We left Stellenbosch driving what is known as the Garden Route, our destination Knysna, a harbor and vacation town 300 miles up the east coast from Cape Town. I assumed we would be driving on a small rural 2 lane road, I was wrong. The first two hours we drove mostly on a 4 lane divided highway with 75 MPH speedlimits. Most of the drive takes you through lush beautifully maintained farms and orchards covering a coastal plain between the Indian Ocean and the coastal range mountains.
The roads and farms are well maintained and the roadside is clean. It reminded us of Europe but with farms on a larger scale similar to Eastern Washington. The coast road we drove on our return reminded us of Hawaii with its green steep mountain range cascading down to the ocean. It was a beautiful drive in both directions.
Knysna is a small town with a small natural harbor. It is a vacation destination for many South Africans, early spring is a bit early for vacation crowds and the weather really did not cooperate for our stay.
We planned to walk beaches and hike the Wilderness National Park as well as the Robberg Peninsula. With only one sunny dry day we chose the Robberg Peninsula. A stunning coastal hike ranging from 5 to 8 miles depending on the route. It has a lot of up and down and can be challenging with ropes and steps to help cross rocky cliffs. But the challenge is worth the amazing views along the beach and the local fur seals were out to greet us. It is humpback whale season here and we were hoping for a show similar to what we see in Maui but the whales failed to cooperate. An occasional whale spout far out at sea was our only sighting of the migrating humpbacks. Regardless, it is a great hike and well worth the time and effort.
Our hotel host recommended a few restaurants, and we opted for Caffe Mario, Italian cuisine can be found everywhere in the world and Caffe Mario was excellent. The restaurants throughout South Africa have predominately western cuisine, steak, seafood, fish and chips, pizza, burgers. With the exception of a stew or curry there was rarely anything on the menu you might consider traditional African cuisine. Braai aka BBQ is a national cuisine you can find everywhere here though the steak might be more exotic like Kudu or Ostrich.
On day two we took a tour of the local Township with a traditional lunch at the home of a township resident, our host was the wonderful Ella. We learned that almost every city in South Africa has a Township on its outskirts where black residents were forced to live during apartheid and many still live there today. Knysna township is home to more than 36,000, a relatively small township compared to cities like Cape Town with townships totaling over 1 million people. Ella explained that the smaller Township is much more manageable, it has stores, schools and a Police precinct. Most residents have jobs though pay is low. Even employers like Amazon often times do not pay enough for an employee to move out of the township as they can’t afford rent in the city. Nella says their township governs itself quite well, if a person commits a crime the Township will render judgment.
Housing in every township runs the spectrum from corrugated metal and wood shanties to solid concrete and Stucco townhouses. With the end of apartheid and the election of Nelson Mandela every South African citizen was promised a “Mandella” house. These started as small one bedroom houses of cinderblock and concrete construction with running water, electricity and a flush toilet. Once you receive title to a Mandella house you can upgrade it or add to it. Many with a Mandella house keep their shanty house as well which they would then rent out usually to non-citizens who are not eligible for a Mandella house. The process of getting everyone a house is a constant struggle and waiting game. The current design for a Mandella house is a two-story concrete townhouse with two rooms upstairs and an open concept down stairs. Driving by numerous townships you see some that are well maintained with mostly new homes and other townships that look like nothing has changed since Apartheid. But overall, the story from Ella is that life in the Township is much better than when she was born, though progress is slow and the poor economy, addiction and politics make it harder.
We walked through the Township, stopping at the local store, and a beauty shop set up in a shipping container. Many enterprising residents have set up shop in shipping containers for everything from beauty shops to auto repair. The most memorable stop on our tour was the preschool started by a local mom who provides daycare and pre-kindergarten education for around 30 kids. They love to get visitors and treated us to songs and hugs. They really do an amazing job with next to nothing and if you would like to donate, I can assure you it’s a good cause and your money will not be wasted on fund raising or fancy offices, it will go toward food and supplies for kids. Click here to donate
Ella assured us, no one in the Township goes hungry, they take care of their own, most have enough food without assistance. Looking around you see that the tendency is more toward overweight than underweight, typical of many low-income communities around the world. Our simple lunch consisted of roasted chicken, stewed greens, beans and pap. Pap is a corn mush similar to grits or polenta. The meal reminded me of southern soul food with grits, greens and chicken, nothing fancy, but filling. We left the Township with a little more understanding.
Over the next week we made our way back down the coast stopping in seaside towns like Agulhas, at Africa’s southern tip and Hermanus South Africa’s whale mecca. But again, the whales proved rather elusive. Sunsets over the ocean, sandy beaches with beautiful views proved to be a nice relaxing finish to our time in South Africa. We ended back in Stellenbosch before flying home from Cape Town.
I know what you are thinking, how was the budget? Well, you know the Safari lodges were not budget friendly, and having the kids along takes us to a different level even if we aren’t paying for tattoos. But our final two weeks were fairly budget friendly. Lodging ran $134 a night and always included a big breakfast, usually consisting of a continental buffet and eggs made to order. Even our Airbnb served breakfast. Dinners with a bottle of wine ran about $50 for two. With gas and car rental we averaged right around $250 per day for the two of us, which is typical of our travel budget these days. We are willing to pay a little more for an ocean view and the food quality and price point in South Africa are such that we tended to eat higher quality food than we might when trying to budget.
As an example, our last day we went to lunch at the Rust en Vrede winery, a beautiful white tablecloth restaurant in a wine cellar where $22 will get you a nice Filet Mignon, the best fries of our trip, green salad and a glass of cabernet. At these prices why not splurge for the steak lunch at a price that might get you a burger and an ice tea back home? If you like food and wine South Africa should definitely be on your list.
Until our next adventure
G&K
