It is a short distance to Plettenberg Bay. In the afternoon you can choose between remaining to relax at the resort or taking a short excursion into nearby Knysna to explore.
Optional Activities: Elephant Encounter, Township Tour, Monkey town, Birds of Eden, lagoon cruise
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
18th of December 2013
Today was going to be a big day, for no other reason than Thomas was going to do a Bungee jump from the worlds highest bridge jump site. So we packed up the tents and Otis then headed for the Bloukrans Bridge (Face Adrenalin) from what we could see the bridge straddled a very steep ravine, we couldn't actually see the bottom of the ravine.
I think Thomas was itching for it, because as soon as we got there he signed up and was ready to go, the rest of us took up what ever vantage points we could find. There was a viewing screen inside the coffee shop that gave a good view of what the professionals were filming, but amateur photographers had to find a spot elsewhere. It took awhile for Thomas to appear at the jump zone, but I could see him getting geared up through the camera lens. The viewing spots were at a fair distance from us, so whilst we could see it was Thomas we couldn't see the fear in his eyes if he had any.
From a judging point of view the distance made it hard, but I could see Thomas had good form as he leapt into the abyss, arms perfectly extended, his arms and body forming the classical "Y" shape, eyes up, looking at the target zone and to finish off a slight manly scream. I think it was almost a perfect jump, I scored him a 9 and 1/2. A somersault at the bottom would have got 10's. Nice work Thomas!!!
We had a relatively quick stop at a rehabilitation park where we saw a bird called the Blue Crane, its South Africa's national bird. It apparently likes peoples toes...we also got to go into a cheetah enclosure it was pretty nice.
From there it was pretty much just a drive to our next accommodation, us campers were in for a pleasant surprise. As we pulled up we saw the accommodation was very, very nice. We assumed the accommodated people would get the fabulous rooms and we would be tenting way out back, out of mind out of sight. To our surprise every one got upgraded on Nomads account, turns out that where we were supposed to stay was fully booked as was everything else so we got the upgrade to probably one of the best resorts in the region. The resort was definitely for the upperclass, so I'm not sure what they would have thought of the great unwashed piling off Otis and then setting up a truck stop kitchen. What was probably worse for them was all of us (15) going to reception to pickup our room keys in our less than spotless clothing, some hanging around the foyer to access the Wi-fi.
After lunch Michael, Mika and me helped Rimson clean up. Mika kept hitting, kicking and throwing water at me, I don't know why, I'm just an innocent victim. After the clean up was done Michael and I headed to the bar for a well earned beverage, we finally settled on real margaritas.We chose some sun lounges right next to the opulant looking pool and waited, Lisa made her way down after freshening up a little (she had a bath & did some laundry). Thomas also joined us but all to soon we had to depart for the waterfront visit and shopping.
It would appear that Knysna is really setup for the more discerning and affluent traveller, it was nice to see it as it was a canal type development which leads to a natural harbour. They had a walk way bridge that went up when boats and yachts headed into the canal, the bridge was where all the cafe's and restaurants were.
Around 5pm we headed out for the lagoon boat cruise, it was nice to see and kill a bit of time. The guide was entertaining and knowledgeable about the history of the lagoon. Apparently Lloyds of London won't insure your boat if your planning on entering the harbour because someone deliberately ran their vessel aground there so they could claim the insurance.
The best part of the day was the team dinner out, I have to say I got a little smashed. Lucky me I had Eva on my left and Lisa on my right, a margarita in my hand, a sunset over the water, it doesn't get any better. The drive back was just a little rowdy but it was a great drive back to the hotel. The bar staff at the hotel assured Michael and me they would be open when we got back, lets just say that was not entirely true. They were there but the bar lights were off and they had positioned themselves around the TV, there was a soccer match on. So Michael, Thomas and me headed to their room for a Amarula night cap, now what happened that night and what we discussed is secret mens business.
What happens in South Africa stays in South Africa.
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