@anniesue I love mountain passes and Don and I often used to go out of our way along a route, and sometimes over poor roads in favour of the national roads, to take in mountain passes along the way. I chose this route not because it was the fastest but because it was what Don would have done. Approximately same distance but slower through little villages and up / down a steep and twisting mountain pass. The trip was sad in some respects because it brought back memories of this same trip done previously with Don. It was also cathartic in many ways - hours on the a very quiet road with hardly any traffic allow for much introspection and some tears, and the realisation that as scared as I was of doing the trip on my own, I have to move on and learn to do things alone that we did together.
@anniesue I pasted a screenshot of my route on 16th December - but it is too small to show a great deal I'm afraid. Of the towns showing on that map, VanRhyns Pass is between Vredendal and Calvinia. I never actually went to Vredendal. I turned off the N7 at VanRhynsDorp towards Calvinia.
@narayani This part of the journey sure was scenic but was the slowest as the mountain pass was a series of hairpin bends. Most of my trip was through the flat Karoo desert. Incredibly hot, and not nearly as interesting, but yet the desert does have its own magic somehow. It's not a sand desert - there is soil and some scrubby vegetation and trees
@777margo Thanks Margo. Yes, a very long drive but the only way to get to Jo'burg with my dogs. Our airlines, restaurants, etc. are not doggy friendly like I believe it is in the UK so I had to search for pet friendly accommodation along the route.
@pusspup Thanks Wylie. Unfortunately this was just a very quick stop and cellphone shot. Didn't want to take the time to get leads on dogs and get them out the car, and couldn't get my real camera without opening the back door and risking dogs getting out! This was a very busy little viewpoint and it didn't seem appropriate to walk dogs around here and have to pick up possible doggy doos
