Malaysia Self-Drive - Cameron Highlands

 

Today we said goodbye to #avanisepangresort and departed on a rather long journey to Cameron Highlands. The first part was thru the area around Sepang, then we hit the highways. These are mostly 3-4 lanes heading North. Traffic was heavy but free flowing in both directions. So many trucks on the road. We passed many high rises, fuel stations were far apart, Touch and Go tolls numerous! The fees varied between less the RM2.00 to over RM 15 on turning off to the Cameron Highlands. There are motor cycles on the highways but they do have a separate lane. There are stops for motor cyclists showing an umbrella - then they reach a shelter if it's raining. Very cool and safer than staying on the highway in the rain.

Once we reached the turn off to Cameron Highlands the road became snake- bend for ages. Round and round with stunning greenery alongside, little stalls, tiny houses, lots of hungry looking dogs, litter on the side of the road ( very sad to see) and a waterfall. We also saw an unfortunate tourist who had managed to get stuck in the ditch lining the roadway.. so now James know why I am always saying "mind the ditch" It's a scary though to get stuck like that.

The first Cameron Highlands village is Ringlet, then 12km on is Tanah Rata and further up Bringchang. The area was first established as a Hill Station and, I must say, it is a welcome relief to have a temp of 23 degrees with no humidity compared to 32 Degrees and high humidity in Sepang.

The Cameron Highlands were discovered by William Cameron in 1885. What a trek he must have had! Situated in the state of Penang the highlands are 5000 feet above sea level. The temperature ranges between 15 and 24 degrees and humidity is less than the rest of Malaysia. It's a long and very twisty road to get here.

There are 2 companies that grow tea here - BOH Tea and Bharat. We went to the latter today - a truly fun experience. The buggy takes you thru the plantations and down to the valley. There is a large play area for kids. Then one is free to wander around and in the tea bushes, up the hill or down to the river. Despite the Sunday crowds it was still very tranquil, green and scenic. Tea is harvested year round, approx every 3 to 4 weeks. The tea bushes go way up the slopes - must make picking rather strenuous.

We are now back in our apartment listening to the thunder! It's very different here to being on the coast in Sepang, living over the water - it was quite scary at high tide then low tide it was just sand underneath the villas!

This afternoon it was drizzling and then loud cracks of thunder and rain around 7pm. We bought rolls for our tuna and they ended up being Kaya Buns! Sweet and delicious but no good for tuna!

A visit to the Butterfly Garden was most enjoyable. Lots of beautiful plants as well as koi, snakes, Alpaca, cactus plants. The butterfly's were also all over the pathways so we saw a squashed one and one who had just lost a portion of its one wing. Another was in the pond having a seriously strange conversation with a koi. We thought the butterfly would drown but it managed to get to the edge of the pond. However, with those wet wings, we wonder if it got out later.

The Mossy Forest - mossy forests are found in the mountains ranges. The high elevation together with plenty of low cloud cover encourage growth of mosses, ferns and wild orchids. As a boardwalk was mentioned, we decided to drive ourselves. Oh my word - this road beats the Mount Washington Auto Road in USA hands down. It must be the scariest road that we have ever been on. Single track up the mountain, with very few passing places. The cars coming down were mainly tour operators in Landrovers. The BOH Tea Plantations cover the lower slopes. The Sungai Palas Tea Garden is closed on Mondays. We went up and up until we eventually reached a parking area. The boardwalk was up many steps and another couple advised us not to do it. So we saved RM60 and looked at the view over the valley before making our descent again. Having to reverse on this narrow track for oncoming vehicles was not fun! Truly a nerve-racking drive.

My suggestion would be to do this on a guided tour! Even Sani Pass in South Africa is wider, although that road is not tarred and is mainly rocks! No private vehicles allowed there.

