TARTARUGA

I will begin to post tomorrow morning, thanks for joining up.

I am travelling, unusually, solo, down to the Cape by the scenic route. I will share progress and pics on this group, it will not be a discussion group, but if there is anything you want to ask or share please message me directly. DAY 1 - to Bergville Travelling from Richards Bay to Clarens, well this isn't how it panned out, without my navigator I missed the turn off from the N2 highway and ended up in Shakaskraal instead of Stanger. Not that this changed the course of my journey much, there are just better shorter routes to achieve the same. The climb from Shakaskraal up to Kranskloof is where the trouble started. Recently I modified my radiator cooling system to eliminate the mechanical fans which are dangerous. All worked brilliantly at sea level, but as the climb began, we started overheating. At first I couldn't believe or accept it, the trucks engine temperature does go up and down a bit, especially under hard working conditions like climbing. Well before long the temperature was in the danger zone, and I had to pull over and let it cool. Acknowledging the experimental nature of the new fans, I had made it easy to plug out and back to original spec, but, of course now the engine was too hot and I couldn't get my hands in, so that option was out. Hoping it was not going to happen, again, I decided to push on, again, and again, and again........... Eventually at 19h00 I reached Bergville and decided to rather stop in at the Drakensville campsite, where I, very fed up with life, chatted to my neighbors who listened sympathetically to my story, before hitting the hay at about 20h30. Not a nice day, but aside from the overheating, and some problem with the set of Ozziexplorer map calibrations in my PC (which is why no tracks for this section), for once, all our stuff in the camper seems to have settled down and is working. Small problem with the geyser temperature indication on the car PC but that was soon fixed, and it too is fully functional again. It has been a long journey but with only this overheating irritation so far, it really looks like the Tartaruga is complete.

DAY 2 - to Clarens I had planned to spend 2 days in the Golden Gate area which is a very happy place for me, I just love these unique sandstone mountains, in total contrast to the stark rugged profile of the rest of the Drakensberg, ( actually I suspect they are Malutis not Drakensberg, will confirm in later report) The day started well with a cup of filter coffee and a rusk, then I quickly changed the wiring of the fans so they both run on the low temperature thermostat, hopeful that the doubled airflow at lower temps would be enough. Departed from the camp at 10h00 after paying my R250 camping fee, Drakensville is ATKV run and it is pristinely clean, has bundles of hot water in the showers, and nice people go there. I gave two tours of the Tartaruga in the morning, and the cot on its way to the Cape for Veronicas new Charlotte, attracted a lot of attention, and many stories. I told one couple we are thinking of having a baby now that we are old enough and retired with time on our hands, and this was like an extension room. Got good mileage out of this one. I headed on for Oliviershoek pass, have heard a lot of motorhomers complaining the road is desecrated and virtually impassable, I was keen to see for myself. At the foot of the pass, before even any real climbing done, the engine was getting too hot again, after the previous days pain, I decided to pull over and reconnect the original fan clutch, this made the rest of the climb a cinch. There are a few rough spots on Oliviershoek but honestly nothing to panic about, very bad wash away right at the top, but a lovely view of the Sterkfontein dam system. Shortly after this, bombing along with a cool engine and everything going well, Paul Simons Graceland rocking my headphones, (with the starlink on the roof I can listen to Youtube music all the way), I hit a wrong gear and stalled the engine, YIP you sure can tell a trip is going well, when you sing out loud so passionately, you forget what gear you are in, Diamonds on the soles of his shoes.......... Well after a concert, reverently listening to David Sandbourne (who passed away day before yesterday) followed by Edi Niederlanders Ancient Dust album, I arrived at the "Di bus stop" roadhouse, where you pay for the camping. Found it under new management and had coffee with the new owners, they are setting up to distill liquor, and battling to decide how to legalise it, hooked them up with Veronica who has been through this before, it was strange, I was thinking a lot of Veronica while I sat there, they played "Memphis Blues", a song from an old "on the road" CD set we played the hell out of on the way to Liuwa Plains a thousand years ago, and this was a Veronica and Kim favourite. This shortly followed by another song they sang in the Grantleigh school concert, the name of which I have never known, and which I felt wasn't really a school kids song, about love and oceans and the sea........... I digress, at the bus stop I payed my coffee and camping fee and armed with new intelligence about a truffle infused beer at Highland Brewery, I set of to fill my Cadac bottle for lighting up a fire that evening, and set off to find the truffles, and very good truffles they were. Returning to camp, I lit up a fire and braaied and cooked up a big pot of stywe pap, nice dinner and two quarts, followed by a netflix about a deserted astronaut on mars that put me to sleep, a great day, as good as can be expected without my navigator by my side, something that literally doesn't happen to us and I am just not accustomed to.

