we travelled via victoria west, loxton, fraserburg and sutherland.
from sutherland we went via the ouberg pass.
astounding how "flood damage" can affect a mountain pass
that has not been under water for the last 350 000 000 years.
the tankwa can be seen from the top of the pass
the top of the pass is 1401 m above sea level and has gradients as steep as 1:5 with at least 8 hairpin bends.
this was the first main route leading hunters, explorers and fortune seekers
from the cape of good hope to the interior and the great north.
the succulent karoo biome is known as the tanqua karoo,
named after the river cutting through that region
we were originaly booked in at the tankwa guest house complex
but on advice from one of the friendly ladies in management,
who's name escapes me now,
we moved our booking to paulshoek because there was very little water in the south western section and more game about in the central areas.
paulshoek is one of the renovated farmsteads with 2 bedrooms a kitchen/ dining area and a living room.
there is a shower and toilet
with hot water via a "donkey" out back.
wood is supplied for the "donkey"
the fridge is solar/battery powered and was very ineffective on the 1st day as it stopped working at about 19:00
and did not re-start as it was supposed to in the morning.
this created a bit of a panic as we had 3 dozen karoo lamb chops in the now defunct freezer, that annie was taking to her children in cape town.
there is a radio operated telephone in a white box on a pole a short distance from the house
that we were told to use should we wish to contact the reception.
one is supposed to press a button on the handset and call " TANKWA, TANKWA, TANKWA, TANKWA, TANKWA" (5 times they said)
and they would respond. there was no response despite repeated efforts so we had to drive to reception with our thawing chops to have them stored in their deep freeze.
on the 2nd day after the maintenance team were there it worked better and only went off at about 23:00 and back on again at about 5:00.
lighting is by candles and lanterns
there is sheltered braai area next to house.
the veranda is shaded and the coolest place to be, what with the "chaise lounge" that we moved out of the living room we spent most of our time there
enjoying a good karoo breakfast in the mornings.
we had a family of house martins nesting in the roof of the veranda that kept us entertained as they constantly fed their hungry chicks
... here you can see the one parent removing the faecal sack..
to be con.........
.
