We left our friends in Kenya when we headed off to South Africa.  They were to spend another few days there and then head either to South Africa or back home.  We weren't to meet up with them again, so the rest of our trip would be just us.

I was probably most impressed with South Africa.  We were originally only going to be there a few nights to do some wine tasting, see some of the area, and go shark diving.  That got extended due to last minute notice of the coup in Thailand and the media black-out while we had to make our decision. 

I have a number of good memories from South Africa.  We had this great little VW car that had an amenity list that included seat belts and head lights.  It had no air bags, no radio, no fuel injection, and pretty much nothing else that you might find in a car these days.  And yet, it was a brand new car, although certainly not legal in the US.

Our meal at the top of a hill had a fantastic view and lots of really good meats and foods to eat.  It was a bit cold and windy, but it certainly was memorable.  I was a little surprised at how empty the restaurant was, but it was a weeknight and not anywhere near town.  It looked like it could serve really large functions.

Our drive over to the coast took us through a great pass that was scenic and rocky in much the same way that my drive over Highway 17 in scenic and full of redwoods.  It wasn't all that much higher or longer of a pass, either, especially if compared to taking Highway 9, instead.

The coast I recall as being absolutely wonderful and very much like our own coast here in central California.  The coast road is windy with lots of great views.  Every stopping point has a view south of vast openness of water filled with whales and dolphins.  Our own view occasionally has a whale; we've seen one while we've been here, but we've never seen a dolphin from the coast. 

The jackass penguins were really quite fun.  You walk on boardwalk over their area while they are right under and around you.  The only thing separating you from them is a fence with fairly narrow slats.  These slats are too narrow for a foot but not too narrow for a penguins beak.  I got pecked by one!

Naturally, one of our strongest memories was sitting in our hotel watching TV within about 18 hours of our flight to Thailand.  Flipping through the stations, we saw mention of a coup in Thailand!  There wasn't much information about it and while we were watching for more information we got word that Thailand had cut off media communications from inside the country.  That meant we wouldn't learn any more about it.  So, we quickly contacted our travel agent, had our flights moved, and contacted a place Laurie had stayed in her first trip to South Africa, Phantom Forest eco-lodge in Knysna.  All of our changes went off without a hitch and instead of heading to the airport the next day, we drove farther our towards Knysna.

This turned out to be convenient since our shark diving trip had been cancelled and possibly pushed off to a date when we wouldn't be in the country because of rough weather.  So, we got to stay at the wonderful Phantom Forest that will be my best memory of there.  The huts are on a steep hill and partially up in trees.  It makes for a very private, very in-the-forest feel.  It was very pleasant and truly wonderful.

Our shark diving trip turned out to be shark watching, which still got me seasick.  The waters were still filled with silt and had maybe a foot or two visibility.  People who did go in the water couldn't see anything where we could see all of the action from the top deck.  It was really quite something!  I hope to go back sometime and actually get in the water with the sharks.  (Hopefully when I go back I'll have figured out my motion sickness issues.)

After our wonderful time in South Africa, we were off for a long journey to Beijing.

Posted by Shane on March 16, 2007 8:23 AM | Permalink