Travel- Day 2 on the Garden Route

Hi Readers!    For today's travel blog it's back to the Garden Route for Day 2!  (Day one is here)  I left off last in Plettenberg Bay and that is where I will begin here.   

We headed out from our B&B,  Beacon on the Bliss (reviewed here),  early to Robberg Nature Reserve, which was just a few kilometers up the road for a morning hike.  The day before when Phil and I were playing on the beach a couple of life guards had told us we could hike the whole island in 1.5 hours so we where fairly ambitious when we woke up. That ambition was quickly shot down when our hostess at the guest house told us it takes her 4-5 hours.   

We estimated our fitness level somewhere in between the two, so we expected a a 3-ish hour hike, which was about right- although we did a sort of a convoluted path- hiking first one side of the island and back and then the other side and back, instead of making a full loop.     The hike itself was on the moderate to advanced side with some parts of the trail marked with a skull and cross bones.  There were definitely parts that were more like bouldering than hiking.  The risk of tumbling off the mountain was well worth it!  The views were breath taking.   We  encountered a little rain when we rounded the mountain to the island, but luckily it was more of a warm rain, and we were semi-prepared with jackets and hats.   I was really jealous of Phil's water resistant safari gear that I had relentlessly teased him about.   There were a lot of serious hikers on the trail with a lot of serious hiking gear, including pack-covers.   That would have been helpful.

It's cool, waves, let your freak flags fly high. 

This technically was the trail.  

 There were also a bunch of trail runners!  I have no idea how running on this trail was possible.  The trail itself is made of several different substrates- wooden planks in some places, dirt and gravel in others, but also straight up rocks- where any resemblance of a trail was minimal.  The main hike is a loop, with the right hand side's reward being a beautiful beach and an island that can be explored- if you are cautious of the waves that have the potential to crash over the island.    The other side of the loop treats you to views of seals.

At least this part had a rail.

Horns for not breaking my ankle!

Interesting, due to my public health back ground, there were boxes and boxes of free condoms in the the ladies room at the park, in packs of 20, with visual instructions. These were sponsored by the South African Health Ministry.   Phil claims they were not in the men's room. South Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV and AIDs in the world.

Bathroom Condoms

Stop 2 for the day was Knysna.    Here is one of the major stops on the Garden Route, the Heads.

All bundled up

Here is a webcam view if you'd like to see the heads in real time.  The heads are 2 hills that form the passage from the harbor into the ocean.   If you are running a ship and wish to come into the harbor additional insurance is needed....   the waves near the heads are that powerful.   Phil and I took a cruise around the lagoon.   It was chilly at first, but warmed up.   Luckily, there were heavy wool blankets to cuddle up with.

Knysna Heads

Stressed out mountain driving

After the cruise we head up to the mountains to Oudtshoorn.   Oudtshoorn is about an hour up into the mountains.  The drive was a little bit terrifying.   I almost crawled into the back seat.  It was a two lane highway with very little shoulder separating us from the vertical drop.  The little I saw from between my fingers was pretty stunning.  To make it worse, it was misty and raining a bit and the sun was starting to set.  When there was opposing traffic, Phil would pull to the left, where there was no shoulder, just a death drop.  I was glued to the side mirror, singing/screaming "TAR! TAR! TAR! TAR! TAR!" every time the touched the side of road.

Garden at Tierra Bianca

We finally made it to our third B&B, Tierra Bianca  without either of us crapping our pants, but it was a close call. When we first pulled up, we couldn't figure out where to go to check in.  There really wasn't any doors or signs, other than the main sign on the building.   We finally found a door and knocked and a man in a skirt answered and there was some confusion on his part as to why we were there and whom we were looking for.  He finally said, "Oh, you  must be looking for Morkel...  I will call him."  And shut the door.  Phil started humming the theme song for American Horror Story.   Morkel did show up relatively quickly after and he was fabulous.   He took us down to our room in the garden and had laid out menus in three categories on the bed for us:  his favorites, fancy places and places with a free pick up.   Free pick up???  Hell, yes.   That pretty much made up our mind.   Morkel called up Blackswan, made a reservation for us and arranged a pick up.