Impressive views of the dam system, this is referred to as Sterkfontein, but it is actually two dams in one, part of the Drakensberg storage pumping system, and full to the brim with water, ready to go down the mountain to make hydro power to bolster eishkom's flagging reserves. In the second pic you can clearly see the dividing wall between the dam and the reservoir for the pumping scheme

DAY 3 - the digital divide This campsite has been sorted out a lot by the new people, I like it for the view and setting between the trees, but the facilities were always dicey and last time no hot water. On this visit the facilities, remain a little quaint, but are in excellent condition and everything working and the hot water is plenty. R385 for two nights camping and a cup of coffee in the restaurant at the padstal. Rubbish bins empty, grass trimmed, electricity and new plug points at all sites, neat campsite signs, not that it is too important, today I was the only one here, two cyclist slept in one of the cosy little cottages lastnight but were gone with the morning frost by the time I finished my coffee. Cold lastnight, electric blanket in top gear all night. And yes frost on the roof this morning, winter is a coming. Today I have some important targets - get Arduino back on the system and my accelerometer and gyroscope readings trended and stored in the car PC, this is data I need for a new project. - find out what happened to my Oziexplorer map calibrations and fix. - attend to a few interlocking issues in the camper programs that don't please - begin a trip report tor this trip on www.tartaruga.space which up till now has been done from my desk, and now has to move to the truck so i have no more trip report excuses So I try to cross the digital divide from the serenity of my mountain recluse, wish me luck

And so the day is over, 2 of the targets achieved so tomorrow i will record tracks for you again, and my geyser and big alternator seem to be controlling the way I want them. Charging batteries in our vehicle is very important, in camp it is easy, either we have power and charge with two 100a power supplies, (one always in standby) or from 1.4kw of solar giving us up to about 75A, when travelling we need to decide when to turn on our big alternator, which is a new development and capable of 300A, we don't use it if we are getting some solar while driving or our power use has been low, then we use the iveco alternator and clos a contactor to join the truck and camper systems together. When it all falls down in bad weather and if we are not travelling, we have a 100A generator that runs on petrol. It is a fairly complex setup but seems to be near perfect for our needs. <This message was edited>

Tomorrow I will strive for more interesting material, today was profoundly boring but quite neccessary

DAY 4 -Zastron Left the campsite at about 10h00 this AM and after some essentials and fuel in Clarens, was underway around 11h00. Destination was supposed to be the Ruff and Tuff campsite near Wepener but as it turned out that was too early to stop travelling at about 14h00. Pushed on to Zastron, i mean what were they thinking, "Zastron" sounds like a synthetic plant fertiliser, or a fuel station franchise. All in all as deserted free state and eastern cape towns go, it doesn't look too bad, but of course it is Sunday and everything except the fuel station is closed Checked into the mountain view lodge campsite, nice and clean R250 for the night, restaurant in the complex for the lodge, water, power, light and trashcan at each site. I like it will easily stop here for an overnighter anytime. Tomorrow is Addo Elephant park for two nights, looking fwd to a change of scene. I am somewhat bemused by the fact that the streets through this area, are copiously lined with Orange Hawthorn, poplar trees and of course, potholes. We all know that the potholes are thanks to the ACE, magashule who spent and stole all the bux, but where does the hawthorn and poplar come from, neither are indigenous, why orange, the is almost no red and no white why, and where does it come from. Likewise the poplars, there is no timber industry here and I am not even sure poplar is grown for commercial use, so why do they line the highways for miles and miles with their little hawthorn buddies, curious.

A lot of people asking if the truck behaves itself, yes, very happy but the fan experiment is on hold till I get higher volume fans, these will cost about 5x more than the fans I have in, but if they do the job and save another radiator getting hurt, that will be cheap. Interesting is we upgraded transfer case bushes, thanks Lindsay for joining us here, and the bushes are a bit more robust and stiffer, so I now feel vibration from the transmission that wasn't there before. Got to keep an eye on the truck side of those mounts and make sure they can handle it. Our water system with the two pumps, recent upgrade, is a huge success, and the geyser controls nicely with the protection of the new safety valve as a back stop. I can set the geyser temp where i want it, currently heating to 65C which seems a useful setpoint electrics and charging systems are all doing what they should, except the genny, haven't needed that yet. Tyres also looking good. I think our baby has settled down and accepts that it is not the boss, just a member of the tartaruga team.

