DAY 17 : 15 MARCH 2011 : KNYSNA

Doggy with Mike at Saasveld

We went to George via the Seven Passes Road , all designed and built by Thomas Baines for ox wagons and they are still in use today.   It was a very interesting and beautiful drive.   The road goes past Saasveld and we popped in to see Mike, have a cup of coffee with him and a quick tour of the campus.   What a super place this is.  Really beautifully laid out and situated in indigenous forest



View from Power Van



We rushed into town to be in time to catch the Power Van which is two of the inspection railway vans  which are used by Spoornet for moving staff and inspecting lines.   This ventures is privately run and was a super outing.   It cost R100 per person for a 2½ hour trip up the railway line to the top of the Outeniqua Pass.   From the Power Van you could see the Outeniqua Pass finished in 1951 and the Montagu Pass built before Thomas Baines started – complete in 1813?   The line is still in use today for goods trains between Cape Town and PE.   The wagon trail which predates this route was also clear – the Cradock Pass.   It took the oxen wagons three days to reach the top of the pass and another two days to reach Outshoorn which can now be done in two hours by car.

Power Van showing railway line and Montagu Pass

View of George and the Power Vans

Before Mike and Nita took us out for supper, we popped into their house and  witnessed Mike’s racing pigeons going for their evening flight.   We were very ignorant when it came to pigeon racing, and were pleasantly surprised at what actually is involved.   We rounded off the evening with a meal with the Camerons at the new George mall, before driving home via Wilderness and Sedgefield.

DAY 16 : 14 MARCH 2011 : KNYSNA

Once again fine weather and we took the opportunity to borrow the McConnachie’s  two mountain bikes while they departed for work.  We cycled around Leisure Isle for 1½ hours.   What a super place to live.   Following on the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster, we had a few concerns about living on an island a few metres above water!   We popped into their local harbor/yacht club and it looks as though each family on the island owns at least two or three boats – Jock and Helen own 15 sailing craft ranging from fishing ski’s to yachts’

Doggy on beach at Natures Valley

After breakfast we packed a picnic lunch and headed for Natures Valley where Carolyn, Doggy’s sister, has spent many holidays.   We had tea on the beach, where the waves were enormous!   The whole area is a conservancy, and many gardens are fenced to keep the bushbuck out rather than to keep animals in!

We got back to Knysna early afternoon and went to see Jock and Helen’s business, ‘The Timber Village’ where they make all sorts of furniture and many different small items crafted out of beautiful indigenous wood.   My mouth watered!   They employ 8 craftsmen including a carver from Malawi who produces some wonderful work.

The McConnachie’s joined us that evening for our first whole chicken cooked in the Cobb.   It was a tremendous success.   Another great evening and some more good wine.

DAY 15 : 13 MARCH 2011 : KNYSNA

In front of the big tree - Podocarpus spp

With Helen and Jock in Diepwalle

A wonderful sunny day at last.   We met Jock and Helen and drove out to Diepwalle indigenous forest, now part of National Parks.   The forest is on the Prince Alfred Pass between Knysna and De Vlugt and has several hiking and walking trails.   We chose a 5km walk which turned out to be 7km.   It however was a lovely walk – most enjoyable.   Lots of stinkwood, huge yellowwoods, ferns, and many other species – right up Doggy’s street.   The trails followed the old extraction paths that the woodcutters of old, originally cut through the forest, and are still used today to extract indigenous timbers.

After a rushed picnic lunch we returned to Knysna where we awaited the arrival of Mike and Nita Cameron.   Mike was our bestman 40 years ago, and they also married later in 1971 in Knysna.   We were at their wedding.  Mike is lecturer in Nature Conservation at Saasveld Forestry College, now part of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University – he has been a lecturer at Saasveld for the past 31 years and retires later this year.  Not having seen them for quite some time, we had a fantastic evening recalling the past over a couple of bottles of good wine, and a lekker braai.

DAY 14 : 12 MARCH 2011 : KNYSNA

We woke up to rain – at times quite heavy but mostly misty rain.  The first rain that Knysna has had for ages!   The Kewley’s seem to take the rain with them wherever they go!!!


 

We had phoned Jenny and Erwin Leibnitz who have just moved from Dullstroom to Plettenberg Bay and went through to see them for morning tea.   We landed up leaving there after 3pm.  It was wonderful catching up with.   We hadn’t seen them for a couple a years and Jenny is one of two cousins that I possess.

With Erwin and Jenny Leibnitz in Plett



The McConnachies – Ian (Jock) and Helen – invited us to dinner with them at the restaurant at the Knysna Heads – right on the rocks which are floodlit at nights.   A wonderful position.   We however went to their home on Leisure Isle first, and watched the tailend of the Sa/India cricket match.   What an exciting end there was.   Robin Petersen really excelled.  We had almost forgotten that the cricket world cup was being held in India as we have not seen TV since leaving home two weeks ago.

