KLEINZEE NEXT TO THE BIG C

KLEINZEE NEXT TO THE BIG C
We zoomed through busy Springbok asap. We grabbed a bunch of brochures to email our CV’s to guesthouses in hopes of getting a job since our cash was running low, and then we headed into the wild wild west. Theo’s homemade Bokkoms no longer hung at the back of the truck so someone might have got smacked with a flying dead fish on the N7 somewhere between Bitterfontein and Springbok or alternatively we probably had a lot of people confused about road kill in the Namakwaland as 15 fish lay scattered across the tarmac amongst the odd Springbokkie and Bat Eared Fox.
We made a quick stop at the Namakwa National park but I’m afraid to say that all that stood out for me (it was only a 2 hour stop for a little walk about) was their goat biltong which was very tasty. Ja you see a lot of donkeys, goats and dassies out here between the rocks, fynbos and the succulents. The only big 5 is our vyfman Namakwaland doos wyn. You could find Veldkool (Trachyandra cilliata), which grows wild and can be cooked as you would green beans although they look like asparagus heads. That and suurvye (Carpobrotus edulis) (which are lekker to suck when they are nearly dry) are the only edible plants which I’m familiar with out here. I’m still saving the Hoodia gordonii for later – a bit like end of the month crackers.
Our gas bottle ran out on the way to Kleinzee which is 100 km from Springbok so once again we had to work our way through the contents of the freezer. Luckily the funny smelling pork chops or chicken had no side effects. We pickled a lot of the mussels and Theo made crumbed mussels twice a day and devine mussel soup.

Kleinzee is owned by De Beers so you have to get a permit to stay overnight and show your ID at the gates to the town. This is diamond country and they are big on security even though De Beers has sort of finished mining and are now rehabilitating the area. Anyway we had to pay for accommodation for the first time in almost a month since leaving Cape Town but you can’t just sommer stop along the roadside once you enter the area owned by De Beers.
We arranged to stay at Kleinzee caravan park for 2 days and within hours of meeting Charles, owner of the small caravan park and yes another friendly west coast local, he and Theo got chatting over a slet sap (better known as a brutal fruit to everyone else) and next thing we had a job. Turns out Charles needs someone to help him run his restaurant called the Crazy Crayfish since he was off to build a oil rig in some or other African country where the money is good. He is going to arrange a house for us to rent in the deserted Kleinzee mining village.
The small kitchen and busy bar accommodates the 30 locals and apparently lots of 4x4 tourists, surfers and divers who pass through.
Charles doesn’t beat around with words and either calls a spade a spade or a naai. He has a gentle refined side as well since besides being married to a very nice English woman, every night he comes down to the caravan park to tumble dry the cat”s blanket to make sure Asblik sleeps warmly in his cat tree house. Last night he brought us and his friend Jakes each a Gemsbok liver the size of a soccer ball. We might spend a few days with Jakes, who also happens to be a missionary and a very keen fisherman on the Orange River. Sounds like he has been around the block and most of Africa since he has been a builder, a bouncer and after hearing about his drunken past, quite a boxer. He used to think the worm in the bottom of a Tequila bottle was for girls so he and die manne used a scorpion or even a Puff Adder instead.
We will go back to help Charles at the Cazy Crayfish in October but in the meantime we want to explore Port Nolloth where the real diamond cowboys are at and then next week hopefully off to the Orange River with Jakes and his Bible.

Footnote: If you made rollmops as per my previous blog they will flop since I forgot to mention you should salt your bokkom fillets first and you might want to water your vinegar down a bit.

