Knysna - Plettenberg Bay

Day 17 Knysna / Plettenberg Bay
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.

Tsitsikamma National Park

Day 15/16 Tsitsikamma National Park
After a final early morning game drive we bid farewell to the elephants, take a quick stop at Port Elizabeth’s airport and arrive in the afternoon at Tsitsikamma. The name means ‘place of abundant water’ and it does not disappoint, with its indigenous forests and dramatic coastline. This area is home to the famous multi-day Otter Trail hike and the first few hours of this hike is included in your Activity Package.
Optional Activities: Bungee jumping (highest in the world), treetop canopy tours, blackwater tubing (min 4 clients) Meals:
Breakfast (only on day 15), Lunch, Dinner

16th December 2013
Lisa and I got up and packed up our tent, helped the other campers pack up their tents then headed to our last family breakfast. It was a slightly sad affair with everyone leaving but it's a new day and every day is different.

We hit the road at 7am to do the last game drive in Addo, unfortunately it wasn't nearly as eventful as yesterday, we drove around but all the elephants seemed to be hiding. Who would have thought that 450 to 500 elephants could hide so easily. We saw some people wandering around outside their vehicle. I thought they were just being idiots breaking the game park rules by getting out of their vehicles, turns out there was a sign saying you could!!! the only stipulation was you had to watch out for Lions...

As we drove around we saw a couple of wardens wandering around, they stopped us and then searched Otis for contraband. They didn't find any, but it's good to know they are trying to stop poaching.

After the game drive we headed to Port Elizabeth Airport  to drop the departing family members off. It was a really sad goodbye, after spending two great weeks together it's amazing how close you can get to people you would not have normally met. For my part I am really glad I got to met and travel with everyone, there were no tears from me but I did get some dust in my eyes.

From there we had a little bit of a sad drive, that was until someone suggested that we play some music, then we all livened up a little. We got to our accommodation the campers were staying at the Tube n Axe whilst the accommodated trekkers  stayed in a really nice place in Tsitsikamma.

It was a full moon so I couldn't resist taking photos of it, the photo's aren't my best work but I've now taken photo's of a full moon from home and from South Africa.

17th December 2013
We headed into the Tsitsikamma National Park, some of us went for a hike on part of the Otter Trail. (Owen, Esther, Michael, Jens, Sonja, Matthew, Bill, Lisa & me) On the walk we spotted a whale and a calf frolicing about 150 meters of shore, I got a few photo's but I really needed the big lens. That makes 6 of the big seven, next on the list, a great white shark. Next we passed a really large cave on the walk, but when we started to look inside we quickly realised that it seems to be getting used as a toilet. It took about an hour and a half to get to our final destination, the waterfall. (there seems to be a hiking to waterfalls theme) I climbed part way up to get the "photo", it was worth the climb but it was only when I got back I saw a better spot for a photo but alas it was to late.
The other guys also went for a hike and then a swim at what would loosely be described as a beach, it was about 10 meters long and apparently freezing cold.

In the afternoon we headed for the Canopy Zipline tour, the night before we had some work to do to convince the ladies to join us. The crew for this was Esther, Thomas, Michael, Lina, Eva, Lisa and me. As some of you know when ever I'm doing anything that involves height I scream like a girl... this was no exception. The zipline itself was 10 runs of varying lengths and speeds. The tour operator was pretty funny, he told Eva that she wasn't going to make it because she was left handed and every opportunity he would pretend that he had not secured her properly and then grab at her as she left the platform. Michael was hysterical to watch, he would do things like running starts or jump off the platform, we could feel the platform shake everytime he did something the guide just shook his head. The thing I really don't like about ziplines is the harness, I can guarantee every guy gets to feel the pain and end up with a high pitched voice, mine occurred on about the third run.

Addo Elephant National Park

Day 14 Addo Elephant National Park. This unique Eastern Cape park is home to one of the densest concentrations of African elephants on earth as well as boasting the ‘Big Seven’(elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, southern right whale and great white shark) as Addo is a land and marine park.
Optional Activities: Night Game Drive with SANP.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

15th December 2013
The drive to Addo Elephant Park was a normal drive for South Africa,  sometimes the roads were bumpy sometimes the  able roads were great, I will say that there are lots of road works going on here in South Africa.

