We had two days of glorious sunshine in Port Elizabeth and Addo - clear blue skies gave us a proper safari feel. Sadly when it came to our days driving the Garden Route, we went from overcast to torrential rain, so we dropped a few of our plans (scenic drives, walks through national parks, boat rides on lagoons, etc). Shame - it's an attractive area full of outdoor activities and great beaches.
From Addo we drove back through Port Elizabeth, where we'd spent our first night in SA. Big long beach, couple of modern outdoor malls, nothing to write home about (we didn't have time to check out the centre).
We stopped for lunch in Jeffreys Bay, apparently a major surfing destination, though it felt a bit run-down. We saw some big waves, but only a couple of learner surfers.
From there we drove 150km to Plettenburg Bay, with small mountains (or large hills) forming a picturesque scene on our right all the way - it looks like somebody has planted a line of trees along the ridge of most of them, just to jazz up the profile. Occasionally we passed a sign warning us not to feed the baboons under penalty of fines. Then we passed a troop of baboons on the roadside, and duly withheld food. Another common sight is a roadsign with a picture of a cow and a phone number underneath. I hope that's not a dodgy chatline service. Other useful signs ban the letter S and warn about a tractor that looks a bit like a teapot.
Driving is interesting - we've mostly been on the N2, a major road with usually just a single lane in each direction but a wide hard shoulder. SA drivers' desired speed seems to vary wildly 30% either side of the speed limit, with convention being that slower drivers move onto the hard shoulder to let faster drivers past (thanked with a blink of the hazards, acknowledged in turn with a flash of the headlights; a system complex enough to feel like an old Commonwealth tradition). Which is nice, except that if someone moves over you feel obliged to pass them, even if you're in a clear no overtaking zone. It's just about safe as long as nobody is doing the same in the opposite direction.
Plettenburg Bay is perched along the side of a hill overlooking the ocean and a lagoon. Seems like a big tourist destination - there are lots of attractions for outdoorsy types nearby, which would be more tempting on a sunnier day than we had - but I'm not sure what to make of the town.
The CBD was dead on a Friday night, with a lot of restaurants but only one bar. We fancied a drink before dinner so gave it a go, though it was pretty quiet (it becomes a club later in the evening). One guy drinking on his own asked the bar staff "Where do people go before they come here?" He got a slightly blank look and the reply "Dinner?".
On Saturday we took a boat trip whale watching. Whales swim very close to the shore around here - you can often see them from land in a few places - and we spotted our first whale almost immediately. It's interesting to see the clear personality types - the male who rushes to the front and won't relinquish that position, the pushy females who 'elbow' everyone aside and block them... But enough about the other tourists on the boat.
We saw a few whales, including a mother (with youngster in tow) being bothered by a lecherous male, but I didn't find it that interesting - unfortunately whales don't poke above the surface all that much, so you don't see them do much. Occasionally they dive and their tails fly up, which is photogenic, or they splash their flippers.
Even if you choose a boat that is licenced to go fairly close, you're not close enough for it to be properly exciting. Lilly really liked it.
I thought it was beaten hands down by half a dozen dolphins we ran into on our way back, who were in playful mood and were happy to swim alongside the boat and jump out of the water, even if they hadn't quite sorted out their synchronisation. Actually a better dolphin sighting than when Lilly went swimming with dolphins in NZ.
We returned to shore by aiming the boat at the beach and opening the throttle - nice.
Beached. You had to pay extra to go on a boat that didn't insult you.
We had lunch and craft shopping at Old Nick, the sort of place that has me fearing for my wallet. Lilly bought a monkey ball - allegedly a fruit the size of a grapefruit that monkeys scoop out to eat, then leave the outside to dry and play with it as a ball. Not sure when the monkeys learn to decorate it in various colours and markings.
Now, did you miss seeing any animals on safari? The good news is you can probably find it in its own specialist enclosure on the Garden Route. As far as I can tell, these all take in animals from overcrowded zoos or former pets or injured animals that can't be released back into the wild - they try to give these animals a decent lifestyle, and they aim to do conservation work as well.
We went to two. Tenikwa specialises in big cats, which each have reasonably decent enclosures, and visitors can go in (accompanied) to most of them. They have African wildcat, caracal, leopard, cheetah and serval. The only ones you can't visit are adult cheetahs and the leopard - whose idea of playing is hurling himself against the wire mesh fence that separates him from you - but that still means you get closer than you ever would at a zoo.
Really beautiful animals, especially the leopard's combination of power and perfect markings.
One of the caracals was very friendly, accepting strokes from everyone but taking a particular liking to rubbing against my legs. I'm sure the gentle nip he gave to my calf was pure affection.
The cats all seemed healthy and well-treated, not some terrible exploitative tourist trap.
Oh, and they have baby meerkats. We spent 20 minutes in Addo looking (unsuccessfully) for a baby meerkat that some <well-intentioned/evil> person told us about. Good things come to those who wait.
We also went to Monkeyland, a giant forested area that houses 450+ monkeys from 9 different species. I feel sorry for the 2 species that have only 1 representative (including a golden gibbon that walks disconcertingly like a man at times).
The 1-hour guided tour is mandatory but worthwhile since you'd be hopelessly lost without it and possibly miss out on a very long rope bridge through the treetops. Either take an umbrella or watch out for non-toilet-trained monkeys overhead!
Monkeys are always good value so - even though only 1 of them was African - this was an hour well spent. There's a giant aviary next door for those who prefer birds.
Shopping monkeys - the missing link between our simian ancestors and Lilly
We spent Saturday night in Knysna, the largest resort town on the Route. It's a bit livelier than Plett, but even the street with the majority of restaurants (apart from the waterfront where there are loads) was dark and quiet.
Knysna sits on a huge lagoon, connected to the sea via a narrow passage. It would be stunning on a sunny day, and you could easily spend a couple of days here at least in summer. We went up to the eastern Heads, above the passage, for the best view, and even on a misty Sunday morning it was quite impressive.
But then the rain started, and after lunch (Lilly recommends the local oysters) it was torrential, so we gave up and drove on to Mossel Bay (end of the Garden Route), where the rain remained torrential.
We missed out a couple of scenic diversions over winding dirt roads, since we could barely see the car in front on the main road. Mossel Bay apparently has sunny days 80% of the time, and has been so dry that its reservoirs are 11% full. After our day there, I imagine they're full again. MB's special trick is to have north-facing (ie sun-facing in the southern hemisphere) beaches and hills despite being on the south coast, and our hotel had great views over the town and beaches. On a stormy Sunday, sadly, there's not much to do, and eventually we gave up and found a noisy pub to watch the Arsenal match, drove down to 'the Point' at the end of town just for a look, and had dinner in an atmospheric Cuban restaurant. (There are loads of Cuban restaurants in SA. I have no idea why.)
A lot of the signs in MB use Afrikaans names, unlike anywhere else we've been. If you keep your wits about you, you'll probably realise that Kaapstad is Cape Town and if you're looking for Church St then it's Kerkstraat.
Finally, we set out on Monday, pursued by occasional rain, to knock off the remaining 400km to Cape Town, which weather forecasts assured me would be sunny. The scenery isn't quite as good as on the Garden Route, but still very pretty in places.
We stopped for lunch in Swellendam, home of some old Dutch architecture and a very impressive church.
I got out in the rain to take this photo. Hope you appreciate it.
And after that the skies generally cleared, so by the time we got our first view of False Bay, below Cape Town, it was a lovely day.
Next: 4 days in Cape Town, catch up with friends who are also here for the wedding, and a football match.
