South Africa, standard. : Adventures before Cape Town Part Three: Nature's Valley, Plettenburg Bay and Knysna

When we left Jeffrey's Bay the sun was starting to set so our drive into Nature's Valley was mostly in the dark, and while we couldn't see much we realized that we were headed into some beautiful mountains. Much of the drive was spent giggling about the 'don't feed the baboons' signs and anticipating arriving at the hostel that Colleen had found for us. As the drive continued, things became more and more rural and we ended up on a dirt road in the pitch black trying to find where we'd be staying for the evening. Anyone who knows me knows that I have an irrational fear of a number of things, so when we headed down a dirt road and into the darkness I was sure that this would end just like the plot of some horror movie, probably like hostel. After shortly debating giving up and turning around, we decided to meet our fate, and thank God we did because we ended up in one of the most magical places I've ever been. Wild Spirit is the most welcoming backpackers that I have ever been to. We pulled up, checked in at reception and unloaded our bags into our huge cabin room before heading back down to the reception area for dinner. By reception I mean an outdoor bar and dining area with a few fire pits and a massive deck, because of the pitch black night we couldn't see what was beyond the deck but had an inkling that was magnificent. Dinner is made by the owners every night because there isn't a town close enough to drive to go get a meal, the veggies and fruit came from their own garden (that you could work in for a few hours to get a free dinner) and the long wooden dining table was painted in illustrations from 'Where the Wild Things Are'. Essentially, I found the Portland of South Africa. The night was spent drinking wine by the fire and making friends with people who were visiting South Africa from around the world.

The next morning we woke up, went out on the deck and realized that it looked over a beautiful mountain range. We were only supposed to spend one night, but it became clear from the start of that first morning that a second night was needed. Wild Spirit also provided breakfast so we filled up and decided to head down the road to stop at a local farm stall we had passed on our way in. The field out front was filled with cows (who looked a bit hungry to be honest) and inside there were a number of local goodies to buy. We decided to have lunch and sample the cheese plate, and naturally ended up getting milkshakes as well. As we ate lunch we took notice of a particularly ambitious cow who kept trying to step over the fence, but was making little progress. Before I knew it the cow had backed up, had a running start and literally jumped over the fence, a feat of epic proportions. The farmer was stunned and then quickly ran after the cow who took off down the road, ten minutes later they both returned. After all of that excitement we decided to head into Plettenburg Bay to check out the sites and see what there was to do. Plettenburg bay was certainly beautiful, but was almost like being in a costal town in Florida, filled with touristy shops and ice cream parlors, after exploring a bit we left and headed back towards Nature's Valley and stopped at a local craft market. Eventually we made our way back to the hostel for a second enjoyable night filled with good food and new friends, a drumming circle and even some fire dancing (seriously, I thought I was in Portland).

We woke up and I decided to take advantage of the wifi and skyped with my mom and sister for the first time since getting to South Africa. Much to their surprise, and to fulfill stereotypes that everyone has about anywhere in Africa, they saw me sitting with a beautiful African 4 year old on my lap. This little girl (her name was Bunga) had known me for less than 3 minutes before deciding she wanted to meet my mom and sister and began asking them questions. Perhaps the most adorable moment was when she asked why they were getting ready for bed when it was the morning time...my mom explained that they lived far away and where they were it was night, to which Bunga asked me if they were past the mountains that were in our view, I told her much further than that, and she was thoroughly impressed. After my skype session Colleen, Tracie and I decided to take advantage of the many hiking trails around the hostel and hike to a nearby waterfall. It was certainly beautiful and was one of the highlights of the few days spent at Nature's Valley. Sadly we had to continue our drive, so with heavy hearts and promises of one day returning, we left Wild Spirit and headed towards Knysna.

Knysna is a big tourist destination and is known as THE place to get oysters in South Africa. Naturally we didn't get oysters because, that's just how life works. We did however go down into the Knysna lagoon which was beautiful and to another craft market before stopping and getting a yummy seafood lunch. Knysna was certainly beautiful but didn't end up taking the whole day to explore. While Knysna and Plettenburg Bay didn't end up being the destinations we thought they would be, Nature's Valley was by far the highlight of the road trip for me. I feel so lucky that I not only got to see South Africa from the city perspective of living in Cape Town, but I also got to spend time in rural areas giving me a more rounded experience and idea of the people and the country.

Many times during this road trip we tried to make some spur of the moment decisions in efforts to have some adventures, the end of our afternoon in Knysna was one of those times. We pulled out my guide book and decided to head off the N2 (the garden route) and over to a town in the mountains towards Oudtshoorn called Montague. The guide book boasted of natural spring pools and we found a farm hostel that had room so we decided a trip off the beaten path was the next step to take...