The section between Cape Town and Jeffrey’s Bay is called the Garden Route due to the amount of cattle farms, vineyards, and breathtaking scenery along the coast. Our first stop was the Skeiding Farm which is over 2,000 acres and raise ostriches, sheep, and cows. It is owned and operated by a very nice family who warmly shared their home with us and even let us help out with the daily chores. Not only did we get to feed them, but Mat and Charlie were invited to watch as they performed ultrasound on over 600 female sheep to determine if they were pregnant and how many babies they were carrying. After being unceremoniously flipped upside down on a metal trough and probed with the internal monitor, they were spray painted to denote their condition. Watching the first few was a bit shocking (Sally, being the only female, felt for the sheep and kept saying “poor girls”), but the process was also very funny watching the sheep dogs work the sheep into the pen and us helping unclog the sheep jam when they wouldn’t move down the corral. We were also treated to an authentic South African braai (BBQ to us), complete with fresh ostrich steaks. They were delicious and went perfectly with the local wine and the amazing view as the full moon rose over the African countryside. We only stayed here two days and then we headed back towards the coast, looking for surf.
Our next stop was Vic Bay, a beach community built inside a little bay that is a wave magnet – so I was told. Usually when you here this, the reality doesn’t usually match the hype. As we reached the gate, I could see the swell pumping into the bay. Vic Bay is actually a private community, and you have to be staying there in order to park inside the bay. Everyone else parks outside in the public lot and walks in. Leaving Sally and the boys in the car, I walked down the access lane that is built right on the rock edge to look for a place to stay. As a perfect overhead five wave set rolled in, I came upon the Waves B&B. I didn’t need to look any farther. Their family apartment was available, and it had a perfect front row view of the bay and the nice swell rolling in. We stayed three days and caught some really fun surf. Since the midday wind always came up and blew out the surf, we looked for other activities. Just inland from us were the Cango Caves, the largest show cave system in South Africa. Mat, Charlie and I signed up for the “adventure tour” which took you well past the normal walking route and into sections that you had to crawl and squeeze through. Mat and I opted out of the last two sections which were even smaller because the group we were with were quite annoying and made us begin to feel a bit claustrophobic. Charlie wasn’t fazed and forged on, first in line, and needing no encouragement. After two hours and going almost one mile into this cave system, we reached the light of day and very fresh air.
Our main stop on the Garden Route was the coastal town of Knysna. It is built around a large lagoon system and on the surrounding hillsides. The lagoon opens up to the ocean and there is a very active marina complex with lots of shops and restaurants. They are famous for their oysters, which are very good, but still no match for our Eastern Shore “Salty Sea Sides”. We got the chance to see the movie “Invictus” here. It was very compelling to see this movie in South Africa and having just gone to a lot of the places shown in the movie. This country is still struggling with its problems, but it has come a long way since the abolishment of apartheid twenty years ago. The most interesting tour we did was to the local Rastafarian Community. We had heard about other drive through tours of the “townships”, but they seemed too much like “Pompous tourism” to me. I saw an add in a brochure about this personal tour given by “Brother Paul”. I called him up and he was very excited to show us his community. The tour lasted about two hours and he drove with us into the main township to where the Rastas live. To understand how lucky you are, all you have to do is drive for five minutes into one of these shanty towns and see how others live. It was refreshing to see the optimism that Brother Paul and his fellow Rastas have. They have very little, but they are happy. Brother Paul showed us their day care center, their church, their music hall, and some of their homegrown ganja plants. Did I mention that they are “happy” people??
Our most memorable time in Knysna was when we went to the Knysna Elephant Sanctuary. At one time, Knysna had their own unique herds of elephants, but they were basically hunted out for sport and their ivory. The last survey only found three wild elephants. The Sanctuary was started fifteen years ago to take in orphans or elephants that other areas couldn’t keep. In order to get the best experience, I booked the elephant ride which allowed us to ride them for about thirty minutes and then interact with the entire herd for about two hours. Needless to say, we all loved the experience, and it made us even more excited about the upcoming safari in Kruger National Park.
After our four days in Knysna, we headed further up the coast to the place that characterized the original “Endless Summer” – Cape St. Francis and Jeffrey’s Bay. Possibly some of the best waves in the world.
Our next stop was Vic Bay, a beach community built inside a little bay that is a wave magnet – so I was told. Usually when you here this, the reality doesn’t usually match the hype. As we reached the gate, I could see the swell pumping into the bay. Vic Bay is actually a private community, and you have to be staying there in order to park inside the bay. Everyone else parks outside in the public lot and walks in. Leaving Sally and the boys in the car, I walked down the access lane that is built right on the rock edge to look for a place to stay. As a perfect overhead five wave set rolled in, I came upon the Waves B&B. I didn’t need to look any farther. Their family apartment was available, and it had a perfect front row view of the bay and the nice swell rolling in. We stayed three days and caught some really fun surf. Since the midday wind always came up and blew out the surf, we looked for other activities. Just inland from us were the Cango Caves, the largest show cave system in South Africa. Mat, Charlie and I signed up for the “adventure tour” which took you well past the normal walking route and into sections that you had to crawl and squeeze through. Mat and I opted out of the last two sections which were even smaller because the group we were with were quite annoying and made us begin to feel a bit claustrophobic. Charlie wasn’t fazed and forged on, first in line, and needing no encouragement. After two hours and going almost one mile into this cave system, we reached the light of day and very fresh air.Our main stop on the Garden Route was the coastal town of Knysna. It is built around a large lagoon system and on the surrounding hillsides. The lagoon opens up to the ocean and there is a very active marina complex with lots of shops and restaurants. They are famous for their oysters, which are very good, but still no match for our Eastern Shore “Salty Sea Sides”. We got the chance to see the movie “Invictus” here. It was very compelling to see this movie in South Africa and having just gone to a lot of the places shown in the movie. This country is still struggling with its problems, but it has come a long way since the abolishment of apartheid twenty years ago. The most interesting tour we did was to the local Rastafarian Community. We had heard about other drive through tours of the “townships”, but they seemed too much like “Pompous tourism” to me. I saw an add in a brochure about this personal tour given by “Brother Paul”. I called him up and he was very excited to show us his community. The tour lasted about two hours and he drove with us into the main township to where the Rastas live. To understand how lucky you are, all you have to do is drive for five minutes into one of these shanty towns and see how others live. It was refreshing to see the optimism that Brother Paul and his fellow Rastas have. They have very little, but they are happy. Brother Paul showed us their day care center, their church, their music hall, and some of their homegrown ganja plants. Did I mention that they are “happy” people??
Our most memorable time in Knysna was when we went to the Knysna Elephant Sanctuary. At one time, Knysna had their own unique herds of elephants, but they were basically hunted out for sport and their ivory. The last survey only found three wild elephants. The Sanctuary was started fifteen years ago to take in orphans or elephants that other areas couldn’t keep. In order to get the best experience, I booked the elephant ride which allowed us to ride them for about thirty minutes and then interact with the entire herd for about two hours. Needless to say, we all loved the experience, and it made us even more excited about the upcoming safari in Kruger National Park.
After our four days in Knysna, we headed further up the coast to the place that characterized the original “Endless Summer” – Cape St. Francis and Jeffrey’s Bay. Possibly some of the best waves in the world.
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