The annual tour, now in its 11th year, took place over the period November 10-16, visiting the Breede River Valley and surrounding areas. A total round trip of 1000 km was completed . Our meeting point was the Breede River lodge located at the mouth of the Breede River. We departed Knysna with a certain amount of trepidation as the weather forecast did not look good for the coming week – strong south- easterly winds with very heavy rain was predicted. We arrived safely at the Lodge where the first night was spent catching up with the rest of the group. The next morning we were taken up the Breede River by several boats (30 minute bumpy ride ) to enjoy brunch at the Bush Pub. On the return trip the wind had picked-up dramatically and by early evening the heavy rain had started. In the evening we were transported by taxis to a nearby farm for dinner. Here a local historian explained the history of the Breede River area / harbour and the important role that the Barry family played in the development of the area.
By the next morning the wind was blowing a gale with heavy rain. We departed and headed for the scenic Tradouw Pass and on to our lunch stop at the Joubert-Tradouw Deli located outside of Barrydale. Then it was on to Montagu for our overnight stop and where a nice meal and drinks were enjoyed. By now the rain had eased off with the weather clearing. It was a slow and relaxing start in the morning. We then headed for the Koo pass another scenic route where a light lunch was enjoyed at Karoo1 located on the N1, near De Doorns. The route then took us via Worcester, Robertson to Mc Gregor where we spent the night at the very interesting Temenos Retreat, with peacocks waking you up in the early hours of the morning!!.
Thursday saw us visit a sheep farm close to Worcester, where we were shown how sheep dogs heard sheep. The owner is a qualified and recognised sheep dog trainer as well as participating in sheep dog competitions within SA and overseas. This was a most interesting and thoroughly enjoyed by the group. Our evening stay for the coming two nights were at the Angora Stud Guest Farm, near Bonnievale . A spit-braai was preceded with Gin and wine tasting from the nearby Zandvliet Estate and organised by John Fraser. Another enjoyable evening enjoyed.
Friday our last day of the tour was an early start as we set off to Bredasdorp to visit the Shipwreck museum and on to a visit to the quaint Moravian village of Elim. Elim was founded in 1824 and today has a neat row of quaint cottages, most of them dating back to the 19th Century. Then it was back to Angora to get ready for the finale evening with a Mexican theme with tequila, Corona beer and chilli. A splendid fun evening enjoyed by all. This brought another enjoyable Cape Mog tour to an end and we all set-off back home on the Saturday morning.
On the wagon?? 