30 minutes later we were being shuttled away for wine and dinner.  The restaurant pretty empty when we arrived and we were seated at one of several empty 2 tops in the main dining room.    I picked out a bottle of wine, happy that Phil would be able to share since we would be shuttled back home after. Wine choice: One Tree Hill, Pinotage by a local winery Karusa Vineyard.  It was delicious.  I  regret not stopping at the vineyard to pick up  a few bottles.  I hope I can find it locally.  As we were looking at our choices for mains, the waitress came over, flustered and embarrassed and said that we'd need to move because an "old lady" had requested that table.   We moved one table over.  When the "old lady" came in later, it was really a rich old dude with his young trophy girlfriend.   Seriously, there was nothing special about that table... I think it was just an exercise in fake power and the need to feel important.   .The rest of our dinner was pleasant.  The food was good-  Ostrich filet for Phil (we were in the ostrich capital of the world) and a vegetarian pasta for me.  We shared a yummy traditional bread pudding custard for desert.   Then it was into the shuttle to be shuttled back to the B&B.

Stay tuned for Days 3 & 4 in Mossel Bay.

Weekend Wrap up: Tiny towns and large beaded giraffes.

Hi Readers!   I hope you had a great weekend!

This week was pretty exciting work-wise.   Early Monday morning it was off to a tiny town in the Orange Free State Province to visit one of our co-manufacturers.  I assumed "free state" had something to do with Apartheid and it was the free-ist  state or something.   Not true.  At least in the way I had assumed.   It was a "free state" but for the Dutch in the context of British rule.  Ironically, it was the most strict during Apartheid.  The results were still lingering... almost everyone in the town spoke Aafrican's primarily and all signs and communication was in Aafricans   A little difficult to communicate, but I could, for the most part, ask questions in English and then just interpret the response (which was in Aafricans) depending on context and gestures.  

Oh hey, cows... in the middle of the highway.

The adventure began on the road.   We almost slammed into a herd of cattle crossing the road.  There were two guys waving flags, but it was really unclear why... until suddenly there was cattle in the middle of the road.  Shortly after there was a jack knifed truck.   We were pretty late to the plant and missed the first meetings.  Whoops.  Africa time?

little springbocks

The owners of the plant are avid hunters and animal collectors.  I was surprised to find blasbock, spring bock and zebras grazing outside of the board room window.   I was even more surprised on the last day, when one of the guys came charging through the board room and out the back door with a rifle.    Apparently, it was time to cull the herd.   Three of the blasbock had been pushed out by the dominant male.   They tried to convince me that this was much more "humane" that them killing each other.  I really wasn't convinced.  It was pretty traumatic.  

Sniff.  I'm sorry blasbock.

Also traumatic was our bed and breakfast.   It was fun because our whole team was staying in one house, kind of like a weird work slumber party.   Weird because the decor was a little...um off.  Breakfast was lovely though.  She offered dinner as well, but we, unfortunately, were at the plant until late each night.   One night, the plant had a braii for us, which was fun.  They  promised they weren't cooking up their pets.  I finally got to try Amarula, a South African liqueur made from the Marula fruit.  It's creamy and similar to Bailys.  Very yummy.

Her name is La Teetla

Oh Hai, suicidal fairy in my bathroom

Friday, I headed to the bench in our pilot plant.   I feel like it is the end of the semester and my final project is due.   I've been working on developing a prototype snack  for the last five months and now I finally have enough knowledge and skills to do some recipe development and produce some samples.  It's really exciting.  When I first told that I would need to "go in the lab and make stuff", I was really intimidated.  Now, I have so many ideas and so little time.   I can not believe how much I learned in the last few months.

After all the excitement and hard work during the week, the weekend was pretty low key.  Mostly, I needed to work.   I was going to attempt to run or hike on Saturday, but I woke up with an almost migraine  that threw me off.     Also I had a bunch of shopping that needed to be done.  I only have a few weekends left and needed to hit the summer sale racks to update my summer wardrobe for a steal and I have a few more gifts for friends back home (and for me) to purchase.   I ended up at my favorite mall, Rosebank, which is dangerous for me.  

 I'm not a huge shopper or a mall person, but this mall has a good variety and end of summer sale + strong dollar mean amazing deals.  Rosebank also has a Art & Crafts market in the basement, which consists of tons of stalls selling African crafts.   It reminds me of the Jamaican markets "just a look ma'am, looks are free", but slightly less aggressive.I have this problem where if I engage with a vendor, there's a 75% chance I'll busy something.  So I bought a lot of somethings today.  Including a 4.5 foot multi-colored beaded giraffe to decorate a room for a child that has not even been conceived yet. 

Woot! I'm the most awesome impulse buy ever.