On the way to Addo Elephant Park we saw the disparity between rich and poor, on one side of the road there was some Mc Mansions and the other basically sticks covered with plastic tarps. What really amazed me was from talking to Michael, (the fountain of knowledge on all things Germany) I learnt that Germany has a population of just over 81million with a total size of 357,000klm square , whilst South Africa has just over 51 million people and has a total size of 1.22 million klm's square and Australia has a population of just under 23 million and has a total size of 7.692 million klm's square. When I think about the numbers I wonder how it seems so many people here live in such poverty.

We were really lucky to get to do a game drive in Otis as apparently large vehicles are usually restricted in the areas they can access in Addo Elephant National Park, nice work Owen.

We saw a bull elephant hogging a man made waterhole, he had his trunk stuck over the water inlet  and was sucking up the water as it appeared. He would not share with the nearby zebra, but as an elephant herd came over he let them drink. The elephant family was almost running to get to the water, and when they reached it the babies climbed into the shallow pool to play around. This was followed by some rolling around on the ground as the adults grazed. Very cute!

We then went to a picnic area for lunch, it was fenced off for safety. Rimson produced hotdogs for us, which were very popular. While we were having lunch we were joined by a few Red Beaked Francolin, I tried to feed Christina to one, but Christina resisted.

After lunch we continued on our game drive through the park, we saw the usual suspects - zebra, kudu, impala as well as lots more elephants - great! As we headed towards the boundary of Addo Park we saw a very large bull elephant with a huge set of tusks standing alone in the distance in a grassy area. We waited and watched and were very lucky, as he chose to walk towards us, and then pass on by, so we all got a fantastic view of him. He had a tracking collar on, and Owen said he was probably introduced to improve the gene pool, as Addo's elephants have recovered from near extinction and have small tusks due to their genetics. The Elephants were considered pests by the Orange Farmers, so they hired a hunter to kill them all, only 16 survived in 1920 now its estimated the population is around 450 to 500 elephants.

Owen told us an interesting story about what can happen when to male Kudu's decide to have a tussle over the ladies... sometimes their horns get tangled up and then if they can't get them unlocked  they will die like that. So whilst were on the topic of the males of the species fighting for the females attention, we saw a male ostrich trying to win over a very special lady, but she couldn't care less in fact she kept running away. I gave him my advice but alas he wasn't listening he was to busy dancing and then running after her.

We were supposed to stay in the National Park Campsite  but they were fully booked, so we went to the Aardvark Backpackers just outside the park boundary.
We camped again!!! believe it or not, there were no upgrades available. It was the last night for several family members (Simone and Jan, Diane and Christina, Hartwig and Ulla), so we had a special dinner and some speeches, very sad but we have some great memories of all of them.

Cintsa & Quad bikes

Day 12/13 South Africa - Cintsa
Leaving the ‘Kingdom in the Skies’ behind us we travel south to Cintsa.  You can choose to relax, or participate in one of the optional activities available! Optional Activities: boat rental, quad bikingMeals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

13th December 2013
Today was another big day driving. I'm glad, I'm not Owen or Rimson, organising and driving us tourists around seems pretty stressful to me and I don't have their patience. The drive out was as bumpy as it was on our way in, given it was the same we came in it's not really that surprising. As I was going through the Lesotho Immigration the immigration lady wanted to have a chat about how I found my stay and was I nice to my hosts, for the record I enjoyed it and I'm always nice... The rest of the day was just sitting back, enjoying the views whilst Owen & Rimson did all the heavy lifting.

We arrived at our campsite to hear that they have had copious amounts of rain in the last 4 days, which was great news and not so great news. The not so great news was that we could only upgrade for one night (ohh well) the great news was we were going quad biking.

When our host took Lisa, me & Ester to reception to see if we could get an upgrade he asked if we wanted 3 single rooms, he did look somewhat puzzled when we told him one double and one single. I wanted to tell him one king size for three, but missed the opportunity. When we got to the room it was really nice except I couldn't actually fit in the shower, if I moved I turned the shower off.

