Saturday 13th April 2013

S: This morning was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky and already getting very warm. It had been a little cold during the night, but not as bad as further up the coast.

We were heading inland today and the drive was fairly short. We were going to spend the last night of our trip at The Baths in Citrusdal. Rather than travel to Clanwilliam and experience the road-works between there and Citrusdal, we headed out along the river which feeds the Verlorenvlei, where we had been staying. 

 

 The vlei stretches quite far inland and as we drove along we could see a lot of bird life including a whole lot of pelicans. The road becomes gravel, but we were in no hurry and just idled along enjoying the scenery. The road eventually becomes tar and heads towards Piketberg. We turned off and joined the N7 on Piekeniers Pass.

On the way we had been chatting to our girls and when Heather heard we would be staying at The Baths she said she loved the place and would love to be there. We jokingly said that she must come up for the night and before we knew it everything was arranged and she and Nicole were going to drive up and join us. They must have really missed us while we were away. Heather had had another commitment that evening, which fell through, and Nicole had nothing on so they were excited about their road trip.
 

We had arrived at The Baths without booking and when we got to the gate we were told it was fully booked, but were still allowed to go up to reception to enquire further. We were in a bit of a fix as the girls were on their way and we had no place to stay. Anyway Lesley worked her magic and we were allowed to stay on the overlander campsite which was near the gate. We said that if any overlanders arrived we would make a plan, but luckily, none ever materialised.

 

So we spent a couple of hours soaking in the hot pool waiting for the girls to arrive. We met some old neighbours from when we lived in Lakeside and played catch-up on our lives and also met another couple and their children who were also Capetonians.
 

It seems that The Baths has become a very popular place now with the improved ablutions, electrified sites and restaurant. There was a rugby match on and you could hear the noise from the gate.
 

The girls arrived at about four and after that it was non-stop talk as everyone caught up, regardless of the fact that we had been communicating all the time we were away.  I was also spoiled with birthday presents as I had been away for my birthday and it is better receiving them from the giver even though it was much later.  Thanks girls.  L:  It was lovely to see those smiling faces as they came through the gate, we really missed them.

 

We then spent a long time in the warm baths together, chatting and for them, it was great to warm up as, although the weekend was warm in Cape Town, the weather had become so much chillier than we left 3 weeks ago.

We had told the girls not to worry to bring anything, so we had a braai with meat, sandwiches and salads out of what we had left.   They had brought a lot of fresh fruit and a few treats which was a great addition to our supplies.
 

We were back in the water, late at night and then off to bed.  The girls in the ground tent and us in our rooftop tent.