Where you come from does matter, but not nearly as much as where you are headed - Jodi Picoult

7 March 2019, Kardoesie to Ukholo Lodge, 26,8km
Ukholo Lodge R400

A lone motorcyclist, travelling toward us, haled Charl, stopping him to ask where we were headed. When Charl said “Morocco”, he answered “I’ve just come from London. Have a good trip.” And left before Charl could find out whether he meant he had travelled all the way on his motorbike, and if so whether along the west coast or the Cairo to Cape Town route.
At a Caltex garage, we stopped to buy something for lunch later in the day. Charl also bought cigarettes, sitting to smoke one while I headed on out. He chatted then to a petrol attendant, having told him we were headed for Namibia. He asked the guy whether he would like to go with. His answers were unequivocal: “It is too far; I don’t know those people; I do not have a passport.” Next to the garage, were workers planting strawberries.
We had just 500m to walk from Kardoesie to the top of the Piekenierskloofpas this morning, then we dropped around 7km down the other side, taking just minutes to do the downside versus hours spent on the upside yesterday. Such a joy. Then it was a relatively easy run to Ukholo Lodge, just off the N7.
Our host was not home when we arrived, and at 17:45 has still not come back from Cape Town, so we are starting to get a little anxious about the meal we have been promised in this isolated spot. His assistant, Jeanetta, settled us in and allowed us to use the kitchen to make cheese sarmies for lunch, followed by an enormous sweet mango we bought at a farm stall on the outskirts of Citrusdal.
An elderly woman from the neighbouring plot arrived this afternoon to ask Jeanetta to call our host as she needed to get to a doctor in Citrusdal. She told me her son’s girlfriend had scalded her chest with boiling water. Nothing we could do for her…
Tomorrow we climb again, but not quite as much as we did yesterday.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…