And this is just one tank

The famous cherry orchards of clocolan and ficksberg seem to have vanished, only this nursery under nets and I couldn't make out what was being cultivated, but doesn't look like cherries, is this the demise of another much loved south african industry?

That's what you think, there isn't one cherry tree in clocolocolaan worth picking

DAY 5 - Addo A 500km slog, pretty uneventful, but it is done. Normally we try to keep the kilos down to 3-400 but this was a target i had to deal with, there isn't much in between. Exchanged the hawthorne and poplars for aloes and prickly pear, much prettier, will take photos tomorrow.

Lions and tigers tomorrow, looking fwd to it

DAY 5 - Addo Early rise this AM and quick coffee before hitting the road to check out the park. Not a bad day, spotted - elephant - buffalo - hartebees - zebra - burchells or mountain zebra (not sure, no navigator) - kudu - heron - secretary bird - warthog - heron - blue crane - that bird that looks like a hoopoe with a long curved beak Sorry, no lions, and even less tigers -

Then it is mountain zebra, more black than white

I am going to owe you guys a trip report tomorrow, i had an excellent day and was happily contemplating a camping ground for tonight, and my truck snapped a fanbelt, i have stripped and prepared to install the new one, and think i have got the right belt, but it got too late and dark to finish the job, and it is misty and wet outside, so i am sleeping alongside the road tonight and feeling far to grumpy to write nice things about my day

Ok guys, thanks for all the concerned sympathies, i am back on the road, got most if it done lastnight, just needed sunlight to set the belt tensioner, nit enough hands

DAY 6 - Addo/Outeniqua pass Ok i am not going to talk about cars or fan belts, let's just say i am warm and safe and the problem is in hand. Got up early and packed up my stuff, and hit the road with a full camera battery, had a nice drive around Addo and left at 11h00 headed toward Mossel Bay. Didn't quite make it and ended up sleeping half way up Outeniqua pass in the mist. And that is all i have to say about that. The day really did start splendidly, judge for yourself.

And that's the other side

So now for a few days we have some wounds to lick, tomorrow Charlotte arrives by air, and we will settle in at time share in Strand, as soon as there is some interesting material i will share, please stay here, when we leave capetown, it is uncertain where we will go, but there will likely be some west coast material and the journey home

Just to put it on record, today I arrived in Strand, very happy to be reunited with my navigator and largely over the truck problems, unfortunately there seem to be one or two new ones brewing but we will deal with that. More gaan ons snoek braai!!!!

Just a small update, we are now at Millers Point near Simonstown, enjoying the first cold front of winter and waiting for my new grand daughter to grace us with her presence

And so the new grand daughter has done what was expected of her, on time on the right date and everyone is well and healthy, we are going for a visit on wednesday and will then start thinking about the trip home and where our wandering may take us <This message was edited>

So i don't know how many days we are into this tour now, but it has been both exciting and humbling. We met our new Granddaughter, Charlotte junior, and after a week of Millers Point at Simonstown and Fish Hoek caravan park, and of course a week of time share in Strand, Charlotte senior and I are back in the drivers seat and heading out to explore a little. Our journey tomorrow will take us to Hermanus, or perhaps Grabouw, depending on what the weather does, then the Elgin wine festival then probably the hot baths at Citrusdal, and who knows what will happen after that, so guys take your seats and join us for a little western Cape wandering, and the homeward bound journey <This message was edited>

The harbor from Simonstown museum

Leopard statue in the rocks, hout bay

You can buy this copper bath for R72k on the platform at Kalk Bay station at the trading store, i bought breakfast instead, at the brass bell

whale painting in the underpass at kalk bay station on the way to the bell

Pub of a thousand memories, or forgettories, as the case may be, the famous brass bell

DAY 25 - Hermanus/Onrus Had a relaxed 10h00 start from Wild wind resort at Gordons Bay, travelled the coast road around via Rooi Els to Hermanus, then returned to Onrus municipal caravan park. Wild wind was R150 pppn, water and electricity at each site, pleasant clean ablutions, abundant hot water, but no kitchen or dish washing facilities. Onrus R184 for the site including pensioners discount, good clean ablutions, electricity at each site but no tap. Saw plenty of penguins, dassies, cormorants and an oyster catcher at Betties bay, no whales despite spending a little time at view points.

