The Garden Route, Bungy Jumping, and Harry the Elephant

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Tuesday, July 1, 2008 (RABBIT RABBIT!), 12:45 PM

Road trip commences: We inevitably left an hour late on Friday—you know how it is trying to motivate eight college kids on vacation schedules. But at least we were on the road by 2 PM. The great thing about the Garden Route is that it consists of one road, and one road only: the N2. The N2 is a scenic, winding highway that passes through all sorts of South African biomes—fynbos (mostly through the mountains, with its fair share of sheep!), thicket, forest, etc. We drove the first 5 ½ hours or so, and stopped in Mossel Bay for dinner. By chance, we happened upon Delfino’s, a restaurant recommended to us by a past Connect intern. They had great service (usually a rarity around here), great food, and great waterfront view—we all made sure to touch the Indian Ocean for the first time!

We got back on the road by 10 PM and arrived at Plettenburg Bay’s Albergo Backpackers at 11:30. Backpackers are a chain of youth hostels located throughout South Africa, designed for economical and adventure-based travel. Perfect for us. Unfortunately, the Albergo office had closed an hour earlier, but we found some other guests playing cards in the lounge. They were kind enough to let us in and loan us their key (for which they were reprimanded the next morning—“You never know who could show up,” haha). We still had a good part of the night left, so we went to a local bar/club where we hung out until I was too tired to sit up (I blame it on the 6+ hours of driving). For R 75 a night, we got a great deal--soap, towel, sheets and a pillow, even a memory foam mattress!

Added to that were complementary hot tea and coffee the next morning at check-out (and check-in for us). We were lucky to have two cars, because half of us were always ready and waiting for the other half. So when my car got tired of waiting, we headed off to the bungee jump (about 45 minutes outside of Plettenburg Bay) and arrived just after 9 AM when it opened. We were the second group of the morning, and although it was raining as we were harnessing up, the clouds cleared as we stepped onto the catwalk out to the jump platform in the middle of the bridge (we took it as a good omen haha). They had a DJ stationed out there, playing a quality mix of ominous movie themes, hip hop, and popular dance tracks. But even without the music, I would’ve been dancing—the prospect of jumping 216 meters didn’t scare me like it probably should have. When it came to my turn, they velcroed two pieces of padding around my ankles and wrapped a single nylon band around them in a way that tightened with increased tension. This knot, they said, had never failed them, and could hold up to 3 tons! They gave me the typical pre-jump reassurances about back-up safety and whatnot, but I was ready to go. As they brought me up to the edge of the bridge to jump, they stepped back and let me jump on my own, per request ☺.

The freefall can’t be compared to anything else. Not even skydiving or any form of amusement park rides. And the view was one of a kind as well—on one side of the bridge, beautiful mountains, and on the other, open ocean and waves crashing on the rocky beach. You hung upside down for a bit before one of the guys power rappelled down to retrieve you. The six of us who jumped had permanent smiles plastered on our faces for the next three hours.

When we got off the bridge, we were reunited with our two friends, Dee Dee and Charleigh, who had decided it would be enough of a thrill just being our audience. I bought the CD of photos documenting my jump from the souvenir shop--the photographer did a really great job, and I thought he captured the experience better than the pricier DVD. And before I knew it we were back on the road.

Next stop, Tsitsikamma Canopy Tour, an extensive zip line course through the protected Tsitsikamma Forest. We ate brunch at the cute Café Bacchus, complete with a warm fire (it was quite chilly the whole trip), and then walked down the road a hundred feet to the tour office. Once out in the forest, our guides, CJ (Glenville) and Lee (Leando), provided the perfect balance of ecological knowledge and comic relief…they even managed to teach us some phrases in Africaans. Two things I found very interesting were:
-All the trees making up the Tsitsikamma forest are native to this region in Africa. It might seem like a no-brainer, but many areas around South Africa fell victim to pine tree plantations (that ultimately destroy the soil and landscape) and gum trees that were introduced and have ultimately become an invasive species.
-Because of the strict environmental standards the Tsitsikamma National Park holds itself to, the entire zip line course was constructed without puncturing the trees. The platforms were held up by tension instead of nails—rubber pads were used at all the pressure points. Also, if anyone dropped their car keys or camera, the guides were required to go back to the office and apply for permission from the park to simply walk on the forest floor. And even then, there was no guarantee of finding the keys or camera because of the thick vegetation. Luckily, no one from our group dropped anything ☺.

We drove back to Knysna and managed to check into the Backpackers well before they closed for the night (we had learned our lesson haha). We explored the town a bit, and decided that it must be much more “happening” in the summer. But a small seafood restaurant provided us with our first oysters (slimy but sweet), and a local Indian restaurant gave us a good, spicy meal and unique Indian desserts. We returned to the Backpackers, chatted with a few of the other guests, and then turned in.

Sunday was yet another early morning, and as predicted, only half of us were ready on time. So my car headed out to catch the first tour of the Knysna Elephant Park, the home of about a dozen orphaned African elephants. The facility was beautiful, had a well put-together museum, and emphasized environmental education and elephant preservation. We bought a couple food buckets (full of fresh fruits and veggies), and headed out to the fields to feed the herd. I took lots of pictures, and did you know…when you pat an “ellie,” clouds of dust fly out from the wrinkles in their skin?! It’s true, haha. We talked to their trainers, learned all the animals’ names and original homes (my favorite was the oldest adult male named Harry, all the way from Namibia), and, since we were the first tour, got extra time feeding, petting, and taking pictures with our new friends. As we headed back to the main building, we saw the other half of our group headed out for their tour, and told them we’d meet them in Mossel Bay for lunch. And Mal drove to give me a break, so I was able to see the scenery that I missed on the way over!

On the way, we stopped at a small craft market, with local artists (unlike many of Cape Town’s markets where the crafts sold are mass produced). We talked to many of the craftspeople, and I bought a beautiful homemade bag and carved zebra ☺.

I don’t think we’ll ever get enough of Mossel Bay. It was a GORGEOUS day, so we were actually able to see the town and ocean in the daylight. We ate lunch at the King Fisher, a seafood restaurant right above Delfino’s. We had a great view of the surfers and lucked out with the special of the day—hake (a common, white South African fish), calamari, rice, and salad for R 40. We headed downstairs to Delfino’s (again!) for their famous dessert waffles and lemon meringue (I don’t think we’ll get enough of that place, either). Both times we ate outside in the cool, yet refreshing ocean breeze. We got on the road (Austin at the wheel this time) by 3 PM or so, and made it home a little after 7:30. I went to bed at 9:30, and I should have known something was up because I woke up in the morning feeling achy and feverish. I didn’t go to work Monday, or today, but I’m thankful I got sick now instead of during the weekend. And plus, I found time to write the blog before it got to the point of another novel, haha.

Sweet weekend, in total ☺

Random Facts of the Days: I calculated out the gas prices: it’s a pretty constant R 9.72/liter here, or $4.67/gallon. So although the Garden Route was expensive, it was definitely worth it.

At the restaurants here, they won’t bring you the bill unless you ask for it. I guess it’s their custom not to rush you. The first few times we ate out, we chilled at the restaurant for quite a while, haha.

If any of you haven’t tried Rooibos tea, you should. I’m bringing some home, but if you happen to see it at a grocery store, BUY IT. It’s a South African specialty and my new favorite tea ☺

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Comments

[Stacey]

YESSSSsss zebra statue in our room? it sounds like you are having such an AMAZING summer whilst I wilt away in my cubicle. i cannot wait to see pictures - i'm already living vicariously through you~!