8th to 16th April 2022

Sally and I went to Sedgefield to visit family just before Easter.

Having looked at the weather forecasts we decided to leave on Friday 8th April. We had planned to go on Sunday the 10th. As things turned out we made a very good decision and missed the deluge which KZN suffered.

We overnighted at River of Joy – just before Bloemfontein (550 kms) and the next day got to Sedgefield (800 kms). Traffic was surprisingly light and hardly any rain.

Our GPS and Misses “Waze” (brilliant App with latest details on traffic ahead as well as warning us of potholes ahead) told us to go to via George and backtrack to Sedgefield. We decided otherwise and take the “shortcut” at Uniondale going through the Prince Alfred Pass. What a great choice despite the extra time it took.

The Prince Alfred’s Pass on the R339 gravel road between Knysna and Uniondale is probably Thomas Bain’s most remarkable work. It is the second oldest unaltered pass still in use and is the longest (publicly accessible) mountain pass in South Africa at approximately 68.5km.

We followed the windy narrow gully between steep mountains on either side of us – often unable to see where the next turn would be. The rock formations were outstandingly attractive. Once through the mountains the road opened up and we drove through a fern forest eventually reaching the N2 just north of Knysna.

Half way through we noticed a cosy looking place to stop at and potential stay at. Here is their advertising sign. Zoom in to read the sign.

While staying in Sedgefield we visited the nearby Rondevlei Bird Hide.

We had a pleasant 2 hours of water birds.

Here are birds photographed.

On the way home we stopped in Camdeboo National Park for a cup of tea and a loo break. Some wildlife got our attention.

Paul and Sally Bartho