Knysna To Storms River

 HSBC Nightmare

I got a call from one of the managers of the supermarket where the ATM had eaten my card.  He said that the ABSA woman was there, opening the ATM.  So, I arrived there within 5 minutes and saw a blond woman kneeling at the opened machine and between me and her was a guy with a bullet-proof jacket, a pistol and a machine gun, ready to shoot anyone who stole any milk or bread.  In all seriousness, he was with the lady from the bank.  As I approached, he spoke to me in Afrikaans so I told him I didn't understand.  He said in English to stand back.  The lady showed me my card and the date had expired at the end of Jan.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  How could I have overlooked this?  I usually get a card automatically a couple of months before an existing one expires.  In fact, I had told HSBC that I was coming here and they didn't issue one for me before coming, and I forgot about the date of the card.  So, it was a total mess-up!  Anyway, this lady told me that she had to destroy my card because it had expired.  I told her not to do it because I still needed the card to refer to when contacting HSBC.  She said she would take it to the nearest bank branch and it would be up to them to decide if it should be destroyed.  So, I headed to the bank and asked to speak to the bank manager.  The bank manager ushered me into her office and I explained my situation.  She asked for my passport and went away and came back with my card, asked for a release signature and let me have it, untouched.  I ended up speaking to her for an hour about life, her involvement in her local community through her church, and many other interesting things.

I managed to find an internet place and Skyped HSBC and they at first said they would not send a card to me in South Africa so I reminded them that they had let me down.  My relationship manager agreed to send it to an address that I was staying at in Cape Town so when I return there, the card should have arrived.

Hostel Nightmare

I was staying at a hostel off the main road in Knysna for a couple of nights.  At the same time as my arrival, 3 German lads arrived and were in my room, as well as an Australian girl and her guy cousin, an Israeli guy called Lior, and a German beauty called Steff.  They were all in their early to mid 20s.  One of the German lads, Basti, the Israeli guy, and the Australian guy, Mike, were all trying to get the attention of Steff.  She was loving the limelight.  The Australian girl, Ashleigh, was making a move on Basti, the German.  Then Susan, another German girl arrived and Lior made a move on her.  Another Australian girl made a bee-line for Mike, the Australian guy.  It was all a soap opera.

At 3.30am I was woken up by a bunch of people laughing and talking loudly outside my window.  They were clearly drunk.  I couldn't believe my ears.  The person talking and laughing the loudest was the hostel manager. I got up to go out and have it out with them when I saw the hostel manager come inside to use the toilet.  I asked him to turn it down and he apologized, but after 10 minutes of quiet talk, the noise level went back to what it was.  At 4.30 they all decided to call it a night, so I thought that silence had finally arrived.  Next thing, Ashlee, the Australian girl came into the room and straight into the bed with Basti, the German lad.  But I was determined not to be distracted from my sleep so proceeded to sleep.  But, the American guy across the way in another lower bunk started snoring his head off.  I tugged at his pillow and he stopped.  Then he started again until I tugged his pillow once again.  I fell asleep, but was awoken by his loud snoring again.  I turned to tug his pillow but instead of seeing his head, I saw his feet.  I guess he must have manoeuvred himself so that I wouldn't be able to tug his pillow anymore.  So, I hardly slept that night, and in the morning, I got out of there as soon as I could, vowing not to stay in another hostel for as long as I could.

Crazy Drive to Storms River

Just before Plettenburg, I passed a township which was next to the main N2 highway.  There was a mini riot going on, and some people had set fire to tyres and had thrown them into the highway so the police had closed the road and created a detour.  I drove through Plettenburg and somehow back onto the N2 again.  The weather was non-stop rain and low cloud, so bad visibility.  I arrived at the tolls and had to pay 35 Rand which is GBP 3 or US$ 4.50. 

Highest Bungee Jump In The World

On the way, I stopped at the Bloukrans Bungee Jump which at 216 meters high, is apparently the highest in the world, off this bridge called Bloukrans.  The owner there makes GBP 4.5 million per year from lunatics throwing themselves off this bridge and paying around GBP 90 for the jump and a dvd.  I asked one of the people working there how much it would cost to jump without a rope.  He said it would be free.  But I guess if you don't like it, you can't get your money back.

Storms River

This hamlet is surrounded by beautiful a forest called Tsitsikamma.  I am staying in a wonderful guesthouse called Armagh, named after the birthplace of the co-owner.  She and her husband built this place in 1994 and have added a nice touch to it.  I was determined to have a couple of good nights of peaceful rest, away from the hectic hostel mayhem.  I was thinking for some reason that I was one of the first people from my part of the world to have stumbled across this area.  In the dining room of this guesthouse, there are hundreds of business cards stuck to the walls.  I had a quick browse at some of them and was really surprised to see one from someone working for Barclays in The City in London, another working for American Airlines at Gatwick, another from a guy who works for my local VW garage in Hammersmith, and most surprising of all, the Assistant Press Officer for Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall, at Clarence House.

 Walk To The Waterfall

I drove a few miles down the road and entered Tsitkikamma National Park and parked my car, then proceeded to walk across to the waterfall.  The sign did say that the walk is difficult, and at first it was lovely and green and full of vegetation.  But then it became very rocky and full of jagged boulders that were steep at the edges and difficult to cross.  To my amazement, this couple passed me with a 6 month old baby that the man was holding in his arms.  Either they were acrobats in the circus and were good at juggling and balancing, or they were just nuts.  Not sure how the baby survived that ordeal.

800 Year Old Yellow Wood Tree

Just down the road from here is an enormous tree and is 800 years old.  It is just mesmerizing to look at.  I highly recommend seeing it if you are here.