Yes, I’d been to Wilderness, on the Garden Route, when I was working as a tourist guide but I’d never had the opportunity to stay a couple of days with friends. I was very chuffed when my friend booked a road trip for us for a long weekend.
We departed early and when I say early, I mean very early. I’m a morning person but leaving at 05h30 to get to the market in Sedgefield (450 km) on time seemed a bit outrageous. Nevertheless, I know this market from a few years back and I think it’s the mother of all Saturday morning food markets in South Africa. I’m a sucker for good food and wine so off we went, at 05h30 in the morning. Waking up early was worth it, to enjoy the sunrise over the Overberg.
A quick coffee and toilet stop at one of the quirky farm stalls along the N2 and at 10h15 we arrived at one busy market place just outside Sedgefield, Wild Oats Community Farmers Market. You will easily spot it from the N2 when you’re driving from Wilderness to Sedgefield. A well deserved breakfast was now more than necessary and we agreed on Eggs Benedict. While my friend was queuing I couldn’t help myself and got a Greek pastry, and a small prickly pear tartlet.
Off we went to check-in at Ebb & Flow in the Wilderness National Park. How exciting, we got an upgrade and now could stay in a wooden cabin with two bedrooms, our own kitchen and bathroom. And a lovely deck to take in the beautiful mountain scenery. Wilderness has it all: Indian Ocean with endless beaches, mountain forests, the Touw River and beautiful lakes. I could easily have stayed a whole week.
After we checked-in we went for grocery shopping to the Garden Route Mall in George which is about 15 km away. Wilderness has a really dodgy Quick Spar which I can’t recommend to anyone. The Garden Route Mall is quite impressive and I was almost tempted to shop till I drop. Great braai sessions were awaiting us! The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the sun and views from our deck, and reading and watching movies on the iPad.
It was Saturday and we wanted to go one more time to the Firefly Eating House in Knysna. Somehow this had become a yearly event whenever we visit the Garden Route. Although the food we had (Starters, Malay Prawn & Chicken Curry, Prawn Curry and Beef Curry) were testing all our taste buds, I wasn’t so excited anymore. It was a bit boring to see the same items on the menu as last year. However, the Bobotie Springrolls for starters and the Ostrich Samoosas were top of our list again!
On Sunday morning we headed out to hike to the waterfalls. The SANparks information booklet tells you that it will be about three to four hours to hike although it’s not clear if this is one way or a roundtrip. It took us about one hour to reach the falls, and it was a beautiful walk. There are no difficult parts as mostly you walk on a fantastic boardwalk. Hiking boots are not even necessary. I remember that the paths were closed for quite a long time some years ago because they’d washed away after a storm. Well, they’ve been beautifully repaired in such a way that it is accessible for most people. The fun part is to cross the Touws River on the pontoon. This is also a great place to bring kids.
The waterfall is beautiful with several rock pools, ideal for swimming. Ideally you bring your picnic basket and spend the afternoon here. We were the only ones there when we arrived but on our way back we ran into few people going. By the time we got back to the cabin, it was time for an outrageous breakfast of eggs and bacon.
Late in the afternoon Wilderness Beach was the place for a long, very long, beach walk. If you want to see a beautiful beach in South Africa, this is the place to be.
I love exploring local pubs. Wilderness is not much of a village but surely they have some local pubs and eateries. We found one but after one drink we just wanted to get back to the nature reserve and start our braai of chicken kebabs, ostrich fillet and tons of roast veggies and salads. Healthy but hearty, just the way we like it.
On Monday we went for a short bird-watching walk in the morning. It was supposed to take three hours but it took us only an hour of brisk walking.
We still had so many plans… I’d really wanted to visit my friends Kevin & Elsie in their beautiful guesthouse, Interlaken, but somehow I never made it that way. Breakfast at Ile de Pain in Knysna has to wait till another visit, as will Zucchini restaurant.
Driving back to Cape Town from Wilderness National Park
On our way back yesterday we just made the mistake of not immediately leaving the N2 in George and drive back to Cape Town via the Outeniqua Pass, Oudtshoorn, R62 and R60 and then N1. We got stuck in road works. The first 100 km took us about two-and-a-half hours. At Riversdale we took a little leap of faith and just headed in a direction of which we thought was kind of the right way. We ended up on this beautiful mountain pass, Garcia Pass. No cars, just us, mountains, pine trees and endless vistas. What an unexpected treat.
At some point we had to turn off the main road onto a well maintained dirt road to end up in Barrydale which was then definitely lunch time. The Country Pumpkin is the well known place and we ended up ordering delicious Bobotie. Next time in Barrydale, I really would like to have lunch or breakfast at another place so please let me know if you have any ‘must-eat’ restaurants that you can recommend in this area. We were back in Cape Town by 5pm. Another great road trip!
Wilderness National Park bookings
Go to www.sanparks.org for all bookings into Wilderness National Park. Get a Wild Card for a year and don’t pay any entrance fees. There are different types of accommodation so check the web site: from camping to fully equipped self catering family homes.
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