16 June, 2015
Himeville
It's Youth Day today, a public holiday in commemoration of the 1976 Soweto Riots which has made it a long weekend here. We are off on our way to Himeville to prep for 4x4 up Sani Pass tomorrow, but before this we plan to have morning tea with Bruce & Jennie Rooken Smith ( second cousins ) who live in Howick area. A pleasant and uneventful drive to Himeville, lovely scenery and before checking into the local institution ' The Himeville Arms' we found the nature reserve where we tested our 'drop down table' for lunch.
It's amazing to find an old English pub out in the countryside .. Lovely traditional rooms with open fire place & comfy beds. The staff were very welcoming & we had drinks and wifi in lounge before dinner where we had ' interesting dialogue' with our dinner guests - Dyed in the wool .. harking back to the old regime people - embarrassing because their commentary is loud & clear for all to hear... But as always one learns a lot about ' everyday life' in SA.
Threatened 'load shed'
did not happen but we were prepared with candles lit and Amarula liqueurs poured in front of fire.