Tsitsikamma - Forests, Beaches, and Vines

South Africa/ Day 9 (Tue.) - 30.8.2016

The visit to the breakfast restaurant in our Tsitsikamma Village-Restaurant was again an avoidable experience.

The ratio of guests to staff was 4 to 4, but we didn't notice it because our good morning greetings in different languages were pointless, nobody reacted. The restaurant was engulfed in an egg frying cloud.

We took our seats, as usual, waiting for our coffee, unfortunately in vain, as we were completely ignored and felt a bit like in the former GDR. As if to say: The system is running, only the guest is disturbing!

The egg frying woman took our order silently with a 'mmmh', and then wordlessly waited for us with the egg flipper on our hastily brought plates.

The buffet consisted of various yogurts and cereals, 2 types of sausages, jam, and 2 types of cheese (unfortunately only grated). After a short search, we also found the coffee pot, away from the buffet. But there was a highlight: The first smiling and greeting hotel employee cleared our table, it was a trainee.

And I must say: Every time we left the hotel grounds, we also encountered the usual warmth and openness of the South Africans. On this day, we also booked a zip-line tour, this time through the rainforest, and again we went from one treetop to another hanging on a steel cable. It was even more impressive than the previous day over the river. The oldest tree we were on is 500 years old and I believe it is 30 meters high. The longest distance we slid was 94 meters. An older couple from South Africa, from the West Coast, was also there, who told us a lot about their country and their vacations and now want to send us tips for our next vacation around the Kruger National Park by email. The tour lasted 2 hours and it was pleasant to be only four of us with two guides.

In the afternoon, we drove directly to the national park. Again, a lot of paperwork had to be done before entering. First, we fill out lists with our personal information ourselves, then the park guard transfers this information to his list (all handwritten), from which we get a copy after we have paid the entrance fee. Not only do I wonder how it will be in the summer when hundreds of tourists want to enter, I also wonder why South Africa does not rely on the computers that are also available there. We have asked South Africans about it several times, but they just waved it off, smiled, and said that's how it is here.

By the way, foreigners pay twice as much for admission to the Tsitsikamma National Park as South Africans. I think the idea is not bad at all.

In the national park, there are beautiful camping sites located along the rocky coast, but also bungalows that can be rented. We would definitely want to stay there on our next visit.

We chose a short hike including the crossing of three very long suspension bridges and were impressed again: the sea, the mountains, springs, a river mouth between high rocks, beaches, vines, even a whale in the distance, many Dassies- a dream!

We found a group of Chinese people (an older and a younger couple) amusing, who were having a photo session on a viewpoint- for what felt like 2 hours. JC then agreed to take a group photo of them. Immediately, everyone sorted their hair again, tried out several poses to see which one would look best in the photo, and were generally very busy.

Back at the hotel, having coffee on the terrace, I wondered about the weather. It suddenly became extremely warm and at the same time, a warm, almost hot wind blew around the houses of the resort, while just two kilometers away in the national park, it had been quite chilly. Strange.

Tonight we eat at the hotel restaurant. What can you do.

Tomorrow we're going to Plettenberg. We canceled Port Elizabeth and instead go to Plett one day earlier because the distance was too far for a city that - as everyone told us, and not least Jason - has nothing to offer. The Addo Elephant Park would have been a bit further away, and it wouldn't have been worth it for a few hours that we had.

See you soon...
Tatjana

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