The Garden Route, South Africa 8/29-9/2, 2006

We have picked up our rented car in Capetown, drive back to St. Paul's Guest House to load up the car and say goodbye to Val, who has been one of the sweetest persons we have met on the entire trip.  Besides Ang at Anchor Watt in Cambodia, she is the most memorable.  A sweet, sweet lady who requested me to send her Christmas cards, which I try to remember every year that to send.  Some years they are forgotten because I am gone or just returning from some adventure.  I drive out of Capetown heading for Cape Agulhas.  We stop at Hermanus first where we will try and see the Southern Right Whales.  We stop and park overlooking the sea and behind a row of buildings in the town and eat the left overs from the fish on the 27th in Capetown that we've kept in the fridge at St. Paul's.  It is too rich and I have no veggies or salad with it.  A mistake as later I don't feel so well.  We see the parking lot to whale watch and move over to it.  It's a wild cooler day but do see a few whales.  I try to photograph but you can' really see them in the wild waves of the pictures from this high bluff.  We drive on to Cape Agulhas and go to the lighthouse.  Watch the sea and photograph both lighthouse and the sea.  It's wild but not like Cape Rienga in New Zealand.  I'm starting to feel sick.  I tell Janeen we have o find a place to stay here.  We stop at many and I am failing quickly.  Finally get a lead from one of the B&B's and go to this place.  We can't find it, Janeen doesn't have the directions correct and I'm not feeling good and am getting annoyed.  We finally find it and the place is great.  I'm sitting in the car and she doesn't come out.  I have to pee and am losing it again.  I get out and ring the doorbell, no one comes.  Finally they let me in and I use their bathroom.  Drive the car down this steep hill to the sea view of this lovely apartment in Struibaai, South Africa, Paddatzies B&B.  The apartment has a sea view, a bedroom, living/kitchen/dining area and a private bathroom all with a view of the sea for $23.08 each.  We are here in the room @ 6:30 p.m., have driven only 280k from Capetown and I go to bed and don't get up till the next morning!  We have around 1200k to drive in 3 days and have only gone 280k today.  I had planned to do 400k a day or more so tomorrow we have to catch up.  We're up reasonably early and I feel much better.  We make some breakfast in this lovely apartment with the sea view.  Slept very well.  Pack up the car and leave about 9:45 a.m.  Driving out of Struibaai I stop to pick some wild calla lilies by the side of the road and by the sea.  A lady comes out of her house and chastises me for picking them.  I am so embarrassed and apologize to her offering her the flowers.  She tells me to keep them but they are protected and not to pick anymore.  The countryside is beautiful.  We are driving what they call "The Garden Route" with many views of the sea and thru lovely towns we don't have time to stop in.  You really need more than 3 days to do this drive!  We go thru Plettenberg Bay, East London, Port Elizabeth, all of them we would have loved to spend some time in.  We really need more time.  The coast from East London to Port Elizabeth is also called the "Shipwreck Coast" because there are numerous shipwrecks popular with divers both novice and experienced.  Stop at this cute deli/eating place/ gift shop with the nicest owners.  She is from Tanzania and he is Greek and they have a cute little boy.  We get some lunch here and sit outside at a picnic table surrounded by the most loveliest garden.  Outside the building is painted so whimsically with equally lovely bathrooms.  The place is so nice.  She gives us a box of South African herbal tea to split as we are leaving her cute little shop.  We stop for gas and some coffee and pay a road toll.  Drive on into mountains.  We take a wrong turn but stop at a picnic roadside to snack on cheese and fruit.  It's beautiful and I pick some heather along side the road.  We drive on and stop to ask a farmer.  We can either go on or turn back.  I opt to turn back to find the spot where we missed the turn.  Janeen agrees.  The views are spectacular as we reach the mountain range.  It has snowed on top.  We turn off at Storm River, South Africa and stay in a lovely place.  In Storm River @ 6:30p.m. and only 427K, short of our goal again today.  But I am so tired and it is dark now and I don't really want to drive in the dark.  We stop at a few other places before we find "At The Woods", this wonderful place the owner had bought and redesigned.  We go to dinner down the street at a place recommended by the owner couple and have a wonderful meal in a very neat place that also has rooms.  I put the calla lilies and the heather I had picked earlier in the day in a glass in the bathroom and, of course, took the picture.  They were very beautiful and uplifting for our room.  Back to our room and to bed after our wonderful dinner.  Up the next morning around 8 and to breakfast that is included with our room @ $30.77 each.  Prices are a bit higher here in South Africa.  I think I spent more money in a month here than anywhere before.  We have this wonderful homemade breakfast on the veranda overlooking these snow-covered mountains.  The town reminded me a bit of the views in Aspen.  The town, however, is small and not a bit like Aspen.  The sun is shinning on us as we eat our breakfast.  I take pictures of the entire B&B which they did a wonderful job on renovating this place.  We leave about 10 a.m.  The Garden Route ends right around here and we will be driving thru what they call "The Wild Coast" from Port Edwards to Hibberdene.   Nelson Mandela is actually from this area, a village called Qunu.  The gal owner At The Woods booked us a B&B in Kokstad so we're set for tonight's room, just have to find it and drive a great distance.  It is still south of Durban so we can't make that tonight.  Had hoped to spend 2 days in Durban.  This is a grueling day driving.  Stop for gas and get coffee too.  We were told to not drive at night but it's too far and it gets dark early.  They warn us of the black cows crossing the road, black people walking on the side of the road, all in the dark and you can't see them.  We are driving thru an area that is like a high plateau with not much trees, just fields of high grass.   We drive thru these black towns with people crossing the street everywhere.  We drive thru a town and are outside now and the truck ahead of me is stopped.  