in a far-away place with only nature’s wonderful sounds, is almost magical to us!

We saw the most breathtaking sunset while sitting outside … the perfect way of ending a long day on the road!

Tomorrow, we are travelling to the Golden Gate National Park near Clarens in the Free State province – high up in the mountains. We will see you there …