Day 46: Thursday April 29th 2004. I arrived at 'Fairy Knowe' backpackers mid afternoon. Fairy Knowe backpackers is the oldest building in a village called Wilderness, on the Garden Route in the Southern Cape. The building is a charming old farmhouse, built in 1874 by a farmer who used it for 3 months holiday a year. It is set in - well - wilderness! Is an old steam railway that still operates nearby, and Fairy Knowe has it's own tiny station. It is utterly idylic here.
 |
 |
| Fairy Knowe Backpackers | Flyer |
After a home cooked dinner, I sat up chatting with a guy called Brad, who had a some interesting stories about his student days and his involvement with the ANC.
Day 47: Friday April 30th 2004. I went for a walk along the boardwalk into the village. The boardwalk skirts along one side of an estuary. The whole area is alive with fish and birds. I explored the village and beach. The sea was cold, it was warmer than the Atlantic side.
 |
 |
 |
| Duck | Boardwalk | Bird |
 |
 |
| Birds | Ibis on the lawn |
I've decided to stay here a while, as the trips and accommodation have all dropped in price, due to the low season starting in May.
Day 48: Saturday May 1st 2004. I went on the Wilderness tour. This proved to be an excellent way of seeing the area, first by kayak, then by mountain bike. There were six of us; Deitmar who is staying at Fairy Knowe, a couple of locals and Terry our guide. Synonymous with previous experience, there was loads of birdlife around the water as we kayaked up river. We landed the kayaks and went for a very informative walk in the rainforest - Terry really knows his stuff. After we return, we get in the combi, and are driven to the top of a hill with the mountain bikes - downhill all the way - cool!
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Rainforest | Wilderness Bay | Mudflats and Estuary | 'Map of Africa' |
In the afternoon, I took a hiking trail on my own. After loosing the path for a while (it just petered out), I saw a couple walking on the other side of the river, and so crossed over and walked the rest of the way to the waterfall with them. We saw baboons and a snake en-route. After that it was another one of Elmerie's hearty dinners and an early night.
 |
 |
 |
| The path stops.. | en-route | wilderness |
 |
 |
 |
| snake | baboons | waterfall |
Day 49: Sunday May 2nd 2004. Kloofing discovery day with Terry. Elmerie, Dietmar and myself took the last Kloofing trip of the season!. Kloof is the Afrikaans word for cliff. Kloofing is where you follow a river through a gorge, sometimes swimming through swampy bits with loads of reeds, sometimes across deep blackwater pools, sometimes abseiling or jumping down waterfalls and of course a shooting little rapids in nothing but a lifejacket and helmet. Even though the weather was drizzly, kloofing (aka canyoning) turned out to be a whole new source of fun! Excellent day. The last jump into water has left me a little deaf in one ear though. I'll have to see the doctor tomorrow instead of leaving...
 |
 |
| into the gorge | fungus flower |
 |
 |
 |
| into the water... | Elmerie and Terry at lunch | dusk from the porch |
Day 50: Monday May 3rd 2004. I woke up still deaf in one ear, and so went to see doctor Jon, who sorted it all out for a hundred and fifty Rand. Chilled for the day, and went to the beach with Elmerie to drink wine in the evening.
Day 51: Tuesday May 4th 2004. Said my goodbyes and hitched a lift to Port Elizabeth. I got a lift with two chatty Swiss girls, and got to PE in good time. I stayed at a quiet backpackers, where I noticed in the local newspaper there was a lunar eclipse that night. About six of us sat on the street and took photos all night.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Lunar eclipse | |||
 |
 |
 |
 |
Day 52: Wednesday May 5th 2004. Flew to Jo'burg. Stayed at Gemini backpackers - sorted place with a free DSL internet connection, a full size snooker table and even table footy - cool! Full of long term residents, doing anything from Open University psychology degrees to going through the advanced stages of alcoholism! Booked a hire car for tomorrow, to go see Kruger National Park.
Day 53: Thursday May 6th 2004. Started on the long journey to Kruger. The scenery as I came through the High-Veld, across the Drakensburgs into the Low-Veld was awesome. En-route I decided to skip Kruger, as I had heard the grass had got too high for viewing game in a Landrover, let alone a little Fiesta! I decided instead to head for Tofo in Mozambique, for a bit of beach life as a warm up for Thailand. Plus, there may be a chance to see Manta rays and Whale sharks whilst diving there...
I had a bit of stress at the border, whilst sorting the paperwork, a group on kids decided to help themselves to my bag sitting in my (unlocked - doh!) car. I was lucky, and they only took a Swiss army knife and a USB drive, leaving my bag in the road by my car with plane tickets and CDs intact - I took it as a shot across the boughs, and decided I had got a bit too relaxed in Africa!
 |
| Mozambique sunset |
I drove for hours through Mozambique that night, constantly stressing about the location of the next petrol station and wild game on the road... I stayed over one night at a place called Xai-Xai (pronounced shy-shy) where I slept like a log.
Day 54: Friday May 7th 2004. An early start and a few more hours drive got me to Inhabane and on to Tofo. I stayed at Bamboozi backpackers - what a place! A really sorted, eco touristically minded place, run by a bloke called Des, with who I sat up drinking. Miles of golden sandy beaches, warm Indian ocean and good diving. The catch? Malaria, Great Whites and impossible to obtain local currency! Still, a truly stunning place.
Day 55: Saturday May 8th 2004. Went diving first thing, and saw Manta rays - two of them! Very cool. Chilled for the rest of the day, drunk beer at night. Would love to stay longer! Tom, a German carpenter, is sharing the car back to South Africa tomorrow.
 |
| Beach at Tofo |
Day 56: Sunday May 9th 2004. Got a good early start, until an hour down the road I realised reception had not given me back my passport when I left. Left Bamboozi second time at around ten thirty, which was a bitch, as I'd like to have had some more time in bed! We drove all day, stopping only for bananas, water and cigarettes. The border crossing went smoother this time, and five hundred meters inside South Africa we stopped for good old first world burger and chips! The food in Mozambique had not all agreed with me, and it was good to eat something I trusted! We stayed the night at Nelspruit, gateway to Kruger, my original destination.
Day 57: Monday May 10th 2004. Got up at five am to start the remainder of the journey. I had to get to Jo'burg for nine am to return the hire car and get my flight to Hong Kong. I had a lot of mileage to do! It was really close - I got to Jo'burg international at just gone nine with a feeling of both relief and accomplishment - 2500 km in four days, two countries, two Manta rays and a lot of experience.
Africa, I will be back soon.