Eland's Bay ride and a new restaurant.

Saturday was one of those unbelievable mid-winter days that we get here on the west coast every now and then, warm and calm, no wind with the forecast for temperatures up in the high twenties, one of those days where you just have to get out on the motorbike and see where the road takes you. That is what we did, after a short discussion we decided to head up to Eland's Bay for lunch.

The previous weekend heading back from the Polar Bear run I hit what I thought was an enormous pothole, I didn't see it but felt the shock, it jarred my shoulders and I think that that was where my number plate fell off! I noticed at home that I no longer had a number plate. Talking to the other guys afterwards I learned that several of them hit it and the shock actually damaged Shaun's bike, stories were that someone had come off after hitting it, though not one of our group.

I had slowed right down anticipating that I might have damaged a tire or a rim but everything seemed alright and I carried on but that road has many potholes and I took it easy after that. Perhaps we would be able to find my number plate.

Just after the little seaside village of "Dwaarskersbosch" (I'm not even going to try to tell you how to pronounce that!) there is a new section of tar for about twenty kilometres which is fantastic and which invites fast riding but after that beware! The road is dotted with tar patches some of which have new potholes after the recent rains and it would be foolhardy to ride fast.

We cruised along reveling in the fantastic weather and using the time to enjoy the early flowers that are starting to show, August and September usually marks the brief but famous wild flower season and already there are areas of vivid colour to enjoy.

We rode down into the picturesque "Verloorevlei" and into the seaside village of Eland's Bay without spotting the offending pothole, perhaps we could find it on the way back.

I had heard of a new little restaurant which had recently opened and I wanted to check it out, I love new and unusual restaurants and can't resist them. 

The "Wit Mossel Pot" is all rustic charm, labelled as a Beach Bar, Surf Shack and restaurant it was very inviting and as if to confirm its status when we sat down there were some young surfers at a nearby table talking about waves, breaks and boards, things that are meaningless to me!

The owners had recently started up after losing their previous place; the "Soverby Lapa" to a devastating fire and being un-insured they had lost everything and started from scratch. The tables are made of old crayfish traps with thick wooden tops, the chairs are mismatched and some are damaged, there are benches in odd colours and the decor is an eclectic mix of flotsam and memorabilia but it all seems to work.

We were made to feel very welcome and the wine was reasonably priced and nicely chilled, a good start as far as I am concerned. 

 The menu is small but varied and specials are written up on blackboards.

Abnormal? Me? We ordered our meals and settled down to enjoy our wine. Janet went for a Hake fillet with a salad and they certainly gave her a large salad. I opted for their seafood platter for one at R110 which I thought was very reasonable and I wasn't disappointed;

Four mussels, three portions of hake, three prawns, some calamari and a generous portion of chips, I really enjoyed that meal and I will go back. I will have to anyway, because I did a bad job; I forgot to get their phone number and I didn't ask what days they worked - maybe I just enjoyed myself too much!

We had a lovely cruise home, because of the poor condition of the road I tooled along at around 100km/h so we had time to do some sight-seeing.

The road condition aside it is a lovely ride and sometimes it is nice to just cruise along slowly, we actually found the offending hole, although not a pothole it was a serious dip in the tar, an area that seemed to have sunk and which has been marked by the roads department so they are aware of it.

We looked for my number plate but it wasn't there, I just hope it's not going to be used by someone else and that I'm not going to start getting speeding fines, I don't need any more of those!

We'll go back to the "Wit Mossel Pot" soon and I have no hesitation in recommending it to you, we'll speak again soon.