I had this all written but the signal in Bethulie couldn’t manage so it got wiped out. Start again. My first leg was just a short hop over the Prince Alfred pass to the farm in Willomore. The farm is always a good place to connect with your soul, good place to start an odyssey. Ziva, my usual hiking companion, doesn’t add much in the way of conversation, good practice for anticipated solitude. Why empty promises? So Ziva took off with the promise of bagging , or at least scaring the bejezzers of a monkey. For her efforts, a body full of thorns. Monkeys 1 Ziva 0.
The next photo is of the Beervlei Dam. Surely the icon of empty promises. Not a drop of water and not a beer in sight. The Karoo is crisp, desperately in need of a good season.
Then there was the promise of a tasty left over braai lunch and all i got was a mouth full of petrol. #slowlearner.
Next stop The Royal Hotel Bethulie. Quirky for definite sure. The owner Anthony is a historian who loves telling stories of all things Bethulie. He doesn’t actively canvas for guests. I was the only one that day. There is purposefully no signage on the hotel and I was quizzed as to how I found the place. Anthony prefers guests who appreciate the quirkiness of the Hotel and don”t fuss about shabby, not shabby chic, couches and ginger cats sharing their 1st bat with guests in the dinning room.
Every single wall of the Hotel, floor to ceiling and side to side is a bookcase. Well that or records, literally thousands. When I asked why the encyclopedias weren’t in order Anthony replied; “Oh these are mostly my duplicates. The real collection is across the road in my studio.” Seriously………………..
We rendezvoused (his term) at 4pm and I was given an introduction to Bethulie. Three hours of non stop stories tailored to my lack of knowledge. I heard how Bethulie was named after Judith, a biblical heroine, who severed the head of a King to end a siege in a place called Bethulie. As I didn’t know Patrick Mynhardt well enough I saw his house but wasn’t told that story.
The sad part of the Bethulie story is the Anglo-Boer War concentration camp. It was considered the most dire of them all with over 1700 women and children perishing. The site of the original camp is now an abandoned field. The remains of those who’d died were exhumed and relocated to a memorial site on higher ground. It was anticipated that the original site would be flooded when the Dam was built. So far this hasn’t happened but at least the memorial site is well maintained. A reminder, least we forget. We have a lot to answer for as a human race.
Tomorrow I head of to Golden gate. That’s if i get there on time. These birds are so distracting. Greg my list is up to 76……………………..
Gallivanting with Gailo 