DAY 26 - Hermanus Today we took it easy and looked around Hermanus waterfront and had lunch at the wooden barrel. Quaint little town and very pretty, but highly commercialised tourist trap. In the first 100m of waterfront i counted 12 restaurants, quite sure in summer they will all be packed, the kind of retail therapy i do not need. Here are som pics, don't think they need much explanation.

DAY 27 - Elgin wine festival/Theewaterskloof dam Left Onrus camp at leisurely pace and arrived at Elgin wine festival in time for a cup of coffee and apple cookie before sampling all the local wines and buying cheese and a few bottles of the good stuff. Just arrived at Theewaterskloof dam sports club, 111km travelled, R80pppn for the site, under grass, sites with trees and without, electricity and water on all sites looks fine. Unfortunately a drinking day, not many photos to show

DAY 28 - Genadendal/Montagu Left Theewaterskloof at a leisurely 10h00 or so and travelled to Genadendal, claimed to be the oldest mission station in South Africa, kind of think I have heard that claim elsewhere before. Very interesting sightseeing, museum has really interesting collections of old things and the history of the town dating back to at least 1891 is well documented. Found it a bit irritating that there is a whole dissertation on the apartheid era of politics, which frankly is a story I wish people would get over and learn to live with, and which frankly has virtually diddly squat to do with the history of the town, other than the museum had a struggle to get govt sponsorship from the old government, and now nurtures a massive shoulder chip as a consequence. Our journey continued to Montagu, an area which I particularly enjoy, we will stay 2 nights here, tomorrow need to catch up on some cooking and essential chores again. 165km travelled, perhaps 60km on good dirt roads. A nice relaxing and interesting day.

To close off day 28, Dooringlaagte camp is R100pppn, and well worth it, oodles of hot shower water, clean toilets, friendly people, definitely come again.

DAY 29 - Zilch never heard an Iveco engine all day. Cooking potjiekos, mealie pap and dealing with a few beers and wines, this will probably be our last cookup before we hit the road for home, a week of microwave meals on the fly.

DAY 29 - Montagu to Ceres/Klondyke cherry farm Left the Doringdraai campsite at about 9h30 and leisurly drive to Ceres, stopping over to buy waterblommetjies and skaapstertjies for our next potjiekos event. Camping is R110 pppn, small ablutions but hot water and adequate, power points, tables and chairs and braai stands at each site. Interesting to watch the cherry trees getting pruned, pity the season is long gone, a good cherry flambé would go down tonight, it is but 11C in the direct sunlight

Had no cellular reception lastnight, the farm wifi was very flaky, missing my starlink like you can't believe. The POE supplier has sent a new box free if charge, kudos Yaosheng for excellent service, unfortunately that won't save this trip.

DAY 30 - Ceres to Melkbos Strand/Ou Skip caravan park We payed R243 for the site, Ou Skip, well known Melkbos Strand park, little commercial for our liking, but we are overnighting, visiting Veronica tomorrow then heading out to George and nothward / homeward

DAY 31 - Melkbos - Capetown - Swellendam/KamBathi resort First into Capetown to say goodbye to Veronica and Veronica and Charelette, then quick hop up Sit Lowrys pass to KamBathi for overnight.R330 for the site, well grassed sites next to the river, power at each site, pity the ablutions had no water, no wifi, no cellular reception, also quite rar from the main road, shouldn't think we will bother again.

DAY 32 - Bontebok national park Small game reserve, by 15h30 we had seen it and stopped for lunch back at the campsite. If it isn't red hartebees or Bontebok you are looking for, there isn't much point. Payed R331 is for the site, water power, nice grassed sites, washing machines and tumble drier available (bit overdue at this point) nice place, next time will bring MTBs and pedal it, there is plenty of scope.

68km travelled

I just want to let everyone know, we haven't dropped off the face of the earth, our truck has some really aggravating tyre issues and the vibration, (i believe) has damaged the data hard drive on the car PC so we have no tracks and can't easily download our camera. We are sleeping at ATKV Drakensville site tonight and will be home tomorrow. I will try to fill in the gaps as soon as i get a chance at home.