http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , South Africa , Western Cape , Tsitsikamma National Park en-us Sun, 19 May 2013 02:33:16 +0000 Sun, 19 May 2013 02:33:16 +0000 Tuesday 45 to Wednesday 46Around Tsitsikamma we visited the largest and oldest 700 years yellowwood tree in South Africa known as the Big Tree. Considering the giant red woods in the U.S. and the giant fig trees weve seen in Australia and Costa Rica this tree paled in comparison. Not so impressive and sadly not very yellow o But it was nice to take a stroll in the crisp morning air. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-611663.html We are back on the coast and the Garden Route and are currently in Tsitsikamma National Park. We have got 2 nights in a very cool chalet with ocean views. I am looking out to sea as I write this. I can even see Dassies clambering about on the rocks in front of me This is the life.We thought we might just melt on the way here as the temperature reached 38.5 degrees It was already 34 degrees by http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-480876.html Wrote this part at 6am in WildernessI talked to the girls at midnight on the deck and finally the clouds had completely blown away. There was a full blanket of stars After so many cloudy nights it was wonderful to see them. So many stars that I could not recognize any constellations due to the noise of the extra stars. The girls are doing fine although Kimberly does obviously miss me ver http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-455324.html Jumping the world's highest bungee jump was a close second best thrill of the week right behind hand feeding ostriches. Still can't post pics. Boo. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-435465.html Hi AllWe finally arrived home at about 9 pm on Friday 20th February and now that I have my internet back I am going to take you through the rest of our fabulous trip. In this way you won't have to sit through looking at all my photos later on.Above is a map which I hope will show you our journey.I will begin on the 26th January which was the day after the braai and when we began our tour of the http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-375742.html We'd been staying at the 'Karoo Soul' in Oudtshoorn for 3 nights little story the first night there had been a wedding and the house was full as some of the wedding guests were staying there. About one in the morning a couple staying at the other end of the building started making theatrical bedroom noises a really over the top voice over for a porno movie coming from the female it was embar http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-355551.html So Sunday night we were in Oudtshoorn at the Backpackers Paradise. Oudtshoorn is surrounded by mountains the Langeberg and the Outeniqua. It was our first night back in tents Weird. Sarah and I are sharing now and we took over Warthog Tom and Will's tent because they said everything worked on it. Sure enough it was easy to set up but then we tried to open the zipper and their padlock was stil http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-353062.html After our busy previous travel schedule we decided to chill out for a good few days in the national park and camped at the village of Storms river.Today we hired mountain bikes for the day and headed off into the forest for our 22km cycle route. We did not realise what was ahead of us but the blood sweat and tears were worth it for the awesome views and being so close to nature. Two very tired tr http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-344103.html This was one hell of a drive..... but the views were worth it. We basically travelled on 6 hours of dusty tracks and our hire car had turned orange as a result.The Pass was built by the Victorians and still is a feat of engineering today. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-344102.html We arrived in Storms River Village which is right next to the Tsitsikamma tatitseekama National Park basically an indigenous forest and ocean wildlife santuary and checked into Tsitsikamma Backpackers a quiet and very clean establishment. There wasn't much going on here and nothing as far as ambiance goes but we needed a night to rest. We found the Rafters restaurant and sat outside a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-273742.html December 07 The best story really is how this came about. The Otter Trail is so bl popular that there is no way of getting a spot only 12 people allowed on the track each day unless you book it ONE YEAR in advance. Yes that's right When I first heard about the Otter Trail I knew that I just HAD to do it. But that was about 2 months before I left for South Africa and I was pretty sure I http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-234227.html Moved on to the Tsitsikama National Park. On booking in we were allocated a campsite which always makes us a little nervous as you are never sure where you will be put. Driving down towards the camp we saw a lot of caravans right on the front which brought visions of strong winds the wind is the enemy of the camper because as long as you can keep the tent up then you can stay dry but once the http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-226967.html After leaving Skankolies Hostel see the previous journal entry we drove to Grahamstown for the night. Everything that we read about it said that it was an unassuming and boring type of place. We basically wanted to just break up the driving. I'm glad that we did since we underestimated our drive on the 25th of April. We left the hostel at around 830am and didn't get to Grahamstown until 53 http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-153153.html I just finished a beautiful trek on the Otter Trail in Tsitsikamma National Park. It is a 42km trail that takes five days. Why five days You are required to stay in huts along the trail and can't skip huts. The huts only sleep 12 people and that is how many they allow on the trail each day. Pretty regulated huh I'm told that this trail is one of the most popular in S. Africa. Sometimes b http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/blog-138517.html