Day 4

Day 4  - 4th day in South Africa - Cape Town to Arniston

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Up at 6 today to go and do some work on the bike down in the basement garage, before breakfast.
Most important job was to fit the Tomtom bike Sat. Nav. (that I brought with me from home), and wire in into the bike's electrics. An hour later.... job done, and this also gave me the facility to charge up other USB devices on the move (like me phone).
OK, so our second breakfast at this hotel, at about 8, and then we load up Mike's van ready to be on the road at 9.

Our final destination today is the Arniston Hotel, situated right on the beach at Arniston. To get there we follow the coast road eastwards (Route 44), passing through small coastal towns like Pringle Bay, Betty's Bay and Kleinmond. Then the road cuts in land for a bit before coming back to the coast at Hawston, and Hermanus, where we'll stop for lunch.

ABOVE: Hermanus - Click on any image to see a big one 

We park the bikes up and make our way down the steep steps to Bientang's Cave, which is now a restaurant built into a cave. Lunch is very good, looking out over the beach and the ocean. The weather is sunny, temperature high 20's.

 ABOVE: Bientang's Cave - Click on any image to see a big one

After lunch we progress on towards Arniston, on Route 43 now, passing through Standford, Gansbaal, Pearly Beach and Die Dam before cutting across to Bredasdorp, a larger town, and finally back down to Arniston.
Mrs. K and I are given a first floor room with a balcony overlooking the sea. It's just the hotel, the road. the beach, the sea - no promenade, nothing else - any hardly anybody here. Very peaceful and beautiful.
Arniston is a very small place, not commercialised at all. We were very fortunate to be able to eat in a restaurant here tonight, (Willeen's Meals Arts & Craft) which is a fisherman's cottage (there are lots of those here) that the owners have opened the main room up as a restaurant. That makes it a small, intimate restaurant. We have a table for ten here, booked many months ago, and we have the place to ourselves.

ABOVE: Willeen's Restaurant - Click on any image to see a big one 

The food was, well, excellent, 5 stars in my book. Mrs. K and I both had the fish cakes with roasted butternut squash with garlic on, really fresh new potatoes, savory wild rice, home made bread. That all taken with a bottle of local white wine. Awesome.

Time to leave and pay the bill and then outside - all there is the light of the moon for us to see to find our way back through the maze of fisherman's cottages to the hotel. Only about 10 minutes walk and we didn't get lost.
Back at the hotel and time for a night cap - Amarula for Mrs. K Black Label for me (double or triple were the only options). Very good day.

ABOVE: Arniston night-cap - Click on any image to see a big one

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