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Published: November 27th 2008
We spent one night in Port Elizabeth before starting along a part of the coast known as the Garden Route, which is a lot more westernised than other parts of South Africa (proof of that being I didn't see a rondavel for ages!). Our first stop was Jeffrey's Bay, a very good surfing town where big surf competitions are held, although we didn't see the beach as the weather was bad. Instead, we hit the discount surf clothing shops and I didn't actually have to hold Ellie back as much as I thought I would. After a day of retail therapy we left for Storm's River, where the weather was again completely rubbish and we were put in a very cold house which didn't seem to be part of the actual hostel for our nights' stay. At Storm's River you can get to the highest bungy jump in the world which is 216m off the middle of the longest bridge in South Africa. After travelling the world uttering the sentences "I have no desire to do a bungy jump", "Oh, I could never jump off a bridge" and "No, Ellie, I will not be doing a bungy jump!" I seemed to find myself handing over my debit card and signing a 'just-incase-you-die-what-is-your-address-so-we-can-ship-you-back' form. No going back! We were put in attractive yellow harnesses and then we got to stand and watch other crazy people do the jump before we went, which let me tell you is really great for the nerves! We were taken across a walkway under the bridge, which is essentially a metal grid so you can see how far up you are, and then in the middle of the bridge we were told when we would jump. I was second so I sat down whilst the bungy guys attached velcro cushions to my legs and then wrapped the cord around them. Before I knew it I was bunny-hopping over to the edge and it was 5,4,3,2,1 Bungy and I pretty much got pushed off the bridge! The feeling was awesome and there was lots of bouncing and time to take in the view of the upside down gorge and my legs. Just when you think they've forgotten about you, a man is winched down to attach himself to you and you're both pulled up by to the bridge again. The bungy was amazing and I'm very proud of myself, even if I didn't technically jump myself. I have video footage of this, so everyone can see how scared I looked! To celebrate our acheivements in throwing ourselves off high things, 4 of us in the hostel got a little bit tipsy later in the evening...
Following Storm's River, it was time to head to Plettenberg bay, which is supposed to be lovely but because of the weather (again) we saw a lot of cloud and rain and a small bit of beach. The town seemed very nice but there was nothing to do in the rain so after a day of catching up on book reading and journal writing we headed to Knysna for 2 nights. We had a night out on Friday with a group of people we met and Ellie got stalked by the hostel tour guide, who took us on a 'guided' canoe trip the next day. Basically he just lay in his canoe for a few hours and drifted down stream whilst we paddled along and got sunburnt! We watched the South Africa v Scotland rugby game in the evening and found ourselves in possibly the only pub in Knysna full of Scottish people! The next day we took a boat trip out to the Knysna heads, which are cliff and cave formations where the Knysna lagoon meets the sea, then we headed off to Wildnerness. We rapidly changed hostels after the first night as there were bugs in Ellie's bed, then spent two full days enjoying the activities in Wilderness. We went canoeing again and saw a waterfall, treated ourselves to hot stone massages, played on the beach at night and went paragliding. Paragliding is a lot of fun and is very chilled out and relaxing. I drifted over the beach for about 15 minutes enjoying the views whilst the guy behind me did all the steering and I didn't have to think! Very nice!
We were quite sad to leave Wilderness as it is a stunning area, but we moved on to Oudtshoorn for 2 nights. Oudtshoorn is the ostrich capital of South Africa and is inland between the Outeniqua mountains and the Swartberg pass, so therefore very hot. Whilst there we tried Ostrich meatballs which are very tasty and decided to go on a cycling tour of the area. We were driven 30kms away from the hostel to the Cango Caves and left there to cycle back. The caves were incredible and we did an adventure tour through them, squeezing through gaps named the tunnel of love, devil's chimney and the letterbox! It was very hot in the caves so it'a surprising we didn't just glide through all the small spaces! The rock formations are really impressive and colourful and we saw lots of stalagmites, stalagtites and flow stones, which were so pretty. We then cycled, thankfully downhill for a fair bit, to some tea rooms for lunch and a quick dip in the pool, then we went to an ostrich farm for a tour and to ride an ostrich. Definitely one of the weirdest things I've ever done! The poor ostrich has a bag over it's head to it can't see you, then you sit on his back and hold his wings whilst he runs around with two rangers trying to keep you on the bird! Yes, it's as funny as it sounds! After this we cycled back to the hostel waving at all the ostriches we passed in fields, and relaxed for a night before our mammoth 6-7 hour journey to Cape Town the next day.
I've been in Cape Town almost a week now and had 2 days with Ellie before she went to the orphange (I tried to guilt trip her into not abandoning me but it didn't work). Cape Town is a great city with lots to do, and I will write another blog from the UK next week detailing my adventures here. Bye for now!
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Juliarrrr
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Hehehe
This might be my favourite blog title ever!! Love youu! xxx