Oudtshoorn is actually located a fair click north of the Garden Route but is definitely worth a stopover if you like caves, ostriches, and petting cheetah’s and white lions! Although we ended up covering quite a bit today it didn’t feel at all hectic despite our early start. Today was also my most impressive meat-eating day managing to eat beef, ostrich, crocodile, pork and chicken!

• Cango Caves. These caves are reputed to be the best caves South Africa has and they are clearly a very popular tourist attraction. You must visit the caves in guided groups but there are two options – the regular tour and the adventure tour. The difference being that with the adventure tour (in addition to taking a bit longer) you get to do a bit of caving which includes squeezing into some tight spaces, climbing a bit, crawling. The regular tour will get you access to the amazing halls and formations but it’s the adventure tour which will have you raving about the Cango Caves. The adventure tour is not for those who are claustrophobic.

• Ostrich Farm. Although specialising in breeding ostriches the Ostrich Farm offers a guided and very educational tour of the farm. Not only do you learn all about ostriches but you get to feed them, ride them if you’re brave enough (and under 75kg), get an “ostrich massage” and you also get the chance to test just how strong an ostrich egg is (you can easily stand on one without breaking it provided it is nestled in sand or some other forgiving surface.) You will see a whole other side to ostriches after a visit to this farm – I know I certainly do!

• Cango Wildlife Ranch. Easily done in the afternoon this ranch is apparently one of the leading cheetah breeders in Africa. The main even is a guided tour that takes you through highlights of the ranch including an elevated walkway that takes you over and above the lions, cheetahs, tigers and alligators. For a fee you can also interact with cheetahs and white lions. Despite how it seems in our photos they are not actually drugged – it was just reaching the hottest time of the day and so they cats were all quite tired. Perhaps if you want the cheetahs and lions a bit more active its best to get there in the morning or later on in the day. This is also where I had my first taste of crocodile – surprisingly it was quite tasty and although the lady said it was a fish-like texture I thought it was more like a very tender chicken.

• Knysna – Hobbit accommodation and Spur Steak Ranch. After we were finished with Oudtshoorn we drove on to Kynsna which we were using as a base for a few days. Built on a large estuary the Knysna waterfront soon became our go to place – not only was it beautiful but it offered a convenient place to find dinner. For our accommodation we ended up staying at the Inyathi Guest Lodge. Very different accommodation you stay in wooden cabins it attempts to give you the feel of being in an African village. It felt more like I was staying in middle-earth. I liked it – then again I did get the main room with the en-suite bathroom whilst I sent Jules off to the smaller room with bunks and a sink! As for dinner I had to sample Spur Steak Ranch at some stage during my visit to South Africa. Spur is a South African franchise so I’m not sure why it uses Native American theming so extensively. The “official restaurant of the South African” family it was clearly very popular. Food quality wasn’t actually too bad in all honesty.

Our first day on the Garden Route involved a lot of driving. Before we got to the start of the Route proper we thought we’d go and check out the sand dunes at De Hoop National Park. Its apparently about 2 hours drive from Cape Town but what guide books fail to mention is the driving on unpaved dirt roads. A very rocky and uncomfortable drive but there were some interesting happenings – including my losing control of the car and fish tailing into some bushes on the side of the road and driving on to a barge to be pulled across the river by three men – no motors involved!

De Hoop National Park is meant to be one of the prime viewing spots for the whales but seeing as how the season was July-September we were slightly out of season. Still we made the journey because it seems we both have a fascination with giant sand dunes. It didn’t disappoint – the sand dunes were massive and the beach was completely empty lending to the eerie feel. For those making the journey be wary of the biting flies that hang around the entrance booth – more annoying than painful you don’t want them to get attached.

After De Hoop it was time to start our journey proper to the Garden Route. After stopping at Mossel Bay, where we made a fruitless search for the infamous Post Office Tree and a bite to eat, it was on to Outdshoorn. Jules drove this part of the leg and I must say he did very well because it was pitch black and we were winding up and around some scary mountains.

