Gail and Neil : Tourists in our own Country Part Two Garden Route

Sunday 3 January 2016

Tourists in our own Country Part Two Garden Route

It's a full day of driving from Dullstroom to Bethulie in the Southern OFS near the Gariep Dam. We love staying at the Royal Hotel, entertained by owner Tony and his 80 000 vinyl records. This time we attended a piano recital in the "voorkamer" of a world renowned concert pianist who lives down the road. Never a dull moment in Bethulie! After dinner a giant map was rolled out on the table and Dave got a comprehensive lesson on the Boer War. The next night we spent in Port Alfred.On Saturday we headed to the airport in PE to pick up Rina and Menon. It was great to spend the night at Addo. We saw quite a bit, including great sightings of meercats, which Rina was hoping to see. On Sunday it was back to the airport to collect Jules and Lona, to complete our group. After lunch at Jeffries Bay - nice beach but very, very dissapointing town these days, we headed to Storm's River Mouth in the Tsitsikamma National Park. Everyone loved the log cabins with awesome sea views and enjoyed the bridge walk the next day. Sadly, we waved goodbye to Crissie who had to fly back to HK for work. After lunch at Lookout in Plett, we arrived at the Turbine Hotel in Knysna. We did a great boat cruise on the lagoon, followed by dinner at Quay4 to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary! After stocking up on groceries we moved on to Teniqua Treetops to spend the night in treehouses; such a special spot, living up in the canopy of the forest with great views from the verandahs and outdoor bathrooms and friendly visits from the Knysna Touracos( Loeries). We then went to Oudtshoorn and after a trip through the Cango Caves, checked in to the Wildehondekloof Game Lodge. This was a fabulously luxurious surprise.After a chilly game drive with sunset GnTs Menon made us an awesome curry. The kitchen alone at the lodge was the size of an average UK flat and came with 2 wonderful staff to keep things clean and tidy. Sitting on the verandah in the morning watching the resident herd of Nyala in the garden, we all agreed we can recommend this lodge for a great house party weekend. We set off after breakfast, heading for Hermanus.