The Chance Muse: Road Trip with Padkos

Cape Town to the Garden Route, basically highway N2 from Cape Town to the Tsitsikamma Forest - is the most heralded drive in South Africa, stretching more than 370 miles - 595 kilometers - along the coast. Inspired by our travels over the last few weeks here's a little trip down the N2 - actually a compendium of a few journeys - with a nod to some of the stranger stories attached to the places on the way....


Here's a gorgeously idealised 1950's pic of the road out of Cape Town - not another car in sight!

And a more recent pic of the N2 taken during the World Cup

And I couldn't resist this one - though it's not actually en route - here the most gorgeous view of Chapman's Peak with Grace Kelly look-alike perched dangerously over a steep drop

The reality is a little more prosaic. Today's N2 begins in central Cape Town at the northern end of Buitengracht Street outside the entrance to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront just 5 minutes from our front door....

After Hospital Bend - scene of endless road works, accidents and traffic jams - the N2 turns east to travel across the Cape Flats as a 6-lane freeway to Somerset West; in case you are interested - this section is known as Settler's Way. Funny they haven't changed the name - yet. There's actually a website devoted to South African Highways entitled 'Suid-Afrikaanse deurpaaie en snelwee' http://www.skyscrapercity.com


On the road from Cape Town to Plett the weather gods are good to us - beautiful, sunny skies and a pleasant 28 degrees Celsius - but these roads conceal all kinds of urban - and rural - legends

Along the way phantom-like figures appear and vanish as we speed through the landscape. A certain Van Hunks offers African Ghost Hunting Safaris - "specialising in Ghosts, Haunted Places and Travel in Africa at www.vanhunks.com"

Mr Van Hunks advises us that "A convenient way of seeing some of the haunted places of the Cape Peninsula, is to join the Mystery Ghost Bus Tour, created by South African illusionist Mark Rose-Christie. " You can get more information at www.mysteryghostbus.co.za.

Other strange tales abound. In the Western Cape, a child may still be told "Be good, or Antjie Somers will get you." Antjie Somers is often described as a man in women's clothes, with a hare lip and teeth like a baboon's. He has the power to become invisible. His prodigious leaps gave rise to the story that he has winged heels, so that he can fly as long as he is only carrying one child. Pretending to be a woman in need of a lift, he attacks and robs travellers....

Antjie is described as "a curious gnome-like prankster, more poltergeist than ghost" - not unlike the elemental spirit recognised by the indigenous peoples as Heitsi-Eibib, the trickster

As we sweep along the coastal strip of False Bay such legends seem far fetched indeed

But the beauty of the landscape - here the town of Strand can be seen along the coast - conceals a darker story - tales of thirst-maddened runaway slaves, and their avenging masters, magical tokoloshes, treacherous seas, mysterious ship wrecks and the ghosts of drowned sailors

East of Somerset West the N2 climbs Sir Lowry's Pass to enter the Overberg in a region of grey volcanic lunar looking landscape

Then the road just billows along like a lovely broad ribbon leading to nowhere or anywhere

South Africans love travelling around their beautiful country - the roads are brilliant and pretty empty - but there is a shockingly high accident rate


After Botrivier the N2 passes across the agricultural plains - a strange region of endless desolate khaki hills and overwhelmingly blue skies. This was once the home of the Khoi -San people and their afore mentioned trickster god Heitse-Eibib

Passing near the town of Grabouw on the Hottentots-Holland plateau before descending the Houwhoek Pass to Botrivier one is struck by the emptiness of the landscape - a place of shimmering mirages and distant horizons

A recent fire has devastated this area leaving acres of phantom forests

But already green shoots have sprung up - this is protea country after all and like the phoenix, the protea needs fire to germinate

One of the best things about any roadtrip in SA is the necessity to stop at a farmstall - here the Blue Crane - a perfect excuse to take a rest - where we meet a strange church-going lady who sells fake perfumes and tells us about her love of god

Farmstalls are a bit like an oasis in the desert. There are many of them dotted on the road from Cape Town to Knysna - but in the past long distances between towns meant people used to take along what most locals know as ‘padkos’ - ‘road food’ or rather ‘food for the road’.

