Carhire Nightmare
I was trying to hire a car with comprehensive insurance cover but the companies here would not offer it and neither would the brokers. I was spending a considerable amount of time and money calling various companies and reading their small prints. I even tried to ask the representatives of the companies to explain their complex terms but most of them didn't know what they meant either. I finally contacted a UK carhire broker called Travel Jigsaw/Carhire 3000 and a very helpful guy at the other end, based in Manchester, UK, answered all my questions, and arranged for me to pick my car up from Thrifty at Cape Town airport, with full insurance cover. When I arrived, I got a free upgrade and was on my way.
Garden Route
The drive from Cape Town along N2 highway is quite dramatic, with lots of mountainous terrain and valleys. Rather arid though but quite scenic. The drivers are quite courteous. They pull to the side, in the UK well call it the hard shoulder, and let you pass. In the UK and elsewhere, you would have a battle on your hands to get past anyone, but not here.
The Southernmost tip of Africa, where 2 Oceans Meet (Atlantic and Indian)
Cape Agulhas is quite a unique part of the world, and the views of the oceans are quite spectacular. Near land, the water is light blue or emerald colour and further out they become darker blue. There is a lighthouse at Cape Agulhas which you can climb up. The panoramic view is absolutely breathtaking. The hostel/backpackers was really nice and chilled out. It has a pool in the courtyard and a nice lounge and bar area and cool music. The main benefit of staying in hostels/backpackers is socialising and meeting people. I visited a very down to earth restaurant by the water called The Pelican and had a very tasty fish called Cob (not Cod). I highly recommend it.
Mossel Bay
The drive from Cape Agulhas to Mossel Bay was quite an adventure and the vista around was awesome. The heat was quite strong, so I was glad to have airconditioning in the car. At Mossel Bay, I saw a sign for a backpackers and turned up. The guy managing it showed me around and what an incredible place. It was a Victorian style mansion with beautiful wooden floors. The garden had lots of plants and water fountains. Some had large fish in them. The only problem was trying to sleep at night with all the noise being made by croaking frogs outside. There was a fish restaurant called Kingfisher by the harbour. I had a fish called Kingklip, which was a chunky white fleshed fish similar to Cod but more delicious. It was incredible!
Knysna
This little town is quaint and laidback place, full of good restaurants and cafes. Knysna has a harbour and has hills surrounding it. I arrived here 3 days ago and the weather turned for the worst. It has been raining continuously since then and the temperature has cooled considerably. I was in another hostel the first night, but it was dirty and they had crammed as many beds into dorm rooms as they could. The people running it were very friendly though. I am now in a better hostel. I decided to buy my own pillow so I visited the nearby shopping centre and bought a down + duck feather pillow, which feels great. Only problem is, not sure how I am going to take it back to the UK with me.
ATM Ate My Card
Yesterday, I was trying to take money out of an ABSA bank ATM machine inside a supermarket here in Knysna, and for some unknown reason, the machine ate my card. This is the first time this has happened to me overseas so I was not too happy. I called the number on the ATM and this lady called Denise said that they couldn't let me have my card back until today, in the afternoon. I told her that I needed the card sooner but she said that the person who is responsible for accessing their machines was in another coastal town and would not be back in Knysna until later today. Thankfully, I have a backup debit card which I used to take money out from another ATM machine. I have learned from my previous trip to Thailand that having only one debit card is risky.
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