Today we drove down towards Ringlet and decided to venture up another narrow road to the BOH Tea Plantations in Habu - Fairly Tea Garden. After the very scary, narrow single track road to Mossy Forest, this road was not too bad! Still very narrow in sections but more doable. There are signs to tell drivers to blow their horn on the bends - crazy that this was not mentioned on the road to Mossy Forest. The shop and small Cafe are housed in Nissan Huts. Built in 1949 Nissan huts were used to house supplies for the troops during the Malayan Emergency 1948 to 1956.

Fortified by some Canadian Carrot Cake and Strawberry Cheesecake and some BOH Tea ( tea leaves) we took the free "tour" of the factory. We could only see thru the glass with no photos allowed. The lady did explain the process but the factory noise was crazy. Hence the (really bad! ) photos of the process below. It is quite a process, making tea. BOH apparently use machines for picking while Cameron company still use pickers. Tea is grown on super high mountain slopes.

The valley leading to BOH ( the road ends there) had many other crops growing. The soil in the Cameron Highlands is apparently very fertile. This can be seen from both agriculture and the huge forests. The trees grow so tall one can barely see so high.

Some snippets:

Local drivers are impatient and overtake on double white lines. They also never seem to stop to let one in or if we are crossing a road.

Public female toilets are holes on the floor - I assume to lift up long skirts and just let go! I am in shorts all the time so have decided to not even try this!!

It seems that plastic bags are banned on Saturdays and Sundays - we wondered why we were charged for a paper bag at 7 Eleven last Sunday - now we know why.

Today was all about visiting the main markets in the area. Kea Farms and the Agro Market. Many, many stalls with loads of fresh veg, strawberries, sweet potatoes, etc, friendly vendors - many of these happy to have a photo taken. It was an experience and good to see where the locals shop for fresh veg. The fruit at this time is strawberry, strawberry and more strawberry! We did spot a few bananas. How the vendors all make a living selling the same sort of stuff and veg is a miracle. All vendors are so friendly. Weekends are very busy hence we did this during the week.

This afternoon we visited the Agro Technology Park in Mardi. It is the oldest research Centre in the country. There are various gardens such as the Mini Garden, with over 50 types of temperate and tropical flowers. The Rose Garden was not at its best - not the correct time of year. Pot Plants, plus Commercial plots with tomatoes, peppers, brussel sprouts etc. The flowers were truly beautiful. Many SA flowers plus the more exotic species - my favorite was the Jade Vine - a truly amazing turquoise plant. It's a 42 acre park with lots of benches to while away a few minutes in the peaceful surroundings. There were 2 school groups - the junior ones were posing in the tea plantation. The older group were having fun in the play park and were happy for a photo!

On the way back to noisy #GreenHillResort we popped into 7 Eleven and then the heavens opened! Thankfully, the cloud burst did not last too long. There has been rain most afternoons and nights - it's no wonder everything is so green and lush here in Cameron Highlands.

Panang - George Town

We left our SC apartment at #GreenHillResort today for a long drive to Panang - George Town - Batu Ferringhi

We headed out thru the Cameron Highlands in the opposite direction to the drive that we arrived on. The entire Cameron Highlands is bend after bend, after bend. This area is well farmed with many covered tunnels for agriculture. Strawberries are everywhere! Eventually, we reached the highway heading towards Ipoh. Between 2 to 3 lanes and heavy traffic in both directions. From there it was onwards to George Town. The Touch and Go tolls are not cheap but fuel is! In fact, maybe fuel is our least expense in Malaysia.

We passed a huge mountain section of quarries and the dust was crazy. People living in the area must be breathing this in all the time.

(Above Photo, heading onto Penang Island, was taken thru the windscreen as nowhere to stop and it was raining!)

Getting to the island of George Town was a bumper to bumper experience. There is a bridge from the mainland to the island and all one sees are huge skyscrapers lining the area facing the bridge. Once on the island the traffic was just plain crazy.

Anyway, after leaving Tanah Rata at 9.30 we eventually arrived here at 14.30. 5 hours in the car.

We are staying at #hardrockhotel in Batu Ferringhi. The hotel is right on the beach. It seems that locals enjoy going away for weekends as the pool was full of kids later this afternoon. The rooms on the ground floor have direct access to the pool! We are in the cheap seats with a "mountain view" that is actually not much of a view at all.

