Wilderness was good, however it was time to move on.

The thing about the Baz Bus is that while it has lots of advantages, it is restricted in there is only one bus heading in each direct along the Garden Route.  This means that it you can almost most spent a day travelling a very short distance.

Knysna  

My next stop was Knysna which is not far from Wilderness. I was difficult to get accommodation due to the Easter weekend and the school holidays. I got a place at the Knysna  Backpackers, but to move to another place after one night and them back down the coast to Myloi Beach on the third night.

Knysna located on very large lagoon.  It is a big tourist and fishing town.  There is an island very near to the CBD.  A ‘gated residential’ development has been built on the island.  It is very new. Walking around, it would appear that there are still a lot of the places yet to be sold.

I had a meal in restaurant on the island on my first night.  The place was full of older people with what appeared to be two other generations of their families. I suspect that a lot of wealthy South Africans have decided to retire in the town.  The ‘three generations’ thing were their children and grandchildren paying a visit on the holidays.

Myloi Beach

I actually had to back track to get to Myloi Beach which is part of Sedgefield.  I had booked a shuttle through the hostel.  When it arrived, I was greeted by the late middle aged driver and woman who was feeding a baby.

As we headed off, the bloke explained that the woman was his wife and the baby was his granddaughter.  They were looking after the baby because its mother, his daughter was at work.  He told me that he and the family had moved from the Orange Free State to the Western Cape, because “it was the only providence that was not going to the dogs”.  I asked him what he did in the Orange Free State.  He told me that he that he and his wife “ran a Funeral Business”.    They had decided to settle in Sedgefield and as a retire job, run mini-bus shuttle/taxis service.

I asked him if he expected Uber to start in the area.  He said he hoped not as that would mean “more blacks driving taxis”.

I turned the conversation to rugby.

Sedgefield is very small.  There are a lot of very large holiday houses.  The people in the hostel told me that some of the houses “are hardly ever used by their owners”.

Plettenburg Bay

My next stop was Plettenburg Bay.  This is another tourist place, but with other industries and a sizable black community living in ‘townships’ out of the main town. Again the issue of safety at night arose.

It was recommended by the staff in the hostel that “you don’t walk around the streets after twilight”.

On the first night met an English woman who worked for the British Olympic Canoeing Association. Without being rude, it was obvious that her role was administration, not a sport related role.  It was interesting to talk to her for about an hour.  After that, the ‘gin and tonic’ had taken its toll.

I spent a couple of days in Plettenburg Bay, mainly walking on beach, with an occasional dip.  The water was ‘cool’ to say the least.

Jeffrey’s Bay

It was quite late when I finally got to Jeffrey’s Bay.  This is a well-known surfing spot.  I had heard that the Island Vibe Hostel was a ‘party place’ and decided to book a private room away from the main part of place.

There were lots of young Europeans and Brits in the hostel to learn how to surf.  I chatted to a couple Australian blokes who were earning their keep by being surfing instructors. They told me that they were having a “seriously good time”. Looking at some their female students, I could see why.

The beaches in Jeffrey’s Bay are really good.

I found a really good restaurant near to the main beach called Kitchen Windows.   It didn’t seem to have any competition.

Next stop was to be another big city – Port Elizabeth.

Flick Link

https://www.flickr.com/gp/twwilko_photos/j4zrdp