A Magnificent Loop in the Southern Rainbow Nation (page 6 of 14)

So your husband didn’t end up doing the great white shark dive after all?

You didn’t have much luck on that "coastal" day, with the wind and the clouds. 😕 But the Marula Lodge looks amazing 😇, especially that garden that has a "mini-Kirstenbosch" vibe with the mountain in the background. Thanks for the nod to the Vagabond, and the bobotie you got to enjoy on the terrace! 🙂 !

Mountain zebras in this case, Mountain Zebra.

And about the two photos just below, do you lean towards blesbok or bontebok? Thanks! 🙂

So your husband didn’t do the great white immersion after all?

Nah! He chickened out—said he was scared of getting cold .

Zèbres des montagnes in this case, Mountain Zebra.

Yeah, I definitely remembered your lesson about the different zebra species in one of your recent travel journals 😉. I even showed off by explaining it to my husband 😇.

On the other hand, Marula Lodge looks amazing 😇, especially that garden which has a "mini-Kirstenbosch" vibe with the mountain in the background.

Oops! The photo of the gorgeous building isn’t Marula Lodge—it’s one of the lovely houses on Swellendam’s main avenue 😉. But the garden, yes, really beautiful 😎.

Thanks for the nod to Vagabond, with the bobotie you got to enjoy on the terrace 🙂 !

So good, that bobotie—I even impress my friends when I make them try it 😇

Well, no penguins at Boulders, no whales in Hermanus, and the sharks—it’s too cold... 😞 But on the bright side, we’ve got the addresses of all the great restaurants with plates to prove it! Is this a travel journal or a food blog? 😉😂

Okay, no penguins at Boulders, no whales in Hermanus, and the sharks are too cold for a swim....🙁 But we’ve got the addresses of all the great restaurants with plates to prove it!! Is this a travel journal or a food blog? 😉😄

Both, captain 😉. Since we can’t drown our disappointment in a drink (we don’t drink), we settle for a good meal instead 😛. Part of the journey is tasting the local specialties and bringing some great recipes back home 😎.

Too bad, I remember some great bottles enjoyed during my stay...

Of course, the culinary aspect is a significant part of any trip ("you are what you eat..."), and South Africa also has a lot to offer in that regard...

As for extending the happiness once home, it won’t be the spice rack overflowing from my trip to India that’ll spoil it for you!!

Friday, December 28: Swellendam - Knysna

Today, after a good breakfast, we head towards the Garden Route starting from Mossel Bay. We leave the lodge at 8:35 AM.

But before reaching Mossel Bay, we cover 170 km pretty quickly since we don’t make any special stops. We pass through more farming and livestock areas again—the road is quite monotonous, and there’s a lot of traffic.





We arrive in Mossel Bay at 11 AM and head up to the lighthouse to stretch our legs. The view is really nice, and the hotel even has a natural pool where you can easily swallow a mouthful of water 🤪.









Look, Bruno! We saw animals in the parking lots in South Africa! 😛



Mossel Bay is a seaside resort that’s not very pretty 🙁.





Next, we take the Garden Route, and our first stop is Wilderness National Park. The 60 km drive goes by quickly.

However, the park entrance isn’t well signposted—we had a bit of trouble finding it. You need to exit at Dumbleton Crescent and continue down the road to get there.





We don’t try canoeing—it’s too tough for us (not crazy, huh, Guillaume 😉). We also don’t go all the way to the waterfall, but we take a walk along the riverbanks. We could’ve gone for a quick dip 😄.





We’re tempted to drive the 40 km to Sedgefield by following the road inside the park along the different bodies of water. But that would take at least 2 hours, so we decide to prioritize Knysna since the weather is so nice today.

It takes a little over half an hour to get there. The landscapes we pass through are pretty, with forests and lakes on one side and the ocean on the other.

It's just past 2:30 PM when we arrive in Knysna. Apparently, for soccer fans, this town isn’t unfamiliar—it seems the French team made quite an impression here! 😮 🤪

We head straight to drop off our bags at Lavender Hill Guest House before exploring the area. The room is very spacious, but the facilities are a bit outdated—this will be the least impressive lodge of our trip.



I’m a little disappointed because the lagoon is almost dry, but I should’ve expected that since it’s summer 🤪. It’s still pretty, though I was hoping for a beautiful expanse of blue water 😮.





