DAY 23 : 21 MARCH 2011 : GRAAFF-REINET TO MOUNTAIN ZEBRA PARK, CRADOCK

In garden of The Owl House with figurine

We went via Nieu Bethesda to Cradock.   I had heard about the Owl House, but hadn’t realized how fascinating it would be – what a sad story about Helen Martins.  

Reflections in window of The Owl House

We had coffee in the Village Inn run by an old couple who sold their sheep and cattle farms and now run the coffee shop.   Dog thinks he must be about 80 years old.  He told us quite a bit about the town – about 60 white people left in the village, and there nearest town is Graaff Reinet about 40 km away.   It is off the beaten track, although it now boasts a brand new tarred road to the N9 which makes the trip to Graaff Reinet much quicker.   It is a fascinating little village which has been really put on the map by the Owl House – and virtually every house or cottage displays one of the Owl House cement sculptures outside the front door.

 The village is in a rugged little village very close to Towerberg which is the highest mountain in the Cape.  Once again there was evidence of flood damage with the brand new bridge over the river, almost being washed away.

We had a picnic lunch in one of the many well maintained picnic spots along the road and arrived at the Mountain Zebra Park in the early afternoon.

Caravan Park at Mountain Zebra National Park - Kewley's in middle of picture on right



It is nice to be back in the ‘bush’ and we are being serenaded this evening by jackals instead of dogs and crowing roosters.