No Fixed Abode: Cloudy beer

Fri 20 May 2016 - Golden Gate NP & Clarens

After an (overly) large breakfast provided by our B&B we set off in the mountain clouds for the Sentinel Peak Car Park. The hike we had planned for today involved a climb to the top of the 3000m Drakensberg Escarpment, the last 60m of which entails climbing two sections of chain ladders bolted to the vertical rock face. Yvonne had shown some trepidation for this route, which was not helped by Simon (the Phatt Chef) last night recounting how three local hikers had been attacked in their tent a couple of weeks ago by members of a Lesotho tribe.

As we drove the 70 km of sealed roads to get to the far side of the mountains and join the dirt track to the car park, the mist came and went and dark clouds began to loom - things did not look promising but we agreed to get to the car park and decide whether to proceed from there. The first part of the journey was on major highways through wild, open country but with the last few km to go we turned off and passed through a town and its vast suburbs of township houses. Many of the shops served their wares through a small opening in a steel caged window and we couldn’t help but notice the alarming number of undertakers.

By the time we reached the start of the dirt track the weather looked set with mist and drizzle and it seemed pointless proceeding so, much to Yvonne’s relief, we turned around and headed towards the town of Clarens, our next stopover. As we passed ladies carrying all manner of stuff balanced on their heads; sheep corralled in rough pens at the side of the road; a school playground full of children in neat blue uniforms queueing for a ladle of something, probably breakfast, from a large lady leaning out of a window, we were once again struck by the inequality that still remains in the country.

To get to Clarens we had to drive through the Golden Gate park, a destination pencilled in for the next two days, so this was a bit of a bonus. The eastern part of the park is a high plain and we stopped to grab our binoculars and look at the herds of antelope in the distance. There were two species that were new to us and while we were looking, an animal the size of a large dog ran across the road then sprinted at great speed across the plain causing a distant herd to scatter. Despite a lot of searching we were unable to catch sight of what it was.

With that excitement over we continued west through increasingly taller, multicoloured sandstone cliffs whose summits were obscured by the swirling mist. This place was gorgeous. At the top of a high pass we stopped at a viewpoint that gave as a great view back down the broad valley we’d just driven along - if only this mist would clear! As we dropped down the other side of the pass the cliffs grew taller, more brightly coloured and were carved into a multitude of shapes by eons of work by water and wind. We looked forward to returning in the sunshine and exploring on foot. Our final descent brought us past a large golf complex with many properties for sale before we arrived at the small town of Clarens.

We’d arranged to arrive at our AirBnB at 1800 so we pulled over to check if we could arrive early but could not get a phone signal so opted to just turn up and hope our host, Sherrene, was in. Luckily she was and she showed us to our lovely little self contained apartment where we made a cuppa and sat in the sun chatting. Sherrene and her husband Roy had lived in Ballito, where we stayed last week, and, like us, rented their house out while they attended a training event in the USA and travelled around Mexico for a few months. When they returned to South Africa they had passed through Clarens, fallen in love with it, bought this place and started converting it for holiday rentals.

With the sun now out we walked into town. It is a quaint little place with a host of restaurants, art galleries and curio shops nestled around a rectangular green - a little like an English village. It is clearly very popular with tourists and evidently thrives on weekenders from Johannesburg in need of some rural calm. We strolled around admiring the trees with their autumn foliage until we came upon one eatery that was way busier than all the rest. Glancing up we saw it was the craft brewery that Simon had told us about last night and with no further encouragement needed we found ourselves a nice table outside and ordered a tasting tray.

The waiter soon returned carrying a large wooden block with nine neatly cut holes each containing a small glass with a sample of one their ales, and a laminated card with the tasting notes laid out in the same 3x3 grid. Recalling our CAMRA beer tasting course we began to swill, smell, sip and swallow each ale discussing the flavours we’d detected and comparing them with the tasting notes. There were some real crackers and deciding which ones to order a larger glass of was going to be tricky. Seeing the thoroughness we were applying to the whole process our waiter obligingly arrived with two additional beers not on the tasting sheet, both of which were also lovely and further compounding our decision. Heck, we had the whole afternoon, and maybe two more if we finish our hikes early, so let’s just work our way through them all.

As we set about our task in earnest we watched a table of lads on a stag function getting progressively rowdier and setting the groom to be various challenges involving removing clothing, running across the green and drinking - some things are the same the world over. We could also hear a group of girls around the corner getting similarly noisier. This place was buzzing.

When we’d drunk our fill, for today, we briskly walked back in the now chilly late afternoon and settled in for the evening to make use of the fast internet (at last!) and polish off the last of the chilli from a couple of nights ago. As we sat in appreciation of the happy circumstances of today Yvonne found an article, regarding the attack on the hikers, that stated the trail had been closed from today until the security of the area could be improved. How lucky were we!