The day of driving to Mossel Bay on the Garden Route

I awoke to hearing the cows and went outside to see the herd close to the back of the cottage with calves feeding from their mums and bulls supervising the group.

We were only booked for one night in this cottage with Airbnb so we packed the red rocket and headed to Hermanus for a coffee and for Scott to do some work! This area is referred to as the ‘whale coast’ but all we saw was an enormous pod of dolphins making their way out to sea.

Mossel Bay was a three hour drive away so we looked for somewhere to break up the trip and the Van Loveren winery in Robertson was chosen. So we entered our navigation directions and took to the road. As we were leaving the suburbia of Hermanus, I spotted a random monkey on the roof of a house…later we drove past ‘monkey crossing’ and ‘baboon crossing’ signs – we are in Africa! As we drove past mountains, the terrain reminded us of the highlands in Scotland, then we would round a corner to see vast fields of harvested grains, corn fields and expansive vistas with the ribbon of road stretching out as far as the eye could see. Scott was in his element revelling in the joy of driving the Mazda through curves and the open roads. There is a driving etiquette here where slower cars or trucks will veer to the shoulder so others can pass, once passed, the driver flashes their hazard lights in appreciation and the slower car or truck flashes their high beam in response. There are very few multi lane roads here so this system works well.

We arrived at the Van Loveren estate which contained pristine white buildings amongst the most impressive gardens. We skipped the wine tasting and ordered lunch at Christina’s Bistro located in the garden on the estate. Scott chose the carrot and coriander soup of the day and I had the grilled chicken Caesar salad with a glass of Daydream Chardonnay/Pinot Noir. Instead of the wine tasting I chose a couple of bottles of wine and bought their lovely wine cooler bag to keep them cold for the trip.

Mossel Bay was still nearly 3 hours away. We stopped for petrol at a place called Riversdale where people pump the gas for you and clean your windscreen without you having to get out of the car. Payment is cashless too but Scott had some Rand that he gave to the friendly male attendant as a tip. As we got on our way again, police were guiding cars aside for what we thought was a breath test but it was just a security and licence check. They were happy, friendly individuals who were humoured by Scott’s height and the compact car, joking that one of the officers was better suited for this model! Again, everyone has been so positive and friendly in this country.

As we approached Mossel Bay which is purported to be the point of human origins, the weather turned into drizzle and fog which made navigating a little challenging. Our beach hut was located in a gated area and when we finally found the entrance we parked outside the white picket fence and entered an amazing place with uninterrupted views of the ocean.