To say that our first few hours in Outdshoorn were strange would be putting it lightly. We were staying at a hostel owned by a contractor, Francois, that used to work for Jules but it all seemed a little disorganised. This is not to say that Francois was not friendly. He was quite friendly. Very. Friendly. He took us to his house where it seemed he was hosting most of the people attending the just finished Outdshoorn festival – his house had a very hippy commune feel to it. The weirdness factor probably wasn’t helped by the fact that Francois just kept laughing. I don’t think he strung two sentences together – he just laughed. Even though all I really wanted to do was go to sleep it really was quite entertaining to be around Francois and some of his friends who were all in a state of inebriation shall we say? The only person who was in any way sober was Dan the music man who played us a few numbers. Quite good if you like that folksy music.

Technically the Garden Route stretches on the national road the N2 from Mossel Bay to Storms River finishing just shy of Port Elizabeth and our ultimate destination the Shamwari Game Reserve located on the Eastern Cape but nevertheless this is the stage of our South Africa trip called the Garden Route.

This is a very popular route for holiday makers with plenty of towns to stop at along the way each with their own little treasures. We dropped in at Mossel Bay, Oudtshoorn, Knysna, Plett (Plettenberg Bay) and Nature’s Valley. As a one-lane highway for the most part the N2 gave us the chance to practice our giving way and overtaking skills – its a bit hairy at first to use the shoulder as another lane but it soon becomes second nature that’s for sure!

The photos are here.

This is going to be another long post so here are the stages:

Day 6 – Starting out on the Route and some flies

The reason we were in Cape Town had finally arrived – the day of the Two Ocean’s Marathon! The morning definitely came too soon for me and I wasn’t even running. I must admit the pre-dawn start was actually very nice. I couldn’t believe how many runners were at the start of this race but more unbelievable was the energy that seemed to just be humming around them. Not bad for half five in the morning! All sorts of things seem to be happening around the start of the race but there was one thing you couldn’t miss – the queues for (and the … shall we say, distinctive aroma around) the portaloos!

We met quickly with Anita, Chris and Paul at the start of the race before they all set off for their respective start points – Anita and Chris for the half and Jules and Paul for the full. It was fairly surprising the number of racers who were actually very late for their start and as a consequence had to scale the walls to get into the running pens or had to run to the start after all the other runner were well gone!

I hustled to the finish of the race to try and get a good a position as possible to see everyone finishing. I was fully expecting to read most of my book by the end of Jules’ race (based on a run of something in between 4:30 and 4:50) but there was plenty to see and do and to my surprise I didn’t crack the book open once. It helped that Anita and Chris came to support Jules as well at the end of their well-run half-marathons. Oh and sneaking in a burger from the Nando’s tent also helped passed the time! 🙂

After a quick nap it was off to Anita’s for a braai to celebrate everyone’s efforts where I met more of Anita’s family and friends. Thanks to Anita for hosting a very nice evening but also to Anita’s parents for putting up with us! I also got to sample some classic South African desserts: a milk tart and the moreish koeksisters. It definitely took all my control to stop at two koeksisters. Mmm …

Following the braai we headed out to a local Stellenbosch pub where Anita introduced us to the Springbok – a shot made up of creme de menthe, amarula cream liqueur and cream. Yummy. I know that South Africa is generally cheaper with drinks and food but it was still a surprise when a round of shots for 10 or so people plus some drinks came to less than the cost of 2-3 pints of beer in London. Safe to say it was a good day today.

Anita has some photos from the afternoon/evening here.

Technically our last day for sight seeing around Cape Town today was kind of a mop up day. So far we haven’t hit two of the major sightseeing spots of Cape Town – Table Mountain and Robben Island. Unfortunately as I’ve mentioned previously the wild and windy weather coupled with the increased crowd numbers for both Easter and the Two Oceans Marathon meant that getting up to Table Mountain and out to Robben Island proved to be an impossibility this time around. I was also conscious that as this was the day before race day we probably shouldn’t be doing anything too strenuous that would either wear out or injure Jules out!

• Kirstenbosch Gardens. Botanical gardens are always a hit and miss affair. Kirstenbosch was indeed beautiful and also very gigantic. However, for those ordinary folk who aren’t super keen on flowers, its probably better to use the Kirstenbosh for a picnic or even to take advantage of the open air concerts they have during the summer on a Sunday afternoon. The most interesting “attraction” was the innovative trail for blind people. It was an interesting exercise to put ourselves in the shoes of non-seeing people for once.