Bokkoms – dried fish, salty as hell, best eaten with a cold beer
Dassie – Hyrax (the biggest, common, most spotted mammal in the Cape)
vyfman Namaqualand doos wyn – 5 Litre box wine
lekker - yummy
Sommer – just like that, If not why not
slet sap – slut juice
naai – f*cker, idiot, arsehole – depends on your mood or how much slet sap you’ve had
die manne – the tough guys

The Answer my Friend is Blowing in the Wind

CHANGED WEBSITE

I’m back on myjourney-debby.blogspot.com again. If you’re wondering what happened to my last 6 months of entries you can track me on www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Bundubash/ to catch up and find out what we’ve been up to.
For quick link to missing entries go to www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Bundubash/


The Answer my Friend is Blowing in the Wind

It was time to leave our new friends behind as well as the colourful stories of Oom Willem and Oom Jan. We left the coast without seeing any limbs floating in the waves as the oomies reckon that the sharks don’t like the taste of black people and spit out their arms and legs. (except, they stated, the one case which is recorded in the Guinness book of records where a black person was actually eaten up). We didn’t see any flowers either as we turned inland towards the N7 and headed north on our journey out of the Namaqualand. No flowers to be seen here at all this year so don’t plan a trip around viewing blommetjies unless of course you are just looking for an excuse to meet the friendly west coast inhabitants and soak up all this peaceful space.
I’ve collected a dozen or 2 of the most beautiful stones I’ve ever seen. The beach is full of them and I find them so therapeutic to touch and look at that I somer stuck them onto the trucks dashboard (as apposed to truck driver teddy bears) and I’ve decorated my Hoodia gordonii (which as previously mentioned I’m saving for when the budget gets tight) potplant with colourful pebbles. I even have extra pebbles for the herb garden which I plan to cultivate although not sure where, possibly on the roof. The answer my friend, is blowing in the wind.
Our freezer, yes its working again, is stocked up with Hotnots fish which we bought from the locals at Lamberts Bay for R60 a bunch, making it R15 / fish, each one nearly the length of your forearm. Our freezer is also bulging with loads of black mussels as well as white mussels for fishing bait. Theo made a few jars of rollmops from the Harders which he bought from the locals at Papendorp at R1/ Harder. It’s quite easy to make but working at an outside sink is best since it’s a fishy besigheid. Scale and gut them, cut out the 2 fillets and trim any remaining little bones. Roll them up with a pickle in the middle, stick a toothpick through it and pop them into a jar of vinegar. Add 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar for good measure and salt to taste. Leave for a week or as long as you can stand before eating. Serve with biscuits, good wine and a squeeze. Theo also bottled some in a sherry and vinegar mixture and another lot in a chilli fish spice vinegar but we must still proof taste them.
Our homemade bokkoms (salted Harders) got nicely air dried as they swayed on the back of the truck. Hopefully they don’t turn out to be too dusty as other travellers overtook us, exchanging a wave, a smile and dust clouds.
We stopped at Bitterfontein for a cold beer and to stretch our legs. We drink gallons of water as we travel but now and then a person needs a Black Label to wash down the dust. The hotel bar looked closed up so we drifted down the road towards the back packers where John and Dawn welcomed us into their back packer home and we spent the afternoon chatting and learning about the town’s inhabitants. John and Dawn are inkommers even though they’ve settled there for 5 years. Being English probably doesn’t help. John told us that his neighbour runs the town, to the extent that he even dictates / suggests what they should plant in their garden. Sounded like big fish in a small pond syndrome. John is a friendly chap (albeit toothless since he is in the process of major dental work and compares himself to Tom Cruize without a bite). He said that a good sense of humour and lack of teeth was all that prevented him from biting off his neighbours legs since every time he and Dawn went into Vredenburg to do their major shopping, his neighbour would jump over the fence and rip out any plants which he didn’t like or didn’t deem suitable. I assume he favours indigenous plant life. His other neighbour runs around in a fishnet tutu.
They’ve had some interesting visitors at their guest house. From cyclists (why the Dutch and Germans like peddling a packhorse bicycle around Africa never ceases to amaze me) to a tiny Japanese couple who stayed for two weeks surviving on rice and noodles, to a man lugging a big wooded cross on his back all over the show.
It seems all kinds of people are attracted to the gramadoelas for their own reasons. I’m hoping to meet as many as possible.
Oomies - uncles not necessarily related but older than you
Blommetjies – flowers
Besigheid – business affair
inkommers – non local outsider
gramadoelas – in the middle of nowhere