We make our first stop at Leisure Island, pausing for a moment at Bollard Beach. The water is low, a few people are strolling around, but no one dares to swim.





Next, we climb to the highest point of The Heads—two cliffs facing each other that open the lagoon to the Indian Ocean.









It’s 5:30 PM, and we’re on the docks, hoping to go on a cruise, but there’s no space left for tonight—we should’ve booked ahead 🙁.





Oh well, we’ll just have dinner with some seafood and a delicious malva pudding instead! 😊





Before heading back, we enjoy the sunset over the lagoon.



The rest here

Our first stop is Wilddness NP—the road is very quick for the 60 km. However, the park entrance isn’t marked, and we had a bit of trouble finding it.

Oh, you too? 😛 If you’re not looking for it, you can easily miss it... 🤪

We didn’t try canoeing—too tough for us (not crazy, eh Guillaume 😉). We also didn’t go all the way to the waterfall but strolled along the riverbanks instead.

Too bad 😉! I was already grinning, remembering our own struggle with those canoes, the wind making them wobble, and the camera nearly taking a dive at any moment!!

Hello Isabelle, 🙂

Finally caught up on the delay—what a wonderful gastronomic trip 😛! At first, I thought you were in San Francisco and along the California coast, but when I saw the photos of the plates, I realized that couldn’t be right 😉.

I had a great time with a well-balanced post (not too long, not too short), friendly contributors, and beautiful photos... everything was perfect. Can’t wait for the next part!

Thanks 😎

JF

Hi Jean François, Welcome to this travel journal, even if it's a bit late 😎. It's great to follow the adventures of a young couple in their fifties exploring southern Africa 😛. And thanks for your kind comments .

Hey! Check it out Bruno, we saw animals in the parking lots in South Africa! 😛



All I see is a feeble attempt at numbers and letters that don’t even form a proper word... But I admit the license plates are pretty—we should be able to customize ours too...

On the other hand, that "pool" is insane!! Almost dangerous with the waves, right?

We then climb to the highest point of The Head, two facing cliffs that open the lagoon to the Indian Ocean.

Michel, our friends got it wrong—they climbed The Head instead of Lion’s Head. Seriously, you guys are way off! 😇

But the "pool"—it’s insane! Almost dangerous with the backwash, right?

Yeah, at first we thought it was a nice little pool, but when a big wave flooded everything, I’m glad I wasn’t in there—tons of rocks all around 😕 🏴‍☠️.

We then climb to the highest point of The Head, two facing cliffs that open the lagoon to the Indian Ocean.

Michel, our friends got it wrong—they climbed The Head instead of Lion’s Head. Seriously, you guys messed up 😇

Please, don’t rub it in 😛. Michel forgot 😎.

Saturday, December 29: Knysna - Addo

We continue along the Garden Route to reach Addo Park. Over 300 km to go with a few stops planned along the way. Oh, hitchhiking is prohibited! Only on certain dangerous sections, though, because otherwise there are quite a few hitchhikers along the roads. What’s surprising is that they hold out a bill instead of their thumb—it’s true that might encourage people to stop! 😉



We take the R102 to the village of Nature’s Valley, located 60 km away. The place is really peaceful, with a beautiful beach between the lagoon and the ocean.









A little further on, you can get a stunning view of Nature’s Valley.



According to the PF guide, you shouldn’t take the N2 but continue on the R102 to see the suspension bridge spanning the Bloukrans. The road is narrow in places with rockfalls on the sides. Strange for a scenic route! !😮 🤪





When we arrive in Coldstream without having seen the bridge, we cross through the forest via a dirt road and end up on the N2.

A few kilometers later, we reach the site where the bungee jump starts. This is the largest bridge in Africa, built in the early 1980s—it’s pretty impressive.



Those who jump off it are really brave 😕.





We skip Tsitsikamma Park since it’s almost noon when we hit the road again.

We head straight to Addo NP because the elephants are waiting for us. We still have a little over 200 km to cover, and if we’ve come this far, it’s for this park.

30 km before reaching the village of Addo, we turn onto a gravel road.





It’s past 2:30 PM when we arrive at the park, so we go straight to pick up the keys to our chalet. The chalets are a bit away from the camp center and are very well equipped with a kitchen and a nice terrace 🙂.







When we booked 10 months earlier, we couldn’t get two nights in the same place because there was no availability left 🙁.