Whales and Elephants - from Hermanus to Knysna.

On our South Africa trip we met loads of couples taking the same Holiday Place deal. Handy sometimes for sharing advice - less so for Julie and Andrew in Cape Town when we forced ourselves into their little taxi to share the cramped ride to Table Mountain!
Whilst others took the scenic route to Hermanus seeing more penguins and bays we took the N2 and got their quickly as it was a one night stay. So glad we did as we managed to get a lovely day until the heavens opened from 3.30 pm or so and it rained so heavily. Hermanus was gorgeous -  nice little shops and coffee bars, walks on the front to see the dassies and whales and the lovely Auberge Burgundy where we stayed and Burgundy restaurant across the road.




Yes that is a whale in the foreground. Sorry no leaping ones for me to get! All very sedentary when we were there but lost to see.

Whale spotting




Dassies - large rats basically

 

The lovely Auberge Burgundy - a touch of Provence in South Africa.

  Whilst Sue ate the ostrich I had the local speciality of bobotie , a gently spices curried mince at the Burgundy and what a great meal and service! Despite us being warned by guide books  that the South Africans always overcooked their meat with their love of braai (bbq) dishes we never found this to be the case. We asked for and got medium rare wherever we went and never had a bad meal when out there.

 

The whale festival was starting in some frightful wind and rain but it was time for us to drive on to Knysna a good 5 hour plus drive which we reached via a stop in the lovely Mossel Bay. Lots to do over our 2 nights there. The Knysna Heads were gorgeous in the sun  as was Plettenberg Bay - the St Tropez of South Africa they say.

 Knysna hotel room

Mossel Bay

 

    

 Plet in the sun

 

 

Knysna Heads

 Eat Head Café - lovely food at Knysna Heads.

This car park security man almost seemed official with bib and order he brought to the car park.





 The wild flowers were lovely throughout our journeys.

 

But of course the highlight of this part of the trip was the Knysna Elephant Park. There were once great herds of hundreds of elephants in Knysna but now there are only the ones cared for at such reserves as this. All of these elephants were rescued orphans who thrive at Knysna where you can get up really close and even sleep in their shed at night in a special suite. They were magical and soon gently move you away when you tread in their dinner I found! We fed them from our hands, touched their hard skin and felt their coarse tails walking amongst them. Wonderful. I could have stayed there all day and they would have let us too!

 

 

 

 

  Here they were charging at us - for food!The pictures below show their dry, flaking skin - so sensitive to sun and hence the mud baths.

 

 

 

  This one had holes in his ears from when the herd tried to reject him but he battled on to be accepted.

 

 

  Sally the elephant took a shine to Sue.

 

 

Big Mac the Head Ranger was lovely with his elephants and a pleasure to talk to.

 

All too soon it was time to drive on to Kuzuki Safari Lodge which was the bit of the holiday I had most eagerly anticipated, but more of that in my next blog.