Protea Hotel Wilderness

... towards Cape Town and make a left at Buffalo Bay. Follow the road through the nature reserve until you came to Wildside Backpackers.....ok, some clown has re-named it Buffalo Bay Backpackers.....brilliant, I'm sure the committee spent days coming up with that gem. It will always be Wildside to me. I have been privileged enough to stay at the actual backpacker hostel twice in the past, an experience I have yet to equal. It was the stuff of legends and the ...

... it was just running around for no reason and it was so hysterical, the bird looked insane! Lol So next we got to have 15 peolple sit on the ostriches and then 7 ride… well I for sure wanted to ride and thank Jesus I was able to be one of the 7. It was the funniest thing riding the ostrich! You hold onto its wings and then like lean back and it was just so funny, i think the creatures themselves are just a riot. OH ...

Már megint egy hétfő reggel…

Az úti cél Knysna, egy lagúna partján fekvő nyaralóvároska, aminek a neve egybeforrt az osztrigatenyésztéssel. Látványos sziklakapuk (Knysna Heads) között áramlik be az óceán víze a lagúnába, amely helyenként hajózható mélységű, máshol viszont (apálykor?) száraz lábbal is besétálható. Be is sétáltunk, majd ezután felmentünk a keleti head-re, ahonnan az óceán és a lagúna felé is parádés kilátás égett bele a retin ...

... bánál húzódó, néha magasba kapaszkodó, becsületes nevén N2 országúton. Ami elvisz mai célunkhoz, a Garden Route-hoz (sőt, még tovább is, de ez minket már nem érint).

Mielőtt azonban a Garden Route-hoz – azaz Dél-Afrika Rivierájához – elértünk, áthaladtunk Swelladamon, ami a 3. legrégebbi település az egész országban. Egy kis korabeli gyöngyszem, viktoriánus épületekkel, templommal. Vasárnap még álmosabbnak tűnt, mint amilyen amúgy is ...

... a traditional Zulu wedding. When she got back we had lots of questions for her. It turns out that it wasn't a wedding but a girl's coming of age ceremony. Manon showed us the photos and it was odd. Basically all the young girls (in their teens) wear short skirts and no tops and all. Then they dance around while the guests drink Zulu beer. At the end the guests place a monetary donation in the headdress of the girl who is coming of age.

That night we went to the hotel bar where there ...

... point and close to both the centre of Cape Town (i.e. places like the V&A docks) and also to the road around Chapman's Peak which then takes you on to to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. It was here that we picked up the Merc. We spent a day driving Chapman's Peak (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman%2 7s_Peak) and the roads to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope and it was ...

... by the ingenuity of the guards in their efforts to punish / rehabilitate the political prisoners housed on the island. The psychological punishment was arguably crueler than the physical punishment, though this was no easier to accept: Some prisoners were buried up to their necks and then made to drink other prisoners pee as they were urinated on. And all this after 10-12 hours hard labour in the Limestone mines on the island. Prisoners were allowed ...

I remember her visit from America very clearly. I was 9 at the time, and I hadn't seen my Nana in forever. I was so excited. When she came out of the airport, I practically jumped on her!! Right after she arrived, we went to go see my second cousins, Kirsten and Megan, where they were ...

... he was not cold and we walked at an incredible speed back to the Beach House. As soon as we arrived at the room, we put the water on to boil. We peeled off the wet clothing, changed into dry and luckily, clean clothing, stole a blanket from the bunk, jumped onto the couch, and sipped our tea. We stayed there, under the blanket, relishing in our privacy, and watched the rainstorm and crashing waves along the coast. Eventually, hunger got the better of us and we unravelled ourselves and ...

... was shining as we shuttled around on the funbus. We had a low key night after such a productive and informative day. I learned much about grapes today but most of all I like the rose bushes they plant on the end of the vineyards. When the rose bush gets sick it acts as an indicator so they know to treat the grapevines. And it looks pretty too. I got to see more of Cape Town and ate some of the yummest italian food before my gracious hosts bid me adeu. I was back ...