Great VanDerKloof-Grahamstown Adventure Day5 Monday 17 April - KarooNational Park to Prince Albert via Meieringspoort (x2)

 Today was another red-letter day - we were planning to do Meieringspoort, with Theo riding through on his bicycle! We started with a lovely Karoo morning and packed up the tent, checking (as instructed) under the car for any tortoises that might have taken up residence. Then we did a quick loop in the reserve and were rewarded with a quick glimpse of rhinos and another gaze at the majestic mountains around which the reserve is placed.

We made a quick detour to Beaufort West to purchase a Pep Stores thick blanket. We realised that we were were getting cold from underneath at night. The inflatable mattress is plastic and can get quite nippy. A Pep blanket (as our next evening would prove) provides a perfect layer of insulation.

Then we hit the road to Oudshoorn which winds through Meieringspoort. By now we have entered the Western Cape and the roads are a zillion times better. We stopped at a farmstall where we bought some lovely chops. 

There was major resurfacing going on on the N12 but the stop and go's were well managed and the folk were friendly. Some 40km from De Rust, Theo hopped on his bike and had an epic ride through the pass and to de Rust. He was able to get through the stop-and-goes quicker than Brenda did and got to De Rust about 10 minutes before Brenda. To say that he was beaming from ear to ear is an understatement! It was a major bucket list item ticked and was worth every minute!

We had cooldrink and cake in De Rust and then went back through the pass (first time in this direction) to go to Prince Albert where we stayed in a caravan park on the outskirts of town.

Theo set up the tent, while Brenda went to find firewood, and in the evening we braaied huge karoo chops which we'd bought. We had our warmest night yet and chatted to a lovely couple who have a cool converted landrover with their bed inside. But then he told us what his fuel consumption was and then setting up a tent didn't seem so bad! We went to sleep with our tanks full from the beauty and adventure we enjoyed today.