• V&A Waterfront. We met up with Anita at the V&A Waterfront for a bit of a seafood lunch and also to take a cruise out on to the water. The waterfront always seems to have a lot of hustle and bustle and definitely has lots of character despite being slightly touristy. The buskers with their traditional music were well entertaining and there was also and amphitheatre for small concerts/performances. Today’s event seemed to involve a band-off of sorts. Or so that’s what it looked like anyway! There are some notable things of interest to see including Nobel Square which hosts statues with giant heads to honour South Africa’s first fosur Noble Peace Prize Laureates: Nkosi Albert Luthuli, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Former State President FW De Klerk and Former President Nelson Mandela. There was also the Ice Bar where we dropped by for a visit. It was unfortunately a bit early for drinking (as it was just past noon) but it was still fun to be inside. Lunch was an interesting affair and involved a race with the surrounding seagulls to finish off our food. The final scoreline was Seagulls 2 – Humans 0 (with the seagulls “scoring” against both Anita and Julian.) The cruise was fairly nice but was not the best substitute for missing out on Robben Island but at least we got out on to the water.

Our third day in Cape Town involved quite a bit of running around including heading into the city so that Jules could register for the marathon. Registration for race days are fairly entertaining as there is always an expo where the runners can pick up all sorts of random things – I know that Jules will treasure his bright orange Surivor-style buff for the rest of time. At this expo the international runners had their own tent with complimentary beverages and snacks. Not bad for the hangers on like me!

So, here are the main things that we saw today other than the Two Oceans Marathon Running Expo:

• Rhodes Memorial. Dedicated to the founder of the De Beers empire (but not for that reason) the memorial is located at Devil’s Peak. From here you have amazing views to the north east of Cape Town.

• Cape Town City Centre. Cape Town is probably one of those few cities where we didn’t really spend much time at all in the “city centre” with many of the attractions of Cape Town and its surrounds lying all over the Cape. We had a nice traditional lunch at a funky café, the name of which escapes me, of Boerewors and beautifully cooked veges. The best thing about the café was the design – including a particular mermaid that Jules took a great liking to. We also hit the Green Market where Jules, eager to put his bargaining skills to test, ended up with an interesting wooden pencil case. Finally we headed off to check out the colourful buildings and cobbled stones of the Bo Kaap area. Its not too far a walk from the centre but there is a decent incline if you end up walking the wrong way.

• Lion’s Head. We saved Lion’s Head for the day’s end as its supposed to be a nice mountain climb during the full moon. Located between Table Mountain and Signal Hill it is yet another vantage spot for great views over Cape Town. We decided to do the climb up during the day just before sunset and then do the climb down after sunset to take advantage of the moon. I’m pretty sure the guidebook said it was an easy 2.2km walk to the top – but I’m fairly sure it was a lot longer than that. I think we must have taken the long way up! Admittedly the start is a fairly nice stead walk but then you start to get to the point where you have to climb these half metre rocks. I was amazed at the joggers (and their dogs) literally running up and DOWN the mountain – respect! The effort was well worth it though for yet another amazing sun set. Our journey down got a little hairy though because the moon wasn’t exactly co-operating so at any moment it felt like you could tip over and tumble down the mountain! One of the best experiences of our trip for sure.

The morning of Day 2 saw us re-visit Peninsula South to explore the picturesque towns of St James and Muizenberg. In the afternoon Anita displayed some South African hospitality by showing us the sights of Stellenbosch, her hometown that she is justifiably very proud of, before ending our day with a nice meal with her friends.

• St James and Muizenberg. If you only have a couple of hours to experience these two areas there is a brilliant walking loop that will give you the highlights. Starting at the old Muizenberg station there are some steep steps that will take you up to Boyes Drive (at the base of the Silvermine Nature Reserve.) A walk along Boyes Drive will give you sweeping views over False Bay and along the way you will also run into the Shark Lifeguard. On a clear day you can apparently see the sharks in the water – a worrying thought considering the number of surfers and swimmers out in the water! At the end of the drive you can take another set of steps down to St James all the way down to the beach. From here there is stunning coastal path that takes you along the beach back to Muizenberg. If you have time you can take the time to relax in the tidal pool at St James. You also won’t fail to miss the brightly coloured beach huts at both of the beaches. I couldn’t think of a nicer way to spend the morning.