14th December 2013
Today was the day we would be unleashed on the quad bikes, pretty much everyone wanted to have a go. It's sold as a quad bike game drive as the animals on the reserve are used to the bikes so don't really bother about them. When we got to reception at 8am to book the quad bikes it turned out that there were only 6 quads available for hire so lots of people were going to miss out. The lucky ones Thomas, Michael, Esther, Eva, Lisa & me got to get the motors running, whilst unfortunately Diana and Christine couldn't join us and I know they wanted to because it would have been their first time.

Our quad bike guide gave us the obligatory safety briefing and we were off... at slow speeds. Our first encounter was the hand raised giraffe, he stopped had a look and mosied on. Our guide told us he really likes blondes, the speculation was that he was raised by a blonde lady. We rode a round a bit testing the quads  and the guide out, we soon realised that the boys at the back were pretty much free to hoon as much as we liked whilst the new riders set a more gentle pace.

We me came around a corner and were greeted by a herd of wildebeest, a few of horses,  two pigs that thought they were part of the herd and the tame giraffe. This time the giraffe wanted to stick around and get a pat from us, by far the best interaction was when the giraffe gave Michael a kiss, unfortunately I missed the shot. The next kodak moment was the giraffe hurdle, one front leg the other front leg and then both back legs.
From there we saw lots of animals, but truthfully the focus was on getting dirty. I had two slight hiccups, the first was after the group went over a rocky outcrop, I chose my own path and had both left hand side wheels airborne and then got stuck. I had to reverse to get out of that slight predicament. The second was an air encounter, accelerating hard just before a little hill whilst pulling back on the handlebars launched me into space. I landed just of the track and then had to break hard otherwise I was going to be part of the landscape.

The only dummie spit was from Lisa when she reversed into my quad bike, now the facts "your Honour will show that I am blameless as Lisa stopped in the middle of the track and with no prior indication or legitimate reason began to reverse". Now I'm sure Lisa has a different version of events, but seriously who are you going to believe. (Lisa says she never used reverse gear, she just stopped & "bump")

During the ride Michael and I practised and demonstrated emergency braking and evasive techniques, just in case we got into difficulty. All manoeuvres were conducted under correct supervision and guidance, no animals were injured during the filming. The video was done for demonstration purposes only. During one such demonstration Michael showed how not to correct a jump gone wrong. Please don't try this at home, as a poorly executed jump can cause injury or even death. Michael and I are highly trained professionals.

The rest of Lisa's and my day was spent just hanging around the new campsite, the others either went to the beach or went paddling.

Lesotho

Day 10/11 Lesotho - Malealea It’s a visually impressive drive up to the Lesotho border, where the popular pony trekking excursion (optional) requires an early morning start. On the optional overnight trek Lesotho villagers will guide you along remote trails where there are spectacular views. You can also remain at the lodge and relax, or experience an optional shorter ride. Before we depart we visit the local village and primary school.
Optional Activities: Pony Trekking Excursion, Hiking.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

11th December 2013
The Drive into Lesotho is an easy drive with no dramas crossing the border, in fact it was slightly amusing. On the South African side you queue for five minutes, get your passport scanned, get a cursory glance from the Immigration Officer, get a stamp and your on your merry way. On the Lesotho side of the border crossing there were hundreds of people standing in lines waiting to be processed, we got our immigration cards and dutifully filled them in. (standard stuff, nationality, reason for visit etc) We then joined the queue which I was at the very end of, this turned out to be a good thing as a lady wearing the Lesotho Immigration department uniform came out from out the back and sat at a desk next to me. She then suggested that I get my passport stamped by her, I did, gave her my immigration form and was on my way.

The drive into Malealea was all together a somewhat different experience, it's referred to as the African massage, basically you get bounced around and tossed from side to side alot in your chair. To keep myself amused I have been doing two things the first is when we hit a major bump / pothole I say "whoops there it is", it would appear that Lisa is over my "whoops there it is", however my two favourite doctors (Eva & Lina) still find it amusing, having said that I get the opportunity to say "whoops there it is" alot. The other activity is my daily exercises on Otis during our long drives, running on the spot, pretend skipping, chair pushups, leg checks and counters the good thing about all the bouncing around is that it helps with my balance

The other funny thing about the African Massage is that after about an hour the "good people" start doing the Meerkat. One person stands up in their allocated seat space and peers out the front window search for any sign of respite, that person is soon followed by other curious campers looking for the same respite. From the back of Otis were Lisa and I sit we have a great view of the Meerkats.