Once we were checked in, we took a stroll along the beach and popped in at Levant Restaurant for a bite to eat.

Next up - a wonderful time exploring Penang Island and Georgetown

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                         For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

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Malaysia Self-Drive - Sepang

 

Holiday time! Travelling to Malaysia. Qatar airlines insist that a suitcase cannot be more than 23kg even if the other one is only 20kg. So we had to unpack and re-organise! Trolley chap was exceptionally helpful as was the wheelchair lady who got us thru Security quickly. Now James is eating bacon and eggs and I am enjoying chocolate cake and tea. Time to start relaxing now. CT - Doha - Kuala Lumpur. Then the adventure begins. New country, new scenery, new food.

Qatar Airways seems to be fond of changing planes and booked seats! Except for the bobotie served with the 1st dinner, the rest of the food was not great. No service during quiet time e g. Water or Juice. Row 16 with extra leg room was good. Doha from the air was very pretty in the dark. The airport is huge but I had wheelchair assistance (for my knee) so no stopping to see the gardens at the airport. We sort of got dumped in holding spots, waiting for our turn to get to the right gate. Both Doha and KL have very long runways - seems like going to JHB by road! The airports also seems be be 24/7 operations - very busy even at 2am in the morning. The wheelchair to the gate for Doha to KL went on forever with the driver shouting "excuse me", "excuse me" every few seconds!

The wheelchair assistance at KL was very good from the plane and thru immigration and luggage collection. The lady then left us to collect the car hire....really bad signage in KL airport. After asking 2 different people we eventually found the car rental. The car fitted all 3 suitcases plus the 2 hand luggage. Honda 1.5. So thankfully no extra charges. For any damages we need to report to local police. Hopefully 4 weeks stress-free! One needs a card for driving on the highways. Available at gas stations but then 2 of them could not activate the card! So we have an un-activated card.

We were delayed by 1 hr in Doha because of the current conflict between India and Pakistan. The delay was mainly due to increase airline traffic in the area.

The drive to Avani Sepang was quite tedious due to slow traffic. The surroundings are very green with hundreds of palm trees. Otherwise the drive was uneventful even though the road seems to go into a 1 lane like scenario at times. The buildings along this section remind me of India - very scruffy and with that black mould, reminiscent of Zanzibar.

Avani Sepang Gold Coast - we have a lovely 2 bed, 2 bathroom villa overlooking the water. Buggies have to take the luggage or us to restaurants etc as the complex is spread over such a huge area. Long distances!

We enjoyed supper at Sepoi - I had a chicken burger, James had spaghetti bolognaise. We both enjoyed the Kaffir Lime Cheesecake. The fire show is only held Friday and Sat and it was pretty cool.

We totally crashed after supper- between the really long flights, airport waits and the 6 hour time difference ( ahead of SA time) it was time to put our heads down.

Woke up quite late! Went for lunch - I had the watermelon and avocado salad - more green leaves than anything else. James enjoyed his first Malaysia dish - the Nasi Lemak. This is a traditional breakfast dish! Very spicy and messy but he survived. I again had the Kaffir Lime pie and James had a fruit platter with watermelon, apple, orange, Dragon Fruit. High plate and our first taste of Dragon Fruit! Fairly innocuous.

Then another rest to try and acclimating to the time difference. We do have In-Dining options so that's it for dinner tonight. Chicken pizza and a bucket of 6 Carlsberg beers. The beers do actually come in a bucket of ice so nice and cold! Sitting on the balcony, overlooking the sea is extremely relaxing.

