Road trip to Patensie

Travelman and I decided on a road trip in January 2019. We read about a town Patensie and thought it a good idea for a trip along the Garden Route.

We took a leisurely drive via Riviersonderend to Gouritsmond (our first stop). The last time I have been to Gouritsmond was in my youth with my parents in the 70’s and then it was a small seaside village at the mouth of the Gouritz river. It still has the small town feel, but much bigger than I remembered. Gouritsmond (or “Die Mond” as called by the locals) is a popular fishing location. It was a bit too cool and windy for us to swim on the day we arrived, but the beach area is spectacular.

Google maps took us on the coastal road (a dirt road) to our overnight accommodation, but that was not the best idea. We stayed at Gourikwa Nature Reserve and arrived at an unmanned gate. Luckily there was an open pedestrian gate and Travelman was gallant enough to offer to walk to civilization. The second luck was that a good Samaritan saw Travelman and gave him a lift to the reception area to collect a remote to open the gate and back to our vehicle. We later discovered the actual gate is miles away in another direction.

We booked a double room, which consists of a large room with a double bed, couch, coffee table and TV, you also have a tiny kitchenette and large bathroom with bath and shower. The accommodation is perfect for an overnight stay. All you need is in the room. The only problem we had was the many devils thorns outside, but the lovely views of the nature reserve and the sea made up for that. The staff was friendly enough to supply us with a portable braai.

The next morning we carried on our merry way. We booked the first night’s accommodation in advance, but nothing beyond that as we were not sure where we would be by nightfall. We used booking.com and even though it was January and in the holiday season, we always found a place to stay.

We traveled on the N2 as it is such a beautiful drive and then took the R330 to Hanky and from there the R331 to Patensie. The name is Khoi in origin, and means “cattle resting place”. Visit the impressive Kouga Dam built in 1967 – the first double-arched dam engineered in South Africa. Interesting fact – the first oranges were exported in 1907 by Mr Bean (no, not that one!). The area has beautiful rock formations.

We arrived in Patensie late afternoon and had a lovely lunch at Tolbos Country Shop. This is a restaurant and curio shop all in one.

Travelman has this “thing” for an AgriMark so we had to stop there too. We found a room for the night at the Ripple Hotel. Fantastic!!

The hotel was built in 1946 and has an old school charm and character with raised ceilings and wooden floors throughout. We had a few drinks on the stoep and you could imagine yourself in the days of the Charleston and two-toned shoes. Really lovely. The menu was great and affordable, unfortunately we missed dinner as we decided on a nap and slept till the next morning. Driving can be tiring when you are middle aged I suppose! Or could it be the drinks on the stoep….

The next day we had a lovely full English breakfast in the dinning room and left. We decided to head inland and drove to Steytlerville via Uitenhage. Very interesting as we saw many flags painted on the rockface on the side of the road just before Steytlerville.

The local say the silence is so pure you can hear God think, the stars so near you feel you have only to reach out to touch them. On the wide main road the street lamp poles are adorned with the coats of arms of families associated with this town and area.

Interesting to know is that Dr A G Visser, poet and medical doctor lived in Steytlerville for a few years. His house is now a national monument in the main road.

From there we drove to Willowmore and then Uniondale. Uniondale is known for the ghost of a young woman who stands alone alongside the lonely stretch of road between Uniondale and Willowmore. When people stop to offer her a lift, she gets into the car and then vanishes after a few kilometers. I wanted to see the ghost of Uniondale, but alas she only climbs into cars where there is a single male. Travelman will have to do that one on his own…or not.

We then headed for George and a place to stay for the night. We found a lovely place outside Hartenbos called Hartenbos Private Game Lodge (http://hartenbosgamelodge.co.za/). This is a real gem. We had a 2 bedroomed cottage that faces one of the feeding areas for the game. At the time we arrived we were the only guests and was treated like royalty. They have a heated swimming pool and the game came so close to the living area that you feel you can touch them. They have 13 species of Antelope, Giraffe, Zebra and 135 species of birds. Although it was a self-catering cottage we opted to eat at the lodge and the owners prepared a delicious braai for us with salads. We will definitely go back there.

We decided we have travelled enough and came home the next day via Swellendam and Worcester. When driving through Swellendam we decided that we have to include this beautiful town in our next road trip. Till next time…keep your cool box stocked!