Day 30 2/09/2017 – Still Baai to Storm River
We set off exploring early the next day. It was a very pleasant drive past the Tidal River residents, north and well south. We stopped in Stilbaai to take a few photos in the harbour of a lovely old boat before setting off for Storm River.
Wonderful texture and rust
We departed Stillbaai and started making our way to our next stop in Storm River on the N2.
Just before approaching Swellendam we were getting a bit peckish so we pulled into a cafe on the side of the road where I bought a toasted cheese & tomato sandwich and a delicious duo mango & berry slushy to wash it down. It really hit the mark!
Swellendam, the fifth oldest town in South Africa is set up against a very picturesque mountain backdrop. The town has many provincial Cape Dutch heritage buildings. The town is approximately 220 km from both Cape Town and George.
The next town we arrived at was Knysna. The environmental damage and devastation from the huge fires that passed through the previous year was still very evident. Over 400 homes were lost and many houses still lay charred, derelict and untouched.
The fire damage still evident
We took a short drive to the harbour to have a look.
A river boat looking very inviting
Knysna spans a vast area with many luxurious homes surrounding the town center. After a brief look around we resumed our journey.
With David’s interest in engineering, we decided to pull off the main road to take a closer look at the Bloukrans bridge. This is where the highest bridge bungee jump in the world is, at 216 meters.
We witnessed people taking a leap of faith as they hurtled their bodies into the depths below. Can’t imagine why one would inflict that on your body let alone your mind! I was terrified just watching them.
The highest bridge bungee jump in the world
If you look closely you can see the sun glisten on the bungee rope in the middle of the bridge. Yikes not for me!
We were warned about the very aggressive baboons in this area hanging about and terrifying visitors. We gave them a wide berth.
Back on the main road and just after the bridge we stopped to take a look at the lovely Klein Brak River where we were lucky enough to spot the most stunning iridescent green sunbird.
We passed through George, Plettenberg and decided to stop at Mossel Bay to see the museum.
At the Bartolomeu Dias Museum complex entrance stands an old cannon and a white whale jaw bone. The museum is called a “complex” because it consists of three buildings, namely the Maritime Museum, Shell Museum, and the Granary.
The old cannon
We saw the Bartolomew Dias replica ship & museum which was filled with artefacts.
Inside the museum
The building houses a life-size replica of the ship that was used by Bartolomeu Dias and his crew. They landed in Mossel Bay in 1488. The ship built in Portugal was brought to Mossel Bay in 1988. The ship is fantastic, so well done.
Bartolomeu Dias Replica ship
The oldest post office is also situated here, under an old fig type tree. There is also an incredible shell museum. A great stop with lots to see, it was really worth the stop.
A display in the shell museum
Shell patterns
On the way we stopped to take photos of the beautiful proteas growing on the road side.
The sheer genius and beauty of nature
Proteas growing at the side of the road
After dinner we headed back to our accommodation nestled in the trees with a large mountain as a backdrop.
We arrived at a fairly good time at the small village of Storm River and checked into the Andeloni B&B run by two very pleasant men.
After unpacking our stuff in ‘Wagtail’ we headed off to the river mouth for dinner at the newly erected restaurant which was recently burned down as a result of faulty gas heaters. It is a temporary large Marquis perched right on the edge of the rocks near the ocean.
Darkness soon descended and we ate heartily with the sound of the waves crashing right next to us.
The restaurant
The building is surrounded with a plastic awning to protect it from the ocean mist. By this time it was dark so you couldn’t see anything. While eating dinner the sound of the waves could be heard crashing up against the rocks.
After dinner we were both really tired so made our way back up to our cabin.
I did a few things before going to get changed into my pajamas when I noticed something on my leg.
On closer inspection I discovered I had picked up a passenger. A dark tick had firmly latched itself onto the side of my right leg just under the knee, firmly embedded into my skin. I was horrified.
I didn’t have any vaseline or matches so I had to make a plan to try and remove the tick with his head intact.
By now David was fast asleep and snoring. I wasn’t sure what I should do so I gently woke David up to ask him if he had anything that we could use to make the tick let go. You can’t just pull them out as the head stays behind.
We tried a few different things which didn’t seem to be working. Our last ditch attempt was to drown it in bug repellent and thick cream. This did the trick. David very carefully removed it with tweezers and it looked like his head was still intact.
I applied some Betadine antiseptic over the bight and a bandaid. I wasn’t sure what kind of tick this was and was concerned about getting tick bite fever. It was a small dark brown tick with long legs! Yikes!
I fell into a deep sleep afterwards and luckily didn’t dream about my little long legged passenger.
Day 31 3/09/2017
I woke up the next morning at about 6:30 to a beautiful clear day with blue skies. I didn’t get up until about 7:15 instead just lying in listening to the sounds of the birds rising.
Our breakfast was included here so we made our way to the lovely little country diner. The table was beautifully laid out next to a window where the sun was streaming through.
The breakfast included a delicious fruit salad and yogurt starter followed by bacon, scrambled eggs, tomato and a hash brown. The whole dining area was themed in a pink cottage style décor run by the two very cute and friendly guys.
After breakfast we checked out and packed the car before going for a short drive to explore the small village nearby. After a very large storm passed through three weeks ago a very large tree fell across the main road in the small village. Luckily it missed any of the buildings.
Rather than try and move it they decided to just cut the middle bit out so they could continue using the road.
The fallen tree with its middle removed
Our next adventure was down to Sandy Bay (next to the restaurant) to explore the popular winding board walk through the indigenous Tsitsikamma National Park down to the Storm River mouth.
The view from the board walk
We crossed one of three suspension bridges spanning the river mouth, from one mountain to the other, then turned round and trekked back up the steep stairs back to the car park where we started. The walk took about one and a half hours.
The view from the suspension bridge overlooking the river mouth into the ocean was spectacular.
What a view!
The entrance point to the suspension bridge
After our brisk walk and climb we made our way back to the main road and continued our journey to our next stop in Alexandria. Just after the Storm River entrance we turned onto the N2 to go and have a look at the ‘Big Tree’ nestled in the forested area.
After parking the car we walked along the 500m wooden boardwalk decking through the indigenous forest which led to the giant Yellowwood tree estimated to be about 800 years old. The tree stands at 36.6 meters high and has a circumference of almost 9 meters.
It was a lovely easy ten minute walk to the tree and back.
The only way to get my photo
Looking up into the canopy of the tree
David standing at the base of the big tree
Craft and art situated near the car park
On the next leg of our trip we passed a large wind farm on our way to Humansdorp. Passed through Port Elizabeth and finally arrived at Alexandria, which was to be our next stop. Here we stayed with my cousins from the Fick family, on their beautiful farm.
I hadn’t seen them for many, many years and it was a wonderful reunion. They welcomed us into their home with open arms.
A conservation artist's journey 