Day 4: On to Knysna

Today we woke up to a rainy morning, so unfortunately we could not benefit as much from the beautiful coastline. However, the day started with a delicious breakfast buffet at the lodge restaurant and after that we were all fit to move on to our next destination, Knysna.

Our first stop was the Tststikamma Big Tree, just beside the N2. The big tree is a thousand year old ”Outeniqua Yellowood” (for any potential tree nerd: Podocarpus Falcaius), almost 37 meters high and a circumference of 8,5 meters. Quite big, yes. :)

Then we continued to Plettenberg Bay, or ”Plett” as it is more commonly known around here. According to the Lonely Planet Guide Plett ”is a resort town through and through” and one of the country’s top local tourist spots.

We stopped there for a light lunch and walked the Main Street. At this time of the day it had stopped raining, which was really lucky considering our next stop – Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre.

Tenikwa runs a hospital where injured wild animals are rehabilitated and returned to where they belong. Their main focus is on the South African wild cats. To finance the centre they welcome visitors that can interact with the cats that for one reason or the other cannot be rehabilitated, due to injury or disease. We had booked a 2,5 h cheetah walk tour and got the opportuinty to follow Chester and Zimbalie on their afternoon walk in the surroundings of the centre, together with a British couple and three guides, Patrick, Msisi and Semzo. It was a special feeling coming so close to these very beautiful cats! After the walk we were guided around the centre and got to see the other cats up close; lions, leopard, serval, caracal, African wild cat and Black footed cat. It was a very interesting tour and afternoon!

Chester, Joakim and Eva.

Joakim taking off with Zimbalie.

This is the caracal, solitary and territorial. Shoulder height 40 cm, mass 16 kg. 

This is the leopard, extremely territorial and solitary. Shoulder height 70 cm, mass 60-80 kg.

This is the serval, solitary or in small family groups. Shoulder height 50 cm, mass 10-14 kg.

The white lion is not a separate subspecies but rather caused by a recessive gene. Big, dark manes on male lions are an indication of health and vigor and these males are favoured by females. White lions do occur naturally in the wild but they are rare. (Source: tenikwa.com)

There were two lions in the enclosure. Shoulder height 90-120 cm, mass 180-250 kg (males) and 150 kg (females).

The drive from Tenikwa to Knysna was only 30 minutes and we reached ”the Hamilton Manor” at 18.30h. It happened that we arrived just at the same time as an Israeli family and it took some time to settle the check in. We ended our day at 34th South at the waterfront, where we had yet another excellent meal and very friendly waiter who added ambience to our evening. :)

Joakim getting instructions for a "must have" at the 34th South restaurant - "Line Fish". 

Nice food for everyone, I enjoyed eating an excellent stuffed sweet potato.

Day 3: Tsitsikamma National Park

We slept really well in our beautiful room and woke up to a sunny morning at the Happy Jackal. 

During breakfast we met the hosts, Peter and Liz, a retired British couple who have been living and working in South Africa for more than 40 years. It was a special day for them, while we were still eating they received a Skype call from their daughter and son in law, telling them they were going to become grandparents in September. That message made them very happy!

We took off right after the breakfast to go back to Shamwari Safari to pick up Gun and Calle. They were very delighted with their 24 h game viewing stay. As it happened they had been very lucky in spotting the animals in the park. :)

With the in laws and all luggage back in the car we took off along the N2 for a long ride to Tsitsikamma National Park and Storms River. We arrived at the Visitor's Center after three hours. We decided to start with lunch at the restaurant. The view from the porch was magnificent! Then we walked to the river mouth and the "Suspension bridge" which took us a little closer the sea.

Once we returned it was time to continue to the "The Fernery", a remotely situated lodge along the coast where a "luxury cottage" called the Blue Lily was waiting for us. We closed the day with another nice meal at the lodge restaurant. Joakim is indulging the good meats of the country, while I'm happy eating butternut squash on a daily basis. Wining and dining - that's us! :)

Day 2: Time to adjust

Time to sleep in, a porch just outside of our room big enough to also fit my yoga mattress and a traditional B&B breakfast - that's what I call a promising start of a new day!

The task for today was getting Gun and Calle dropped off at the Shamwari Safari lodge next to the small town of Paterson, some 80 km north east of Port Elizabeth. Joakim and I had decided to skip game viewing this time. After having entered the property from the wrong end, resulting in a very slow drive on a gravel road, we reached the place at lunch time. The place looked really nice and we were all welcomed in a very friendly way. Leaving there we managed to exit the right way and soon found a nice place called Nanaga Farm Stall where we had our lunch. It was a nice pick and we ended  up staying for 1,5 h, rounding our meal off in their food store stuffed with all kinds of local produce. :)

We then continued to our next B&B, the Happy Jackal, adjacent to Addo Elephant Park and near the small town of Colchester. The place was so nice and we were somewhat jet lagged so we decided to relax and enjoy some quiet time on the spacious balcony outside our room. We also started to detail our plans for the next 2-3 days, an exercise that renewed our energy!

View of the Sunday River from our balcony. To the left: parts of the roof of the Happy Jackal.

You can't see any, but there are lots of birds singing in the trees just next to our balcony.

In the evening I practiced driving on the left hand side of the road, I believe it was for the first time ever. About time, yes! I drove all the way from the Happy Jackal to the local Grunters Pub, almost a five minute long drive. It went quite well I'd say, but then again roads were more or less empty of traffic... ;)

Nice owner, nice atmosphere at Grunters Pub.

Day 1: Back in ZA!

So, we made it back to what became a favorite destination of ours two years ago. I'm 
happy and excited to take on a new trip in beautiful South Africa!

This time we flew Air France via Paris to Johannesburg, boarding their A380 just before midnight. It actually proved possible to sleep in more or less sitting position during the next 7-8 h. Our plane touched ground at 11 AM and some four hours later we were on our way to Port Elizabeth. We arrived there early evening and managed to get a hold of the rental car we had reserved. The drive to our first B&B place, "50 College Drive" took less than 20 minutes.

All of us were tired, but we managed to pull ourselves together and get out for dinner. We trusted the Lonely Planet Guide and ended up in a nice South African/Seafood restaurant. The food proved very tasty, but returning to our rooms for a horizontal rest was heavenly! :)