Today after our English High Tea and a pedi for me, we headed out. Everything here at Avani takes time as we have to wait for the buggy. And patience is, sadly, not one of my virtues. We were trying to find a fishing Harbour...but all the turn left, turn right, turn left etc. got us nowhere in the end. The other issue in Malaysia is that you need a card for the toll roads - highways. We managed to buy a card but then the fuel (Gas) stations either could not top up or only wanted cash. We stopped at about 4 before we found one with an ATM and then they could not load any data! Eish - a very frustrating exercise. We managed eventually. So best to buy the card from the Car Hire Company, have cash and the purchase from the closest gas station! So now we are safe if we hit a highway at some stage. Road signs are not in English in this part of Malaysia. Our drive was entertaining nonetheless. We saw a Hindu Temple, a Pentecostal Church, heard the call to prayer from a Mosque. Being Sunday most of the shops were shut. It is also Mothers Day here. Many of the restaurants are outdoors, under a canopy, with plastic tables and chairs. There are numerous fruit stalls along the roadside, one was offering a Dragon Fruit Smoothie. They appear to sell after dark as well as there are lights under their canvas "roof". The surroundings are full of palm trees, loads of ferns underneath and then Dragon Fruit Farms. The houses are spaced far apart down these side roads. We saw a scooter guy with a 9kg gas cylinder behind, another with a heavy bag! So they drive with 1 hand only. Mom and Pop may have helmets but the baby in front has zero protection. Traffic was heavy as it seems that the traffic lights take forever to change. Unfortunately I did not have my camera on my lap as we saw a huge "monitor" lizard crossing the road. At first we thought it was a croc! Most odd as it needed to cross 2 lanes to get back into the jungle. So, despite not getting to where we wanted to be, an interesting drive nonetheless.

The beautiful Palm trees are cultivated and can be seen from many of the roads. The British introduced them around the 1870's and today Malaysia has over 600 million stunning trees, producing Palm Oil.

On our travels today we were able to test out our "Touch and Go" Card on the highway toll station. The stations are not manned so you need the card! At the 2nd toll we came to we went into the Debit Card Lane in error - thankfully, there was no traffic behind us so that James could reverse and get into the correct lane. When the boom opens it also shows the balance available on the card so that's a major plus. The highway was excellent with very little traffic.

We stopped at the Blue Lagoon beach - rated 1 in Port Dixon. It was still low tide so the sea was far away. A young couple had written 500 Days in the sand and asked James to take a photo. Rather precious and we hope they make it much further than just 500 days!

The Jeti Delay and Kanpung Teluk Pelanduk offer a pretty Pier, a ramshackle "restaurant" and a small fishing village. Being low tide, the fisherman were repairing nets. Sadly, there were numerous cats lying on the benches on the Pier- looking very sad and neglected.

From this beach we could see some very interesting buildings along the shore. We discovered that this was the Lexis Hibiscus 5 star hotel. With 117 Tower rooms and 522 overwater villas, it looks amazing. Maybe even better than our villa at Avani Sepang Gold Coast Resort!

Finding a supermarket here is quite a mission and then the parking is even more so.

Driving has been 100% - no issues. Nobody hoots in this area - not sure about the major cities. Very different to the noise in India where drivers hoot every few seconds!

A fun drive anyway!

After seeing the young couple celebrating their 500 days together yesterday we thought that it would be an idea to visit the Lovers Bridge in Tanjung Sepak! This is a long, concrete Pier jutting out to sea. The fishing boats can anchor alongside at high tide but there were none today. This is obviously a tourist attraction but there is really no sign of romance - not even a tiny lock attached anywhere. It makes for a pleasant stroll and would perhaps be more interesting at high tide. As mentioned previously, the tide range between low and high is huge here.

The excitement for the day was being able snatch a few quick shots of a water monitor at the fishing village. These monitors can live 10 to 15 years in the wild. They do have venom but it is not fatal for humans. However, a bite from one of these creatures would not be fun. The monitor was not amused that we were standing on the bridge and James could hear it hissing at him! We watched it swim to the opossite bank and it still seemed to be annoyed! With a forked tongue, like a snake, it's a scary looking reptile! Being good swimmers they live around water. Having seen one crossing the road a few days ago we now know that we were not hallucinating - they are real and scary.

The fishing boats were all stacked up along the river due to the low tide. The mud flats were rather smelly.

The Malaysian roads have very many rumble trips in bright yellow plus speed humps. Everything is so green alongside the roads with Palms mainly, dragon Fruit Farms and the odd patch of something else.

