http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , South Africa , Western Cape , Oudtshoorn en-us Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:51:31 +0000 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:51:31 +0000 Hi everybodyI'm behind again as usual but it's not so easy to get hold of a computer or of internet. We only have one adapter that works for all our chargers and we have to charge two cell phones two computers two cameras a video camera two Nintendo DS's and other stuffAnyway.....yesterday was my worst day of vacation but probably Rick and the kids's best There has been some kind of stoma http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-464634.html Sat 10 OctThis morning I went with Maggie and her friend to a local tourism award ceremony at a really nice lodge with a long bar comfortable sofas and warm open log fires at each end of the room. They served champagne and excellent canapes and gave two Golden Tusk awards to outstanding local businesses. From there we went to the Addo Rose Festival to see local craft stalls and food vans as wel http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-444635.html From Cape Point we continued onto Hermanus. A small town along the coast of Africa that is famous for whale watching. August and September are supposed to be the peek season for seeing the Southern Right Whale. We spent the afternoon having lunch at a very over priced seafood restaurant watching whales jump. These whales were so big that you could see them while they were swimming under water. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-431623.html Hey guysWell after spending some time on the coast we decided to head in land and into the hills to the town of Oudtshoorn. Oudtshoorn is known for two things the Cango Caves National park and Ostrich Farms This area in the Swartberg Mountains is super nice and again has almost a Canadian Rockies feel to it with the mountains and tree'ed areas although the Baboons on the roads are a constant http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-420625.html so back on the road again the itrip working its magic and the tunes a blasting. off we went along the 'alternative garden route'... the Route 62. very pretty it was too. up hill down dale through vineyard and around the mountains. we even stopped for a spot of tea scones and cheescakes at a farm shop in a village along the way. so beautiful was the landscape that it was again a testament to th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-406091.html A rainy couple of days Plus my camera died on the first day. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-397173.html 300109 cont. After the last Addo safari we began our trek back to Cape Town via a different route. We had lunch at a very small town called Steytlerville and stayed the night at a lovely guesthouse in Willowmore.310109 The next day we headed off towards the mountains via a quaint little town called De Rust. After lunch we drove to the Cango Caves via Outdshoorn. They were fascinating and http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-383504.html 8 Nov drive to Outshoorn. We have lunch at the Cango Caves then have a guided tour of the caves which have interesting stalagmite and stalactite formations.Outshoorn is famous for its ostriches they're everywhere. There are lots of ostrich farms in the area with hundreds of birds on each farm. Some of the group go to visit a farm but the rest of us visit Cango Wildife Ranch. As soon as we wal http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-353366.html The last day in Cape we went to Robben Island. It actually wasn't as good as I was expecting. I'm glad I went but it could've been more informative. They basically just walked us through the prison. The bus tour of the island was better but everything was rushed and the group was huge. It was still worthwhile to see though. The buildings and everything actually looked a lot nicer than I expected http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-352196.html It's been sometime since I've had the opportunity to write little something to you on the travel blog. I've had some connectivity issues and just plain busy having a great time. Let's see since we've last talk I've moved onto to the Garden Route which includes Outshorne which is famous for Ostrich farming Knysna which is a beautiful seaside community a quick stop in Port Elizabeth and then I http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-347556.html Flew into Joberg on Saturday and met up with Geoff's brother Steven and his wife Marna who were excellent company and very hospitable. Spent the first day drinking beer watching rugby eating biltong and having a brai BBQ all of which were excellent. The next day we went for a wee drive to a Cheetah ReserveConservation centre with 90 cheetahs and 70 wild dogs. It was pretty cool and we also go http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-344120.html We are in Swellendan in West Cape tonight for our second Wedding anniversary. Was great to be together after spending our first anniversary apart last year. We flew into George yesterday and stayed in a cool place called Wilderness on the coast. We did a bit of tiki tour to Knysna east along the coast which was OK but a bit touristy. Very similar to the Great Ocean Road in places. There are two p http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-344118.html Sorry we have not had access to internet for a while.....We had a good journey from the most southern tip of Africa into the heart of the Karoo area. The roads were good and it didnt take us long to get to our next stop The amber lagoon.This was litterally in the middle of no where a mad german woman packed up an sailed on the Amber Lagoon to SA and set up a little retreat in the middle of a de http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-344100.html Die HandelsHuis Beauty Salon Coffee Bar 'Die Handelshuisrsquo is the first and only Beauty Salon in Calitzdorp creating the perfect space reminiscent of a bygone era for some quality lsquometimersquo and handson pampering. The salon offers a full range of professional salon treatments such as facials manicures pedicures massage and waxing.Bookings for treatments at lsquoThe Salo http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-327534.html Good grief We have had the hardest time ever leaving Cape Town. After returning from our road trip we were planning to leave on the following Tuesday or Wednesday because our time in South Africa is quickly running out. There is still so much to see in South Africa and we are feeling short of time we even visited the Home Affairs office to see if we could extend our visas. Apparently ju http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-321675.html Getting posted in Cango CavesWell it has to be said that when it comes to Lake Pleasant Living size isnrsquot everything. It may have provided us with the largest room but it probably was the worst food and only near the bottom of the top five best views. We left after breakfast and headed yet again along the N2. We passed through a place called Wilderness so named because the wife of some fe http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-316385.html We heard reports of poor weather for the coast so we decided to head inland away from the Garden Route and take the alternative Route 62 from Oudtshoorn to Robertson. Oudtshoorn is the Ostrich capital of the world and is also the gateway to the Cango Caves. The caves were cool and the Ostrich was delicious. In Robertson we treated ourselves to a winetasting tour where we visited four wineries http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-301420.html July 16 17 2008CAPE TOWN OUDTSHOORN S.A.Wednesday morning we began our exploring of the Cape area of South Africa. We met our guide Carles and drove today north and east to Oudtshoorn. This is a very nice drive through some beautiful mountains to an area of farms and past many small vineyards and fruit growing areas.The landscape changes to semidesert very similar to Arizona and a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-301083.html West of Capetown from Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay lies The Garden Route. You could make months of holidaying out of just seeing this bit of coastline which boasts the world's highest bungee whale watching shark diving famous surf beaches and heaps more stuff that I can't be bothered listing. However I only had a few days to spend in this bit of the world and needed to choose one place. Aft http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-286941.html Von Kapstadt geht es mit dem Bus weiter nach Swellendam. Ich haette es fast bereut hier einen Stopover zu machen. Im Dunkeln musste ich das Hostel finden welches irgendwo am A... lag. Stunde... passt. Aber dafuer habe ich zwei suuuuper nette Israelis getroffen die mich prompt hungrig wie ich war zum Essen einluden. Sie sind juedisch und zu Hause veranstaltet die Familie jeden Freitag ein Fe http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Oudtshoorn/blog-281848.html