Years ago one would see families sitting at the side of the road - yes that's the Chance Muse and her sisters on some long ago road - stretching their legs and enjoying their ‘padkos’. Padkos could be anything from sandwiches, cold meats, boiled eggs, fruit to other delicious snacks and treats. In my Mother's long ago youth, picnic tea was even made with a fire and kettle. A flask with lemon tea or coffee was part of my childhood and is still an essential and I never travel without one - for fear of not being able to get a cup of tea in the middle of 'the bush'

Here's another pic of the Chance Muse and her sisters from our childhood where we are all three sipping fanta from the same glass while Mom looks on from the car window

Today, the farm stall takes the place of the picnic and is quite a sophisticated affair with all kinds of regional specialities - like this fresh fruit from Elgin and Worscestor. Gorgeous grapes, nectarines and plums which taste like real fruit coz they are entirely seasonal

South African Malay-influenced spice-mixes for the curiously named 'bobotie' - a delicious combination of almonds, apricots, chutney and mince with a savoury custard poured on top!

All kinds of spicy Portuguese influenced sauces - notably peri peri the quintessential chili

Among the many treats the farm stall has to offer are eclectic and often kitschy décor, hand crafts and home-baked pies - roast chicken, venison and pepper steak

Then there are the koeksisters - totally outrageous deep-fat fried juicy plaited pastries - dripping with syrup - one of South Africa’s favourite tea-time - or any time - treats

And when thirst is really serious - only an ice-cold Coke does the trick

Bottled and preserved anythings - from figs, Cape gooseberries, apricots, watermelon - konfyt or preserve - chutneys, onion marmalades, killer chili pastes. This is still a land where people bake, preserve and make things by hand - the health and safety police seem entirely absent - and there is an entire home industry of delicious home-made goodies for one's delectation

Other essentials like biltong and smokes and cold beer are always for sale

Carrot, chocolate and cheese cake with good coffee

Iced coffee and old-fashioned milk shakes - mmmm - Mr P on right with local newspaper

Sunny honey from Houw Hoek

Great olive oils from local and international olives

Farm fresh produce

Those sticky apricot sweets from our childhood

All kinds of nostalgic sugary old-fashioned baked goods

Think pink & liquorice allsorts - Sweeties from our childhood!

Lots of biblical platitudes - this is the Platteland after all - and people have Faith with a capital 'F'

The charmingly named Sleeping Beauty Traders

And then on through more desolate places of the Klein Karoo

Where despite the empty roads the speed limit is a mere 100 k's

Small towns flash past in the blink of an eye unless one stops for petrol

And obliging garage men fill your car and wash the windscreen for a tiny tip

Along the way the African stores of our childhood - shelves of bizarrely bright packaging in pocket-wise tiny packets

Ricoffy - possibly the worst coffee in the world with more bilious yellow packaging - clearly they've done their market research in the Platteland

Lurid drinks with savagely unpleasant ingredients at only R8 a swoosh

Small holdings for sale in the grammadoelas - the middle of nowhere

Miles of roadworks

Manned by a team of women waving orange flags in a rather desultory manner

3 k's to the next picnic spot

Wild restios with plumed tops

We stream through the towns of Caledon, Riviersonderend, Swellendam and Riversdale to the coast at Mossel Bay, which marks the beginning of the Garden Route


And are greeted by the surreal sight of gas flames at SA's major petrol refinery


PetroSA has restarted its gas-to-liquids refinery in Mossel Bay after a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas caused petrol stations to be shut down

Petrol station two minutes from the refinery


Then the long run down to the sea between George and Mossel Bay

Past small settlements

And little towns

Until suddenly the land is greener, wilder - the air saltier - where the road travels from Kaaiman's Pass all the way down hill to Wilderness

Here the lagoon at Wilderness and on to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay

The causeway at Knysna Lagoon where you can just see the Heads

We cross the bridge to the beautifully designed Knysna Marina

And have a coffee at a waterside restaurant

Then a little window shopping at the aptly named Knysna Blue


Before meeting our old friend Mark S - who lives in Knysna and is a boat-builder, round the world yachtsman, and all round really nice guy - here with Keith and Mr P