Coffee Bay to the Drakensberg Mountains
Saturday was another driving day as we made our way from Coffee Bay to the Drakensberg Mountains.
We decided to have breakfast before leaving, which was delicious, and we had the added bonus of watching dolphins in the bay as they fed and played in the waves. You could hear the waves all night, although we both slept like logs. We woke up to the most stunning sunrise, and it really was a very special place to stay. The staff were lovely and we were sorry to leave.
We left at 8.15am and arrived at around 5pm. We stopped once for petrol and snacks but otherwise drove straight through. Mark drove the first three hours and then I drove the rest.
The journey took longer than expected because the main route up was being upgraded. For around an hour, the road was restricted to 40km/h and was very uneven and unmade. We were mostly travelling at around 20km/h because of the number of slow-moving lorries and there was no opportunity to overtake.
We also had another detour on a different road, which took us through some very narrow country roads. Despite the delays, the whole route was interesting. The landscape changed constantly, taking us from grasslands with animals roaming around, to large cattle farms and then into forests.
We listened to some great podcasts on Hidden Sussex to help pass the time.
I forgot to mention that yesterday we also went through three police checkpoints. There were police on both sides of the road, with around 12 to 15 officers stopping nearly every car travelling in both directions. Luckily, we didn't get stopped. We have no idea what they were looking for!
Our accommodation last night also had a huge dog, along with a couple of smaller ones that obviously lived in kennels out in the garden. The lady on reception told us they were the security team. The big one certainly looked the part as we drove up to the gate. He looked very menacing and did a very good security guard act. You definitely felt safe with him around!
As we travelled this morning, we also saw quite a few older children wearing their school clothes. They must have Saturday morning lessons.
We eventually arrived at our accommodation for the next two nights, which is set in some lovely grounds and has an indoor pool and spa.
After checking in, we headed out to the local pub for dinner. It was a great place, with huge burning braziers in the outside seating area and a fire inside. They had good draft beer, much to Mark's delight, and we had a delicious steak.
The pub, called Notties Pub, was only five minutes from our accommodation, making it the perfect place to end another long day on the road.