Deserts, burning woods and mighty waves, Julia and Horst Drosten‘s Travel to South Africa, Part II
Deserts, burning woods and mighty waves,
Julia and Horst Drosten‘s Travel to South Africa, Part II
After our visit in Pumba we travel westwards and explore the Garden Route.
We think of lush green gardens and parks the kind you find in England but Gertraud explains this coastal area was named Garden Route because it rains quite often and therefore is always green.
Not this year. “Right now there are many fires burning,” Gertraud informs us. “Just two weeks ago the highway was shut and me and my group had to turn shortly before we arrived our destination and make a detour of 900 km.”
We see the marks of the fires too. Yellowwood- and Stinkwoodforests alternate with burnt and partly burnt areas. Several times we see dark smoke curling up over the Tsitsikamma Mountains and Outeniqua Mountains close to the road.
Actually wildfires in South Africa are a natural and locally isolated phenomenon, caused by lightning or sparks after falling rocks. They are important for the vegetation because many seeds open only through the heat of the flames. They fall on the fertile ashes and start to sprout. Therefore we see on last years burnt soile fresh young greens growing. Unfortunately, vast pine forests grow on the Garden Route. Those trees are needed by the paper industry but they are not indigenous. The black charred trunks stretch over many kilometers. Pine trees burn longer and cause more heat, so the vegetation needs much longer to grow back.
Around lunchtime, we reach Tsitsikamma Nationalpark. Tsitsikamma is Khoi and means “lots of water” because here you find rivers and creeks. There is also a number of hiking trails, the Otter Trail for example. Gertraud tells us that many kids after graduation like to walk the Otter Trail. It is there good-bye to school.
We take a short walk along the coast on wooden paths, crossing rope bridges through one of the last primeval forests of South Africa. Fog is floating over the Indian Ocean caused by the temperature-gap between cool water and warmer main land. But as soon as the sun warms the water the fog unravels and it becomes really hot. The trees offer shelter, wonderfully cool and refreshing.
In Tsitsikamma you find Holm Oaks, Yellowwood and many ferns. There are small waterfalls and we see a beautiful pink protea, South Africa’s heraldic flower. She looks a little like a thistle but without thorns has thick leaves and velvety blossons.
In the afternoon – with our spine hurting after more than 400 km on a sometimes-rough street, we reach George, located at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains. In the morning we left the kingdom of the White Lions, now we arrive in the kingdom of golfers. In this region, there are several internationally renowned golf courses. We cannot play golf but the 18-hole place surrounding our hotel with the beautiful old trees looks great.
Fancourt Manor House is a pretty estate in the British style and a protected monument. Over the next days, it will be our base. We love the lush flower garden and the strawberries and chocolates that wait in our room. While we relax at the pool, the idyll is disturbed by ear-piercing cries: Hadada Ibisses the ugly brothers and sisters of the holy Egyptian Ibis flutter through the garden and on the next morning they take care that we don’t linger in bed too long.
When we get up it is raining, fog is hanging deeply over George. However, we don’t mind because today we plan a trip into the Little Karoo. We drive the Outeniqua Mountains upwards. Partly the fog is so dense that we can only see a few meters but as soon as we have crossed the Montagu Pass the scenery changes completely: Wide blue skies with just a few thin white clouds. The mountains far away shimmer almost purple. The sunlight is very strong and harsh, the vegetation dry and sandy brown. Sometimes we watch the now familiar dark smoke and soon we encounter big flocks of ostriches in the semi-desert.
We are in the country of the „ostrich-barons“, who founded the first farms in the 19th century. In our time, the big birds are kept mainly for their low-fat meat but until World War I their feathers were a much sought-after decoration on the hats of the ladies.
First, we visit Oudtshoorn and the many palaces of the ostrich-barons. The size is more like a villa with signature little towers on the roof and white “lingerie-lace” decoration on the veranda. It looks different here – but when we stroll along the dusty mainstreet in the heat of the day, we think of the western classic “High Noon”.
