Watch Out For That Tree

Today was a tough choice. Tsitsikamma National Park is one of those places labelled as an adventure capital. It just happens to be one of the most beautiful adventure capitals in the world. We only had one full day to see this so we held a family conference the day before. We wanted to get a balance of doing an activity that met the needs of all the thrill seekers in the family, didn't exceed the limitations of the chickens in the family and allowed us to actually see some of the beautiful National Park too. After discussing lilo tours down the river, forest segway tours and canyoning, fate ended up intervening and we found ourselves booked on a canopy tour with Storms River Adventures.

We had experienced something similar once before, but this was amazing. Firstly the safety features comforted Malcolm's assumed knowledge in this area based on a handheld stint on a helicopter service over a decade ago. It also ticked his budget requirements with the 3 hour tour coming in at under AUD50 each including lunch and drinks. The zipline runs themselves were exhilarating. A good number of high speed runs set in the most gorgeous ancient forest with bird species that we had never seen before even on TV. The guides were lovely and even the three people that completed our group were tolerable. (Where is the extended family when you want a group tour to instantly become private!?)

Excited to be ziplining

On the truck on the way to the canopy

In the canopy!

After a simple lunch we decided to randomly explore the offerings on the way to Bramon Wines which was the halfway point home. We rejected the AUD23 per adult price tag to view Storm River Mouth and instead took the next dirt road off the main drag which led to Nature's Valley. If this was the bridesmaid then the groom must be a very lucky man! It is the place where Groot River (OK we may have followed this river just for the name) meets the ocean and it is stunningly beautiful. Dramatic cliffs, crystal clear waters, windswept empty beaches... and more sandy feet back in the car - and wet pants.

The afternoon was spent recuperating back at Robberg Beach Lodge. There was free afternoon tea to be had. The kids played Spielberg and produced a movie trailer in the hotel pool while we took a nap.

Natures Valley where the Groot River met the ocean

No one around us!

The free afternoon tea that was provided

The children making a video

Finally we headed off to dinner at a random pick called Zinzi. Jackpot! We assumed that it was just a restaurant in town, but it was actually in the middle of some amazing grounds that we later discovered was a hunting lodge! Being here made us understand where the theming for Tiffins comes from. This definitely would be a two credit restaurant at Walt Disney World! Despite that, the wonderful food and service was the same price as counter service. No dining plan needed here folks! The coffee came in at whopping AUD2.80, cheaper than your average Sydney cafe!

OK, off to bed, we have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow.

Zinzi grounds

Gorgeous gardens

It seemed strange to need to sit next to a fire and under a gas heater in summer in Africa! But it was cold!

Tapas style entree with home made bread

Beef tartare

Voted by the whole family as the best calamari ever

Baked camembert. Absolutely amazing!

Duck breast

A massive ostrich burger!

Vietnamese style salmon

"affogato" pannacotta

The stunning entrance

Plett And Knysna

The Garden Route is a 300-kilometre stretch of the south-eastern coast of South Africa. Our travel agent from &Beyond had picked Plettenberg Bay as a base to explore the area. Known as Plett by the locals, it was a pretty coastal town, a lovely one to stay in with the beautiful mild weather. Now in midsummer, the temperatures only reached a high in the mid twenties with temperatures cooling right down to the teens at night.

Breakfast was included in our stay and was declared as one of the best ever by Elliot. The hit for him were the freshly baked homemade bread and croissants. The cold selections were plentiful and the hot options were freshly cooked to order. Tea and coffee were served to us at the table which made it a nice change from the usual hotel buffet breakfast.

Fresh juices including strawberry juice!

Elliot returned to this table frequently...

Freshly baked and warm

Best croissants he reckon

The hot food offerings

Whoever thought of using hash browns for eggs benedict is a genius! So good!

The first activity planned was to hike the Robberg Peninsula that was such a visual geographical icon of the town. The morning was heavily overcast but the Albany luck stayed with us as the rain stayed away. There was a choice of 3 trails lengths with each longer trail going further towards the point. We ended up doing the middle option of 5.5km which was tiring enough! The trails require at least moderate fitness and would be difficult for anyone with knee, ankle or hip conditions. It would also not be suitable for very young children unless you were planning on carrying them. The trail involved steep inclines, very large steps, uneven surfaces,, a considerable section of walking on sand and at times cliff side tracks with no railings! This equated to a lot of fun for our children...
The walk itself was just beautiful and definitely well worth the time.

Studying the map

The family voted for the middle length. The children wanted to do 10km. Ummm no thanks

The start of the trail had us looking back at Robberg Beach where our guesthouse was

The promontory we were about to walk around. We would end up walking up high on this side and down on the beach on the other side

Looking back towards the mainland, That was how far we had trekked!

We could smell and hear them before we could see them! Jonah looking down on the Cape fur seal colony. Yes...no railings. Hence might not be so safe for younger children .

Swimming in the clear water and just enjoying the sun

As headed toward where we had to loop around to start the return trek, we had to walk up a steep sand track. 

Once at the top, we had walk a steep sand track all the way down!! 

This was at the bottom. For a sense of scale, the 2 tiny figures are Lara and Jonah

A steep climb back up, but steep enough for Elliot obviously who could still check his phone while climbing....

This was how steep it was...

But the silly people thought running down the sand again would be fun and so climbed it again...

Shaking out the excess sand before continuing on the track back towards the car park

The dramatically beautiful scenery on the track back

No rails, no guards, just stepping on rocks...

We had to have an enforced break as Mal had to grab his oncall shifts for the following year. The rest of the family took this opportunity to either do holiday homework (yes so sad), organise school extracurricular activities for 2019, nap, have the delicious complimentary afternoon tea or watch television. We ventured out to the town of Knysna in the late afternoon for dinner, wandering around the Waterfront district before settling down to a seafood dinner as recommended by the guesthouse concierge. As luck would have it, it was restaurant's 21st birthday so everything was 21% off. Bargain!!!

Lunch at the town of Plettenberg Bay

Fish and chips! So cheap

Pineapple fanta! The children love South Africa!

The skies had cleared and this was our view for afternoon tea. Looking to the right past the building you see...

....This! We walked from the middle of the first "hump" to the middle of the "second" hump and back!

The offering today. A most delicious strawberry cake which the children wolfed down 

The view from our table at dinner. Knysna water front

Oysters!

Prawns anyone?