Kathy’s Travels

Met some friends to go explore the Sunday market located in Green Point by the stadium, about a 7min drive from Long Street.

A perfect place to go pick up last minute items and be sure to bargain all the way. A safe bet is to try around 40-50% less and then work your way up slowly. If all else fails, start to walk away… Works every time.

To get there we took a local taxi. So for R3.50 (a normal taxi would be over R15) we got there and was entertained the whole way. Please note however, these taxis are notorious for their fast speeds and often being overcrowded….. so experience at your own risk… but definately give it a try…. 🙂

Picked up numerous things I didn’t need, but always a good day when you can bargain down the prices. You can get anything from cough mixture to a 5ft wooden giraffe, to pottery, jewellery……. to much to type. Also lots of food stalls when all that bargaining makes you parched and hungry.

Go, enjoy and find lots of good deals. 🙂 🙂 🙂

The Penin Tour through Baz Bus is a definite must. You get to see alot of Cape Town you wouldn’t ordinarily see.

From getting up close and personal with the locals… penguins that is…. To chasing away baboons at your lunch spot. Not forgetting an easy bike ride through the reserve and hike to Cape Point.

The tour guide, Bruce, was full of useful information and random stories…

Starting off with some rather dreary looking weather and trying to wake up participants… side note: a saturday morning after a rugby came always results in a few being… well… a little under the weather. 🙂
But, true to form, wait 5min and the weather in Cape Town will change. We ended with a beautifully sunny day.

I think the top marks go to the delicious chocolate cookies and scrumptious rolls we had for lunch.

All in all, a good day was had….

Well my luck held out and I made it all the way to Cape Town. Was able to initially book till Stellenbosch and then it turned out that not just one but THREE people didn’t show up… so I had a choice of where I wanted to sit.

Arrived at Long Street Backpackers at about 10pm last night and got checked in. (see my last entry for Long Street for rating and info). But as a refresher…. this is a pretty good place. In the heart of the party scene with numerous bars and coffee shops to choose from.

Lola’s just up the street to the left of the backpackers makes a great little cupcake and an excellent iced coffee.

Caravan Cafe… a moroccan style resturant has excellent food for a decent price. Tonight I had the chicken shwarma with vegetables and a glass of mango juice… not only was it healthy and delish’ but it all cost under R35 (less than $6).

Tomorrow morn’ will see me depart on the Baz Bus Peninsula tour… watch this space for a review.

Well…. the baz was late and I let myself be convinced to stay “just one more night”…. now of course there is no space on tonights shuttle. But hopefully I can squeeze on to get to Cape Town….

Evening was great… with a lekker braai (good BBQ)…. and I set fire to my POI chains and played a little. My friend got some great shots of the fire reflecting off the pool….

Today I relaxed with some of the girls…. went into town…. had a swim in the pool and made some of my jewellery….

So the moral of the story is…. sometimes its better to stick to your plans… but then again sometimes good things come at unexpected times….

Welcome to Hermanus!!!!! A perfect base to act like shark bait for the Great Whites that frequent the area.

Hermanus Backpackers: 8.5/10 Comfortable… thin pillows… but good beds… friendly, helpful staff and lots of activities. Free breakfast 😀 Walking distance from shops and resturants.

Wake up at 6am (or rather all night due to a snorer, 5am I gave up and slept in the TV room) time to get ready for shark bait. Many people disagree with shark cage diving and I must admit I had my reservations too. Arguments against this part of the tourist industry include that they are feeding the sharks, creating a connection between man and food, therefore increasing the chance of man being food, bringing the sharks closer to land where bathers are etc…. However, we were out there for almost 6hrs and only saw 4 sharks for about 10sec each time. Some boats didn’t even get to see one and there was only one boat that was lucky enough to get a “playful” shark. Great Whites are very curious and that is what brings them to the boats. The bait is always the kind of food that makes up their natural diet and the skippers try not to let the shark eat it, but rather use it to catch their attention.

