From The Garden Route to The Wild Coast (Part 1 of 2)

 

Last December I realised that as much as I take flights in and out of Cape Town, I've never road travelled into the City and neither had I seen the infamous Garden Route... and that's how the girls' trip to Knysna came about.
It seemed rather bizarre how three girls with no cars would be going on a road trip, but the determination (and Intercape Buses) made the 6am trip possible on the first day of our short break this August.

My best friends and I could not help but gasp when we approached the entrance to the 5 star Simola Hotel & Spa in the afternoon. The executive suite we were placed in after checking in met and exceeded all expectations we had. We could not believe that 3 varsity students had managed to plan and actually execute a trip that great.

After 8 hours on the road, we were starving and could not wait to go and explore the Knysna Waterfront restaurants for dinner. The waterfront itself was quite underwhelming since we're used to the V&A in Cape Town. However, after scrutinising every restaurant's menu (it's a small town - there weren't that many) and a rigorous elimination process (every restaurant sells fresh seafood, so it'd be easier if seafood is your thing), we settled on The Dry Dock Restaurant.
I'm not much of a foodie, but I managed to eat half a chicken (Peri-Peri) and all my fries all by myself. That, on its own, says a lot about the Dry Dock. The service was impressive as well.


I don't know if it's the joy of being on holiday but the hours felt extended in Knysna as we managed to get back to the hotel and enjoy some time in the heated indoor pool as well as a sauna experience, before heading back to our suite and lazing around in the lounge with the warmth of the fireplace and good conversation.

I'm extremely (not) blessed to always have early-birds for holiday partners. I do not know what possesses anyone to think waking up before 9am when on holiday is ever cute, but people do it nonetheless.

The hotel offers a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant for all guests and that was the cause of my interrupted slumber on Sunday, 25 August. The fact that we had a whole day of playing tourist ahead of us did not deter my excited Energizer bunnies.

Hearing Algoa Fm, the radio station that made me fall in love with radio 7 years ago, play in shops felt nostalgic and inspired the title of this blog.

Click here for Part 2.

From The Garden Route to The Wild Coast (Part 2 of 2)

According to locals, it is almost blasphemous to visit Knysna and not visit The Knysna Heads and we aren't ones to break the rules, therefore it only made sense that we visit The Heads. 

    

The Heads offer a view almost as beautiful as Cape Town's Lion's Head Mountain. One of the viewpoints also looks towards a point where the Indian Ocean meets the Knysna River (which my mom told me is called an estuary). 

The adrenaline rush from standing on top of the mountain made the entire trip worthwhile. My least sincere apologies to the ladies whose blood pressure I apparently increased by jumping on one spot while trying to get a picture in the air. YOLO.

 

My favourite version of the South African Monopoly board game has 26 towns and airports on it and, before this trip, I had been to 17 of them. When the idea of visiting the Knysna Elephant Park came up, I was definitely keen as it would mean I could tick not only The Wilderness and Knysna, but also Plettenberg Bay as that is where the park (ironically) is.

After getting to the park (and only paying the student price to excite the cheapskate in me), I was still a bit scared to feed the gentle giants. Watching them use their trunks to suck the fruits from those who did feed them was still a pleasing experience. Oddly enough, I managed to tick taking a picture with one off my bucket list.

I found it hilarious that the elephant park named their café 'Indlovu' which means Elephant in isiXhosa.

My friends are meat lovers and not as lazy as I am in the kitchen so after late afternoon nap, we turned the gas braai on outside and got the meat going (by 'we' I mean 'they') while I handled a great braai playlist.

 We spent the last day of our trip doing absolutely nothing but lying in bed, eating and swimming. We were extremely sad to have to return to Cape Town for school but planning our next trip made the bitter taste sweeter.

A very special thank you to Johnny from Alpha Cabs Knysna for being our designated

driver and unofficial tour guide during the trip!