Ever since we were invited to play a wedding in Sweetfontein (which eventually actually happened in Kathu), we’ve been yearning to get back on the RT and explore the vineyards around Upington and the Orange River. So having actually never been to Sweetfontein, it definitely needs to be visited!

The bug actually bit when we were invited to play a wedding in Kariega and decided to take our time getting there and back, stopping over in Knysna, playing for our stay — as it were — spending a couple of nights at Kenton-on-Sea to explore that area a little as well.

A holiday in Hogsback took us through Bedford, which is a small town with wonderful people trying to make things happen. They have a gardening show once a year in October, when people from far and wide come to experience the wonder of the Eastern Cape. Friends in Somerset East invited us over for a few days, and we loved it so much we can’t wait to go back! We learned from that trip that the way to get to know a town is to get to know her people — because driving through on the main road is most definitely not going to give you the right idea!

On that same trip, we took a tour through the Cango Caves and discovered all manner of wonderful adventures around Oudtshoorn needing our attention! De Rust was so utterly charming when we passed through on a very cold, misty morning that it has stayed on our bucket list ever since.

A wedding in the Tankwa resulted in us taking a detour to Prince Albert, over the Swartberg Pass, staying over at Kobus se Gat, which felt almost like being in Switzerland. The views were breathtaking! We decided to head home via the Groenfontein road, which starts just below Kobus se Gat towards Calitzdorp. Just short of a day in Calitzdorp — wine tasting at Boplaas, eating at Giovanni’s — made us realise that passing through is simply not enough. There is going to have to be a new motto: two nights minimum!