After an overnight stay at Abrahams Sheep Farm, near Prince Albert, we got up again at 5.15am the next morning. So early, why is that? Well, that has to do with our «orphan». Since we got the kitten on board, we can no longer think about sleeping in! But like everything, it also has its advantages. What could be nicer than when the weather is nice – my motto in life is: «It’s nicer when it’s nice!» – to get up with the birds and enjoy the sunrise!

We did that a few days ago after a quiet night on the sheep farm. No rooster crowing at three in the morning, no dog barking and no car alarm like a few days ago. (The owner of the car was a South African. I asked him critically in the morning what he was afraid of when he stayed overnight at a campsite which is fenced in and guarded by a night watchman!)

We crossed neat Prince Albert early in the morning. (No comparison to the rubbish-strewn villages we saw in Botswana and Zimbabwe!) Shortly afterwards the dirt road climbed to the Swartberg Pass. It can’t be too steep, I thought. But that was far from the case, because it didn’t take long before I switched on the reduction gear here too.

First, we walked along a river where Orapa was «baptized». What flora – we could hardly get enough of it. Further up we came across large fields of Proteas for which the Cape region is known. An hour and many, many bends further, we stood at an altitude of over 1,500 meters and looked into a green, fertile valley on the other side. Beautiful South Africa!