Next Stop:

Cameron Highlands.....

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                         For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

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South Africa - Greyton, Western Cape

 

Greyton is one of the many "Small Towns of South Africa" and it's an easy drive from Cape Town. Whether you pop in for the day or the week-end, there is enough to enjoy in this quaint town, where horses and the odd cow roam freely. The owners of the cottage where we stayed advised that we could open the gate for the horses. And, lo and behold, on Sunday morning the horses had their heads over the gate waiting to be let in! This was a totally amazing experience with about 6 horses on the lawns at one stage. They were very peaceful and munched away on the grass - they even came right up to our bedroom door to "steal" some of the bird food! It was a 90 minute experience that we won't ever forget. 

The Sonderend Mountains of Greyton offer many photographic opportunities, plus hiking trails.

A drive on the surrounding gravel roads can be very rewarding - view the farms with huge herds of cows, we saw a new dam being scooped out, a meerkat taking a rest in the shade of a water tank, some blue cranes and lots of road building action. 

For those who love shopping there are a number of interesting and quirky shops dotted around the village. Take time to browse and don't forget to get your chocolate fix from the legendary Von Geusau Chocolates. Stroll around the Fiore Garden Centre to source something for your garden or just take a breather and enjoy a meal in this tranquil setting. For other treasures, continue browsing!

The Greyton Nature Reserve was established in 1977 by Professor Brian Rycroft and, at 2200 hectares, this is the 3rd largest reserve in the Western Cape. There are many trails to choose from and the flora is beautiful. Entrances are at Park Street, where there is a parking area or from the east bank of the Gobos River. We met a number of hikers who has completed the Bosmanskloof Trail and they still looked fit and healthy! 

THE BOESMANSKLOOF TRAIL

The Boesmanskloof trail is one of the most popular hiking routes in the country, and it’s easy to see why. The starting point is right here in Greyton, a short hop from Cape Town. The trail winds through the deep and untouched Boesmanskloof gorge, past Oak Falls, before you hike up and out to Die Galg, where overnight accommodation sits perched right on the edge of the gorge. Most hikers stay over in Greyton on Friday, start the 14km hike on Saturday morning, and make the 14km trek back the next day

There are numerous shorter trails - check the Information Office for full details. Remember to take water, hats and cell phones!

Gobos - 1-4km - Gentle, Hardepeerkloof Trail 5km - Challenging, Knietjieshoogte walk 5km - moderate, Loerkop Trail 3km - moderate, Maermanskloof Trail 5km - challenging, Platkloof Trail 3km - gentle, Noupoort Walk 2km - Gentle, Breakfast Rock Trail - 7.6km = Challenging, Gifkllof Trail - 7km -Moderate

Greyton's appeal lies in the beautiful homes that are dotted in the village. Many of these roads are still untarred. The village was founded by Herbert Vigne in 1846 as a freehold agricultural village. The plots still appear be be substantial and the Cape architecture is evident, adding to the charm. The leiwater irrigation system is still in place and feeds the gardens of many homes. So look for these channels along the roads. This village makes for an interesting look back at history yet with plenty of modern day conveniences. It truly is a "must visit" kind of town! 

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                         For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

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South Africa - East Coast - Wild Coast Road Trip

 

Knysna Coastline

We are so blessed to live in South Africa where the various options of Road Trips are never ending. 

Travelling the coast during summer is always a wonderful experience as there are so many small towns to visit along the long coastline. Unfortunately, time constraints work against us have weeks and weeks off but we may the most of each and every break-away.

Our first night is normally in Knysna as this makes for a comfortable drive from Cape Town

Knysna is well worth 4 or 5 nights as there is much to see and do in the area.

Have a look at www.visitknysna.co.za for a wealth of information and interesting facts!

