Category: Plettenberg Bay

Stories

20th Aug 2014
Robberg Peninsula: 20th August 2014

My younger son David who lives in Cape Town, phoned me this morning. He had phoned home in Johannesburg earlier to be told by my housekeeper that I was in Plettenberg Bay so he called me here.

He told me an interesting story. This past weekend he hiked Silver Mines (Cape Town) with two pals and his girlfriend. They landed up in Kalk Bay (outlying suburb of Cape Town) and they stopped in somewhere to ask if there were any taxis to take them back to their car as they didn’t want to hike all the way back and they had a 30th birthday party to get ready for that evening. This man said no, there weren’t really any taxis but that he would take them back to their car… they could pay petrol costs. I thought this man was so kind… While driving, this man said something about snakes, and serpents. O said David, my mum painted a serpent the other day and put it up on her blog. This man said the serpent has something to do with Lilith. O said David, my mom wrote a book about Lilith.

All rather extraordinary. *

Now, this morning I had packed my bags, gone down the road to fill up with petrol, had tyres pumped, checked oil and water. I planned to set off from here about midday, and overnight in Colesberg this evening, half way back to Johannesburg and right in the middle of the Karoo. I had even made a bed and breakfast booking. Altogether sensible and manageable.

I changed my mind while back at the house prior to leaving. It was an agonising decision in its way. I couldn’t make up my mind. I phoned the girls at the rooms to see that IF I stayed here in Plett, could one of them stand in for me on Friday afternoon. Had it been a problem I definitely would have kept to my plans. But, no problem there. I said I would let them know – I still had to make up my mind. Then I remembered my art circle meeting on Saturday morning and I was looking forward to bringing my ouroboros painting to the group. Mmmmmm…. pause. To cut a long story short, and without tossing a coin to help me decide (because I would have HAD to stick to outcome), I made a conscious, though long drawn out decision to stay a while longer. I phoned the BnB and changed my booking to overnighting on Saturday night.

So, a few more days here. I arrived last Thursday night after the long drive, gave myself time out on Friday, worked like a slave on Saturday, Sunday and Monday achieving one of my goals re WIP. Tuesday was a day of no work. I had brought down some art stuff but I hadn’t done a painting, or any more work on WIP as I’d hoped, nor had the time to get some extra assistance from Mike re computer …

After this momentous decision of staying a few days longer, I joined Mike on Robberg 5 beach this afternoon and we went for a walk. The photo from my phone is of Robberg peninsula. A great white shark called the Robberg Express swims alongside it. Whales are in the bay, the weather is sublime.

panorama
panoramic view of of Tsitsikama mountains and Robberg

After hearing David’s story of he and pals getting a ride back to his car and the kind man and the serpent and Lilith, I want to paint this in some way. I have already started.

* this next bit I’m just adding: letter from son David this morning. If you can vote for Kiffness this would be great (South Africa only):

Hi Ma,

Here’s what you need to do for voting:

– SMS ‘KIFFNESS’ to 48477. You can vote up to 5 times

– Vote online: http://bit.ly/kiffinthecity

Info for your friends:

The Kiffness is 1 of 4 bands shortlisted to open for MGMT at Vodacom in the City. It’s a really big show that will be a big boost for our careers. The band with the most votes wins, and so every vote helps!

Thanks Ma!

http://www.thekiffness.com/2014/the-kiffness-shortlisted-to-open-for-mgmt-at-vodacom-in-the-city 

the link gives info about this competition

 

So, to end … a photo of me on the beach this afternoon …Robberg5 beachresized

Robberg 5 beach 20th August 2014. Tsitsikama mountains in back ground.

And, the best news, my husband has given me his blessing to stay a bit longer – 

Wide Open Spaces

 WIDE OPEN SPACES – ROAD TRIP

road trip Karoo                                                              Karoo … small mountains

Two mornings ago, in the dark, I set off from home, destination Plettenberg Bay, 1270 kms away, in my car, on my own.

