World South Africa Plettenberg Bay

ASIS Travel Adventures 2007-08

Knysna to Plettenburg Bay Dec 8, 2007

Today is Al's 49th B'Day and he gets to spend it in Africa. What could be better? Apparently golfing in Africa could have made it better but the weather was threatening rain and he didn't fine that special course so off we drove. We planned to take in some of the activities in an area called The Craggs so we on to find the Wild Dog Backpackers. When we arrived we were truly disappointed with the facility partly because the floods had given them grief and the cost seemed high for what was there. It was in the middle of the bush and quite isolated so we would have had to have all our groceries with us to cook. We left in search of a different place but before leaving this area we stopped at a place called Tinekwa where injured and abandoned wild animals native to South Africa are housed in huge enclosures. The owners are very attached to these animals and tame them as much as possible so that people can get close to them without too much danger. He takes us on a walking safari into the enclosures as an education about what is happening to the habitat of most of these animals. I was able to pet a cheetah very carefully. The fur looks soft but it is very coarse. I was tentative about getting too close. The enclosure with the Servil cats was interesting since these creatures came right up to me and rubbed themselves against my leg just like my tame cat at home does! I ended up with quite a bit of Servil cat hair on my pants. These cats are about thigh high and have very smooth soft fur. The birds and other animals were all a delight to be around. It was the first time we could get so close to the storks and herons. The storks are the most unattractive bird I have every seen. He had named the storks Earnest and Edwina. They look nothing like the pictures of storks that bring babies! We've been duped into believing storks are beautiful birds for all these years. We did find a pricey place called Abalone Beach at 13 Milkwood Glen - Keurboomstrand just outside of Plettenberg Bay. It was Al's birthday so we splurged (R350 or $50) on a nice room overlooking a great beach. We even had our own ensuite! Another sunny, windy, wonderful day in Africa.

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