So... South Africa is a big country. No, not Canada or Australia big...but I wouldn't want to paint it!
We left Kruger with thoughts of making it about halfway to Cape Town in a day. After a few dicey turns out of the park and another few around Johannesburg, plus some roadside stops, changed that plan for us. It was a blessing in disguise as it made us slow the pace and enjoy the view a bit more.
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| The drive from Kruger |
What a view! We didn't really know what to expect, but it would seem South Africa has everything to offer in the way of changing scenery for a road trip. There are many areas of rolling hills and twisted roads just south of Kruger Park. Then you hit Johannesburg perched in more hills. As soon as you leave Johannesburg the roads flatten out into grassy plains. Thankfully we have the inside scoop on South Africa by our friend Pieter. Pieter and his wife are originally from South Africa and lived in Cape Town, so we are in good hands here. Pieter gave us a great route to follow from north to south ensuring we'd have the most to see. Pieter is truly a master of the
Dynamics of these
Great Plains... I mean Pieter really...really knows Great Plains!
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| Some flat plains. |
That was it for day one of our road trip. We stopped for the night in a central city called Bloemfontein. We were in quite late and left early in the morning so I thought we didn't have much to say about it. That is, until I told Pieter we were there and he let me know that's where he went to high school; served in the military and went to University...who knew? Anyhow, I thought it was a pretty funny coincidence.
Ok, back to the road trip. Once we hit the road again it was back to hills, but now these hills really turned into beautiful mountains. The road twists and turns and runs it's way up a few for good measure. Of course we saw many motorcycles enjoying this great stretch of highway. Glad we were in our Hyundai i10 rather than on a motorcycle...
We stopped at a little town called Oudtshoorn to see some ostridges. We were too late to actually get into one of the many farms in this area, but we got to stop and talk with a few of them...well...Dy did anyway. She talks to animals sometimes. Like they are people. I haven't asked if they are talking back to her yet. Anyway, we decided to forge on rather than wait until the next day for a farm to open.
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Dys new friend
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Honestly the mountainous scenery and coast is so beatiful you can just sit and and stare for hours. Especially during the sunset. The road from Oudtshoorn to a town close to the coast called George proved to be probably the most spectacular yet. The road was flanked by sheer rock cliffs and deep valley gorges all the way up and down heading towards the ocean. It was dusk by this point and we were dipping in and out of the clouds as we made our way, which just added to the drama.
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| On the way into George at dusk in the clouds. |
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| View of George from the mountain pass |
We spent the night in George, which is along the infamous Garden Route. The Garden Route is what we were aiming for, which is a route along the coastline that weaves in and out of the coast through mountain passes and hillside farm lands on its way to Cape Town. In my mind there are no better roads in the world than ones like this. The garden route is absolutely spectaular in this regard, with some good viewpoints perched above the Indian Ocean to stare into the waters looking for whales, dolphins or ...sharks!? eep!
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| N2 highway hugging that mountain along the ocean |
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| Dolphin lookout |
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| One of many great views along the route |
We headed north of George on the Garden Route for a bit and then turned back south. We had to veer off the route at one point to make sure we hit a spot along the way. L'Agulhas is what we were aiming for at this point. What's travelling without catching a few superlatives along the way! L'Agulhas has the distinction of the being the Southernmost point on the continent of Africa (No it's not Cape Point or The Cape of Good Hope...Pieter, you know this already...) The coast here is very rocky and the wind and waves are very high. Makes sense considering it is where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. We snapped a few pics, and had to get in the water a little bit just to say we did it. (A little bit as in up to our ankles...We aint swimmin' here folks...big...big hungry sharks out there!)
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| Dy at the official plaque marking the southern most point. |
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| Probably the closest I'll ever get to Antarctica! |
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| I was hoping for a bigger wave! (Wait Dy wait...just hold it there for 2 more seconds, I've almost got it...) |
We made our way to Cape Town and met with Pieters sister Hester. We'll pick it up there next time...
Oh yeah...
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| I have to mention how awesome this guy was. His name is Werner. We were trying to find a payphone to call Hester about our accommodation. We were at a gas station asking and he offered us the use of his phone at home around the corner. We called Hester and got our directions from there. Werner also led us right there in his car as well. Speaking of directions, they call traffic lights robots here...how cool is that!? I think we should too! |
By the way we posted another video of some giraffes from Kruger Park. You can see it on our YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/nomadicNewmans
