Had the best night sleep since we arrived in South Africa. Got up, had a shower and headed out for a tour of the Featherbed Nature Reserve with the same clothes as we had worn yesterday. The tour lasts 4 hours so we would not get back until mid afternoon to see if our luggage arrived. Rita was anxious as the last time this happened to us was on our trip to Barbados and the luggage did not arrive until 10 days later.
Knysna was founded in 1802 on the edge of a large lagoon that was surrounded by vast tracts of forests. Most of the forests are long gone thanks to an aggressive logging industry. Today, tourism is the major attraction as the town is surrounded by spectacular scenery including its large tidal lagoon and the towering sandstone cliffs (called The Heads) that guard the lagoons narrow access to the sea.
Back to the tour. We arrived at the Featherbed Pier to be ferried across the lagoon to one of The Heads that is a National Heritage Site. After docking we are loaded onto one of 4 carriages being pulled by a "Bush Pig" (it looks like a tractor) that will take us to the top to enjoy the magnificent views of the lagoon, town and Indian Ocean. We then walk back down a 2km trail through the forest before ending up at the dock where we will have lunch prior to being ferried back to the mainland pier. The day was hot and sunny, which was not good for us as we did not have any sunscreen. But it provided for some great visuals. After the tour we headed back to our Two Angels B&B and to our great relief, our luggage was waiting for us. We quickly showered and changed as we wanted to drive up to the top of the other Head to get a view across the inlet to where we had spent the afternoon. Unfortunately, the clouds started to come in and the light was flat but the rugged scenic beauty was still amazing. Tomorrow we make the long journey to Cape Town. In retrospect, I should have organized one more day in Knysna as there were a couple more places we wanted to visit. That is always the problem, too much to see and too little time.
Knysna was founded in 1802 on the edge of a large lagoon that was surrounded by vast tracts of forests. Most of the forests are long gone thanks to an aggressive logging industry. Today, tourism is the major attraction as the town is surrounded by spectacular scenery including its large tidal lagoon and the towering sandstone cliffs (called The Heads) that guard the lagoons narrow access to the sea.
Back to the tour. We arrived at the Featherbed Pier to be ferried across the lagoon to one of The Heads that is a National Heritage Site. After docking we are loaded onto one of 4 carriages being pulled by a "Bush Pig" (it looks like a tractor) that will take us to the top to enjoy the magnificent views of the lagoon, town and Indian Ocean. We then walk back down a 2km trail through the forest before ending up at the dock where we will have lunch prior to being ferried back to the mainland pier. The day was hot and sunny, which was not good for us as we did not have any sunscreen. But it provided for some great visuals. After the tour we headed back to our Two Angels B&B and to our great relief, our luggage was waiting for us. We quickly showered and changed as we wanted to drive up to the top of the other Head to get a view across the inlet to where we had spent the afternoon. Unfortunately, the clouds started to come in and the light was flat but the rugged scenic beauty was still amazing. Tomorrow we make the long journey to Cape Town. In retrospect, I should have organized one more day in Knysna as there were a couple more places we wanted to visit. That is always the problem, too much to see and too little time.
Knysna Lagoon at low tide allows you to walk for miles on its sandy bed
One of the two Bush Pig trains starting to haul us up the trail to the top of the Head
The magnificent view of the rugged coastline and Indian Ocean from the top of The Head
Looking back at the sandstone cliff face and viewing platform at the summit of The Head
A huge hole in the Sandstone cliff caused by ancient water erosion. Today the water level does not cover the floor of the hole even at high tide
Rita looking at the Indian Ocean with the Head we visited during the afternoon in the background
Looking back at Knysna Lagoon as the tide comes in
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