Afterwards we have a guided tour on an ostrich-farm and learn a lot about the big birds. We watch a chicken struggling out of its egg and learn that the shell is so thick that mother and father have to help with their beak and open a whole for the little ostrich. Later we are allowed to feed the birds. They don’t tweek when your palm is really flat but the biggest excitement is caused by two cobras that hide in the shadow of a visitor’s bridge. From a safe distance we watch, as the personnel carefully catches them and bears them to some far away bushes. Snakes are welcome rat hunters of ostrich-farms.
On our last day on the Garden Route we visit Knysna. This small twon has a pretty Waterfront along the Knysna Lagoon. We eat organic cake in a cozy café and browse through boutiques and arts and crafts shops. Along the Knysna Lagoon you find many restaurants where you can enjoy fish, prawns or oysters. The coast is home to the renowned Knysna-oyster, which is bred here, but there are also wild populations.
In the afternoon, we undertake a trip on a yacht. We cross through the quiet lagoon and between the Knysna Heads the two very high gates to the Indian Ocean. In the small boat just above the waterlevel, we feel the overwhelming power of the sea. To us landlobbers the waves seem relatively high. We watch as they roll towards the coast, tower and break over the riffs. Respect! Our skipper assures us that today is a calm day on the ocean with waves only two to three meters high. Not until a height of six meters it is dangerous for him to leave the lagoon.
In the 20th century the lagoon was an important harbor for bigger ships but because of the small entrance passage between the Knysna Heads many shipwrecks happened. In our soon to be published (in German) novel “Mit dem Wind Kurs Paradies” we also describe a shipwreck. During our tour, we experienced firsthand the power of the ocean and felt really small and helpless. This was practical research.
https://www.instagram.com/juliadrosten/
https://de-de.facebook.com/pages/cate...
https://www.pinterest.de/juliadrosten/
https://de.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Garden...
https://www.kapstadt.de/reisefuehrer/...
https://manorhouse.fancourt.co.za/who...
https://www.oudtshoorn.com/
http://safariostrich.co.za/
Julia and Horst Drosten‘s Travel to South Africa, Part II
After our visit in Pumba we travel westwards and explore the Garden Route.
We think of lush green gardens and parks the kind you find in England but Gertraud explains this coastal area was named Garden Route because it rains quite often and therefore is always green.
Not this year. “Right now there are many fires burning,” Gertraud informs us. “Just two weeks ago the highway was shut and me and my group had to turn shortly before we arrived our destination and make a detour of 900 km.”
We see the marks of the fires too. Yellowwood- and Stinkwoodforests alternate with burnt and partly burnt areas. Several times we see dark smoke curling up over the Tsitsikamma Mountains and Outeniqua Mountains close to the road.
Actually wildfires in South Africa are a natural and locally isolated phenomenon, caused by lightning or sparks after falling rocks. They are important for the vegetation because many seeds open only through the heat of the flames. They fall on the fertile ashes and start to sprout. Therefore we see on last years burnt soile fresh young greens growing. Unfortunately, vast pine forests grow on the Garden Route. Those trees are needed by the paper industry but they are not indigenous. The black charred trunks stretch over many kilometers. Pine trees burn longer and cause more heat, so the vegetation needs much longer to grow back.
Around lunchtime, we reach Tsitsikamma Nationalpark. Tsitsikamma is Khoi and means “lots of water” because here you find rivers and creeks. There is also a number of hiking trails, the Otter Trail for example. Gertraud tells us that many kids after graduation like to walk the Otter Trail. It is there good-bye to school.
We take a short walk along the coast on wooden paths, crossing rope bridges through one of the last primeval forests of South Africa. Fog is floating over the Indian Ocean caused by the temperature-gap between cool water and warmer main land. But as soon as the sun warms the water the fog unravels and it becomes really hot. The trees offer shelter, wonderfully cool and refreshing.
