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.