The Garden Route lies between Cape Town and
Port Elizabeth along the Southern coast of SA. Mountains and thick undulating
forests compete with the Indian Ocean to occupy the pride of place along the
entire route. It is one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline. The
entire stretch is dotted with lovely beaches, tempting the travelers to stop
and indulge. Whale watching, wild life safaris, open zoos, monkey parks,
Ostrich farms, Birds of Eden and many more attractions throng the entire drive.
One sees ostriches the way one would see a herd of cattle grazing in a field in
India. One comes across a number of river crossings, semi arid valleys and
natural lakes making the drive even more attractive. Small fishing villages and
pretty towns dot the landscape, providing the traveller with many options to stay.
There is only one way of doing this stretch –DRIVING!
06 May – Hermanus
We left CT after a good breakfast and
reached Hermanus Bay around 1030hrs; 120 kms of fun driving – winding roads,
flat lands and many beaches. The town is well known as a major whale watching
station. The season unfortunately starts only in July – so we missed the whales.
The town itself boasts of a lovely beach and excellent weather, making it a hot
tourist destination. The town is small and contained -very picturesque, quiet
and clean, beckoning the visitor to spend more time. We spent an excellent
morning sipping coffee whilst the girls were busy tasting“ the best chocolate
scones in town” and ice cream.We went and saw a very fashionable restaurant 'Burgundy' - we came out very impressed.One can indulge in yachting and golfing in a big
way in Hermanus Bay. If I were to travel in SA during the whale migration
season between July to December, I would definitely stay in Hermanus for one
day and night. The town is home to ‘Rock Rabbits” or rock hyrax; their closest
living relatives are elephants – strangely enough! We saw these rock rabbits at
close quarters, moving around nonchalantly among the few people who sat
watching the sea, basking in the warmth of the South African sun.
At 1300h, we proceeded to Knysna which is
around 400 Km. An hour later I suddenly realized that the gear was stuck in the
fifth. All checks and counter checks failed and we entered a providentially
placed ‘Caltex Service Station’ about half a km away, in the town of Stanford.
There we met a very helpful young South African of German descent. He went out
of the way to call a mechanic. When all our efforts failed, I rang up Hertz and
informed them about our predicament. The replacement car from CT reached us
around 1500h.The response from Hertz was extremely fast. We had lunch in a very
cute little restaurant and rested for a while.
We landed in SA during their run up to the
national election which was due on 07 May. Surprisingly the entire process was
a low key affair unlike ours. No breast beating, high decibel arguments, crazy
anchors confusing the already bewildered voters and rest of the tomfoolery
which one associates with our elections. Even the posters were few and direct.
Notwithstanding this low key run up, they recorded a turnout of 73.48% as
against our 66.4%
The drive to Knysna entailed a lot of night
driving, which I was trying to avoid. The roads are first rate but completely
deserted. We did have some very anxious moments and finally reached our resort
around 11pm.This misplaced adventure was not appreciated by SA veterans and I
was very roundly ticked off for risking our safety.
Figure 1 – Early morning overcast sky on the way to
Hermanus
Figure 2 – Black shanty town
Figure 3 – Typical landscape
Figure 4 – Fascinating view - Hermanus
Figure 5 – City centre
Figure 6 – Rock Rabbit foraging
Figure 7 – Hermanus coastline
Figure 8 – Typical beach resort
Figure 9 – We stopped to have coffee and pastries
Figure 10 – Another view
Figure 11 – The scones were rich and
fulfilling
Figure 12 – Inside the Burgundy restaurant – a
very well appointed place
Figure 12 A - Another view of the interior of Burgundy
Figure 13 – With the owner Ms Celia Rabie
Figure 14 – One last look
Figure 15 – Main drive of the town
Figure 16 – A typical house
Figure 17 – With our SA friend
Figure 18 – Solitary election poster
Figure 19 – Lunch at Stanford
Figure 20 – The wait was worth it
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