 On Sundays there is also a rooftop market in the parking garage that also has African Crafts, misc. craft vendors that run the circuit (I see them everywhere and yes, I've bought something from several), antiques, music, food vendors and bouncy houses for the kids.   The selection of food today was fantastic.   I was torn between Indian or Malaysian.  Redman Home Industry Indian Cuisine won.  I had the vegan dish, of curried sugar beans and roti.   Man, was it spicy, but delicious.

I leave you with my happy-inducing items for this week.

Pink Gerber Daisies and a cucumber candle

What brought you happiness this week?

Stayed tuned... Garden Route Day 2 coming right up...

Weekend Wrap-up- 'Cause Baby, I'm worth it

Can everyday be a wine on the beach day?

This week was a short work week due to Monday being a holiday.    On one hand, I really felt the shortness and lack of time to get my shit done, on the other, it feels like ages since I dropped the hubs off at the airport.

Blurry pic of hubs running away

Speaking of, the airport was a total cluster on Monday night.  Emirates was particularly a mess, with the check in line looking like it was the first day at Hogwarts on Platform 9 3/4.   Apparently, it was back to boarding school for a hoard of teenage boys with their parents blocking the entire passage way shouting and taking pictures.   We finally got Phil out of the boy's school crowd and into a normal check-in line.   I won't lie, I sobbed during our good byes.   Needless to say I wasn't in the best frame of mind when exiting the airport.   I'm 99% sure I stopped at the stop sign at the end of the parking ramp, but was waved over anyway by the police roadblock.

Me:  Hi, officer.
Officer:  Ma'am, you failed to stop at the stop sign.
Me:  I apologize officer.   I thought I stopped at all the stop signs.  I apologize if I missed one.
Officer:  You didn't stop at the last one.  I need to issue a fine.
Me:  I understand.   Here is my license.
Officer:  I need to fine  you.
Me:  Ok.
Officer:  Where are you going?
Me:  Home.  I live here.  I work at Simba.
Officer:  Oh!  Simba!  Right over here.  I love Simba.  
Me: ...
Officer:  I need to fine you 500 Rand.
Me:  Okay, officer.  I understand.
Officer:  That's a lot.
Me:  Yes, it is, but if you say that I missed a stop sign, I understand that is the fine.
Officer:  (after a long pause, in which he seems to be waiting for a counter offer).   You seem like a good girl and I like Simba.  You can go.

I'm not exactly sure if he was genuinely being nice or trying to shake me down for money or didn't exactly know how to ticket me being an expat with a US driver's license living in a hotel.   He actually didn't ask where I lived or for my Passport.

I'm positive I didn't blow a stop sign... I drive like a Grandma, but I was too exhausted and emotionally drained to argue.   500R isn't all that much in dollars and I'm not sure how they'd track me down if I didn't pay it.  Although, I most likely would of.   I tend to be a rule follower.

Our trip to the coast was energizing and I was highly motivated to get shit done this week, both professionally and personally.  Since we were also go-go-go the last few weeks I also wanted to take sometime to rejuvenate, so I put the social life on hold to dedicate time to my yoga practice, meditation and working on a million business ideas that have been bouncing around in my head for awhile.

I got through not 1, not 2, but 3 #yogacamp classes this weekend. .  Again, I highly recommend this series.   Adriene is laid back, funny, and it's easily adaptable for all levels and moods.  Today was Day 11, with the mantra "I release".   I found this class particularly restorative both mentally and physically.  It tied in very well with where I am at in my meditation practice as well.   Speaking of, I'm working back through Spirit Junkie, to give my practice a little more structure.  Finding this book and guided meditations a few years ago really was a turning point in my spiritual journey and helped me let go a lot of toxic crap in my life. I really believe this was instrumental in drawing Little Phil in. That's a whole post for a different day.

As a reward for all the hard work and to nourish my creative mind, I took myself to the Royal Moscow Ballet on Saturday at the Theater Marcellus in the Emperor's Palace Casino.  The parking lot was packed when I arrived at 7:30.  Apparently the Casino is the place to be on a Saturday night.  I probably should have taken an Uber, but didn't realize that parking would be a mess.   Or at least appear to be a mess.  I drove in a circle once then asked a parking guard for help and tada! instant parking space.  And he gave me detailed directions to the theater.  I was so resistant to the Parking Guard Phenomenon when I arrive in SA, but now Parking Guards are my bestest friends.  They find me the best parking spots, they carry my bags, I suppose in theory they are "watching" my car.  I'm not sure why they freaked me out so much. I guess resistance is futile!