Jock McConnachie was in the army with Doggy and he and Helen got married one month after us, and in our early married life in Stellenbosch (they were in Cape Town) we spent quite a bit of time together.   So it was great seeing them again, especially Helen who we hadn’t seen for about 20 years.   Jock has fished with Doggy in Mozambique a couple of times.

DAY 13 : 11 MARCH 2011 : BAVIAANSKLOOF TO KNYSNA : 248 KM

We awoke to a wet tent again.   It must have rained during the night at some stage.   It was a very quick 'packing up' due to rain that was threatening and monkeys that we watching our activities.



Baviaanskloof



Rock formations - Baviaanskloof



We got up to the boom only to find that some bright spark had locked it with a combination padlock.   We hooted and shouted in case there was someone living in the bushes who had a key or the comination but no luck.   So it was out with the box of tools, and so McIver Kewley proceded to dismantle the boom on the opposite side to the lock.   This was fairly easy so we reckoned that we were not the first to have to do this.   We then swung the boom open and drove the Land Cruiser and trailer through.

It was another slow spectacular drive with lots of animals (bushbuck, kudu, duiker and baboons) in various places.   We left Rooihoek at 8h00 and exited Baviaanskloof into the Karoo at the Nuwekloof pass which was complete with Black Eagles souring above.   We met the first tar again on the N9 just outside Uniondale, where we stocked up on fuel, Karoo lamb and had to settle for a pie and samoosa from the OK Grocer.

Fifteen kilometers later we were once again on the dirt and negotiating the Prince Alfred Pass which goes from Avontuur via De Vlugt all the way to Knysna.  Unfortunately the first part of the Pass was in thick mist.   It was unbelievable to see Mr Thomas Baines’ handywork which was built in the 1800’s for oxwagons and was still being used, unaltered today.

Erica spp - Prince Alfred pass

We have pitched our camp at the Woodbourne Campsite, after entering Knysna through the Diepwalle  Indigenous Forest Reserve where there were magnificent indigenous trees and incredibly tall bushes of pink Erica’s and also numerous Protea species lining the roadway.

Woodbourne Caravan Park is very nice, near the Heads at Knysna and Leisure Isle.   It is almost empty, but with all the modcons.   Wonderful!

DAY 12 : 10 MARCH 2011 : BAVIAANSKLOOF - ROOIHOEK CAMPSITE

We had a very relaxing day  - no driving, just walking, swimming and domestic chores and not very many of the latter!   We awoke to thunderstorms and these continued all day, coming down the valley.   Fortunately there was not too much rain, but lots of lightning and thunder.   We decided to go for a walk up the mountain, and what happened?   The sun came out and we nearly died of sunstroke!   Unfortunately there were a couple of visitors during the day, and one couple overnighted, s unfortunately we had to don our swimming costumes.  



En route to Rooihoek





Rooihoek















Rooihoek with tent and Cruiser in clearing



DAY 11 : 9 MARCH 2011 : ADDO ELEPHANT PARK TO BAVIAANSKLOOF – 216km

During the night we had one thunderstorm after another and it poured with rain.   According to Radio Algoa, Addo Elephant Park had 14mm – it certainly felt much more, but then it always does when you are in a tent.   We wondered how we were going to pack up in the rain, and discussed this in great detail before we decided to get up.   Much to our delight, the rain stopped, so instead of our normal coffee and rusks before breaking camp, we rushed to get the tent packed away.   Everything was very wet and the ground sheet and tent pegs very muddy, but we got it all packed away and managed to shower before the rain started again.   What luck!!!   It took one hour – best to date!

The trip to Baviaanskloof was very interesting, even though it was very overcast and rained at times.   We went through Uitenhage, Loerie, Hankey and Patensie, the latter three are in the Gamtoos Valley which has acres and acres of irrigated citrus.    The entrance gate to Baviaanskloof is at Komdomo where there is a campsite complete with flush toilets, electricity, etc.  But this was not to be – the Kewleys booked at the ‘exclusive campsite’ at Rooihoek which was 22km further on.   This 22km took us over 3 hours, 

Protea Repens

but I must confess that we stopped many times for photos to be 

Erica spp

taken of the spectacular scenery, a coffee break on the top of the mountain at Bergplaas, and the going was rough and very slow.    However the fynbos on the top was out of this world. 

Road en route to Rooihoek

En route to Rooihoek

The receptionist at Komdomo intimated that we were lucky to get a campsite at Rooihoek, but the first night we had the campsite (6 in all) all to our bar a troop of baboons and several vervets.   You would think, after living in Zululand, that we knew all about monkey business, but we were taken and lost a huge chunk out of a brand new loaf of bread, and a big stick of biltong.   Doggy hastily unpacked his catapult and filled his pockets with suitable ammunition which was plentiful.   No more troubles thereafter!

There was no ablution or water other than the river, so there were many skinny dips.   It was wonderful to have the whole place to ourselves – but also quite scary at night.