It was 4 degrees C when we woke up this am. It actually didn’t feel as cold as that probably because of the altitude and dry air. We had breakfast at Liedjiesbos and headed out at around 9am. We were heading to the Natal Midlands and the route took us north, east and then south and we basically had to drive around Lesotho. The route takes you through places like Winburg, Senekal, Bethlehem, Harrismith, Van Reenen, Escort and Mooi River. Not places many people would aim to go to on holiday but places you pass through or maybe stay overnight at on the way to somewhere else more exciting. As a child we used to often stop overnight at either Harrismith or Van Reenen and so it brought back some memories from my childhood.

We had planned to do some grocery shopping for next 2 days at Harrismith but our plans were somewhat derailed by finding that the supermarket (Woolworths) we wanted to go to, only sold clothes and not groceries. We made alternative plans and then hit the road again. We arrived just before 4pm at Eirene Cottages (https://www.eirenecottages.co.za/) where we are staying for next 2 nights. The farm is owned by A’s sister. We are actually staying in their house (not the cottages) and so what you see on the website is not what we are staying in at all. The house overlooks the dam. They have eland and bontebok on the farm as well as cattle and sheep (we haven’t seen the sheep yet).

We went on a late afternoon walk around the dam and up a track to the other side of the farm where the cattle are kept. While walking we spotted a large flock of Grey Crowned Cranes (yes they are a lifer for all of us) and we could hear them calling and playing around before settling in for the night. A quick count got to me around 60 of them. Quite incredible to see so many of them when it wasn’t a bird I had seen before today. Before we went on the walk we actually added another lifer as well so this has already been a profitable birding destination.

We did a usual braai for dinner and everyone headed off the bed.

Until tomorrow … P, H, A (worthy of the promotion given accommodation), O (brought out some decent chocolate tonight after dinner), S (she managed to keep up with me when she was driving today) & B (loss of driving confidence it seems as he drove below the speed limit while leading the way today … leftover from 4×4 at Karoo NP it seems).

PS: This is what B found today about Pienaars 4×4 route – the one we did at Karoo NP (from Mountain Passes South Africa website):
“A tough Grade 5 4×4 route up the Nuweveld Mountains. This is for the more serious offroader with a robust 4×4 with low range and high ground clearance. The gradients get as steep as 1:3,3 so be prepared for some nail biting driving. In 4WD circles a Grade 5 is labelled as ‘Probable damage to vehicle or possibly injury to passengers and driver.’ Don’t try this one alone or unless you have substantial offroad experience and understand advanced recovery techniques.” … B maybe should have googled before we did the route!