 Back to the ballet...it was beautiful.   I lost myself in the costumes, music and movement.   I was surprised I got a third row seat, just 4 hours before showtime. I wish it was this easy to be spontaneous with the arts in Chicago.   It wasn't a full production, but three performances separated by intermissions.   The company performed Chopiniana (Les Sylphides), Carmen and Paquita (Grand Pas).   I loved the Spanish Flamenco influence in Carmen, but I think my favorite was Paquita due to the proper tutu's and plethora of leaps and jumps.

Today I woke up at 5am fully intending to go on a hike, but just wasn't feelin' it.  I got dressed and got my day pack ready hoping I'd get in the mood, but it didn't happen.   So it was more work and yoga.  I did attempt to check out the Panorama Flea Market, but the GPS took me to a gated community which was definitely not a flea market..   I drove around a bit, occasionally seeing signs for it, not quite sure how I was missing a 400 stall open market, but then I got distracted and just drove around and explored for awhile instead. There's a group going in a couple of weeks, so I'll catch a ride next time.  :)   That area is actually where the hike was this morning as well, so I drove around the hills and admired nature from my car.  I found an impressive castle-like Catholic Church with an equally impressive statue of Mary.  If it wasn't Sunday and packed, I would have stopped for picture.

  Then I got some much needed errands done before it was back to the grind.   I'm desperately trying to make up work time from my extended holiday.    I only have 5 weeks left!  And I'm taking 1 more trip- to Victoria Falls.   I am actually reluctant to spend anymore money... luckily the days I'll be taking off are public holidays anyway.  Phil convinced me that this is a once in a life time experience and I need to do it, so off I go at the end of April.

I didn't take any pictures this week, so here's a couple of  random ones and here's link to a Trevor Noah clip that Phil just shared with me, because it's hilarious.

The fog is eating us!!!  (Camps Bay, Cape Town)

A really funny picture of Phil eating a sandwich in the African bush.

Travel- Day 1 on the Garden Route in South Africa

Day 1:  First stop- Storms River Gorge, Tisitsikamma

Despite it still being warm during the days, it is really beginning to feel like fall here in Johannesburg.  It is no longer light when I wake up in the morning and I no longer need to turn on the aircon to sleep.   Last night, all I wanted was fluffy sweaters and hot cocoa when I got home from work and it's more and more difficult to crawl out of bed in the morning... The Winter Lazy is starting to creep in.  The silver lining to my departure from my beloved Jozi is that I will jump right into my third summer in a row.  Speaking of fall weather, we also felt the beginning touches of fall on our Garden Route Journey last week (good segue, huh?)

We began our trip by flying from Joburg to Port Elizabeth.  I had booked a flight with South African Airways, but the airline transferred the flight to its budget partner, Mango.  There was some confusion the night before when we couldn't log in to select our seats or check-in, but Phil cleared it up with a phone call.  The agents here in SA were very helpful.   AND upon dropping off our bags, they gave us chocolate! <3    They also gave us vouchers for in flight meal service, due to SAA providing  complimentary meal service and Mango providing for-fee ala carte.  The flight was quick and uneventful and soon we were in Port Elizabeth.  PE is one of the larges cities in SA, located in the Eastern Cape Province.  

Thanks Mango!

We decided to rent the biggest most powerful car that was available in auto to make our drive easier than the Kruger Adventure and more comfortable for me as the passenger ;).  That ended up being a Nissan SUV named Serena. Phil LOVED Serena and now wants his own Serena .

Phil is super excited to be driving a "real" car aka "Serena" due to her "curves" and power.

Phil's giant portable file cabinet which contained our very large and very detailed travel itinerary did not contain any points of interest for PE, so we were quickly on our way to  our first stop on the Garden Route.

And we are on our way!

Our first glimpse of the Indian Ocean.

Stop 1: Tsitsikamma National Park

After about an hour or so on the road we crossed the Storms River Gorge and pulled into the Tsitsikamma Tourist Center and Rest Stop.  After grabbing a couple of coffees at Mug and Bean (SA's version of Starbucks) we headed across the pedestrian bridge next to the highway for a better look.   It was amazing!  After taking a million pictures, including the selfie above, we hopped back into the car to head down the highway to the park's entrance in search of the mouth of the Storm River.  This is also where the Otter Trail begins.  The Otter Trail is one of the must-do hikes in SA.   It is also, a 5-day hike, so unfortunately we didn't have enough time on this trip.   My co-worker, an avid hiker, has completed it and highly recommends it.
We did have time for a shorter walk/hike on the Mouth Trial.  It was a relatively easy path, with beautiful views of the ocean, lots of dassies (fuzzy guinea pig looking creatures) and a chance to cross the suspension bridges.  Once we crossed the bridges we sat on a rock and watched the ocean for awhile.  #pleasefreezetime

Tourist Center and Parking for the Gorge Look out

Storms River Gorge

Mouth Trial- Tsitsikamma National Park

Wave watching at Tsitsikamma National Park

Phil getting the perfect shot on the suspension bridge

Suspension Bridge warnings.

