South Africa - The Garden Route

After the safaris’ we explored the rest of the Eastern Cape, heading out along the ‘Garden Route’ – a scenic drive between PE and Cape Town with beautiful scenery along the way. I thought of the Garden Route as a bit of a Great Ocean Road drive (near Melbourne) combined with the Sea to Sky Whistler drive (near Vancouver). Ocean and crashing waves on one side, towering mountains on the other. It was a breathtaking drive, lots of beautiful sights! We stopped off at Tsitsikamma National Park on the way, took a quick hike to the suspension bridge there and then decided to do the first part of the Otter hike which is about a 7km round trip. The hike was fantastic, it wound its way along the coast and you were treated to beautiful views of the crashing waves. The full Otter hike actually takes several days to complete and looks like it would be a great experience. At the beginning of the hike we saw a few Dassie’s – kind of an otter/rabbit?? Definitely recommend Tsitsikamma National Park to any hiking/camping enthusiast out there – they had some small lodges there that looked like they would be fun to stay in – next time!!

After Tsitskamma we drove on to Knysna – described as kind of a hippie town. We stayed in a very small but interestingly decorated hotel there. The Oysters in Knysna are well known – as they should be!! YUM delicious! We hit a bit of rainy weather there and spent our time exploring some of the local markets and craft artisans. Loving!!! African arts and crafts – carvings, beaded jewellery - very colourful and spirited.

We welcomed in the new year in Knysna – well sort of – we were actually asleep by 11pm! Knysna is pretty small, so not much going on, unless you had a reservation at a restaurant, which we didn’t. We were feeling pretty tired and had to get up at 5am the next day to drive to Cape Town. So a very restful start to the new year : ) Along the Garden Route and more distinct as you head into Cape Town, just outside of the centre of the city, and beyond the large properties with the beautiful homes, out on the fringes are strips of shanty towns. From the highway some of them can stretch out for 10-20 km. From the outside it looks like a massive jumble of tin shacks each in itself a colourful patchwork of car parts, old signs and other recycled materials. Garbage is strewn out all over the place. I’d say up to this point we’d seen only one view of life in South Africa and really been quite obsessed with safety, crime and our beach and safari experiences. As we whizzed by on the highway, the shanty towns offered a glimpse into the poverty and unemployment issues much of the South African population faces.

Another glimpse of this, that actually really got to me was that you would see individuals of all ages walking alone or in a pair, sometimes a mother with a child, along the highway. Driving by you would know how far they had walked and how far they still had to go. Of course the story I conjured up in my mind was of an individual walking in the summer heat, a considerable distance, just to get to a job. For safety reasons, we were specifically told not to stop or pick anyone up, even if their car ‘appears’ to break down. I remember feeling quite angry and helpless at this situation.