With the boat still undergoing a re-fit in the factory and the month of April chockablock with South African public holidays (during which the factory is closed), we thought it was time to get out and explore a bit of this gorgeous country.
Oudtshoorn
We began with a road trip to Oudtshoorn, a farming town about 120 kilometers to the northwest of Knysna. We had a wonderful weekend, staying at a farm in a valley at the foot of the Swartberg Mountains. On our way to our accommodations we stopped for a wonderful lunch and wine tasting at
Karusa Vineyard & Wines.
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| We recommend Karusa's Litchi Bomb Muscat Blanc. It is a bit sweet, but very drinkable on a hot day. |
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The farm where we stayed is in the middle of the photo. It's surrounded by sheep and ostrich.
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| Half way up Swartberg Pass - we came up the cliffside road on the left. |
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| Ostrich Breeding Pair Outside Our Room |
As Oudtshoorn is known as the ostrich capital of the world, no trip would be complete without a visit to an ostrich farm and a delicious ostrich fillet dinner. More like a lean steak than chicken.
Cango Caves
On Easter morning we headed over to the
Cango Caves. Feeling a bit daring, we opted for the "
Adventure Tour" which went beyond the normal tourist route into some of the lesser travelled parts of the caves. The tickets came with a warning. Several of the passages were tight, one only 27 centimeters high which is about 10.6 inches for the metric impaired. David asked the woman at the ticket counter if he was too fat; she just shook her head and laughed. She still sold us the ticket but, needless to say, we were a bit apprehensive. Retired life is wonderful but dieting is not one of its strong suits.
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| When we bought our tickets, David asked the woman at the counter if he was too big for the tour...she just laughed. |
The caves were beautiful. After only 100 meters the tunnel opens into a majestic room called Van Zyl's Hall, a natural amphitheater where they used to perform concerts for South Africa's elite. The acoustics are incredible and concerts there must have been breathtaking.
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One of the beautiful rooms in the caves. This was before the tour got "adventurous"
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There were about 5 chambers in the normal tour, all paved with brick walkways and very well lit. The views were incredible. Most of the formations are dormant now due to the local drought but several have been dated to over 700 million years old. Some moisture still exists and the detail on the younger formations is exquisite.
After reaching the beginning of the adventure section, our tour was delayed by over an hour because a woman in the tour group ahead of us got stuck. She was blocking the only way in so we had to wait. Several people in our group even turned back, either too impatient or too nervous to continue. When she finally emerged, she looked exhausted and near tears. Needless to say, that didn't ease our fears.
We fit, but just barely. One of the more challenging passages is called "The Devil's Chimney", which required a 3.5 meter climb up a 45 centimeter wide, slippery limestone tunnel. Without a nice tug from our fellow cave tour goers, I think both of us might still be stuck in that chimney. And that was just a warm up for "The Devil's Post Box". With a 27 centimeter slot, this was quite a squeeze. After mumbling, "I'm stuck" I somehow got my butt a bit flatter and was able to wiggle through the crevice. Our guide had to direct David's exhalations in order to get him through.
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| Devils' Post Box. Do you see the girl peeking through the crevice? Somehow we both made it through that crack! |
Addo Elephant Park
The following weekend it was off to Addo Elephant National Park with our dear friends Mark and Liz. Addo is about 300 kilometers to the north east of Knysna, a fun 3 hour drive which marked our first time crossing into the Eastern Cape. Along the way, we stopped for coffee at Bloukrans Bungy which, at 216 meters, is the highest commercial bungy jump in the world. It looked frightening from a distance and, based on the screams, was pretty scary up close too.
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| Our view from the cafe. You couldn't hear the screaming but, with binoculars, you could guess what they were saying. |
We stayed on a lovely lemon farm just outside of the park and enjoyed a fantastic braai upon our arrival. In South Africa, all cattle is grass fed so the beef here tastes amazing. And, with a strong German heritage, the sausage comes in endless varieties that are all delicious. David says he's in heaven.
At approximately 1600 square kilometers, Addo is the third largest National Park in South Africa. It's home to approximately 600 elephants and other game animals including several lions. Though you can book a guided tour, most locals opt to drive themselves through the park. The roads are dirt but fairly smooth and well marked. Mark's Toyota FJ barely broke a sweat.
The next morning we were excited to get up early to see the animals and they did not disappoint! We spotted ostrich, kudu, jackals, cape buffalo (dead and alive), meerkats, bat eared fox, dung beetles, mongoose, and warthogs...so many warthogs!
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| Beautiful zebra and beautiful lighting...no editing required. |
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| Warthogs were everywhere, constantly digging for food. Hakuna Matata! |
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| Kudu |
Strange fact: beetles have the right of way over cars. The flightless dung beetle is considered a vulnerable species. The largest remaining population is located in Addo. As we drove through the park we had to watch for beetles and piles of dung in the road to avoid squashing them. Legally, the beetles and manure have the right of way. Male beetles collect dung and roll it into a ball roughly the size of a tennis ball. To prevent other males from stealing it, he uses his hind legs to roll the ball to a safe spot and buries it for a female to lay her eggs. Sometimes he loses control and the ball goes rolling down the road. Yup, rolling balls of poo have the right of way too.
We were very lucky to see a lioness and her cubs twice in one day (during the cooler morning and evening hours). Lions are shy so most visitors never see them at all. They were pretty far away, so unfortunately we didn't capture any photos of these majestic animals. In the morning, we even heard the lioness roaring to her cubs before we could see her. What an eerie feeling to hear a lion roar knowing there isn't a fence between you.
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| David and Liz scouting for lions. |
We did have one near disaster. David "the Lion Hunter" was very intent on spotting lions. See the gray jacket? He was so focused on finding them that he accidentally put it in the wrong white SUV when he took it off a few moments later. Big problem; it had our only set of car keys in the pocket. Of course, the other SUV drove off before we noticed. We were stranded smack in the middle of lion and elephant country. Luckily, Mark and Liz are veteran car people. They easily remembered the make and model of the other car, spotted it with binoculars, and chased them down with the aid of another friendly visitor. Forty five minutes later, we had the keys back and David swore he'd never hold the keys again.
They look nothing alike!
By far the most amazing creatures in the park are the elephants! We saw so many elephants. At times we were surrounded by them and could have reached out and touched them from the car.
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| We saw lots of juveniles and babies |
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| Elephant Crossing! |
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| This bull walked so close we could have touched it. |
On the way home, Mark took us inland along single lane gravel and dirt roads to enjoy the scenery in the mountains and little Karoo. We passed beautiful rock formations, gorgeous grassland valleys with nothing but goats and sheep for miles, and quaint little farming towns.
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| 3 days, 700km, and endless smiles |
Overall, the trip to Addo was a fun packed 3 days, filled with adventure and amazing sights. Thank you again to our friends Mark and Liz for taking such good care of us. Because of you, we will forever remember South Africa as a place of wondrous people and great great friends.
David & Angela
