Climbing and Camping and Beach, Oh My! :: AM, Day 2

Waking up...

In a tent. 

Before I forget, let me tell you about De Bos Guest Farm. We knew about it because Dan had camped there back in 2003 when he lived here in South Africa for nearly a year. It's a beautiful property with plenty of grassy, shady camp sites, there's a pool, a jungle-gym for the kids, a fenced-in meadow with a horse and a donkey, an adorable little goat that walks around with a bell around its neck, clean bathrooms and showers, a kitchen, and very friendly owners and guests. It was a great place to stay and we'll definitely be going back. 

Eland has loved sucking his two left fingers since he was about 3 months old. He only does it when he's sleepy. :)
He was the first one up in the morning. I did my best to ignore him but at some point it's hard to pretend to be asleep with a 1.5 y/o crawling all over you. 

I love how cute kids look when they're all sleepy-eyed.

Morning wraastling!

I realized after-the-fact that perhaps I shouldn't have Auggie sleep in camouflage pajamas when we go camping. It would seriously be impossible to see him if he ran off at night. I don't think he would, but safety first, right? One more thing, this kid loves sticks. The end.

Let me tell you about Ouma..

Let's take a moment to thank our sponsor, Ouma's Muesli Rusks. Ouma (oh-ma) is the Afrikaans word for grandma. The closest thing I can think of to compare rusks to is biscotti. Rusks are the South African version, and are stinkin' awesome. South Africans--and Dan--eat them daily, if not several times a day. They pair wonderfully with tea, coffee, and even cold milk. Dan will even eat them dry, but I'm pretty sure you could crack a tooth on one of these suckers, so I only eat them wet.

The mountains surrounding Montagu in the morning on our way out..

Van Loveren
On our way south to the beach we made a stop at Van Loveren (fahn loov-rhen) wine farm. Montagu is in the Robertson wine region--known to be one of the best in South Africa.

The Van Louvren vineyard was recommended by a guy that Dan works with. The estate was gorgeous, and a true hidden treasure as it was well off the beaten path. You had to know exactly where you were going in order to get there. We stopped in on a Sunday morning around 9:30am, so the place wasn't even technically open, but they let us buy wine anyway. (Honestly, if someone wants to give you money, you take it, am I right?) We bought six bottles of wine for R185, and at about $8/Rand that works out to $23.12. Fantastic wine is dirt cheap here. Come visit, Kotovskys, we'll more than fill your future wine cellar in a day!

This little stinker was sound asleep within minutes of leaving Die Bos, thanks to waking up at stupid o'clock in the morning. ;)

These gorgeous flowers lined the vineyards as we headed towards Van Loveren.

Van Loveren grapevines

The vineyard grounds were covered in gorgeous flowers like these hydrangeas.

Cool dude, round two.

Even cool without the swagger shades.

Auggie played in the dirt with his station wagon while Dan bought wine and Eland slept in the car. I love this photo.

The road to Hermanus

It was a strange drive south from Montagu to Hermanus, where we stopped for lunch. Hermanus is on the Whale Route and is a picturesque seaside town nestled next to Walker Bay. 

As we headed south we passed quaint farms set amongst the rolling hills and mountains. Then you'd turn a bend, the road would become dirt, and then back to pavement after a few kilometers. Round the next bend and you feel like you've driven to Mars. The green hills turn to dusty brown and the dusty sheep standing with their necks resting on each other are completely camouflaged in the fields. Round another bend and it's green again. Hills turn into mountains. The road turns to dirt. Back to pavement, another few twists and turns, and 2 hours later, you're in Hermanus.

Water!

We found an awesome little restaurant called Burgundy Restaurant and they were very kid-friendly. I later saw pictures on the inside of the owner with her grandchildren, which explains why they were all so thrilled with the kids.

Pat and Chelle - eggs benedict with salmon! We will definitely be taking you guys here. :)

Dan got the chicken wrap with "chips". 

Look at this supercool seaside hotel.. Love it!

The boys refused to look. Too interested in watching the waves come in.

Look, mom! It's a whale tail bench!

Apparently March is the last month of the year when you typically see whales in Hermanus. I wish we had known, because we would have looked more closely. Aww shucks, I suppose we'll just have to head back in October. ;)