Well guys... thanks to the annoying foreign person in my dorm being very loud this morning I am awake and ready to update you all on whats happened over the past week... which is quite a bit, so make sure you're sitting comforably!

Well last time I told you all about our time in Wilderness which was nice and chilled and a welcome rest after hectic Cape town, well last Thursday we packed up and headed off along the garden route to Knysna - we'd been told lots of good things about Knysna so were excited to see it. Didnt arrive there until about 6ish so just settled into the hostel really. 2 guys who stayed at the Ashanti with us in Cape town were also there and a girl called Kerry who was rooming with dawn and i. There were also 2 other guys in our room on hol for a couple of weeks. That night we all cooked on the braai (BBQ) and sat around the hostel pool chatting. The 2 guys in our room had also been to wilderness and done the canoeing, but they had taken a wrong turning and canoed for over 2hrs looking for the place to moor your canoe and hike - needless to say they never found it and had to give up and come back. They had managed to get cremated in the process though, and you couldnt help but laugh as Matt had shocking marks were his sunglasses had been - he counteracted this well with the typical backpacker outfit of a cardigan with nothing underneath, a diamond encrusted belt and silver shoes... hmmm way to look inconspicuous!... needless to say he got the piss taken out of him quite a bit that night!

Went out around Knysna for a few beers that night but it was absolutely dead we were seriously the only people there! Went into a bar and they were closing as it was empty. Eventually we found a place though before heading back to the hostel and continuing the party - finally got to bed about 4:30 feeling a little dodgy the next day .

Friday we planned the rest of our trip... (not much fun when your a bit hungover)...but had to be done! Went for a walk down by the waterfront which was nice and just had a quiet day. Saturday was fab! We went to a local Elephant conservation park. Wild elephants are decreasing in population around this part of S.Africa so there are a number of conservation projects around. We got to see elephants up close and touch and feed them. Have some great pics of us feeding them. It was all fun until one of them decided to sneeze on me.... eeeew! He sneezed all up the back of my leg... that wasnt pleasant!

Saturday night we caught the Baz Bus to Port Elizabeth which is a major city but not one thats worth visiting really, but it was a compulsory overnight stop on the bus. I guess at this point I should tell you that I did not do the bungee jump. Im a little dissapointed with myself, Id like to say it was only because we were running out of time and couldnt stop there (which is true!) but to be fair i dont think id have done it anyway (well not without making a scene first!). We drove over the bridge were you do the jump and jeeesus it was crazy high (well 216m!) yeah so the pressures on now for the Sky Dive in New Zealand! We took the opportunity when we were in Port Elizabeth to visit the nearby Lion Park on the Sunday - I sooo wish i could find a computer that would let me upload my pics as this was amazing guys. Again like the elephant park this was a conservation project breeding lions. Dawn and I got to go in with the 8 month old Lion cubs and watch them be fed and sit and play with them. We got some fab pics of the lions all around us - at one point one even sat with its paws resting on my legs. There were a few hairy moments when it had a bit of a nibble on me but the guy assured me it was just playing.... well anyway im still here so!

Monday we went to this place called Hogsback which is in the middle of nowhere. We'd been travelling for a fair few hours when the bus dropped us off and we thought that Hogsback would be about 20 minutes away in the shuttle but it turned into 2 hours! The hostel shuttle bus had broken so we were crammed into a Ute type thing which didnt really have seats in the back so we were huddled in there with a couple of pillows. Not to bad really as one poor woman (who volunteered id like to add!) was stuck in the boot of the car sat on matress with everyones bags crammed around her. I swear i need a chiropractor after that journey! Anyway finally made it to Hogsback which is up inthe mountains and is supposedly the place which inspired Tolkein to write Lord of the Rings... you can see why. The forests are amazing, quite eerie looking. We went for a hike which turned into some kind of expedition - it absolutely winged it down and the moss covering everthing made it really slippy. I would like to tell North Face that their "All Terrain" trek shoes are not particularly all terrain! I practically did the splits on several occasions and dawn and i were skidding about all over the shop! It was hysterical we just kept looking at each other and cracking up. I tell you - god knows how im going to do the bloody inca trail later this year! Anyway after 3 odd hours we made it back home tired, wet, muddy, injured by a rock and looking particularly scary. Had a well needed shower and headed to the bar where we opted for a home cooked meal as we couldnt be arsed to whip up a 3 minute noodle feast. Dinner was lovely and after we sat on the sofas in front of the fire with a couple of beers. After a while Dawn and I looked at each other and both said we were tired. I reckoned on it being about 10 / 10:30 maybe... turns out it was only 8pm! Lightweights! Anyway headed for bed as had to get in that bloody shuttle again the next day!

This pretty much takes us up to date now as after Hogsback headed to Coffee bay which is were I am now. Everyone raves about the Garden route in S.A, but we are much preferring the wild coast which is in the eastern cape. The wild coast isnt as westernised as the rest of S.A and there is a definite difference in the landscape and culture. Coffee bay is this tiny little village on the wild coast by the sea and its beautiful, surrounded by rolling hills and dramatic scenery. The hostel itself is fantastic, really friendly and lots to do. The first day we arrived at about 5 oclock and were told that that night they were having a 'P' themed party which means you could dress up as anything beginning with P. Well guys - if i had got the pics on here iwould have let you guess for yourselves which one iwas. Hannah - true to form, picked the most random thing possible - a Pineapple. I crafted a pineapple mask which was most impressive... well it seemed to cause some amusement at least! Was a really good night and have met some really nice people here. Yesterday (Wed) we went for a walk with 2 of the girls we had met and then just relaxed on the beach. It was sooo nice to go to the beach as we havent been yet. Had dinner again at the hostel - food here is amazing and you get salad and a main course for 40Rand which is like 2.80...so its not worth cooking! Had a moustache party last night. One of the guys was drawing comedy moustaches on everyone but with a permanent marker.... i opted for eyeliner and had a curly french moustache.... it was very funny! Have some good pics from that night too.

So today - we head off to Durban for 1 night before heading off into more rural S.A and then onto our safari. Ill try and update my blog again but if not ill update you all when i get to Australia and promise to put on the pics too as there are some good ones.

Miss you all muchly! Keep me updated with all your gossip.

Mwaa xx