Blogs from Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 6

Yay, I'm going down to Knysna during whale season! Last time I went during whale season a whale and her calf swam into Knysna lagoon. I could watch them from about 100 meters away! i also watched whales in Plettenburg Bay. (Plett is about hlf an hours drive from knysna) Every year over 3000 Southern Right Whales migrate from Antarctica to South Africa to give birth and mate in the warm sheltered bays off SA. They spend the winter (June to October) in the quiet bays between the West Coast and Port Elizabeth. September seems to be the best time to see them. Every year the numbers increase since the southern right whale is still recovering from the large amount of whaling before it was banned in South Africa (in 1940). (The population increases by about ... read more

From Plett to Knysna After the tremendous downpour yesterday it was great to wake up this morning to brilliant sunshine. Breakfast was served outside on the terrace due to the excellent weather. Afterwards we packed up and headed off in search of whales. This part of the South African coast is renowned for its abundance of whales, mostly humpbacks and southern right whales. First we went in search of lookout points in Plettenberg Bay, the first one we came across was not good, just a road ending at the sea with no real aspect and nowhere to walk to even. Next we found Robberg Beach - the largest beach in the town - and as the kids and Mark were clambering up some rocks they noticed some dolphins swimming in the water by a boat. After ... read more

Travel Day 6 - 9 Well since last time we have been to the winelands @ Franshhoek. Done plenty of winetasting. Then went to Hermanus to watch the whales. Got some amazing pics/film of the whales jumping out of sea. We then had the long drive over to Wilderness (4hrs). But having had a few stops and a kip we made it OK. Today (Friday) we been to elephant sanctuary and got amazingly close. As you can see from pics. Well gonna check out now touch base with you later. Love n kisses MUM & DAD. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx... read more

FINALLY!!!! I have taken a break from drinking and partying 2 write this,since we left Plett, I havent had a free second, havent been sober really at all!!! Knysna's main attraction is definitely not its beaches, there are 3 of them. one is only accessible via a flight of 100 stairs and is not swimmable!!! It IS known for it's forests and scenic walking trails and hikes. On the Eastern had you can take a walk up to the viewpoint,and there are some quite adventurous trails around. While trying to sneak across the edge of a cliff on the sea to get to where the fishermen were, we got greeted by a large wave,soaking me of course!!!! This is also where we discovered Paquitas, a gorgeous restaurant on the edge of the water,huge,with a cosy bar ... read more

The Garden Route I think we left you at Oudtshoorn, the "ostrich capital of the world"! From there we did a couple of hours drive to the coast and a place called Knysna. This is a really nice little town set on a lagoon. We stayed for a couple of days and really didn't do too much, just wandered around the town and when to a nearby beach at Brenton on Sea. On the beach we met a bloke from Leeds, who has a house there. Anyway, he started the conversation telling us his wife had left him and his business was going down the tubes, so he'd need to sell the South Africa house. We really didn't want to play counseller so made a polite exit. We also met another interesting character in a pub ... read more