The South Africa roadtrip 2009 - Knysna

Waking up to a hearty breakfast was the order of the day and something which the Victorian Villa did well. It set us up for much of the day and kept me happy during the drive from Port Elizabeth to Knysna.

The journey was easy, as the roads are of a much higher standard and what I was used to driving when living in South Africa. We stopped off at Jeffrey’s Bay to have a look at the sweeping bay, something which I may have taken for granted, as it’s not something you see regularly living inside the M25.  The air was hot and the sea breeze cooled the skin which was being given a beating from the African sun, which burns the skin without any effort.

We stopped off at île de païn for a quick bite to eat and a flat white before making our way to the log cabin.  Making a stop along the way, I took Mike to see the Belvedere church, which is a lovely chapel built in 1855 for a relative of George Rex.  We also carried on the road towards Brenton-on-Sea, which is a lovely beach with views towards Buffelsbaai. 

I decided to take a different route to the cabin than suggested by cutting through the Phantom Pass and found the entrance to Phantom River View Estate and Ukuthula.  It was quite a steep drive up and even gave the X-Trail a test going up.  The cabin was beyond all expectations and comes with the highest recommendation to anyone who would like to spend some time out in the area.  The views from every window were breathtaking.  That evening before going to bed we took the opportunity to soak up the stars, which one never sees in its full beauty like you're able to under the African sky.  I pointed out Orion, Taurus, Aries, Saturn and the Southern Cross amongst all the other constellations.  The Milky Way is also another treat which you never see living in a city.

The rain woke me up rather early in the morning and it looked as though it was settling in for the day, however by the time I was up and we had breakfast it had stopped, however remained overcast.  I decided it would be better to venture inland a little and make the most of the day by going to the Cango Caves.  The weather cleared as we travelled inland and by the time we reached Oudtshoorn the skies had cleared completely and the temperature was a balmy 38 degrees.

I convinced Mike that the adventure tour of the Cango Caves would be relatively easy and not too much effort would be involved.  By the time we had reached the second last section of caving/potholing Mike was under no illusion that there was some effort involved in this exercise and couldn't quite figure out how to get up the Devil's Chimney, which is only 45cm wide and a 3 metre climb, or slide through the Devil's Post Box, only being 27cm high.  By the end of it we had worked up quite a sweat and leaving the caves I could feel the light breeze cooling me down.