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Monday 23 February 2026 The battle between the Weather Gods and the Weather Committee continues. This morning, the weather gods were kind and allowed the Weather Committee to win – 1 each so far. Lines in was called at 08h00, and the search for the mighty marlin began. There was brief excitement when one or two hook-ups were called over the airwaves, but they were either on-offs or Maco Marlin, which do not count!
But by the afternoon, it was action all the way. We did not hear from Mike from Bad Co call in a hook-up as he was having radio problems. But hooray for Matthew Paulsen – he released a striped marlin just south of the 12-mile bank. The battle lasted 22 minutes. Other hook-ups were called in, but sadly, they were off again.
Lines up was called, and 16h0,0 and the boats were all back at the harbour by just before 18H00
Adventurous A-lureBayswater bobbing in the harbourThe brave and the bold on Butt CheeksCatitude in Cruising moodDory dawdling homeGlorious Gwaza in the golden lightIndigo inching into portJohn Graeme cruising in gently Le Boss lazing on her mooringNothing loose about LoslappieMarco Polo master of the seaMojo moving inMulti making memoriesNippy Nerina nudges into port Onlyfins owns the oceanSassy girls on Piromero -sponsored by SimradSun Seeker sliding into portWatch out for Gangster GwazaFantastic Vistrok on its mooring Bad Co’s boys buzzing after victoryA bright day for Bad CoBring it on Bad Co!
There was fabulous food, fun, and laughter at the evening function, but after a hard day at sea, most of the anglers headed home quite early!
The usual snuff sniffs and strafdoppe were meted out for all those trumped-up charges, all taken in good humour.
Grant got the idiot of the day awardMatthew told about Bad Co’s MarlinI can’t believe his dad turned up to TOMT looking like that!John took the straf!No they’re not twins – just good buddiesMike downs a strafdop
Wednesday 25 February 2026 Yesterday, the competition was called off due to bad weather and today the same verdict from the weather committee. So the score is now Weather Gods 3 Weather Committee 1.
Apologies for only posting now, but I am waiting for the Angler’s Tale. Watch this space. It may appear in a separate post later today.
Each year, when Andrew, the main radio controller for Ski-boat Mobile, takes a break from his job as a carer in the UK, he stays with us to handle radio control for the Marlin Tournament in Struisbaai. His vehicle, sponsored by Robertson Toyota, required its annual service, so Andrew suggested we spend the day in Robertson while the car was in the shop, and we had the use of a courtesy car.
The weather in our area has been mostly sunny and hot, but on this particular day, it started off overcast with some wind and occasional showers. Despite this, the four of us—The Earl, Nanna, Ands, and I—set off at 06h00 and enjoyed some bird watching along the way. Well, to be more accurate, The Earl and I enjoyed the bird watching, while Ands and Nanna feigned excitement at each of our exclamations of spotting a jackal buzzard, blue crane, black-winged kite, common buzzard, and more.
Nanna, being new to the Cape, was delighted by the unfamiliar scenery and found the sight of the mountains, which are a rarity in Gauteng, incredibly impressive.
After dropping off the bakkie at Robertson Toyota and picking up the Toyota Vitz, we headed to Four Cousins Restaurant for breakfast. We discovered that it was a delightful eatery, and we were intrigued to learn that the four Retief cousins, aside from being winemakers, also brew beer and make whiskey.
We recently sold our Gecko caravan, and around this time, we would typically join a Gecko rally at Ebb ‘n Flow. What a surprise to run into Colin and Diane, who were on their way there today. Four Cousins is their favourite stop whenever they pass through this area. We enjoyed a lovely chat with them before bidding them farewell and felt somewhat bereft that we would not join them this year.
For the kidsOutside seating where you can watch the kidsAdult outside seatingBeer on tapDelicious breakfastColin and Diane’s Gecko
The plan was to meet up with friends of Ands for lunch later in the day. In the meantime we took the opportunity to show Nanna a bit of the area so we headed to Montague, a picturesque little town which is part of Route 62.
Die Kloof Padstal is a great place to stock up on nuts and dried fruit Dutch Reformed Church in the heart of Montague VillageNana with the beautiful mountains in the backgroundPicnic Site at Cogman’s CreekToyota Vitz parked at Cogman’s Kloof while I took the photos
Cogman’s Kloof, located between Ashton and Montague along the R62, traverses the Langeberg mountains. Named after a Khoi chiefdom, this pass was engineered by the renowned road engineer Thomas Bain from 1873 to 1877. Unfortunately, twelve lives were lost due to floods during the construction. The pass traces the path of the Kingna River
“The well-known tunnel was created with the aid of a small amount of dynamite. Originally, the road detoured around the area known as Kalkoenkrantz. The completed tunnel measured 16 meters in length and had a height of 5 meters.”
Andrew’s friends suggested we meet at a new restaurant, Rock ‘n Roll on the River Gold farm. For a place in the middle of nowhere this was quite an experience. The restaurant is a diner with a difference. It has a rock ‘n roll theme but the food is quite exquisite.