We were not able to get into the cage for most of the day and only on the last shark did we jump in and view it underwater for all of 2seconds before it moved on. It was still amazing and I must admit my fear has diminshed and I respect these beautiful creatures more. That is not to say that I would like to meet one while scuba diving. I went with “Shark Lady” charters and was very impressed with the professional and educational angle they took. The cost was R800 plus R50 for the shuttle. This includes a light breakfast, lunch and coffee.

Hermanus has a very nice colonial seaside town feel. With lovely little shops and a craft market to pick some gifts… In one of the quaint art shops I came across a stunning print of an African Wild Dog. They said they would drop the price and when I told my folks about it they said it would be my christmas present… a little late.. but well worth it. So here I am… after travelling half way around the world…. I find my christmas present… and what a find. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Moving away from the wonderful coast and into the Klein Karoo / Little Karoo…. home of South Africa’s ostrich industry.

Backpackers Paradise: 9.5/10 the -.5 is for the very flat pillows….. But if that is the only complaint then thats pretty good. The beds really are EXTRA wide and comfortable. The ostrich braai is ever so tasty, but don’t forget the vegetarian option. The staff are very friendly and helpful and Moses the shuttle driver knows everything.

My first day saw me doing the adventure tour in the Cango Caves. I can officially climb a chimney and be mailed through a postbox that is 27cm by 30cm. Our first major challenge was the “Chimney”, a tiny space that goes almost vertical and is so small you can’t even turn around. The guide sent us ahead and when we reached what we thought was the right hole we shoved the first girl up then hesitated. She waited up there for a full 5min as we discussed if this was the right route. When the guide arrived we said in unison “we shoved her up there but not sure if it is the right hole….” (mmmm that almost sounds wrong…. 🙂 Anyway… needless to say we had chosen the right path. 2 turned around at this point. When it was my turn I realised that I was too short to reach up to where there were handholds and the chimney was too slippery. So with a push from the bottom and a pull from the top I was able to climb up. The air is thinner down there so it was hard to breathe and made us all look like we had run a marathon.

Next stop…. the “PostBox”, a small hole 27cm by 30cm that you get to by inching along on your stomach and then sliding through. All of us went head first (apparently you are meant to go feet first, but it was more fun our way). As you go through the space the rock is so smooth it makes a slide and for those of us with short arms and not able to brace ourselves… it makes a wonderful trip with us ending in a heap at the end.

All in all a must!!!!

Next day was time to Ride and ostrich. I had eaten one now it was time to ride one. We chose the Cango Ostrich Farm, R30 with discount, more expensive but well worth it. First came a history and then an introduction to the newest members of the farm. Got to hold one of the chicks and watch another as it started its 10hr journey of hatching. Then a quick kiss from the only tame ostrich in the area. Before moving on to the ride. I was the second one to go. Mine was a large male, and as I held onto the wings and tried to wrap my legs around its front all heck broke lose as I it went running off and I screamed with joy. 2 jockeys run alongside you ready to catch you or pull you off. The ostrich tried to help me off by turning very quickly… then my foot got stuck under the wing …. when I did eventually get disentagled I discovered I had received a large white feather for my trouble… OOPS! but they did say to hold on tight.

The weather in Oudtshoorn is well…. HOT and DRY!!!! so every afternoon was centered around the pool or watching one of the numerous videos….

The Klein Karoo is a definite place to stop… most think of South Africa as beaches and sun…. well its amzing to see the interior where there might not be a beach but there sure is a LOT of sun…..  

Well after Wildside, cute surfers and Buffalo Bay am now in a small town by the name of Sedgefield.

Sedgefield has sprouted along the N2 main highway that runs along the coastline. And in this tiny little place there is a wonderful new hostel called Upendi Backpackers. Upendi, meaning love in Swahili, is a double story thatch house about a 1min walk from the lagoon.