It is also dark now.  I stop the car suddenly and see a tarp-looking mass in the road.  Part of it gets up and it's a black cow.  Two cows have been hit in the road.  This is real freaky!!!  We're there stopped for a few minutes and then drive on around the cows.  One is dead I think, because it has not moved.  It's pitch dark with black people and black cows.  We're on some high plateau.  It's been a "white knuckle" night.  We drive on and I'm tired.  Get into Kokstad and find the B&B easily @ 9 p.m. with the good directions the lady gave the gal in Storm River.  It's locked up with a huge gate.  I've found most of the South African whites to be like this.  They seem to live in a fortress.  I did not like that about South Africa.   The gal is so nice and the room very nice @ $24.62 each this nite.  Go to sleep almost immediately.  We've driven 887k today and too much for me!!!!  I'm the only driver and we are driving on the left side of the road.  We're up to a beautiful breakfast that I photograph and leave Kokstad @ 8a.m. heading for Durban.  This area of the drive is called "The Hibiscus Route" because of the green vegetation and hibiscus flowers.  The drive to Durban is easy about 269k.  We're probably there before noon.  I realize on the outskirts south of town we should drop the car at the airport and stay here in the south of Durban.  Our destination had been to the north suburbs or north Durban.  I see all kinds of signs and evidence of an airport. We exit the toll road, see a Toyota dealership and talk to a guy here.  He tells us he is one of 6 guys in South Africa to be picked by Toyota to tour plants in the USA.  He lets me use his phone to call the drop contact for the car.  The guy is not helpful and I realize we can probably drop at the airport much easier as we are here already and I am tired of driving this car.  Janeen can't figure these things out and I'm a bit over her today.  We stop many places to find a room and end up with the first one we stopped at.  Janeen didn't want to take it and wanted to look more.  I was over driving and getting more aggravated as all the places we checked are in precarious positions.  The terrain here is all high cliffs above the Indian Ocean and you either go down a steep hill to access the places or up a steep incline.  It was getting on my nerves driving on the left and a stick shift.  We're driving down the steep incline for the second time to "Dick King Guest House" where Robbie and Ilona own the place, very nice people and live here too.  There is a huge iron tall gate at the bottom of the drive and you have to push the button to talk to the folks inside and they then open the gate for you.  I'm just ready to get rid of this car.  There are 2 large bull dog breed, Tara the female and Tyson the male.  They are very friendly dogs however, and I enjoy watching them run around the yard.  We check into the lovely room with 2 twin beds together but each bed is made up separate so Janeen accepts that.  We have a nice bathroom even though the room is smaller than usual.  Their house is across the yard from the row house our room is in.  There is a guy in the room next to us who is a permanent resident.  The building on the ocean side is where you have breakfast included the next morning, use the bar and access the pool sitting on the yard with a beautiful view of the Indian Ocean.  The rooms around here are a bit more expensive,  thus the hesitation in the beginning.  Dick King costs us $66 a night split between us but did include the breakfast and the lovely pool and yard on the ocean side.  We get directions to the airport to drop the car and have no problems finding it.  I am so glad to be done with that car.  They forget to charge us the drop fee.  We, of course, don't say anything and are elated that we may not have to pay that fee.  The drop fee does show up later on my bank withdrawal, damn!!! We get a taxi back to the guest house from the airport and book the guy to pick us up tomorrow to catch our plane to Johannesburg and then onto Nairobi, Kenya.  Back at the guest house I share my bottle of Pinotage with Robbie as he likes red wine, that bewing his favorite, and Ilona only likes white which she is drinking.  We are sitting out by the pool drinking wine, chatting and looking at the beautiful Indian Ocean view.  I still have all my wine left from the purchases in Capetown because I haven't felt well since the first day out of Capetown.  Did not feel like drinking wine!  We finish my Pinotrage and Robbie opens another and we drink it.  They have directed us to a restaurant for dinner and offer to drop us off on their way to their evening out.  We can't get ready in time to take their offer so walk to the restaurant.  I am a little drunk already from drinking the wine at the guest house with Robbie.  It's around 8 p.m. when we walk to the restaurant.  Our dinners are great and a guy at the restaurant volunteers to take us back to the guest house around 9:30 p.m.  Sleep well and up around 9 p.m. the next day for our wonderful breakfast that Ilona prepares for us of eggs, fruit, ceral and spreads.   It's their 35th wedding anniversary today.  We're waiting the arrival of the taxi driver to take us to the airport and back to Johannesburg.  We sit by poolside for a time before the taxi arrives.  Never swim because it's really too cold.  It's Spring here in the Southern Hemisphere.  We've enjoyed our stay here with Robbie and Ilona.  I leave the bread I bought at one of the wineries in Capetown and give it to Ilona to make croutons with.  It was such nice bread but stale now  and I wasn't going to eat it or tote it.  I left my favorite Victoria's Secret pj's accidently on the bed in this room.  When packing things up I had put them on the bed rolled up from the pack to wear but never did because it was too warm.   They were hiding in the bed covers between the 2 beds.   I still miss them today.  Oh well.  The driver arrives as requested at 3:15 p.m. and we're off to the airport.  The dogs follow us to the gate and we have to be careful not to let them out.  We have a lunch/supper at the airport about 4:30 as we had not eaten since breakfast.   The plane to Joburg is about 5:30 arriving at 6:45 p.m.  Janeen called Tammy from the airport using up her calling card.  Our flight leaves for Nairobi about 11:30 p.m............Nairobi & Masai Mara Safari, Kenya is next....................Masai Mara being my favorite adventure of 2006..........