The Great Karoo, the Klein Karoo, & the Garden Route--part 5

It’s time to leave Calitzdorp and cross more mountains to make our way back to the coast and the Garden Route. Enjoyed another delicious breakfast and more enjoyable conversation with the SA couple before chatting with Zurika about arrangements for the ostrich farm. Her first choice couldn’t do it this morning and so we are headed to Rietfontein Ostrich Palace. The sign on the road labels this as the oldest working ostrich farm, which means it is a production farm not a show farm. Show farms came after the crash of the ostrich market early in the 20th century as a way to provide some income. Now there are many show farms complete with ostrich rides and races. We wanted to learn about ostrich production.

We are met at the farm by the owner who leads us to the pens where some of his birds are kept. Others are roaming his fields. He described his operation and answered all of our questions. Marcia got to feed one of his human-raised birds but wasn’t able to see chicks as she had hoped. Seems the rainy weather had resulted in the loss of the previous clutch and so instead of little ones there was a new round of eggs to incubate. This is a picture of one of the penned females on her nest. Given how hard she was to spot in that small space, I can only imagine how hard she and the nest would be to spot in the veld.
But that is what has to happen with the free ranging birds as the eggs are collected every two or three days.

We discussed everything from the egg to the meat and leather and the state of the market. At the moment there is a ban on export of ostrich meat due to concern about avian flu. The hope is that the EU will lift the ban shortly and then Asia will follow. These are the two largest markets for the meat. And we did try ostrich at lunch in Oudtshoorn two days ago and it was very much like lean beef. It did not taste like chicken! Once back in the main reception building we got a lesson on real versus fake ostrich leather. And of course we did our share to help his economic state by purchasing a few items. Then we were on our way.

Next was a drive through the Red Stone Hills. And they are strikingly red due to the red and orange sandstones and mudstones that were laid down more than 250 MYA and then tilted into this spectacular landscape. This turned out to be a longer drive than we had anticipated as we got a bit lost and had to double back at one point because there was just too much water rushing over the road. And all of the roads through the hills were gravel and with the rains this meant the end of a clean car. By the end of the day we needed our friendly garage crew from the start of the trip and at least a double wash. But that would have to wait. Oh well, all the dirt hides the scratches!

After crossing Schoemanspoort pass we make it to Oudtshoorn for lunch and a visit to Lugro leather. Zurika suggested this as a good source of ostrich leather products. There were some beautiful items but the prices were a bit too high for me. But it was nice to see good quality ostrich leather products. Then southeast we head to George and our day’s destination, Knysna.

There are three parts to the rest of this day’s journey. The first is to finish our ride through the Klein Karoo. This ends with another mountain range, the Outeniqua Mountains. Of course this means another pass, this one being the Outeniqua pass, part two. More incredible views and numerous wildflowers in bloom on the side of the road but no place to pull over. Marcia spots what looks to be an orchid and so wants to be able to stop, but it’s not possible. Then we reach George, a large town on the western end of the Garden Route, though not truly on the Garden Route as it is a bit inland. It is here that we pick up the N2 for the rest of our journey east.

The third part is the ride along the coast from Wilderness to Knysna, the first section of the Garden Route. This takes some time as there is much traffic due to all of the road work being done. The recent rains have done considerable damage to the road and one section after another is under repair or replacement. These delays give us time to enjoy all of the scenery as we go by lagoons, dunes, lakes, and beautiful coastline. And then we pick up sections of forest. It is easy to see how this became known as the Garden Route.

We arrive at Knysna and find our way to the Guinea Fowl Lodge. I have my choice of rooms and there is no question which one Marcia wants. It is the one that looks out over town and the Knysna Lagoon all the way to the Knysna Heads, two sandstone cliffs that border the mouth of the lagoon where it empties into the Indian Ocean. Quite a stunning view!


We will drive around the lagoon to the heads tomorrow and see how far we get on the Garden Route. For this day that’s all.

Next day: Met Mart last night and met her husband Peter this morning. They are the new, within the last year, owners of the lodge. They retired from their farm in the Free State and moved to Knysna. They are delightful and are very interested in making things work for Marcia and the wheelchair. They admit they are not truly wheelchair friendly but want us to tell them what could be done to make things more accessible. Peter has done much of the recent work on the place and seems most willing to do what he can to accommodate. Over the course of our stay we have wonderful conversations about his time growing up in rural South Africa and his profession as an organic farmer. And it turns out his cousin, Ingrid Nanni, has been at Kirstenbosch Research Center for many years. I am to say hello to her once back at work. Small world!

