After several one night stays, we decided to stay put in Wilderness for two nights so we could enjoy the area without worrying about packing up and finding another place to stay. Wilderness is a quiet lovely village by the sea (Indian Ocean). It is on the Touws River which is a calm body of water (thinking SUP territory). There are lots of nearby hikes and walks along the Indian Ocean. The town has three good restaurants and a laundromat!
We chatted at breakfast with the only other guest at Cinnamon. Michael lives in Capetown and travels to the area for his work. He recommended that we spend our day in Knysna, the next town along the Garden Route and take the excursion to the Headlands offered by the Featherbed Company.
So we drove over to Knysna which is seaside town, lovely. Water everywhere. It sits on the Knysna lagoon which is actually a river that dumps out to the Indian Ocean, passing through the Knysna Headlands (Heads for short). Spectacular scenery. First we drove to the Eastern Head for a view from land of this tumultous river mouth. We strolled around the Waterfront area as our excursion didn’t leave until 2:30pm. I saw the Knysna Yacht Club at the edge of the waterfront area and dragged Bill over to chat with the locals. We introduced ourselves as members of the Pensacola Beach Yacht Club and were warmly received. We were invited to come and eat lunch at their restaurant as club guests. We did and enjoyed the cheapest meal we’ve had in this country. Less than $5 each. KYC is over a 100 years old. Fun.
We were hoping that enough people would show up for the afternoon excursion (10 was the minimum). We were in luck. First we took a 30 minute ferry ride from the waterfront area to the base of the Featherbed Reserve close to the headlands. Then we rode in a 4×4 tractor up to the top of the headlands. Then we hiked down a 2.2 km trail through woods and along the sea with our guide who explained history, flora and fauna and answered all our questions. This was a great excursion. Thanks Michael for the recommendation.
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