Klein Karoo Mc Gregor Part 2
Donkey at the sanctuary |
Mc Gregor Klein Karoo
Read Part 1 by going to the last blog post or click – here.
Saturday morning we raced out to make sure we didn’t miss the “short’
market. Our city mentality meant we over budgeted time-wise and had
LOADS of time to kill. The first marketer pitched long after us. We hid
around the corner and waited for the market to start. A whole six
stalls happened. We bought at nearly every one. But it was over so fast
that we can’t be sure it was in fact a market! We bought spinach pies,
ginger beer, quiche, milk tart, pea shoots and fresh spinach. While we
were waiting for things to happen we got chatting to a local about
property prices. OMG!!! A house in Mc Gregor STARTS at just below R1
million. Prices go up to R3 million. Hello! This is a village in the
middle of nowhere.
We collected our ethically sourced raw honey
from Deli Girls
Donkey sanctuary Mc Gregor |
and had a quick cup of tea. Quick because ESKOM power
was about to fail and they had to make sure they had hot water. A
friendly American joined us and regaled us with tales of his life as a
pilot and global traveler. He had decided he wanted to make Mc Gregor
his home. He prophesied that Las Vegas and Austin in Texas had a bleak
future as water was fast becoming scarce in America. He saw South Africa
as a better option to the United States of America. Who knew?
After
our tea and conversation we headed off on a
Mc Gregor Winery |
wine tour. At Mc Gregor
Winery we bought a bargain Ruby Cabernet (R19 per bottle) and a Pinotage
(R38 per bottle). No discount for bulk at Mc Gregor Winery. Sigh. Then
we went to Tanagra down the road. Prices were a bit steep there (R70 a
bottle). We tasted Grappa. Hated it. Not for us. The price (R200 a tiny
bottle) didn’t help.
We also stopped in at Esseltjerus, a donkey
sanctuary. They let you pat the friendly donkeys and you can have a bite
to eat. We picked prickly pears off the cacti with a piece of paper.
They are yummy but a mission as they have long fine thorns that get
stuck in your fingers and are a nightmare to remove.
Came
home and soaked up the 35’C sun. Snoozed. Bathed and then went on a
village historical walk. There
Greenie at the Saturday market |
are four walks to choose from. Mill Walk.
Gaol Walk. Graveyard Walk. Church Walk. We did the Mill Walk. After our
walk we had a quick drink at the Old Post Office Pub. Then headed back
to Temenos for supper. I had a veg curry and my other half had hake en papillote. And yet more Mc Gregor wine. We tried again to see the Temenos gardens but again we were not allowed. Sigh! Staggered home and slept like logs.
We
had a slow start to the day. Late brekka and a very late lunch. Lots of
snoozing and reading in between. Around 14.30pm we ventured out to do
Kleinberg hiking trail |
the The Kleinberg Hike. We found a sign off Voortrekker Street saying
1.5 kilometres. We thought that was the start of the hike. But no. That
was – to the start – of the start of the hike.
And we managed to miss the start. We
saw a sign saying Kingfisher River but walked on. Luckily a bakkie (pick-up truck) came past and directed us to the start. When we went back, we saw below in much
smaller letters, it said Kleinberg Hike. We finally got
going with the hike.
The lady at Deli Girls
recommended we do the Heron Trail at the Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve. I
wish we had
Sign depicting Old Mill historical walk |
taken her advice. Apparently they have two hides to
observe wildlife. I was not thrilled to see a big baboon sitting at
a brick works on the side of the road. Turns out there are lots of
baboons around. And they have been known to be violent.
We
hotfooted it up the hill but sadly we never got to the top. The signs
dried up and we kept getting lost so we gave up and went home.
On the
way back we passed the town brass band. I was
Mc Gregor brass band |
clapping enthusiastically
only to find out later they march at funerals. Major oops. Sunday was a
quiet night with home cooking and scrabble.
The next day,
Monday, we had a long lie in before we packed up to head back home. We
visited the free museum hoping to see the original king James bible with
Rob Roy’s signature but it was out on loan. It’s hardly a big museum. One
room, but I could have spent hours reading all the history and looking
at the exhibits. Then we set off to have a last lunch en route at Bon
Cap organic wine farm. Yummy lunch and nice to be able to get some
Bon Cap wine estate |
seriously good
organic wines.
Then came the anti climax as we headed back home. I would love to go back to Mc Gregor but I fear many of the other fabulous places we have yet to see in South Africa may take priority. Will keep you posted.
Greenie.
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.