Robertson

June 7, 2021

A group of Familiar Chats (Oenanthe familiaris), have been hanging around our digs since we have been here.

For this short trip we have decided to travel as lightly as possible. I found this made packing quite difficult because I am so used to shoving everything bar the kitchen sink into our panniers. In the end we managed to end up with only two panniers each leaving behind most of our cooking and all of our camping gear. Still, with the weather seldom being predictable, we don't seem to be carrying less clothing than usual. The one thing I wasn't going to leave behind this time was my camera, so my handle-bar bag is now back at full weight again.

Bike's (lightly) loaded and we are ready to leave our comfortable digs on Lord's Wine Farm.

With only thirty odd kilometers ahead of us we got away at after ten thirty. The first eleven kilometers into McGregor was on dirt and thereafter it was a narrow tarred road until Robertson.

After cresting a small climb it was mostly downhill into McGregor. The road was pretty good but very dusty and we were covered in the stuff by the time we got to the village.

An explosion of melodious birdsong made me stop and there was this Large-billed Lark (Galerida magnirostris) singing it's heart out on top of a telephone pole.

Tulista pumila, part of the group of succulents for which I always keep an eye open. I spotted two populations of this species between Lord's and McGregor.

We didn't hang around in McGregor, even though it is a very attractive village. Being off the main road it has retained its charm despite a level of gentrification that has taken place over the years. In contrast to so many rural towns in South Africa there is no distinction between the "town" and the "township" and this perhaps gives McGregor a vibrancy that isn't that apparent elsewhere.

I'm not convinced that Leigh stopped at this four-way stop in the village! I had stopped to admire the flowering Aloe arborescence on the corner.

There are many pretty little cottages in the village.

The local wine co-operative just north of the village. The vines are now well into their winter slumber.

The shoulder-less road between McGregor and Robertson was surprisingly busy and not very wide but the traffic was mostly considerate. In general, the Western Cape roads seem markedly busier than those in the Eastern Cape. What was more of an issue was the wind that had picked up gusting to almost fifty kilometers and hour (according to windy.com) so the last few kilometers was surprisingly hard work for such a short ride.

Crossing the Breede River just before entering Robertson.

We are staying in the loft at Arnheim, the guest house in which we stayed when we passed through here in January during the 9th step. It quite comfortable and good value for money. Not the worst choice from a wide selection of accommodation in the town.

Today's ride: 36 km (22 miles)
Total: 36 km (22 miles)

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