Travel: Garden Route Days 3 & 4: Cango Caves and Mossel Bay

Welcome to our review of the Garden Route Days 3 and 4!!  For those of you that are new to the party  Day 1 and Day 2 are hyperlinked here.  I left off in Oudtshoorn and that's were we begin today.   Our first adventure of the day was Cango Caves.    We were presented with 2 tour options-  Heritage and Adventure.   After making sure we fit through the cardboard demonstration holes in the lobby, we choose Adventure-  which means lots of climbing and sliding and tiny spaces.   And you know how much I love tiny spaces  (not too much- I once got stuck (paralyzed)  in fake caves at the St. Louis museum).    I kept telling Phil, every time I did something that made me uncomfortable, he would have to do something that involved heights. I learned really fast that our relationship really doesn't work that way.   No romantic balloon rides in our future.
My recommendation for Cango Caves is to book in advance, especially in summer and over holidays.   We had to wait a couple of hours for the next available Adventure tour, but it wasn't too bad.  It was a beautiful day and there's a cafe with an outdoor seating area.    The tour itself starts with the Heritage tour and then continues on deeper into the cave.    It's moderately difficult and there a plenty of spaces that require duck walking or wiggling around on your belly.  I got slightly stuck at one point where you have to wiggle up a tall narrow slit and they slide down at the top on your stomach.  I got to the top but then beached myself.  Phil had to push my feet while someone pulled my arms.  Also I smashed my knees and head quite a bit.   I would get tired of squatting, forget where I was and just stand up.  Each time I was no less surprised how hard rock is.

Next is was back down the  mountain.   We decided to skip the Ostrich Farms- because riding ostriches is weird and pretty much animal abuse and the Swartburg pass because 1 lane dirt road mountain passes are scary.  Our next stop was Mossel Bay for the birthday leg of our journey.  After being non-stop go go go go go, it was nice to stop for a couple nights.

Hubs trying to steal my swing

It was a little chilly as the sun set

Our guest house in Mossel Bay was 3 Colors Guest house, which is up on the hill with a fantastic view of the bay.  Excellent location- A quick walk down to the ocean and a little slower hike back up (for the record, I beat Phil up the hill 3/4 times).  Our room was one of two that opened directly on to the pool and deck.   Right in front of our door was a basket chair that swung out over the pool.  I immediately claimed it as my birthday chair and vowed to spent a lot of quality time in my chair with a bottle of wine.  Breakfast wasn't included in our booking, but available at a nominal charge.  And it was fantastic.  I had stuffed french toast one morning and an omelet the next.  There was also amenities such as a common room with an expresso machine and fluffy pool towels in the room.  AND 2 fluffy dogs that come to visit the rooms.  We highly recommend this B&B.

Hi fluffy new friend

looking for sea treasure

After we settled in, it was down to the ocean to play in the tidal pools and to find some dinner.  We choose Delfino's which had plenty of outdoor seating right on the Ocean.   I ordered my bottle of wine (I think I ordered pizza) and Phil ordered a couple of Cape Velvet's, a South African liquor and calamari.  The food was decent, but the server wins all the points for packing up my wine as take away and aiding me in sneaking it out.   It had a party for one on a swing that it needed to attend.    

I finally got my bottle of wine

The next day began with a hike of the St. Blaize Trail.   The entire trail is about 13.7 kilometers.    We started at the entry point near our guest house and hiked about 2 hours up toward Donna Bay and then back all the way to the light house and restaurants.  So about 4- 4.5 hours total.  The entire hike is said to be about 6, but I think that is point to point and not round trip.  The website lists the hike as moderate difficulty, but we found it pretty easy.        A note, part of the hike is on private property and the gate is only open certain times.  The hike was along the coast with breath taking views and lots of little creatures to see.

St. Blaize Trail

St. Blaize trail

We had booked a sunset cocktail cruise, but unfortunately it was canceled due to high waves.   bPhil did book a fantastic spot in town  for dinner, Route 57.  It is owned by a golf pro.  We had a cute little table for two on the porch, with lot's of great people watching.  The food, service and ambiance was amazing.   It is a perfect date night/ special occasion spot.

That ends days 3 & 4.    Stay tuned for the final installment of our Garden Route trip-  the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Town.

view of tidal pools from the trail

Dassie on the trail