The new front tyre is all done and dusted, so I can go off the tarmac again. All being well, will depart tomorrow for Clanwlliam with the idea of heading for Lambert's Bay on the Atlantic, and thence by a mixture of tarmac and gravel all the way down the coast to Cape Town.

There are a few things to see on the way to Clanwilliam so that might take a couple of days.
After fitting the tyre I took the road towards Kleinsee, also on the coast. Along the way I got equipped with a phone line.......

..... well, the arms at the top of the pole were right next to the lay-by so it seemed a better photo-opportunity than another straight road.

Certain readers with a sharp eye may see the optical fibre cable amongst the open wires. It was quite thin, so only carrying, I suppose, around half a million phone calls and a few hundred thousand broadband internet connections, or whatever they have in Kleinsee, pop 826.

Then there was this:

It does exactly what it says on the signboard.

Here:

The Spektakel.

Beyond the pass the tarmac ended. It was followed by gravel, blatantly defying Einstein, stretching out straighter than straight.

So I returned to Springbok to prepare for the next day's departure.

Latest update:
I arrived at Clanwilliam much earlier than planned. The countryside along the way is supposed to be covered wall-to-wall with wild flowers of every possible colour at this time of year. But no, not along these roads. So I turned westwards to Lambert's Bay and the Atlantic Ocean again. Which is where I am now, having discovered that the famous wildflower season was very short this year, and has already finished, because of warm winds through the winter drying out the land.
Will post up a couple of winery photos when I find internet faster than a donkey cart and cheap enough not to need two visits to an ATM to pay for it.