As we got close to our designated accommodation Owen started to pull Otis over to check out the mountain view, as Otis slowed the Meerkats all began standing, I wish I had the camera at the ready. At 2000 meters above sea level its high and the views are spectacular with clear sunny skies but windy and cold and I don't do cold.

As per normal we upgraded, camping / tenting holiday yeah right!!!

12th December 2013
At Maleala you probably couldn't get much more basic, there was brown, muddy looking running water. There was no electricity as such, all the electricity was supplied by a generator between 18:00 and 22:00 hours, as it turned out there was not enough power to charge my tablet....It's a strange concept and hard to get your head around 14 villages and 1 pretty well known tourist destination has no grid power.In the morning the team split into two groups, the pony trekkers and the hikers. The pony trekkers were headed out to see some San People rock art and then to the waterfall, from what we were told it would be about a 5 hour ride. Lisa checked out the saddles and decided against the pony trek.
The hikers were in for a long walk to the waterfalls, Lina (The Sun God) Mathew, Ulla & Hartwig, Lisa & me we had a guide however I've forgotten his name. The walk started off pleasant enough as we were walking down hill. After about 45 minutes we reached the valley floor, according to my watch we were at about 1600 meters above sea level. We had lots of water crossings which I thought were fun as it was a bit like my Kokoda trek, you cross the same river multiple times. I had no problems but the less agile and tentative had some issues.

After an hour or so we finally rounded a corner and saw a trickle of water falling from a reasonable height, I couldn't believe it I was thinking that Lesmurdie Falls are more impressive and I only need to walk about 3 minutes to see them. But we kept walking and the vista opened up to reveal a pretty impressive waterfall and the best part was a couple of local brothers began playing their home made instruments which they played for the entire time we were there.

The bad news is what goes up must come down, or in our case what went down must climb back up!!!! The first climb was relatively easy, we walked up to a road that crossed the river and then headed to a vantage point looking down at the waterfalls also a great view.

From there it got decidedly harder as we walked up and down hillsides at altitude. If you've never tried it, I can tell you its not much fun. The good news was whilst we were physically working pretty hard we were having fun unlike the pony trekkers. We saw the pony trekkers about half an hour into our return journey some were having a great time, others not so much.

Ulla & Hartwig are the oldest by a long way but put all but the guide to shame. On the way out everyone but Hartwig collapsed and contemplated how we were going to get out. Suggestions varied from sitting down and crying until help arrived (Lisa), calling in Otis (Matthew) calling in a rescue helicopter (mine). I was also glad that we had the best Swiss doctor ever with us. Hartwig just kept powering on, it was like watching the Energiser bunny on speed and what was really annoying was Hartwig is about 75 and didn't look out of breath or tired. I suspect if there was another walk he would have done that too.

When we eventually got back to camp, all hot and bothered I had what is loosely described as a cappachino followed by a little nana nap to aid with the recovery. The pony trekkers came in looking a little worse for wear, but they seemed to have enjoyed themselves. Next activity on the schedule was the village tour and museum, I have to say I'm over them. Whilst I can't speak the local language after a while you get the jist of the conversation and our local guide was really unhappy that she had a small group because she would get a smaller tip. It appeared to me they had a bit of a "discussion" lets say and as a result a couple more people joined our group. The only amusing thing was watching people including Lisa drink milky coloured warm beer that has been filtered through someones old socks. The  most interesting tipbit was the white or yellow coloured plastic bags on sticks, basically it was used as a signal to let people know its a drinking house and the different coloured bags indicates what the beer is brewed from. Lets just say there were alot of coloured bags on poles in such a small village.
There was a male peacock at the camp it had beautiful plumage but the females just don't care... typical.