Something was nibbling at me. I felt restless, yet immobilised. I wanted connection. I thought of flying down to Plettenberg Bay and checked flights. Yes, there were flights. I thought about driving – time consuming – 14, 15 hours.  Mmmm, maybe overnight in Graaf Reinet, 830 kms away, in the Karoo, leaving only another 420 kms or so to cover the next day. A sensible and quite pleasing thought. I could visit the Valley of Desolation just on the outskirts of Graaf Reinet.  Maybe The Owl House also. This long distance on my own – was this wise? Well, I love driving on my own. And driving through the Karoo held a certain fascination. Would my knee which was causing me a bit of grief stand up to it?

My husband was shocked when I nudged him in the early hours to say goodbye. I don’t think he’d taken me seriously when I’d mentioned my  possible plans the previous day, vague though they were. I had decided only the previous evening in his absence.

My Honda Brio is a town car. Small engine, small petrol capacity, small everything. Roughly 10 km to the litre. 30 litre capacity. How far could a full tank on wide open roads take me before I would have to fill up again? Would a kindly stranger help me if I ran out of petrol in the middle of nowhere?

My car did me proud. Such a pleasure to drive. Excellent mileage. Such a pleasure to see  nature unfolding before my eyes. Fields upon fields, a pale beige colour with a touch of gold upturned to the sun and wide open skies. I could almost feel its energy welcoming in the upcoming spring that is on its way. The vastness of skies, blue, bright. Vastness on all sides of me. Barely possible to see where the sky met the land. Majestic, soft. Zipping along, catching myself smiling, an endorphin or three entering, expansion of blood corpuscles –

Not too many cars, many trucks coming from the opposite direction as well as going south in my direction. Thoughtful drivers in their pantechnicons – they gave way. I always signalled my thanks. They would flash back … sometimes I was the only car on the road.

I thought of my mother and how her children must have caused her grief many times. Accidents … no-one is immune.  Sometimes I drove in silence; sometimes I did no thinking and went into free fall. Sometimes I listened to Charles Eisenstein’s ‘Ascent of Humanity’ – powerful beyond words. Gripping.*

 I stopped in at Graaf Reinet to fill up, stretch my legs. It was only 2.00 p.m. I had previously thought of overnighting there and resting. I was two thirds of the way already – I pushed on. The mountains became more visible, not so distant. Then they were close as I wound my way around and through them. I marvelled at the good condition of the road and how coming around the corner brought yet another breathtaking view –

The last stretch – over the Outeniqua Pass – that magnificent Pass, shrouded in mist, mountains rising on my right, deep deep valleys and gorges on my left, unseen because of the mist, windscreen wipers going as I wound around ..

And then down, and through George (named after George Rex), stopping in at my sister’s holiday home in the Wilderness for a cup of tea and to say hello. And then the last hour to  Plett, another 70 or so kms from Wilderness, smelling that scent that is so unique to that part of the world … I arrived around 8.15 p.m. welcomed by son Mike and his girlfriend Oda. I gave continual and silent thanks for safe arrival.

Yesterday, a complete chill out. I gave myself time-out. Saw whales from the balcony. I was so happy! This made my day, week, month, year. I had forgotten that it was whale season. Did some writing on WIP. Made notes. This morning I had breakfast at the Lookout and watched whales from there. Heaven was my world. I wondered about walking and my knee but it felt a lot better than yesterday and last night. O such bliss to walk on the sand along the shore, mountains cutting into the sky, walking further than I thought, watching whales jumping, seeing huge splashes. Giving thanks to Mother Nature and her bounty. If my knee aches later, it is a small price to pay.

beach from LookoutLookout Beach, mountains, sky from The Deck, Lookout Restaurant. Plettenberg Bay

I may have been a bit impetuous in making this trip. My husband thinks ‘impulsive’. He may be right – there was an impulse in me. I’m glad I followed up on it. I feel a shift. I feel more connected. The outer shifting the inner …

* Charles Eisenstein: The Ascent of Humanity. Available for free as pdf, audio etc. He says you are welcome to it as a gift and to give as a gift but not for re-sale for economic gain. A free-thinker. Many hours of audio or reading. Just googling him will bring you to his page ..