The Garden Route
Tuesday, September 6th: Today was another early start at 6:30am. We were awoken by the hostel's obnoxious phone ringing non-stop. After breakfast, we headed east towards George and Port Elizabeth along the N2, which gives access to southern coastal towns. We made a stop at Moussel Bay and ate lunch. We looked like a bunch of hillbillies making grilled ham & cheese sandwiches with our one burner contraption while sitting on a bench by the ocean. Oh well! It was delicious and a nice way to spend lunch! We continued driving until we stumbled upon a trail that went past a cave and along the water by a lighthouse. We saw several dolphins swimming and surfing in the waves. It was pretty entertaining!
Afterward, we headed to Victoria Bay and walked along the water. It led us past a bunch of cute bed & breakfasts. There were a few people surfing and body boarding in the waves. We continued driving towards Wilderness and camped at Fairy-Knome Backpackers Lodge. It was a nice hostel that had camp sites, a fire pit, restaurant, internet and TVs. We had a chance to speak with the owner, who was also the founder of Wonki Ware. Him and his wife started it after she attended some pottery-making classes and wanted to do it as a hobby. Now they sell their products all over the world. Some places include, Anthropologie (Los Angeles and NY stores), Oxford Street in London, etc. It was pretty cool to hear about it! He kept saying how "vogue" it is now. For dinner, we found a little restaurant called Cocomo. I had a delicious venison burger with brie and Jeff had winter curry! We had mojitos and enjoyed the fireplace inside. :)
Wednesday, September 7th: We left Fairy-Knome around 9am and headed toward Knysna. In Plettenburg Bay, we walked around the shops and did a 1 hour hike around the peninsula. We saw seals, as well as a dead and bloated one that smelled soooo bad! Once in Knysna, we hiked through the forest in the national park. We camped at Forever Resorts. There wasn't really anyone there, so we got a spot right by the river. For dinner, we drove to the "The Market" in town for pizza. It was like an outdoor food court with seafood, italian, desserts and a grill. They couldn't sell alcohol, but you could bring your own. Many people just ordered food from different venders and hung out with their friends at the picnic tables. It was a cool atmosphere and good food! When going to bed, we thought we had the ideal location for camping, but we found out early the next morning that it was a mistake, because our tent was basically blowing away and buckling from the force. It was also freezing cold! We could hardly get out and tear it down, because the wind was so strong! It was difficult, but we made it in the car and out of there in one piece.
Thursday, September 8th: We left Plettenberg Bay and headed to Nature's Valley. On the way we stopped at Tsitsikamma, which is where the highest bungee jumping spot is. We watched a few people jump and contemplated whether or not we would jump tandem. I decided that I was too chicken to jump, and Jeff didn't care either way, so we settled on just seeing someone jump from the highest spot in the world. At Nature's Valley, we stopped to do a little walk to the beach, but many of the roads were flooded, so we couldn't get through. We drove to the suspension bridge to do a hike, but unfortunately part of the bridge was closed, so we couldn't go to the end. There were some other hikes, but it was so windy and cold that we passed on hiking and kept driving.
Wednesday, September 7th: We left Fairy-Knome around 9am and headed toward Knysna. In Plettenburg Bay, we walked around the shops and did a 1 hour hike around the peninsula. We saw seals, as well as a dead and bloated one that smelled soooo bad! Once in Knysna, we hiked through the forest in the national park. We camped at Forever Resorts. There wasn't really anyone there, so we got a spot right by the river. For dinner, we drove to the "The Market" in town for pizza. It was like an outdoor food court with seafood, italian, desserts and a grill. They couldn't sell alcohol, but you could bring your own. Many people just ordered food from different venders and hung out with their friends at the picnic tables. It was a cool atmosphere and good food! When going to bed, we thought we had the ideal location for camping, but we found out early the next morning that it was a mistake, because our tent was basically blowing away and buckling from the force. It was also freezing cold! We could hardly get out and tear it down, because the wind was so strong! It was difficult, but we made it in the car and out of there in one piece.
Thursday, September 8th: We left Plettenberg Bay and headed to Nature's Valley. On the way we stopped at Tsitsikamma, which is where the highest bungee jumping spot is. We watched a few people jump and contemplated whether or not we would jump tandem. I decided that I was too chicken to jump, and Jeff didn't care either way, so we settled on just seeing someone jump from the highest spot in the world. At Nature's Valley, we stopped to do a little walk to the beach, but many of the roads were flooded, so we couldn't get through. We drove to the suspension bridge to do a hike, but unfortunately part of the bridge was closed, so we couldn't go to the end. There were some other hikes, but it was so windy and cold that we passed on hiking and kept driving.
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