In Tsitsikamma you find Holm Oaks, Yellowwood and many ferns. There are small waterfalls and we see a beautiful pink protea, South Africa’s heraldic flower. She looks a little like a thistle but without thorns has thick leaves and velvety blossons.
In the afternoon – with our spine hurting after more than 400 km on a sometimes-rough street, we reach George, located at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains. In the morning we left the kingdom of the White Lions, now we arrive in the kingdom of golfers. In this region, there are several internationally renowned golf courses. We cannot play golf but the 18-hole place surrounding our hotel with the beautiful old trees looks great.
Fancourt Manor House is a pretty estate in the British style and a protected monument. Over the next days, it will be our base. We love the lush flower garden and the strawberries and chocolates that wait in our room. While we relax at the pool, the idyll is disturbed by ear-piercing cries: Hadada Ibisses the ugly brothers and sisters of the holy Egyptian Ibis flutter through the garden and on the next morning they take care that we don’t linger in bed too long.
When we get up it is raining, fog is hanging deeply over George. However, we don’t mind because today we plan a trip into the Little Karoo. We drive the Outeniqua Mountains upwards. Partly the fog is so dense that we can only see a few meters but as soon as we have crossed the Montagu Pass the scenery changes completely: Wide blue skies with just a few thin white clouds. The mountains far away shimmer almost purple. The sunlight is very strong and harsh, the vegetation dry and sandy brown. Sometimes we watch the now familiar dark smoke and soon we encounter big flocks of ostriches in the semi-desert.
We are in the country of the „ostrich-barons“, who founded the first farms in the 19th century. In our time, the big birds are kept mainly for their low-fat meat but until World War I their feathers were a much sought-after decoration on the hats of the ladies.
First, we visit Oudtshoorn and the many palaces of the ostrich-barons. The size is more like a villa with signature little towers on the roof and white “lingerie-lace” decoration on the veranda. It looks different here – but when we stroll along the dusty mainstreet in the heat of the day, we think of the western classic “High Noon”.
Afterwards we have a guided tour on an ostrich-farm and learn a lot about the big birds. We watch a chicken struggling out of its egg and learn that the shell is so thick that mother and father have to help with their beak and open a whole for the little ostrich. Later we are allowed to feed the birds. They don’t tweek when your palm is really flat but the biggest excitement is caused by two cobras that hide in the shadow of a visitor’s bridge. From a safe distance we watch, as the personnel carefully catches them and bears them to some far away bushes. Snakes are welcome rat hunters of ostrich-farms.
On our last day on the Garden Route we visit Knysna. This small twon has a pretty Waterfront along the Knysna Lagoon. We eat organic cake in a cozy café and browse through boutiques and arts and crafts shops. Along the Knysna Lagoon you find many restaurants where you can enjoy fish, prawns or oysters. The coast is home to the renowned Knysna-oyster, which is bred here, but there are also wild populations.
In the afternoon, we undertake a trip on a yacht. We cross through the quiet lagoon and between the Knysna Heads the two very high gates to the Indian Ocean. In the small boat just above the waterlevel, we feel the overwhelming power of the sea. To us landlobbers the waves seem relatively high. We watch as they roll towards the coast, tower and break over the riffs. Respect! Our skipper assures us that today is a calm day on the ocean with waves only two to three meters high. Not until a height of six meters it is dangerous for him to leave the lagoon.
In the 20th century the lagoon was an important harbor for bigger ships but because of the small entrance passage between the Knysna Heads many shipwrecks happened. In our soon to be published (in German) novel “Mit dem Wind Kurs Paradies” we also describe a shipwreck. During our tour, we experienced firsthand the power of the ocean and felt really small and helpless. This was practical research.
https://www.instagram.com/juliadrosten/
https://de-de.facebook.com/pages/cate...
https://www.pinterest.de/juliadrosten/
https://de.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Garden...
https://www.kapstadt.de/reisefuehrer/...
https://manorhouse.fancourt.co.za/who...
https://www.oudtshoorn.com/
http://safariostrich.co.za/
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