To the Karoo


Leaving Himeville, we set off for the Karoo - the semi-arid high desert to the south in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces.
Recent rains have resulted in a greener terrain than when we were here before.  

After an overnight stay in Queenstown, we arrived at Graaff-Reinet, the fourth oldest town in South Africa and located in the heart of the Great Karoo (as opposed to the Klein - small - Karoo).  When we were here three years ago, it was over 100 degrees - way too hot to walk around and see the town.  This time it was pleasantly warm, but our B&B host said that it was 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) a few weeks ago.  Whew - really glad we missed that!

We stayed in another charming B&B - this one a converted stables -



John promptly made friends with the owner’s dachshund.


Who actually came to our room and scratched at the door and waited to be let in.


Alas, we did have to part company with her and hit the road for the Klein Karoo town of Oudtshoorn - the self-proclaimed ostrich capital of the world.  There are pastures of ostriches everywhere.  



Ostrich feather dusters are for sale all over town, and ostrich meat is on menus.  Our B&B owner makes his own ostrich sausage, and I had an ostrich burger for lunch today - very lean and tasty.  According to the city’s tourism website, the area’s economy has risen and fallen according to the popularity of ostrich feathers (the invention of the automobile was a disaster - feather hats were blown to bits in the early open cars).  Low-fat diet plans in the 1980’s led to an increase in the popularity of ostrich meat, which is even lower in fat than turkey.

While ostriches are fun to look at, we’re more interested in the spectacular scenery.  Today we drove up and across Swartberg Pass (Swartberg = black mountain), which separates the Klein Karoo from the Great Karoo.  It’s an incredibly scenic gravel road originally built with convict labor.



Views of canyons below -


Rock formations -



And our very dirty rental car (Toyota RAV4).


Meanwhile, back at the B&B, John makes yet another friend!

































Comments

  1. UnknownMarch 16, 2018 at 6:16 AM

    Carol--love your blog. John, the pictures of you with your new pet friends are wonderful! Glad you're both having a good time.

    Grace

    ReplyDelete

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