Upendi Backpackers: 8.5/10 Comfortable, clean, friendly. Close to the lagoon where you can go canoeing and search for the rare knysna sea horse. Or you can go to one of four beaches and surf, swim and tan. For the adventurers you can ask Sancheo, the owner, to organise a tandem paragliding flight or heck…. why not take a full course and get your pilots license. Sancheo will also teach you to POI….. or fire dance. I was playing with fire on the 2nd night of my study and haven’t burnt anything yet… so she must be a good teacher.

That would be Wildside Backpackers….. Buffalo Bay, found just south of Knysna, this stunning shoreline really does live upto its name of being the Wildside. Superb surfing and swimming and a fantastic natural rockpool where you can go snorkel for fish, crabs and even an octopus or two.

Wildside Backpackers: 9/10 great atmosphere, very friendly staff, delicious food and the beach literally comes in the back door. A definite must. Daily trips into Knysna ensure that you won’t miss out on the little town, but if you are in the area, a stay at Wildside is the thing to do.

Spent my days swimming and lying on the beach and watching my friends surf. Spent the evenings gazing at the stars or visiting the bar.

On the second day a very random thing happened. 2 of the girls and I went to Buffalo Bay, the town, to look at the waves, found it pretty much dead pan. So headed back to Wildside. While I played paprazzi on the beach, the girls attempted to get a few waves. Suddenly out of the setting sun this rather hunky surfer walks up to me and asks if my friends are trying surfing for the first time. When I say “yeah pretty much”, he replies with “I would love to teach them….”, “they would love you to teach them too…” came my answer. So there he went, promptly walking into the waves and taught all afternoon. At the end of the day, the 3 of us are all smiles and trying to buy him a drink. He just declines, says he has to get back, and literally ….. RUNS OFF INTO THE SUNSET! Talk about random…..

Hey All

One of my last activities in Plettenberg Bay was to go on a great hike and beach cleanup in Robberg Nature Reserve with some of the students from the ORCA research center.

A wonderful place to see some of the unique examples of fynbos (a type of plant life unique to this part of the world). We spent the whole walk picking up cigarette butts and other trash. Watched the seals making a right royal noise, you could actually smell them before you saw them.

When we got to the beach you are able to run all the way down the sand dune. This is an area where 2 currents collide and that means trash from both sides ends up on this beach.
We filled 2 large black bags and carried 2 crab traps off the beach. That was after about 2hrs of cleanup. Could have filled a lot more.

This beach is also a great place to view the endangered African Oyster Catcher. A rare bird that is black with red legs and a long red beak.

A great time in all. Next stop Buffalo Bay and Wildside backpers

Well here I am staying with family in Plettenberg bay. At first I was kind of wary about coming here. All I had heard was that it was pretty, touristy and where all the matric / 12th grade highschoolers came for end of year parties.

 Didn’t sound like the kind of place I would enjoy or that it would have much character. I was mistaken! Even though there is tons of construction going on which equals too much traffic, Plett has a wonderful seaside village feel. There are all the advantages to bigger places but still lots of old charm.

 My aunt and I visited Monkeyland. By the sounds of it, you expect another corny old tourist trap. But here you find 12 species of monkeys ranging from the tiny squirrel monkey to the larger languars. They are all rescued from labs, circuses, pets….. and there are about 300+ roaming free in a forest the size of 24 rugby fields. For R100 you get and hour long guided trail through the forest to meet all these wonderful creatures. We saw 8 of the 12: vervet monkeys, squirrel monkeys, 2 kinds of lemurs. gibbon, howler, languar and capuchin. Truly a great experience. If you don’t want to pay for the tour you can sit on the deck and try keep your possesions away from the very mischevious vervets.

In the same area you can go to Birdland, also all rescued and Elephant sanctuary. A great place to spend a whole day.

Another interesting place is the Global Village, where you will find products from all over Asia and Africa. Be sure to bring your wallet to this little stop.

Then there is also the sea and beach. With scuba diving, surfing and whale watching activities, not to mention sun-baking…. I mean bathing…..