Tenikwa day 2

 In the morning we had breakfast next to the cheetahs. They had already had breakfast and they flopped themselves down and scratched their backs on the ground, just like our familiar house cats - and their purring, so loud! It was nice to be serenaded. 

After breakfast we went to say hello to the two meerkats that they currently have (they were kidnapped as babies and raised in a house, and when they were no longer cute and easy to handle, well....) Ok they were exceedingly cute and I really wanted to rub their bellies. 

Nearby the Centre there was a place called Birds of Eden which is a unique single-dome free-flight bird sanctuary (the World’s largest at 2.3 hectares and 55 m high). It provides a home to over 1,500 birds from over a 120 species. The sanctuary is a haven for birds previously caged or kept as pets, allowing them to live freely in a vast, natural habitat.  The day was heating up so this was the perfect place to go to stay cool. 

I know that I've said it a lot so far and I am sure that I will continue to say it. WOW. This was amazing. The place is HUGE! So many different types of birds - I was in heaven.  

At one point there was a Leadbeater cockatoo (pink cockatoo) who was stalking a gent. After snickering at that, I turned to take a photo of a fabulous blue Macaw parrot,  only to feel a tugging at my hat shortly thereafter. "Has someone got me?" I asked. There were smiles all round. Yep, Cocky was being a cocky.

We spent a few of hours there just wandering around looking at all the birds. A magical space. 

When we were pulling out of the parking lot - there was a family of baboons hanging around! I love this country!

We made it back to Tenikwa for feeding time so we got to enjoy the experience again. Just magical. 

Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre

 The directions given to us to get to Tenikwa said, "you'll think you're going the wrong way, but you're not." As we were driving down yet another pothole festooned street, next to a temporary settlement we began to wonder if we were going the wrong way. But as per the instructions, we persisted and were rewarded by a big sign with a big cat.

We arrived just before 4 and the keepers were just about to go feed the lions!

The Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre focuses on helping injured or otherwise vulnerable animals with a goal to release them back into the wild if they can. The animals they have there (that are seen by people) are not able to be released, such as the leopard that had a broken spine and although he can now walk, there is no way he could survive in the wild.

The guide brought us first to visit some of the other animals - like the cheetah sisters, the aforementioned leopard, a caracal, servals and some others. They were all absolutely gorgeous and I wanted to cuddle them all (not advised or permitted!) We finished with the lions. Along the way we watched the guide feed every one - chicken all round - they all get fed once a day except for the cheetahs whose metabolism is so fast. The lions as big as they are eat very little.

When we got back to our rooms and for the rest of the evening we could hear them roaring - awesome!

 

Tsitsikamma National Park

We left St Francis Bay a bit sad that we couldn't stay any longer, but we were now off to a Wildlife Centre! How exciting! 

We were told that along the way was a National Park that was not to be missed - Tsitsikamma, so naturally we stopped to check it out. It has 80 km of beautiful coastline to explore - we could have stayed here a week and not explored all the wonderful trails it had. 

 

  

Since we only had a couple of hours to spare we did the trail that lead to the suspension bridges. There were so many beautiful vistas along the way, and the day was sunny and not too warm. A truly beautiful place.

There was a trail that lead to the top of a point, but it was getting too late for us to continue as we were told to arrive at our next destination before 4pm for a "surprise". So, we turned around and walked back via a different path.

This park is truly spectacular and I wish we could have stayed longer. 

 

 

 

 

St Francis Bay

Our guest house was beautiful. Very coastal decor (of course) and a pool out in the front - waaaaaay to cold to swim in! Due to the mix up with the car rental we arrived quite late in the day so we were told that we could visit the canals after we did our shopping at the local supermarket and get back before dark. (I don't like driving at night)

The canals are man-made and the area is pretty and quaint with beautiful homes. Here we saw our first Cape Weaver nests dangling like decorations from a tree by the water and we caught the golden light of the setting sun. Truly lovely. 

 

 

 

We went back to the guest house to eat some dinner and then had a quick stroll around the block before night fell. The houses around here are massive and quite reasonably priced considering the location. 

I was already in bed and ready to sleep when Dominique said, "Nope, nope, nope, Nora I am NOT sleeping in that bed!" When I looked up she was on the other side of the room pointing at the top of her bed. I looked over and saw a small Huntsman spider, probably just a young one, hanging out on the wall behind her bed. He was just there to look out for her...this is what I told her anyway. She would have none of that and insisted I put it outside. Fine. 

It took some moving of the bed, and the removal of a second Huntsman that I found after moving said bed, but we were finally spider free - at least that we could see. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to capture his photo for posterity. He really wasn't that big. To me. 

The next morning we were told that breakfast was served at a local restaurant called the Rambling Rose. We arrived about 40 min before they opened and the wonderfully animated Abby suggested we walk along the coast which was just a few blocks away. So on we went. Spectacular! We walked for over an hour and we were starving when we got back, and the food did not disappoint. Delicious! 

Sadly, we had to leave that morning to get to our next destination. 

 

 

 

Holy Road Travels

 

Our flight the next morning was the 9:20 to Gqeberha (previously known as Port Elizabeth, and pronounced <tongue click>berra) so we had time for a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, where we swiped some orange juice so we could finish the bottle of champagne in the guise of mimosas.

 

When we landed we were supposed to be met at the airport by a representative of the car rental company. But no one was there. mmm ok. We tried to call the rental company but the message said they were not open on Sundays. mmm ok. Finally, we rang the head office and they said they would get back to me once they got hold of the branch office. We eventually got it all sorted, but by the time we left Gqeberha, it was a few hours later than we had hoped.

Leaving the car rental lot was terrifying. Before leaving I had read up about carjackings and thugs swarming cars and what to do in case this or that catastrophe happens. I was worried every time I saw the lights turning red. 

But we were driving through a small town, on a Sunday and there was nothing going on. We made it to the highway without mishap. Driving on the highway was building up my confidence. Google maps was guiding me as easily here as it does back home, so when it told me to get off at the next exit, I complied. Dominique was using a different app as a comparison and she said that her app was saying we should continue on the highway. There was only a 7 min difference so we carried on - apparently we were on the "scenic" route. 

um. no.

When we booked this part of the journey the organiser said he needed to check that the roads were still good, before he finalised our journey. We questioned this at the time, but, driving along that "scenic" route, we now knew what he meant.

All over the world people complain about potholes, but I have never seen potholes like this. Not only were they deep, not only were they wide, they were everywhere! I felt like I was in a sad video game where you had to dodge potholes, driving on the shoulder or into oncoming cars just to avoid them,  slowing down to 20km/h to go through them when the other options weren't possible. We are in a Suzuki Swift, not a 4X4! Every once in a while there would be a sign that said "Beware Potholes" - no shit.

Finally we arrived at St Francis Bay, the calamari capital of the world (or so we were told). It is a quaint and quiet little coastal town with a part of the town has man-made canals, ostensibly so the rich folk can all have a place on the water and a place to moor their boats.

Beautiful.