"the Heads: Ancient History

People have always been drawn to The Heads. Although there’s evidence that Knysna was populated as much as 1.5 million years ago, the discovery of a stone tool workshop on the Western Head (uncovered by the Knysna Fires of 2017) shows that The Heads was an important location around 300,000 years ago. The large cutting tools and choppers found at the site were made at a time when sea levels were much lower than they are today. The coastline lay more than 90 km to the south, and the Knysna River trickled lazily across the plain that’s now the Knysna Lagoon – and tumbled through the gap between the cliffs, making The Heads an ideal ambush spot for early hunters" 

Next up we braved the gravel road to SkuitBaai, Eersterivierstrand (between Plettenberg Bay and Jeffrey's Bay) and part of the Tsitsikamma National Park. The turn-off is way past Storms River. For new travellers, do stop in the village of Storms River or take a hike to the river mouth in the National Park. It is so very worth a few days stay actually. The gravel road to Skuitbaai was very muddy as it had rained the night before and there are numerous potholes. But we made it. The Private Estate also boasts a golf course (Fynbos) so I would imagine that many of the folk who have holiday homes here are either golfers or fishermen. It is a small area surrounded by fields. The flies, unfortunately, drove us insane - they were practically indestructible, sitting on everything and anything. Whether this happens all year round, I am not sure but it did make for a very unpleasant stay. The views of the ocean are stunning and the sunsets even more so. The coast is very rocky but there is a tidal pool for safer swimming.

From Skuitbaai we headed towards the Wild Coast and our accommodation at the Areena Resort about 25 km beyond East London. It was a 5 hr drive. However, the N2 was fine except for a section where there are roadworks for a new section of road. Everything was very lush and green, despite being in January, and the views are beautiful. The highway was very clean which was great to see. 

Areena Resort is ideal for families with children or very active adults as they offer numerous activities on site. We had a stunning room (11) and this made for a relaxing base to explore further north. Areena offers game viewing on quad bikes, abseiling, Zipline, Paintball, Segway Tours, Archery and giraffe interaction! There is also mountain biking, trail running, canoeing and SUP. The resort is located on the bank of the Kwelera Tidal River with a beach called Yellow Sands Beach at the mouth of the river. The Kareena offers river cruises, or just relax with a spa treatment or a leisurely lunch at Areena Quays Restaurant and pub. 

 Our first outing was to the charming village of Chintsa East, Wild Coast South Africa. The wind was fierce, the cows have free reign on the beach, and in between the homes so cow pats are everywhere! There were not many on the beach as the wind was howling - just a dog walker and a cyclist. For a light lunch we visited Emerald Vale Farm and Brewery. We met the lovely owner who hailed from Austria many, many years ago. The homes in the village are beautiful, many are holiday homes but there are locals who work in East London. With local schools, the children living here must enjoy an idyllic childhood.

Chintsa East Beach

.A fun ramble today. Our first stop was at the Kei Ferry where we watched the ferry go backwards and forwards a few times. They offered us a ride.....James shook his head! We did this crossing previously with our car when we stayed at Trennerys. Then to the Kei Beach where it was pretty windy. A local came past, begging. She then walked down to what must be here favorite swimming hole. She stripped and ducked into the pool. Her head bobbed up and down a couple of times then she got out and dressed herself again.

From Kei we took a gravel road to Morgan Bay. There was a lovely waterfall along the way. We stopped at the Yellowwood Farmers Market where we got talking to Omi Barnard. Her artwork was lovely. A retired Captain in the Police Force now living in Kei and loving it. Her hubby is a retired Colonel.

At Morgan Bay we took a short walk - beautiful beach and river with the camping site right on the river. Next up the steep hill for the views along the coast above Morgan Bay. The benches scattered around are scary - so close to the edge!

We then had the crazy idea of going to Haga Haga Hotel for a light lunch. Eish - 13 km of not so nice gravel! And then another 13km back to tar. It doesn't sound far but when all your bones are rattling, trust me, it's far!

31 degrees today so we arrived back at Areena rather hot and bothered.

But a great day, nonetheless.

Wild Coast South Africa.

From our Wild Coast travels we headed back down the coast to the famous Addo Elephant Park.