• Stellenbosch. Anita’s home town is situated about 45 minutes drive from Cape Town. It is a largely academic town so I imagine just be pretty fun when the students are out partying. Its very pretty with many of the streets lined with beautiful oak trees. An easy drive from the city centre are the Cape Winelands. Located in beautiful mountainous regions supplemented by nice South African wines I think we could have easily spent a whole day touring the vineyards but alas only had time to visit a couple. We sampled some of the infamous Spatzendreck wine, translated to Sparrow Sh!t, so named as one day a friend of the wine maker said it tasted like it. Funny story but also creates one of the most interesting wine labels I’ve seen. In Stellenbosch we also saw our second beautiful South African sunset from the peaks of her university hiking trails. There were plenty of joggers and bikers out and all extremely friendly (and not half bad looking!) I was too shy, and too slow, to take any photos though. 🙂

Day 1 we arrived at very early in the morning but spent quite a bit of time sorting out our car rental. Cape Town is great in many ways but sometimes their efficiency left a little something to be desired. Finally we got our rental sorted and, after a bit of a nervous start with driving, it was off to our B&B to drop our bags and then off for a bit of sight-seething. With the gorgeous weather we decided to head down towards the Cape before driving back up again towards the Atlantic seaboard – kind of a Two Oceans in the car without the running. These are the spots we hit.

• Simon’s Town. Here we stopped in for a beautiful seafood lunch. Jules and I were literally dying to sample some of the South African seafood so we pretty much headed to the first restaurant we saw for a giant platter. It ended up being the most expensive meal of our whole trip but it was definitely tasty and great quality.

• Boulder’s Beach. Home to the African Penguin colony you may have to jostle for position along the boardwalk to get a good look at some very cute penguins. The penguins were definitely entertaining but some of the funniest sights were the tourists packing the place out.

• Cape Peninsula. The road down the Cape Peninsula takes you through some scenic mountainous driving. Your ultimate destination will no doubt be Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Although neither are technically the southernmost point of South Africa it feels pretty darn close. We decided to take the hard route up Cape Point but taking the footpath but boy it was hard work. Felt quite rewarding. For those who feel like less of a work out there is a relatively cheap furnicular which will take you most of the way up.

• Chapman’s Peak. The drive from the Cape Peninsula up the Western Coast of South Africa is not to be missed. The highlight is the Chapman’s Peak drive. This is the best drive you’ll ever do with its spectacular vistas of the Atlantic Ocean. This was also the place of our first (but not last) amazing South Afican sunset.

• We finished the day with a meal with Anita and Dave at the Sports Café at the pretty V&A Waterfront (which we later explored during the day.)

As you could probably tell from one of my updates I really loved my stay in Cape Town. Its easy to see why visitors to Cape Town fall in love with it from the friendly locals, to the beautiful surrounds, to the tasty fresh food (and cheap too!) you can’t help but like the place. There is now I could do justice to such a beautiful city but here are some of the highlights from each day of our visit.

The photos are here.

This is going to be a long post so its going to be posted in stages:

After a very long 24 hour flight through Doha and Jo’berg to Cape Town we arrived on Tuesday morning ready to hit the road running. If we hadn’t I’m sure we would have slept the day away! The weather was too good to resist however and we spent the whole of the day out exploring Cape Town.

My first visit to Cape Town has been a lot of fun. Cape Town is so beautiful that you can’t help but smile wherever you go. Its sometimes hard to imagine, when you are doing all the touristy things, that Cape Town or South Africa has only been rid of apartheid for less than fifteen years however there are reminders that there is still a gigantic divide between the races, especially in terms of poverty. However, they say that necessity is the mother of all inventions and its interesting to see how the poor have come up with imaginative solutions to overcome their difficulties.

We have squeezed so many things into our trip over here that I don’t even know where to start so I will write up a review of Cape Town properly when I’m back in London. Needless to say that many of our days has been spent enjoying the beauty of Cape Town and its surrounds and also taking advantage of the weather. Gorgeous! Highlight so far has been hiking up Lion’s Head – it was tough but so worth it.

After Jules’ run tomorrow in the Two Oceans Marathon and after a celebratory braai at Anita’s we will be off for a long journey on the Garden Route so I’ll have even more things to say when I get back!