13. South Africa - Part 1 - The Garden Route

13. South Africa – Part 1 – The Garden Route

After a long 14 hour flight from Sydney we arrived in Johannesburg.  It was only an overnight stop so we had booked a hotel close to the airport. It was 3km away by shuttle bus and in a complex of around 5 hotels all owned by the same group. After check in we headed out for dinner to the restaurant area within the next hotel. It reminded us of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

There was a casino, cinema, shops and many restaurants. We went through the casino after visiting the gardens. To enter you have to go through a security gate. It beeped as Syd went through. The guard asked if he was armed.  When he said no they just let him through – great security!!!

A short flight found us in Port Elizabeth where we picked up a car and headed for Jeffrey’s Bay.

It was a small beach town known for great surfing, Unfortunately while we were there the surf was absent. Bang goes my chance of catching a wave.

Our trip along the “Garden Route” saw us stopping in the Tsitsikamma National Park at a small town called Storms River.  The scenery was spectacular.

Huge canyons leading down to lush Fynbos. We went on a Segway Tour while there. Our guide Sassy took us through the town and out into the wilderness where we came across a group of baboons. Luckily they passed by.

We crossed through muddy paths and streams. It was great until I fell off. Had a bit of a sore leg for a few days.

We stopped at Knysna where we had booked an Airbnb. It was one of three studio apartments under a large house.

The gardens were stunning. A lovely pool great for cooling off after a busy day sight seeing. The area around Knysna is beautiful. The harbour is very secluded. 

The British Navy are quoted as saying that the entrance to the harbour is the most difficult in the world.  There is a narrow entrance between the two heads – steep cliffs on either side of the access. It was great watching the waves rush in from the sea and pound onto the rocks.

 













Could have stayed there for hours.

We visited a Game Reserve on my birthday where we managed to see the “Big 5”.  It was a small reserve – really a home for small number of animals but they have a large area to roam and are well looked after.

We saw lions, cheetah, elephant, rhino, wilderbeast, hippos, giraffe, zebra and many more deer, ostrich and birds. It was a great day out.

We also went to the worlds largest free flying aviary. It was huge. A first it didn’t look to great but as we went further in it just seemed to expand.

On the way back we spotted a sign that said Snake Sanctuary.  I was persuaded to visit.

There was just so much to see in the area.  It was so difficult to choose.

Just north of the “Garden Route” there is an area called the “Little Karoo”. We had to travel through the mountains to get there. 

The scenery was stunning, unfortunately there weren’t many places to stop to take photographs. We passed through the town of Oudtshoorn and stopped off at Cango Wildlife Sanctuary where they have many (mainly endangered) animals that you can visit. 

They explain about the animals and the problems that they have in the wild. Their main focus is on the cheetah. In the wild there is a lot of interbreeding which causes deformity and other problems.  They have a breeding programme to try to resolve this.  The money from the entrance fee to the sanctuary goes towards funding this.

Our accommodation in the Karoo was a tent next to a restaurant in the middle of nowhere. We checked in and were shown where to park.  We then had to trek up and through a gate that had to be kept closed to keep the wild animals from entering (and we were on the animal’s side!). Our tent was at the end of the path.

It was a luxury tent. It had a bath with a view looking out over the wilderness. Best night’s sleep we’d had in ages. Syd said that it was my snoring that kept the animals away. (If only he could hear himself)!

We travelled back down the mountains to Mossel Bay where we had a quaint little cottage, 20m from the beach.

The waves were quite intense. They crashed onto the rocks sending spray high into the air.  At one end of the beach there is a natural kind of barrier created by lines of rocks.

Between the rows you can swim and view the sealife in the pools.  The waves crash over the rocks into the swimming areas creating an ebb and flow of the water. You can lie back and float up and down the pool as the waves dictate.

From Mossel Bay we headed inland and west towards the wine region. The nearer we got you could see that the land was a lot drier.  There is a severe drought in the Cape Town area. We passed over the Waterkloof dam.

 

The reservoir was practically empty. 

The final part of the journey was over the mountain pass to Franschhoek. 

The view of the town and vinyards from the pass was stunning.  Our apartment was around the corner from the main street so it was great to have a few days of no driving.

We strolled the streets looking at all the galleries, stopping for the odd drink or ice cream. 

There is a winetram which takes you to some of the vinyards where you can sample the wines and view the scenery.  We stopped at three where we had to take part in the tastings - (when in Rome). Had a wonderful time here.