The drive was uneventful, with not much traffic. The wind was fairly chilly in Addo after the heat of the Wild Coast. The water holes look rather dry and we saw many ellies at Marian Baree, Spekboom hide and Hapoor dam. We always use the southern gate of the park - turn off near Colchester.

The park receives less than 445..of rain per year so it is classed as semi-arid. Rainfall is usually between February and March and again October to November. However, rain can occur at any time of the year! We have found that the elephants are very scarce during wet days so we normally visit in January if we can. With no natural water in the park, all the water holes are fed by borehole water.

As with any of the parks in South Africa, don't expect to see animals on every single drive. These parks are huge, Addo is the 3rd largest park in South Africa and the animals roam. There are approx. 600 elephants and 400 Cape Buffalo. There are only 6 lions in the park so sightings are not a given! Burchells Zebra are very photogenic - we can watch them for ages! Spotted hyena's, Red Hartebeest, Eland, Kudu and bushbuck all roam and glimpses are often just for a split second as they leap across a road. So please do adhere to the speed limits - they are there for a reason. Warthogs are fascinating the way they knee when they are eating and their babies are adorable. Please don't ride over elephant dung - two reasons - thorns could puncture your tyres and you truly do not want to squash the very hard-working, flightless dung beetle.

There was a dominant male in the park for 24 years - 1944 to 1968 - the dam is called Hapoor as this elephant had a nick in his ear (Hap in Afrikaans) and oor (Ear in Afrikaans). It is thought that the nick in his ear was caused by a hunters bullet. Hapoor hated humans and was very aggressive. A bull eventually ousted Hapoor as the dominant male and drove him from the herd. Sadly, Hapoor was shot after he managed to climb an "elephant proof" fence in 1968.

Our next day was a total "ellie" day! #AddoElephantNationalPark 6 hrs in the park, 401 photos, 38degrees, hundreds of elephants at the various waterholes. Hapoor Dam must have had hundreds today at various stages. Just a totally awesome day watching these magnificent animals. The herds all wait their turn without fighting, then they have a rest before moving on into the bush again. Apparently, a teenager broke into the water supply pipe at Hapoor dam , deciding he/she wanted fresh water! So it was a panic to get more water into the dam due to the extreme heat in the park today. A totally magic day! Sadly, all good things come to an end, and we headed off to our next stop early the next morning.

We spent another night in Knysna and caught up with our friends at Art Cafe on Queen.

This is a hidden gem and we enjoyed lots of laughter while listening to a crazy Kiwi expanding on his next cycle adventure!

There are so many delightful beach towns along the coast - Port Alfred, Kenton on Sea, Cannon Rocks, Jeffreys Bay, Plettenberg Bay, Buffeld Bay, Wilderness, Victoria Bay, Sedgefield, Great Brak, Little Brak, Herolds Bay, Mossel Bay. Time is never enough.....!

We based ourselves in Herold's Bay for a few days of tranquillity. The beach is ideal for swimming, surfing, and just enjoying the sunshine. There is a tidal pool and life guards during the summer months. There are a number of food trucks - the one lady said they operate throughout the year although they do stay away if the weather is really bad!

Santos Beach Mossel Bay

It was a toss up whether to go into George for food supplies or head the longer way into one of my favourite towns. Mossel Bay won the toss. The beaches are fabulous, swimming is great and the town explodes during the summer holidays. Mossel Bay has an interesting history. Bartholomeu Dias arrived in Mossel Bay in 1488 near the spot where the Dias Museum complex is today. The beautiful pavilion on Santos Beach was a meeting place during the period 1920's and 1930's. The Pavilion hosted Prince Edward on his visit to South Africa, way back in 1925. The Mossel Bay Point area is extremely popular and the "Poort" is popular with swimmers. The Zip line crosses over this natural swimming hole. 
The old worlde charm of the town and the good sea water temperatures drawn visitors from around the world.

So, once again, the brief holiday reaches the end and we have to head back to Cape Town and work!

South Africa is a beautiful country and it truly does beg to be explored.

Until next time....

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                         For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa

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