Two Geckos on a Road Trip – Day 8 and 9 – Kheis Riverside Lodge and Orania

The past two days have been travelling days. On Monday we were sad to pack up and say goodbye to beautiful Augrabies. The Earl and I had to take Gecko 81 back to Upington for some quick fixes so did not join Cathy and Alec on a visit to Leon and Hannelie, (Gecko 113) who live nearby. Thanks for your help re our Gecko, Leon. Hope to meet up some other time.

Alec chatting to Leon and Hannelie – Photo by Cathy

We dropped the caravan off then went to do a bit of shopping and had breakfast at Dros. Our overnight stop was at Kheis Riverside Lodge and The Earl and I arrived first. Cathy and Alec were just half an hour behind us. We had two lovely shady campsites.

This is the entrance to the restaurant – our Geckos are in the background

The manageress was very friendly and accommodating. We requested dinner at the restaurant and it was opened specially for us.

Chatting to the manageress

View from the terrace

Sunset at Kheis Riverside Lodge

They played some good South African Boere Musiek and the Earl and I could not resist getting up to dance – Thanks to Cathy for the photograph

We were up and ready to leave by nine this morning and travelled in tandem to Orania stopping at Kalahari Lodge in Kimberly. We hadn’t had breakfast but it was too late for that so we decided to have their lunch special – braaied chops, chicken wings and boerewors. A wonderful buffet of vegetables and salads were also on offer. Desserts were also included for just R99 per person! Coffee and drinks were extra. Everything served was delicious.

Kalahari Lodge Kimberly

Plenty of parking for the Geckos

We had not pre-booked a campsite in Orania and first tried to get in at Aan-die-Oewer. Surprisingly it was full but the young lady at reception directed us to another park right next door. We walked across a foot-bridge and down a path to a little cottage where the manager assured us that he had some vacancies. At first he said he could not offer us sites next to each other but after we’d driven around and checked in properly we found that site four and five were empty and perfect for our needs.

Setting up camp

Wine o’clock

Cathy made a delicious Tuna Salad for supper

Enjoying our evening meal

More about Orania in the next episode of our Gecko adventures.