Last night we met the most wonderful woman with the perfectly fitting name of Joy.
Originally from Germany with a sort of French/American accent to her fluent English, she has spent the last 18 months travelling the world (a career break after 14 years in the job). She reminisces freely about her time working on a cow farm in New Zealand, practising Spanish in Bolivia and bartering for unwanted crystals in Bali. And she relaxes freely on the beach and hostels in South Africa, more specifically, Jeffrey's Bay (or "J-Bay" as the locals call it) where we are now. There's no pressure to 'do stuff', there are no expectations; only interesting and interested conversation. Or silence. The moment you meet Joy you feel calm and happy at once.
To us, Joy represents a true traveller. The way of life that encourages an open mind, wide eyes that appreciate every view and an eager desire to meet people and understand their culture.
We are certainly not there yet!
The Garden Route came to an end at our last stop, Storms River. SR typified all that's been wonderful yet challenging about our Garden Route adventure. Incredible scenery, so much to 'do' and 'see' and a mix of utterly intriguing and kooky people to meet and spend time with. But something's missing.
It's as if we haven't quite got under the skin of Africa yet. The stay with Chantelle and meeting Annastasia's family were great insights. Now we're keen for more.
And we're finding it hard to access at the moment. So that is our challenge for the next few weeks and particularly for Swaziland.
We've met a lot of interesting characters on the Baz Bus/Garden Route. Some you really connect with and spend a lot of time with. Others you end up 'stuck with' for want of a better phrase. And every hostel has an 'activity centre', every stop has 'so many things to do'. And of course, this all costs money! What we loved about Joy was her relaxed attitude to not doing anything at all. The belief that you can see and experience far more sometimes by sitting and watching the world go by, or asking a question and opening up a world of insight by just talking to people about their life. Save budget and see more. Sounds good to us.
We certainly did get that experience in Dijembe Backpackers (SR/Storms River). Run by a native Saffer, Brad, and a German (yes, another one, they love it over here!), Helena, the two have created an Animal Farm atmosphere in the middle of nowhere on the edge of the Tsitsikamma National Park. They've got a cat, three dogs (one called Tiger who was raised in the nearby township as a dog fighter), five horses, a freshwater jacuzzi (which was absolutely tested out during our stay!), hammocks next to where the ponies graze, and a frog pond.
Everything you see and use in Dijembe has been handcrafted (usually by Brad himself) out of wood. The table we ate dinner all together on is four tree stumps, with a slab of tree on top. Even our sink was a tree stump with another tree slab on top.
Brad is like a 15 year old trapped in a 30-something's body; always climbing, always flirting, always bongo-drumming and rushing round with new ideas to develop their business. A hard task given that the highlight of SR's "town centre" is an Elvis & Marilyn-themed diner (the colour scheme throughout is bright pink with dukeboxes, three huge Cadillacs taking pride of place inside and every single bit of wall space covered in posters of the stars... still alive in SR?!). Helena on the other hand is soulful, peaceful, mellow and mature, seeming much older than her 25 years. Han's first words; "she has a very nice soul".
SR is notorious for its close access to the world's highest bungee jump (216m). It's seemingly all anyone ever talks about. But before you read on expectantly, no, we didn't! If we weren't keen before, the YouTube video of the rope snapping on a poor woman over the Zambezi (crocodile-filled) river a few weeks ago ended all possibility for us. Instead, we opted for the 'would-be' gentle mountain bike ride though Tsitsikamma. Only 12km, with the first six a steep downhill descent on bumpy gravel. Great fun. A picnic at the bottom and a dip in the black-water river, then back. Uh oh. Now 6km uphill. Not so fun. We're not exaggerating when we report that we were seeing mirages of water pools on the path. Thigh muscles burning, we eventually reached the top and stumbled, dripping wet, into the Elvis eatery. "No menu thanks, we'll have two jugs of water, two milkshakes & two Cokes, and make it quick!".
Before SR:
Knysna - beautiful scenery best seen through a canoe adventure on the river and a catamaran tour out to sea. Famous for its two outcrops of land, the Knysna Heads, the trip is dangerous but exhilarating when on a boat. The town on the other hand was a little rough around the edges. Excellent seafood (best tuna steak ever tasted) at the waterfront and Venica-like holiday homes built in the water.
Plettenberg Bay ('Plett' to locals) - celebrity spot #2; Eddie Jordan (of Formula 1 fame & fortune) hanging out at Lookout Point with his family, joining us in watching a sea kayak race. He epitomised Plett. Rich and showy, yet peacefully enjoying a private holiday. And with our hostel to ourselves for four days, we fit in well (minus a few million pounds!). Robberg nature reserve is a particular attraction for Plett and taking a boat trip we visted the 4,000 Cape Fur seals that make it their home. Amazing to see. The boat trip turned ugly though when about half the guests started vomiting over the side. "Just keep looking forward, Han"...
SR marked the end of the Garden Route and we're now staying in Jeffrey's Bay (or J-Bay; they like their abbreviations here) in the Eastern Cape. A surfer's paradise where the most commonly used adjectives are "cool", "dude", "sick", "rad". We've even heard "frothing"?!
But here we met Joy, her friend Sheba, a couple from Jersey (Ash & Sadie), a Hawaiian, two Aussies (Happy Australia Day dudes!) and a well-travelled Saffer. All of whom are down-to-earth, totally mellow and slightly mad. A great place to practise the art of 'chilled travelling'.
Having said all that, today was arguably our most exciting, awe-inspiring experience yet. Quad Bike Safari!! AWESOME. We headed out of town to a private game reserve where you get taken through the thousand-odd hectare "back garden" by a ranger to see up-close rhinos, giraffes, buffalo, zebras and antelopes of every kind... literally a matter of metres away. All on your own quad bike; the only way to travel! We were amazed how tame they all seemed to be and how close they allowed us to crawl up. A few stern looks from the rhino, a few inquisitive looks from the buffalo, and a graceful canter away from the baby giraffe, but no need to accelerate in haste thankfully. We just hope we haven't spoilt Kruger in a couple of weeks with such a fab experience today.
So tonight (with the aid of another arduous Baz Bus experience we predict) we head to our final stop on the Cape, Port Elizabeth. Quick catch up on sleep then... exciting... a flight to Swaziland where a whole new adventure begins. 28 years in the making for one of us...
Sending big love and hugs from Africa,
Ben & Han xx