Out the door

We had dinner with Roelf and Michelle which was good curry with a couple of wines from Argentina. It was nice to see the bosses drunk and friendly for a change. The next night Alfred and Chantelle (works in the bistro) came over for dinner and I heard some disturbing stories about the people at the winery. I wouldn't be able to live on that farm permanently.

We said our goodbyes and picked up the rental car in Worcester, which was a free upgrade to a Chevy Spark. I felt so special...It got us to Mossel Bay in time to swim in the Indian Ocean, so I was happy. The water was around 68 degrees, so it was pleasant. There were some English guys in our room, so we went out with them to a few good bars. The young people seemed fairly modern, and not as old-fashioned in their way of life, but what I saw may not represent much of South Africa. Segregation was still strong because I saw 99% white people at the bars. I also met two Dutch women who rode an ostrich and were going sky diving the next day. The Garden Route has plenty of adventure activities including the highest bungy bridge in the Southern Hemisphere, about 650 feet high. The hostel was very nice, but unaffordable when I made 100 rand per day and spent 120 rand per night.

The next day, we walked around a little and saw dassies at the ocean (small, furry animals), then drove to the Cango Caves which have cool formations inside, but it was definitely a tourist trap with a cheesy tour. The terrain was semi-desert, like around Robertson. I saw some animals and said, "Is that a horse? No, it's a zebra!" It was grazing with some spring bocks. The hostel in George was also very comfortable. I noticed that half the guests are younger and half are middle-aged to retired-age. It probably has to do with what is affordable here, and they are cleaner and better-equipped than some I stayed at in Australia and New Zealand.

This morning began with real coffee, which is woefully rare here, then we took a couple of nice hikes in Wilderness National Park. It wasn't spectacular, but it was much greener than Robertson and I enjoyed getting out hiking. We stopped at a beach, but it got cloudy and cool around 3pm just like the day before. I suspect that happens most days. The hostel in Knysna was very nice and a roommate is a winemaker from France who just finished the harvest and is travelling like us.