After our first night of camping we struggled to get out of bead this morning, partly because of fatigue – which could be expected since we spent more time on our bikes on our first two days than the previous two months combined – and also because our tent proved to be a bit smaller than we thought, so it was not exactly the ideal night!
We finally got away just before 8am and by 9am the temperatures were reaching well into the thirties. It did not help to see reports about the prevailing hot weather in the papers for the second day running. We made a stop in Vredenburg to get some small things we still needed, but getting there was not easy. The last few kilometers before town was all uphill and by now the sun was baking down on the tar.
We reached Velddrif by lunchtime and were hosted by Professor Danie Schreuder and his wife Mirna. Oom Danie, as he was affectionaly known, was the head of Simonsberg men’s residence in Stellenbosch where I spent four happy years in my student days. He took us fishing on the Berg River and I was happy to land an elf, at least catching something now justifies the light fishing rods we carry with us!
The West Coast hospitality continues!
