The day, hour by hour
-
Before dawn
One last drive
Hot chocolate in the dark, blankets on the vehicle, and out. The Karoo before sunrise is bitterly clear and everything is moving.
-
Sunrise
Breakfast in the veld
On open ground as the light comes up and the mountains go from grey to red. Then back, and away by mid-morning.
-
Midday
The farm
Lunch at the farmhouse first, cooked with what the farm produces, and then four hours that belong entirely to the children.
-
Afternoon
In the parlour, and among the calves
The herd comes in and the milking starts. Five calves are born here every day, so there is nearly always one only hours old. Then the nesting sheds, where eggs are collected warm and, with luck, a chick comes out of its shell in somebody’s hands.
-
4.00
West to Cape Town
Two hours, with Table Mountain ahead for the last stretch.
-
Evening
The Waterfront
A hotel on the water beside the V&A, with restaurants a short walk from the door. After five days of fires and farms, a loud dinner in a city is exactly the change of gear a family wants.
