Friday, 12 December 1986: South Africa’s Dramatic Coast Continues to Amaze
Denver, Colorado, April 9, 2023
On the 12th, I followed the same route I had taken four days earlier east to Gordon’s Bay. This time, I continued east on Highway R44 which snaked along cliffs of the rugged coast through Rooiels and Betty’s Bay. Colorful proteas, a genus of flowering South African plants, covered the off-white, rocky mountainsides above the Indian Ocean. The setting reminded me somewhat of Highway 1 which is cut into cliffs above the Pacific Ocean south of Big Sur, California.
My counterclockwise route along the east side of False Bay and the Indian Ocean continued on through rich agricultural valleys and over two mountain passes.
At Kleinmond, R44
turned northeast, away from the coast and joined Highway 2 at Bot River. I turned west on Highway 2, which climbed
over Houwhoek Pass, then through a valley with grazing sheep and another range
of impressive mountains to the north.
Just before the town of Grabow, the highway crossed the Palmiet River
whose valley included an expanse of apple orchards and vineyards. West of Grabow, the highway climbed once again
slicing through a forest before reaching Sir Lowry’s Pass where I had turned
around on the 8th. I
continued on through suburban areas and farms to Cape Town in time for dinner.
The massive Klein Hangklip silently stands watch over the
sleepy town of Rooiels.
Once again I had been
reminded of how beautiful South African landscapes contrasted so sharply with
the country’s ugly politics. It didn’t
have to be this way; what a tragedy was the reality of this country with so
much wasted potential.
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