A dose of ShipBoy

Road Trip: Knysna to Addo

Well, we arrived at Eden's Touch mid afternoon on a drizzly and cool day.

Driving into the forest are between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay is an experience itself, but I think the perfect time to do is in fact on days like that. It adds an air of mystery to the forests.

Eden's Touch is a great getaway but is still close enough to civilization that if you forget the bottle opener or backed beans you can get one in under half an hour. We spent 3 wonderful nights here: braaiing, playing scrabble, and enjoying wonderful bottles of wine.

Leaving Plettenberg Bay, we took the N2 towards Port Elizabeth, and while we did the obligatory stops at various curio stops, I did not tell Marcell that we would be stopping at Bloukrans Bridge. For those who don't know, this is the site of the world's highest commercial bungy jump: 261 heart pounding, adrenaline pumping meters.

After the usual shall we or shan't we debates, we put down our moolah and got rigged up to do the deed. This was my second time to do Bloukrans, which made it a lot easier than the first time. I will say this though, this time it did not feel like flying... it felt like falling! However, I still thoroughly enjoyed it! Marcell also did it, and we both did the flying fox onto the bridge instead of the steel cage walk. That was definitely worth it. Had a quick bite to eat after we got back on solid ground and then it was time to get back on the road.

We drove on towards Port Elizabeth, through a ton of road work and the turned off the high way to make our way to Kirkwood, where we were staying next to use as our base to explore Port Elizabeth, Addo and Grahamstown.

More about that next time...

Later

M

Road Trip: Oudsthoorn to Knysna

Its been tough trying to stay connected and to trowel through hundreds of photos each day. I guess that is one thing one can say about digital photography: One doesn't have to be careful of how you use your exposures.

Marcell and I had a great time in Oudtshoorn. The Celtic Bushman where we stayed was a really comfortable and inviting B&B. With the high temperatures of an Oudsthoorn Summer, the pool right outside our room was the best thing ever. Was perfect just to jump into when the heat got too much. Roxanna was the perfect host and really spoilt us with great breakfasts and wonderful hospitality everyday.

The day we left the cooler weather set in and our drive across the Outeniqua Mountains to George came as a bit of a temperature shock to our systems. It had cooled down considerably when we got to the top of the pass and shorts and t-shirts were no longer adequate. Fortunately as we got to the coast and stopped at Victoria Bay, the weather was certainly much more pleasant albeit cooler.

We stopped at Dolphin Point between George and Wilderness and could see where the rock slides have blocked the railroad for the Outeniqua Choo-Choo causing its seemingly indefinite shut down. A great pity as we really wanted to do that while in the area.

We arrived in a warm and muggy Knysna just at lunch time and enjoyed walking around my old stomping grounds which has changed dramatically in the 3 years since I was last there. Shopping Mall city now. But still maintains some of its rustic charms when driving out to the Heads.

We stayed at Inyathi Lodge for 3 nights which is the heart of Knysna but still gives the feeling of being away from it all. Bungalow 6 which is at the top of the hill, has the added benefit of being well away from noise and bustle.

We unfortunately managed to to be in Knysna during all the rain so spent a lot of our time trying to be out of the rain. But we did manage to do a sunset on Buffels Bay beach with one of my friends who is still in town.

So far this trip has really been about relaxing... Lets see how the next few weeks go. Off to Plettenberg Bay and the Tsitsikamma next.

Later

M

Road Trip: Barrydale

Hi All

We managed to post some photos on the Barrydale section of the road trip page.

Check out the first batch :D

Martin

Road Trip 08

Hi All

So Marcell and I are in South Africa and have begun our road trip. So far the weather has been amazing and wonderful. Really been good for us.

We have set up a map to track our trip. As we get to places, we will update it with photos and such.

We will post more blogs below this one in the near future so please stay tuned.

UPDATE: We have posted pictures for Barrydale, Oudtshoorn and Knysna

Later

M