Ariel view of the bridge system

Dassies, Dassies, Everywhere!

We then set out on the Crags part of the Garden Route.  The Crags is the portion of the route that is basically between Tsitsikamma  and Plettenberg and  is jam packed with attractions and nature stuff. 

Nature's Valley

Stop 2 was  Nature's Valley a small beach-y town a bit down the way.   It was a quick stop for pizza and wine on the beach at one of the town's only restaurants  before hitting the road again.   The town seemed to host many holiday surfers and cyclists.  Nature's Valley is also the end point of the Otter Trail.

Stop 3:  Animals!
Next Phil gave me a choice between The Elephant Sanctuary, The Birds of Eden, or Monkey Land.   We saw A LOT of elephants at Kruger so I opted out of Elephants.  The reviews on Trip Advisor were both very positive for both the monkeys and the birdies, but stated that you could spend hours inside the bird sanctuary and the tour of the monkeys was only an hour.  We arrived late in the afternoon, so choose the monkeys. I was a little skeptical, but the park was legit.   It is the first of it's kind to rehabilitate multiple species of primates (from all over the world) in one free-roaming space.  We spotted all 11 of the free roaming species housed in the park.  There are 7 other species currently housed separately as part of the acclimation to the sanctuary. They need time to de-human and adjust to "freedom". For an entrance fee a tour guide walks you through the park, points out monkeys and educates the group on the primates that call Monkey Land home and on the park itself.   All the monkeys in the park have been rescued from circuses, pet stores and domestication.  I recommend a stop a Monkey Land if you are on the Garden Route.   There is a combined ticket with the Birds of Eden, which I would also recommend based on other reviews, if you have the time. (Rates- 190Rand for adults, 300Rand Combo ticket w/ Birds of Eden).

The park's only ape species, the Lar Gibbon

The only local species, the Vervet Monkies

Black and White Ruffed Lemur

Charmaine, a Tufted Capuchin, and resident thief, waiting for victims on the bridge

Stop 4: Plettenberg Bay

Plettenberg Bay was both our next stop and our first stay on the Garden Route.   Our action packed first day had drawn to a close.    Our Bed and Breakfast in Plentinsburg was Bliss on Beacon Isle.   The location was good, a short walk to the beach and restaurants, with a whole flock of guinea birds living on the block.   The guest house has about 5 ensuite rooms, including a family room and has both bed and breakfast and self catering options.  We had a single non-self catering room, the Wild Fig with a balcony over looking the small splash pool.  The guest house is owned by a family.  We only met the wife, who is very nice, but seemed busy and distracted with her family.  The service was good- prompt, personal check-in, clean room, standard breakfast (cold and hot options), but wasn't as  intimate and lacked some of the other personal touches that we appreciate.   There was also the ant incident, which was partially Phil's fault.  Actually, pretty much all Phil's fault.   He rolled down the shade in the bathroom, discovered an ant colony and then instead of rolling it right back up again like I would have, he f'd with it and started a 1 Million Ant March.  Although it was more like 1 Million Ant Frenzy, which was made worse when he attempted to fix it by dousing them first in deet, then in non-deet mosquito spray, followed by air fresher for good measure.  It was definitely an ant massacre scene by the time we left.

Our hostess, did suggest a dinner restaurant, Fat Fish, which looked very lovely,  but failed to let us know we needed reservations, so when we showed up a 8pm in the middle of the dinner rush we were out of luck.   Luckily, there was several places right on the beach with in ear shot of the Jazz Festival, which actually turned out for the best- music, view of the ocean, and lot's of people watching.    Our choice was Moby Dick's.    The service was a little slow, but TIA (This is Africa), so not any slower than expected.   The cocktail list was fun and the menu selection, mostly seafood, had several vegetarian choices.   I choose the lasagna, which was okay.  And Phil choose the Hake, which he also said was just okay... but that may be because he prefers "a fishy fish".

style.   We ended the night by playing with the thousands of burrowing snails on the beach and  chasing each other and the incoming waves under moon light.

A little pre-dinner beach playtime.

Stay Tuned for Day 2 on the Garden Route- Knysna, the heads and crazy mountain driving!