Part Three and we're in Warmwaterberg!

Hello again, fellow Yarnies!

Before I take you along on the next leg of our journey I wanted to tell you that I had the fright of my life when I got a notification from Google to say my Blog had been "attacked!". This is every Bloggers nightmare, that their many years of input will all go "poof" just because someone is malicious enough to target your Blog! Luckily, I am surrounded by tech-savvy family and friends, and all the content on my Blog is safe and soundly backed-up. If my Blog does disappear it won't be a train smash to replicate it again. Whew!

Now, let's visit Warmwaterberg! Wow, what a place. Very unexpectedly and having set our minds on reaching Barrydale for dinner, a hot bath and a soft bed we stumbled upon two surprises halfway between Ladismith and our intended destination. The first was Ronnies Shop, in the middle of nowhere a pit stop for weary travelers in need of hot food and cold beer.

Because it's also popular with road-tripping Bikers, Ronnies Shop  ( click on the link to see why it's now a world-famous pit stop! ) stays open into the wee hours and on one of these nights someone got it into their head to insert, in bright red paint "SEX" between the letters Ronnie and Shop. Apparently, this had cars screeching to a halt from thereon and Ronnie, an old Biker himself, decided to keep the addition and, to boot, added "Pompstasie" to the adjacent wall. Pompstasie is basically the Afrikaans word for Pump Station, as in Gas, but it's also slang for something much naughtier!😁

Of course, it's all just a bit of fun and nothing untoward happens there other than your one beer turning into six ( or in my case several Appletisers ) and finding yourself wobbling over to Warmwaterberg which just happens to be across the road, albeit up a very long, deeply rutted, dusty winding road.

Warmwaterberg ( Warm Water Mountain ), is exactly what it says, which is a hot water spring gushing out from a source somewhere in the hills ( if you click on the links they will take you to the history and discovery of the spring as well as some fab pics of the place itself and the "baths "! ). Wooden Cabins are dotted around under massively tall Bluegum trees,  there's also plenty of space for Caravans and Tents. Other than one other couple we were alone, seeing as it was way out of season! It had been a really long day so we were more than happy to unpack in one of the little cabins and with a trail of Peacocks, Peahens, Cats and Chickens in tow, we wandered down to the hot pools, immersed ourselves and stayed there ( alternating between the hot pool and the not so hot pool ) until the stars were twinkling brightly in the vast black velvet skies of the Klein Karoo. Bliss, I tell you! Later, at the unpretentious country-style restaurant we ate one of the best Vegetarian platters I have ever been served ... this while the kitchen staff peeked nervously around the corner waiting for a Yay or Nay. It was a definite YAY!😋

The Cats, Chickens, and Peacocks all seemed to get along! Two little darlings adopted us for the night. And then, there was THIS Dog! 😃

 In short, we could have easily stayed forever! ❤

To find Part Three-Warmwaterberg you'll just need to look in your Library on Ravelry! If you still have not got caught up in all the Karoo magic then you can visit the pattern here to learn more.

Take care, and happy hooky until next time!

❤ Jen ❤