South Africa: the tourist route:)
See all my photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/caitlinr/
After our scorching hot African Christmas, Russ and I headed off
travelling for 2 weeks, a break from our volunteering.We started off in Durban then took the BazBus to Coffee Bay, the hippy haven of South Africa.
Coffee Bay for New Year's Eve was packed...there was a huge party with African dancers and drumming, followed by a DJ. And dudes with fire-sticks. In the new year, we went to check out the Hole in the Wall, a famous geological delight, and hiked back to Coffee Bay along the cliffs overlooking the ocean.
We moved on to Storm's River, a beautiful tiny little hamlet near the Tsitsikamma National Park. We went on a treetop canapy tour, which involves hurtling through the indigenous forests, where some of the trees are 800 yrs old, on ziplines 30 m in the air. We also cycled 11 km uphill to get to a lookout point, then hiked for an hour to buy beer, then cycled home. The highlight was a hike in the Tsistikamma Park, right alongside the ocean, where we saw a whale jumping and frolicking in the
water. There were also dolphins...and a unicorn (okay, I made that part up). Oh, yeah, and Russ did the highest bungee jump IN THE WORLD. I would have, but my bladder was full, and there were no toilets on the bridge, you know....
Moving on to Knysna, I will summarize in a few short phrases: good seafood, bad food poisoning.
Stellenbosch is one of South Africa's famous wine regions, so that's what we did...drank wine. We went on a vineyard tour where Russ, our German friend Jens and I, got good and properly drunk on delicious wine and champagne. And there was cheese...that's all I recall about Stellenbosch. Just kidding, it is a beautiful city with a gorgeous university campus.
And then on to Capetown, where we stayed for a week. Capetown is a very happening city, there is so much to do. We managed to arrive there during the Capetown Jazzathon, so there were afternoon and evening concerts right at the waterfront. Loooovely...drinking wine at a Mexican restaurant (in Africa...go figure) while listening to live African-style jazz.
I feel like I'm writing a travel guide. We checked out Robben Island (a historical must-see), the townships, the Kirstenbosch Gardens, the markets, and of course Table Mountain, where we caught the sunset and drank wine. We took a tour of the Cape Peninsula, saw the African penguins at Boulder's Beach, and hiked to the Cape of Good Hope. Great city...
And then, back to our "home"...the least touristy part of South Africa!
After our scorching hot African Christmas, Russ and I headed off
travelling for 2 weeks, a break from our volunteering.We started off in Durban then took the BazBus to Coffee Bay, the hippy haven of South Africa.
Coffee Bay for New Year's Eve was packed...there was a huge party with African dancers and drumming, followed by a DJ. And dudes with fire-sticks. In the new year, we went to check out the Hole in the Wall, a famous geological delight, and hiked back to Coffee Bay along the cliffs overlooking the ocean.
We moved on to Storm's River, a beautiful tiny little hamlet near the Tsitsikamma National Park. We went on a treetop canapy tour, which involves hurtling through the indigenous forests, where some of the trees are 800 yrs old, on ziplines 30 m in the air. We also cycled 11 km uphill to get to a lookout point, then hiked for an hour to buy beer, then cycled home. The highlight was a hike in the Tsistikamma Park, right alongside the ocean, where we saw a whale jumping and frolicking in the
water. There were also dolphins...and a unicorn (okay, I made that part up). Oh, yeah, and Russ did the highest bungee jump IN THE WORLD. I would have, but my bladder was full, and there were no toilets on the bridge, you know....
Moving on to Knysna, I will summarize in a few short phrases: good seafood, bad food poisoning.
Stellenbosch is one of South Africa's famous wine regions, so that's what we did...drank wine. We went on a vineyard tour where Russ, our German friend Jens and I, got good and properly drunk on delicious wine and champagne. And there was cheese...that's all I recall about Stellenbosch. Just kidding, it is a beautiful city with a gorgeous university campus.
And then on to Capetown, where we stayed for a week. Capetown is a very happening city, there is so much to do. We managed to arrive there during the Capetown Jazzathon, so there were afternoon and evening concerts right at the waterfront. Loooovely...drinking wine at a Mexican restaurant (in Africa...go figure) while listening to live African-style jazz.
I feel like I'm writing a travel guide. We checked out Robben Island (a historical must-see), the townships, the Kirstenbosch Gardens, the markets, and of course Table Mountain, where we caught the sunset and drank wine. We took a tour of the Cape Peninsula, saw the African penguins at Boulder's Beach, and hiked to the Cape of Good Hope. Great city...
And then, back to our "home"...the least touristy part of South Africa!
posted by caitlin at 6:18 AM
0 comments
