Cederberg

When I was thinking about this trip, the Cederberg Wilderness Area jumped out as a place that sounded rugged and remote. Not suffering too badly from beer consumption last night I drove a few hours north to the point where a gravel road leads off from the main highway into the mountains. I was slightly concerned about the performance of a VW Golf on such a road but it was manageable.

On the way I passed through a town called Gouda, as in the Dutch cheese. The place could have been the Netherlands on a scorching summer’s day, the only difference being that there you don’t nearly run over a troop of baboons playing on the road. Aside from that the drive was uneventful and I enjoyed the magnificent scenery, bursts of greenery from the citrus production, and rocking out to West End Girls on the radio.

My accommodation is on a government-run site in this valley, and it’s a pretty stunning location. Tomorrow I’ll go for more of a trundle. Today I sat on the veranda in the drowsy late afternoon heat with a couple of books about the area that Erin has leant me.

New Year going delightfully well so far.