The Garden Route & Knysna

We hired a car and drove from Franschhoek to Knysna via the Mountain and Garden Routes. Joe did the driving and had to quickly adjust to driving on the left side of the road while sitting on the right side of the car. It was difficult for me to remember to go to the left/passenger side of the car, so I’m duly impressed that he picked it up so quickly without any major incidents. As we headed out of Franschhoek we went through a mountain pass with really dramatic and lovely views. We reached a high point above Franschhoek and saw the perfect patchwork quilt of vineyards.

Franschhoek

We literally drove through a mountain to reach the Mountain Route. The Mountain Route (Route 62) follows a long line of mountains and has unbelievable views. We meandered along and stopped at several beautiful wine farms along the way, which broke up the drive. We lucked upon one wine farm that had the best chocolate cake ever.

Through the Mountain

Best Chocolate Cake Ever

We followed the route from Worcester to Barrydale then switched through a mountain pass to get to the Garden Route, which had the best views of all. The Garden Route wasn’t nearly as picturesque, but we caught a glimpse of the ocean every now and then.

Beautiful Mountain Pass

We were really happy to arrive at our guest house Villa Afrikana (www.villaafrikana.com) after a long day of driving. The host couple was super nice. They showed us around and made us delicious cappuccinos with heart shaped cinnamon sprinkles and chocolate covered strawberries. I was in heaven. We enjoyed sitting in our room soaking in the perfect view of the Heads and the bay.

Villa Afrikana

Heaven

Room with a View

We celebrated Joe’s birthday in Knysna and spent the day wondering around town. We went to see the Heads, which are two tall land masses that create a causeway and a protected bay. The ocean crashed hard into the heads and through the small opening to the bay. Then we went to Leisure Island in the bay and Joe went for a barefoot run while I enjoyed the white sand beach. He just finished a book called Born to Run that noted the benefits of barefoot running and is giving it a try. He only got 6 blisters on his toes and considers that a success (he's a little crazy). We had an excellent pub lunch and a locally brewed beer called Mitchells and spent the rest of the day by our pool.

One of The Heads

I was standing on the other one

S+J at The Heads

Leisure Island

That evening we went to the only Italian place in town and it was really good. Joe had Osso Buco and I had Penne Bolognese (because that was Joe’s second choice). I surprised him with chocolate cake for dessert with a sparkler in it…luckily they didn’t sing to us.

Joe's Birthday

After a short stay in Knysna it was time to move on to our final destination Long Beach back toward Cape Town.

S+J