This day begins with another great breakfast and then we are off. We drive around the eastern side of the lagoon down to the head. It is easy to see why people settled here. The vistas are truly beautiful.

Then to a place called Feathers, a shop that features carved birds and other wildlife related items. My solo inspection perusal tells me this is a shop Marcia wants to visit. Through a side gate and the work area Marcia can get into the shop. And some time later we depart to return the next day to settle the tab. We are going to send as many things as possible home and so this gives the helpful salesperson time to determine shipping weight and shipping charges. Glad we read about this place!

Most of our day is spent making our way along the Garden Route from Knysna to the Elandsbos River. We go in and out of the Tsitsikamma National Park, which sits between the Indian Ocean and the Tsitsikamma Mountains. Here are remnants of the original evergreen forest that covered much of this area. Important tree species in these forests include the yellowwoods, Podocarpus falcatus and P. latifolius; Cape chestnut, Calodendron capense; ironwood, Olea capensis; and stinkwood, Ocotea bullata. And to see more of this area after we wander through Plettenberg Bay, a very upscale touristy community, we leave the N2 and take R102, a route suggested to us by folks we know and folks we chatted with while getting gas. This route spends much of its time in the national park and makes its way from coast to mountains across valleys and through two gorgeous passes, Grootrivier and Bloukrans, with forest and streams just next to the road. This is a view looking down on Grootrivier Lagoon from the top of the pass.
There is a little community, Nature’s Valley, next to the lagoon. And the drives on the passes were great fun as well!

Along the way we rounded a corner and on both sides of the road were seas of yellow. This area had recently burned and here was part of the response. There were thousands of blossoms of Moraea ramosissima on display. Off I went to take pictures and to see what else was there. Then the bees caught my attention. All those Moraea flowers had the bees out in force.And so it was my job to catch them in the act. I won’t tell you how many shots were discarded in the evening review session. Good thing I am shooting digital! But I sure had fun trying!

As we finished our trip on the R102 and made our way to the N2 for our ride back to Knysna, we encountered a small bluish/purplish flowering tree along the side of the road. It turned out to be another member of the Fabaceae, the legume family: Psoralea affinis. There are legumes of all sizes here and throughout South Africa. Very attractive!


We head back on the N2 with two more stops to make before Knysna. The first is the Knysna Elephant Park. An interesting aspect of the indigenous forests we have been in today is that they were home to elephants. In the 19th century there were as many as 500 African elephants adapted to living in a forest habitat. By 1904 there were 20. By 2000 there were no more than 3. And today there are probably none. This elephant park was started in 1994 to raise orphaned elephants and to provide environmental education and local jobs. It seems to be doing all of these things reasonably well. Though this wouldn’t be elephants in the wild, Marcia was really keen on visiting the elephants.

After a short video about the elephants and the park, Marcia and I and one other visitor board the open-sided trailer to be taken into the field where the elephants spend the day. This is quite a ride for Marcia in her LRW.She hangs on tightly as we bounce along, and I hold onto LRW tightly as well. No disasters either going out or coming back, fortunately. Once there we learn more about the elephants and Marcia gets to feed them. That was a bit more than she bargained for because one of the larger females kept trying to butt in to get more than her share. You can see Marcia keeping the food she had planned to give the smaller adult female away from the piggish one. Fortunately the native employees who work with the elephants know very well how to handle them, and after a couple of stern “Trunk down” commands, the food got to the intended recipient. The elephants grasp the food in your hand with their trunks, and you can hear their noisy breathing as they’re doing it. Actually they grasp your hand, too, and get it covered with dirt and saliva and some of the pelleted food all at once. Quite an experience!

We stop at Garden of Eden boardwalk after the elephants but it is getting too dark to take a walk through the forest. That will have to wait until tomorrow. So we find The Cruise Café along the waterfront in Knysna and enjoy a delicious meal as the sun sets on the lagoon. Sure covered quite a few different things today. Even left a few for tomorrow. Until then!

Edward & Marcia

P.S. The following picture is presented to remove any doubts that we are actually taking this trip together!