Through the Karoo

This morning we enjoyed breakfast on the patio of our B&B (The Whyte House) in Graaff-Reinet after a good night’s sleep without any “load shedding” power outages, although one had been scheduled for the wee hours.

John took his binoculars to breakfast to get a closer look at the unique array of birds in the trees surrounding the lawn.

After breakfast we loaded the car and headed through the Karoo to our next stop - Oudtshoorn - by way of a very unlikely and unconventional lunch stop in an unlovely town - Sophie’s Choice in Willowmore, Eastern Cape.  Two years ago a B&B owner had recommended it, and it’s definitely worth a stop.

The exterior is as nondescript as most of the rest of the main street businesses, except for the mannikins hanging from the facade.

But the interior is something to behold -

It was a hot day, so we were fortunate enough to get one of the tables in the shaded (shady???) back garden.

Sophia, the owner, runs a cheerfully quirky restaurant that serves great food.

We had lunch and also ordered takeout sandwiches for dinner before getting back on the road.

We arrived in South Africa’s ostrich capital by mid-afternoon and easily found our way out of town to the Thylitshia Villa, where we were greeted like old friends - this is our third visit together, and John’s been here several more times on motorcycle tours.

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We’re now enjoying a relaxing evening and a welcome cool breeze!