Part 2: African Adventure 2022

October 3, 2022 by karenlordrutter

The Garden Route

Upon leaving Joburg, we flew to George in a small plane where we met our next guide, Gillian Schroeder. She met us at the airport with a sign with our names and quickly collected us and our bags to take us to Knysna.

• 

• 

• 

I planned a very specific route before leaving home to be able to see as much of South Africa as I could in a month. We began the journey in Knysna which is a lovely seaport town known for Knysna Oysters. Unfortunately, I do not care for oysters so I missed out on that lovely delicacy. We enjoyed dining on the water at 34 South even though I only got Tomato Soup. It was late and that was enough to nourish me. I must admit that it was some of the best Tomato Soup I’d ever eaten. David, of course, had to try the local fish and enjoyed every morsel. Our day was to begin early so we walked back to the hotel and luxuriated in our lavish suite.

• 

• 

The hotel that we chose was Protea Hotel Knysna Quays. Protea hotels are South African Marriotts. Protea is the national flower and the hotel brand honors that name. Our room, excuse me, our suite was phenomenal and right on the ocean. We reserved a regular room with two beds but were given a complimentary upgrade to a 3 bedroom suite complete with an indoor dining room, living room, outdoor dining area with grill, sliding glass doors looking out over the ocean, deep soaking tubs, and a kitchen bigger that the one I have at home! The manager wrote the nicest note welcoming us and gave us a box of nougat candy as well. We definitely felt pampered and wished we’d brought along 6 more friends! What a nice gesture by this lovely hotel.

• 

• 

• 

Upon waking the next morning, we were sad to leave our luxurious suite on the ocean but knew we had lots to explore. We left early and explored the Heads, a beautiful oceanfront area of the Eastern Cape. Then we made stops at Monkeyland, Birds of Eden, Jubani Preserve (big cats), Tenikwa (birds and leopards) and the Elephant Sanctuary. This allowed us to get up close and personal to the animals of Africa. These are all aimed at preservation, conservation and education for tourists and locals alike.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The next stop, Tsitsikamma National Park, is the site of the world’s highest bungy jump from the Blourkans Bridge. Yes, we watched, but neither of us jumped. If we had allowed more time, I would have a video of David bungy jumping as he was keen to try it!

• 

• 

David was also interested to see the Storm River Suspension Bridge which is where the Storm River meets the Indian Ocean. Gillian said it was no problem to detour there and let us experience the bridge and the area. The long climb and the rocky path was well worth the end result. The bridge and scenery were beautiful and the convergence of the Storm River and Indian Ocean was worth the hike. David always gets me into these adventures where I have to challenge myself to complete the task. But, I’m always glad that I try whatever he suggests in the way of exploration. Unfortunately, this time, my reward was a rogue wave that soaked me from the waist down! We also had a sighting of a Dassie at the Storm River Suspension bridge. It was my first sighting of the little African critter and he gave me quite the show.

• 

• 

Other sights this day were the famous and historic Plettenberg Hotel, a 5 star small luxury hotel of the world at Plettenberg Bay. Such a beautiful area. David and I both said we would love to go back. Small, quaint and gorgeous.

• 

• 

• 

As we drove westward, we stopped for the night at the Protea Hotel King George to rest for the next day of new experiences. Leaving early the next morning, we drove to Oudtshoorn, South Africa and visited the beautiful Cango Caves, the Cango Wildlife Ranch and the Ostrich Farm. We enjoyed each immensely and even ate Ostrich for lunch. It really was quite tasty. I was leary about eating it so I got the child’s portion which was more than enough for lunch. We also bought some ostrich biltong which is basically ostrich jerky. I learned that ostrich eggs are quite strong and David and I took turns standing on them just to prove their strength. Amazing! We also learned that the Zimbabwe Blue Ostrich is the largest of the family, with the Kenyan Red Ostrich being next in size followed by the South African Black Ostrich. They certainly are interesting animals.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

https://youtube.com/shorts/D7sv0bZFybA Ostrich Video (Click Link)

After leaving the Ostrich Farm, we traveled the Garden Route past beautiful golden canola fields, picturesque expansive farmland, and gorgeous mountains through Mossel Bay and onwards to Hermannus to look for whales. We arrived right before sunset in Hermannus and tried in vain to spot whales. This area is known as Whale Coast but a cold wave had come through and the whales weren’t interested in being seen. Maybe they moved on to warmer waters. However, the seaside town itself was worth the visit. I could easily spend a week here relaxing. You can see the area on the map below.

• 

• 

• 

As the sun went down, we made our way to Franschhoek which is in the heart of the winelands region to begin our Cape Winelands Tour.

Karen