One Bakkie Town

Piet Retief, porches and bovine alarm clocks

My favourite town in South Africa has always been Matjiesfontein in the Little Karoo. I have fond memories of staying in the Olive Schreiner cottage where my dad convinced me she not only wrote her novels, but also croaked and her ghost still haunted the room. As I got older, I spent my days in the old English pub attached to the hotel when, after enough drinks, I was pretty convinced I was having drinks with Olive Schreiner herself. As one-street towns go, Matjiesfontein is the bomb, but I have to admit it’s got some competition from Riebeek East.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of the town I couldn’t find on Wikipedia, but since it was next door to Grahamstown, I pictured hot student types who harvested crops by day (shirtless) and then joined me at the local pub for drinks (still shirtless). My stay was going to be romantic and dreamy.

When I saw the sign for Riebeek East and hit a dirt road, I became suspicious. Assuming I had taken a back road, I stopped to ask a passer-by. He was neither hot nor shirtless, but toothless. I enquired as to where the “high street of Riebeek East” was. “You’re on it,” he said. As the road got bumpier and my cellphone signal weaker, I pulled up to the Mooimeisies guest house. It was more charming than a lecture hall full of shirtless men studying charm.

I was taken to the wraparound porch where I was given a glass of wine (good thinking), and found I had inadvertently joined the daily ritual of Riebeek East: Sitting on the porch drinking wine and watching the world go by. After I was given home made cheese and marmalade, I was planning early retirement and enquired about available property in the area. Had I been able to afford it (unlikely), I could have bought Piet Retief’s house which was surrounded by mountains and forest. I was offered a walk up the mountain to Piet Retief’s baths, but since I had been driving from Jo’burg, I was more interested in the large welcoming baths of the guest house. I enquired as to where the restaurants were and I was told I was in it. After a braai with the locals accompanied by flowing red wine and an amazing Piet Retief sunset, I fell into the luxurious bed with the stray cat I had smuggled into my room.

At 10h00, had a cow not stuck his nose through my curtains, I would have slept until lunch time. A full English breakfast later and following a shopping spree of local jewellery, jams and mosaic art, I was back in my car with the entire town waving me off. As I drove off and a springbok walked across the zebra crossing, I came to the conclusion that ol’ Piet Retief knew what he was doing when he settled in Riebeek East – he wasn’t going to do a lot but damn, he was going to enjoy doing it.

Why you’ll love it

• A cow is your alarm clock
• You have the urge to say “Met ys ja, met ys”
• You can do your future Christmas shopping for ten people and not spend more than R400
• An old bakkie drives past every four hours and it’s considered rush hour

Story by Baglett

Who is Baglett?
She’s a 20-something girl who doesn’t take life too seriously. Read her blog at www.baglett.blogspot.com.

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