15 September - Towards Cape Town

I woke early and headed to the common room for one last period of peace and quiet before my 7am departure. There were one or two repeat farewells as some passed through heading off on early day trips and then it was time to go.

There were three of us in the vehicle as we headed south from Shamwari: Luke, a colleague of his in the travel industry and me. We first headed to a sanctuary near Port Elizabeth where Ella and Michelle had been working for a week. A short stop to collect them and then the five of us headed off. Over the next hour my previous month slipped passed the window: we passed Port Elizabeth where I had first landed four weeks ago; then Jeffrey’s Bay where I had been surfing; and then we drove over the bungee bridge and passed the turning for the monkey and bird sanctuary that I had visited on my first weekend. It was then onward towards Cape Town and new ground for me.

We had stopped briefly for a coffee after which we had wandered through some forest to see the 'big tree'. It was nice walking along the wooden walkway through the shaded woodland, cool and protected from the sun, but the tree was really nothing more than billed: a big tree, protected by a simple wooden fence. Just along the path another tree stood protected by a similar fence, the 'not quite so big tree' I guess.

We passed through Knysna on the coast where we enjoyed dramatic views high above the sea of the coastline and the lagoon around which this town is built. And we enjoyed a civilised lunch in a waterside restaurant in the town before continuing our westbound journey. Hills and mountains slipped by and I enjoyed the views between typing a statement for the Shamwari management about Friday night for them to take to the local police. Today was largely about making progress rather than stopping too often, and with the exception of the occasional few minutes at viewpoints we mostly saw South Africa slip by the van windows.

By the evening we had made it to Oudtshoorn, a quiet town at the moment but normally a busy backpacker destination with a few nearby points of interest. We stayed in a simple but character laden backpacking lodge - the only people staying here that night - and enjoyed a couple of beers and some pool before heading out into the deserted streets to find some dinner. Our first choice restaurant turned out to be closed that evening so we ended up in a more upmarket place near our lodge but still with - at least to me - reasonable prices. With squid and wine inside me, and then a final beer and game of pool on my return to the accommodation, it was then time to retire in readiness for a long day tomorrow.