Too much toll to pay at Tweede Tol

I few weeks ago on my way to Tweede Tol ("Second Toll"), a picnic site at the start of the Bain's Kloof Pass on the Ceres side, I was turned around by traffic police due to veld fires in the Limietberg Mountains. My son was clearly upset because he wanted to catch fish in the Witte River that flows past the camping and picnic site.   Tweede Tol is situated inside the Limietberg Nature Reserve, so taking fish would not have been allowed by a dad that really believes in nature conservation, but as long as he was under the impression that we were going to catch huge fish and take it home to eat, I wasn't going to kill his spirit. So we made a second attempt this weekend.

We arrived at the gate at around 9 am but was quite disappointed to see that we were not early enough. All the picnic spots were almost taken and we ended up sitting at a table smack bang in the middle of the sun with no trees in close proximity. This was way too far from the river, so we drank coffee and put everything back in the car to head down to the river. I could see that the people that have already made them comfortable at the picnic site was NOT there to enjoy the tranquillity of the river, but rather to have a good time. You could also see that this is a regular spot for them to spend their weekends as they were clearly geared up for the event. 

Apart from the fact that we couldn't find fish, the river didn't disappoint. The water is crystal clear and was rather warm for streams coming from the mountains. I ventured a bit further up the river to search for fish, but the noise from the camping site seemed to follow me. When I returned to where my family was sitting, I realised that the crowds have moved down from the picnic site to the riverside and decided there and then that it was time to leave. What an awesome place spoiled by inconsiderate people. We packed up and left the empty Klipdrift bottles behind knowing that peace and quiet is not what you will find if you decide to visit Tweede Tol. Another beautiful site polluted by human beings.