South Africa > The wet Garden Route

It is still heavily overcast. The view of the sea looks much less pleasant today. We leave Tsitsikamma National Park. Outside, it’s raining, and the bus windows are fogged up, giving a very different impression of the Garden Route. At one of the bridges spanning a gorge, we make a short stop. Dressed in rain gear, we walk across the bridge. Each time a truck passes, we get splashed with water. The ravine below us is 190 meters deep. At another gorge nearby, bungee jumping is possible—but I gladly pass on that. A bit further along, we walk to a giant tree in the forest. The tree has a diameter of 8.9 meters and a height of 37 meters. Because of the rain, we take only a brief look and quickly head back to the bus. On the way to Knysna, we have time to dry off again, and the weather outside gradually starts to clear. Near Plettenberg Bay, we stop at a restaurant for coffee. There are also handicraft shops to browse. I dislike being more or less forced to walk through such shops; I’d much rather wander through a town center instead. Still, it’s probably a convenient stop for the guide

South Africa - The waterfront of Knysna

. When it’s time to leave, a problem arises with the bill. The waitress—one of the few white waitresses—whom I had paid directly, has pocketed the money herself and is trying to blame her Black colleague. She claims she can’t remember me handing her the money, but says she remembers seeing it lying on the table (which it never did). The manager and owner get involved and decide to sort it out among themselves. We leave. A little later we arrive in Knysna. Gerhardt is quite negative about the place. He literally says he doesn’t know what we are supposed to do here for the next couple of days. The Featherbed excursion he had mentioned is fully booked. With that cheerful announcement, we get off the bus in the town center. We walk into Knysna on our own. Knysna is a touristy little town with many shops and restaurants. At the Featherbed information center, we arrange a tour to the nature reserve. The 10:00 a.m. trip is indeed full, but there are still spots available for the 11:30 departure. We can call tomorrow morning to confirm the booking if the weather looks good. We have lunch at the harbor, visit an internet café, and stop by the tourist information office to ask about the township tour. It runs twice a day but doesn’t fit in timewise with the Featherbed excursion. Back on the bus, I ask Gerhardt to arrange it for us. He manages to schedule us for an earlier township visit and also secures spots on the Featherbed tour. We spend the night in Knysna in a luxurious, modern group accommodation with a shared living room and five bedrooms. We have dinner at a nearby oyster restaurant—excellent food. Back in our apartment, we sit together in the lounge and talk about the day’s events.