After dinner it was off to the bar for some Amarula. (Muti purposes only) Then I took on Thomas at ping pong, after a discussion about the legitimacy of my serving technique I was comprehensively beaten, 21 to 6 and I think those 6 points were sympathy points. I moved to more comfortable surroundings the pool table...Rimson hadn't been beaten before at Malealea, so when I dethroned him the barman hailed my misspent youth. From that moment on I owned that table despite Mika's interesting rule changes. The other good thing about us playing pool was whilst we played the bar stayed open and the generator stayed on. Meanwhile Lisa joined the gang in drinking copious amounts of Amarula, I think the team decided it was safer than the water.

Still the reigning heavy weight pool champion of the world!!!

Drakensberg Park

Day 8/9 UKhahlamba Drakensberg Park
We leave behind the beautiful beaches of KwaZulu Natal and travel inland to the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg or Royal Natal National Park, part of the huge and incredibly scenic Drakensberg Escarpment. The Drakensberg is South Africa’s highest mountain range with peaks at over 3000 metres. Hiking is the most popular activity here and your guides will take you on a lovely hike if you are not already busy with other optional activities
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

9th December 2013
So the thing about Overlanding is things don't always go to plan - our stated accommodation was not available so we stayed at the Amphitheatre Backpackers, lets just say it's an interesting place. For example in the toilets there was a sign that said if you just blow your nose or do a little wee don't flush. They had a rock climbing wall and a spa inside the bar area spa was emptied every day and refilled with allegedly "clean water", (the water was the colour of used toilet water) I was never going anywhere near it but Lisa put her hand in and said the water was boiling hot.

From what we could gather it was the favourite place for rock climbers to hang out. The owners and hanger on's were a interesting bunch of people, they were really nice but they are the people time forgot, Hippies from another time and place and let say people who would be taking other forms of Muti (traditional medicine) either in liquid form or via the peace pipe. The son of the hippy lady owner thought Lisa looked like his aunt back in Australia, I got some mileage out of that one.

After we setup our tent I played volleyball with the younger folk, Thomas, Simone & Jan. (pronunced "yan") Lisa lazed about reading her romance novel, yes that's right a Mill's & Boon special....Simone & Jan are a recently married German couple who apparently went to Vegas to get married, they speak very little English but its much better than my German. Jan is currently reading the English version of Harry Potter, he says that he can read English really well but finds it hard to understand / follow along when someone is speaking English. (probably because we speak too fast) However we seem to be able to understand each other.

I then went for a run with Lina, (who better to run with, if I have a heart attack I have a doctor on hand) we got to see my favourite bird, the Long-tailed Paradise Whydah. It is a small bird which is primarily black and has a really long tail, when it flies it's like it has a wave motion. As it turns out I'm a twitcher, for all of you not in the know, a twitcher is a bird lover who loves spotting birds and records the birds sighted in their journals. On our run we stopped and chatted to Ulla & Hartwig we suspect that they were being our chaperones, I'm not sure how old they are but they are extremely fit, there always off walking and he's always taking heaps of photos.

10th December 2013
Today we headed off in Otis to see the Bushmans paintings, our guide was very informative and knowledgeable regarding everything we saw on the way to the paintings but I suspect the more impatient punters in our group weren't that interested. I thought his story telling of the paintings was great, one story was of the man v's the king cobra. The cobra's venom was used for fighting where as another type was used just used for paralysing the animals.

Next a group of us decided to do the long walk to see the Tiger waterfalls, named because when it's flowing it looks like the teeth of a tiger. Now there are things that I don't get, for example why not call the waterfall Lion Waterfall? tigers aren't native to Southern Africa... As part of my survival plan I now ensure that a doctor is doing the same activities as me and is in close proximity at all times. So on this activity we had Lina, the other members of our party were Thomas, Michael, Hartwig, Simone, Jan, Lisa and the great man Rimson. Owen got the raw end of the deal, he had to drive the short walkers back to camp and then come and get us. I say its a raw deal because its about an hour and a half round trip.By the time we got back to camp we were wet and more than a little cold  so we took the accommodation upgrade option and so ended the camping experiment.

For dinner Rimson prepared a chicken barbeque a feast fit for kings. From there we headed to the bar for some local Moloko this came in the liquid form of Amarula and to shoot some pool with the cool kids. It turns out that my miss spent youthwith Phil has finally paid off and Iv'e still got it, dispite my handycap (Lisa) we smashed all challengers and became the heavy weight champions of the world!!!