Lets Rock!A lovely view from our outdoor table
After a wonderful couple of hours of good food and conversation, we headed to Springfield to buy our favourite wines and to once again meet up with our new lunch date friends. We sat under the trees next to the beautiful dam and enjoyed the ambiance of a fantastic wine farm as we enjoyed some wine, olives, and crackers.
Springfield DamBuying our Life from StoneEgyptian Geese improving the sceneryWine tasting at Springfield
We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of South Africa, and exploring hidden gems within easy reach of our home is always a delight. We plan to make similar excursions more frequently.
On Thursday my darling husband announced that he was taking me away to an unknown destination. “It’s a surprise,” he said. And refused to give me any further details. Now he has done this before but not for a long time as he usually relies on me to do the bookings. All I knew was that we would not be taking the caravan so I suspected it would be to a Spa where a bit of pampering would be involved. He likes that sort of thing as do I.
Friday 7 October 2022
The morning was cool but looked like it might warm up so I dressed in white jeans and a cool blouse topped with a cardigan. We did not go in the direction I suspected. In fact, when we were headed toward Cape Town I wondered whether the airport might be involved. But no, I doubted he would book flights without my input. We usually stop Peregrine for coffee when we travel that way but today’s stop was a little before that at Dassiesfontein.
Soon after that we turned toward Villiersdorp and Worcester. Aha somewhere in the Winelands then! The drive was beautiful. The sun came out, the temperature rose and spring flowers were growing on the mountainside. Theewaterskloof was full and it was just the most scenic drive ever.
TheewaterskloofView over the Franschhoek ValleyBaboons Feasting on sour figs
When we got to Franschoek, the Earl drove down a long dirt road. “Now what?” I asked. “Where are we going?” He answered that we were going to Glenwood Wine Estate for lunch. “You know who the manager is,” he said. “DP – I want to see his farm!” Yes, indeed I did. DP is a fishing friend who visits Struisbaai often.
What lovely proteas at the entrance
Ah so we were stopping at a lovely restaurant for lunch. What a lovely hubby I have! But then – as I climbed out of the car and approached the steps up to the restaurant some familiar people appeared! What the heck?! Lisa? followed by my entire offspring and theirs! But why?
“Happy Early 70th!” said Lauren.
My birthday is in November when the students of the family are busy with exams. We are all scattered so getting us all together for a weekend would be a mission! So this was part one of the BIG SURPRISE. Shannon, our granddaughter cut her visit to her boyfriend in Bloemfontein short and flew in to join us. Two of her friends who are students at Stellenbosch university collected her from the airport and brought her to the venue. After lunch Shan went back to Stellenbosch with her friends but would return the next morning for the rest of our festivities.
Lunch was to die for. We had a choice of miso soup, smoke salmon salad or calamari for starters followed by some sushi platters for the table.
Calamari tenticle starterSmoked Salmon Salad StarterSushi is a family favourite so this went down very well! “Well, this was unexpected – thank you everyone”Grandpa and Shan
The mastermind behind this was my amazing son-in-law, Allan. He rallied the troops and organised every last tiny detail which as you will see as I continue this blog was not only lunch at Glenwood!
After lunch, Lauren whisked me away and said, “The fun is not over yet – Allan has organised a Mom and Daughter massage for us.” Oh wow – an hour of pure bliss.
Only after this wonderful spoil did we join everyone at Fransvliet, the lodge where we were to spend the weekend. Lauren and Allan and Earl and I had the main cottage each with its own double room and ensuite bathroom. The open-plan living area was big enough for us all together and the kitchenette was fully equipped but as we soon found out we would not be cooking at home! The rest of the family shared three one bed-roomed cottages which were just as luxurious. These cottages are set in the most beautiful garden.
The gardenRelaxing before the next treat
The outdoor area is awesome and has its own plunge pool.
The weather was so good we could have lounged next to the pool all day weekend long. But there were things to do and places to go!
Another big surprise was finding an iced carrot cake with my name on it! The boys insisted on posing with me and the cake.
My three grandsons – Jay 25, Josh 24. Simon 17The Man who planned it allMy girls and me – Laurie, Me, Lisa, Lauren
At five we all set off for sundowners and a snack supper at Anemos Deck, Old Road Winery. The views of the mountains were sensational and we thoroughly enjoyed watching the Wine Tram pass by. Click on the link to find out what a great experience you can have by taking this tram when you visit the Winelands – You won’t need to drink and drive! We, of course, did quite a bit of wine tasting but we made sure we had a designated driver with us.
Pizzas were goodThe Wine TramAllan, Simon, Lisa, Lauren, Laurie, Jay, Earl, me with the awesome view in the background.
How awesome was Day One? Never in a million years would I have expected a surprise quite like this. And yet that was not the end! Dear Allan had more up his sleeve for the following day. Watch this space for more.
Adventuring into Retirement 