On January 23, 2012, Chinese New Year was celebrated, one of the biggest festivals of the orient by the Chinese calendar. It’s the year of Dragon (龍) again after 12 years of from the year 2000. The dragon is the 5th sign of the Chinese zodiac and it is regarded as an auspicious symbol which stands for power, good luck, success, and happiness.
| 祝 | zhu | wish |
| 龙年快乐 | long nian kuai le | Happy the Year of Dragon |
| 万事如意 | wan shi ru yi | All the Best |
| 恭喜发财 | gong xi fa cai | Congratulations and prosperity |
Only within 122 km distance from Cape Town, Hermanus was originally a fishing village. It is now best known as a place to view whales. Between June and November, southern right whales come to Walker Bay to calve. There can be up to 70 whales in the bay at once.
Whales often come very close to shore and there are some excellent vantage points from the cliff paths that run from one end of Hermanus to the other.
Although we were too late to watch the whales, I enjoyed my stay in Hermanus. Probably also because of our very nice accommodation: The Misty Waves Hotel. We had rooms on the first floor with balcony and ocean view – what more can you wish for?
For the more adventurous Hermanus is the perfect place for cage shark diving to view Great Whites. Within Walker Bay is the infamous shark alley where you can find the most Great Whites in the world – scary thought… I have done the cage shark diving in Hawaii (and nearly died, because I was that nervous…) – it was a fantastic experience, but once is enough for me.
Once one of the jewels of the Garden Route, Mossel Bay is now slightly marred by industrial sprawl – you have to look quite hard to find its beauty…
The only thing that counted for my was our hotel, called Point Hotel. The hotel is rather an eyesore but in a spectacular location, right above the wave-pounded rocks at the Point and right underneath a lighthouse – what else could I wish for?!
Most of the rooms have a balcony with ocean views. I could have sat there all day, looking into the ocean – which I did not, of course, since there were many other things to do. But going to bed listening to the ocean and waking up listening to the ocean is just priceless!
Featherbed Nature Reserve, a unique 150 ha private Nature Reserve, encompasses the whole of the Western Head of Knysna and is one of South Africa’s Natural Heritage Sites. It is a pristine piece of paradise situated on the Western Head of Knysna and is accessible by ferry only. We attended a tour that started with a ferry trip to the Featherbed Nature Reserve, a nature drive and a guided walk with some stunning views. Have a look:
On our way from Port Elizabeth to Knysna we drove along a dirt road from Jeffrey’s Bay (big Billabong Factory Outlet!) to Cape San Francis, a small and unpretentious town chiefly famous for the Seal Point and Bruce’s Beauties surf breaks. The landscape is breathtaking and the lighthouse (build in 1888) just a bonus.
When I was planning my trip to South Africa, I was mainly interested in visiting Cape Town and traveling along the beautiful coast with its breath taking beaches. I was less interested in going on a safari (or game drive, as they call it in South Africa). How could I ever be that wrong? After attending four game drives in the Amakhala Game Reserve I have to say this is one of the best experiences ever. I am fascinated by all these wild animals that I saw that close.
Start your drive as early in the morning as possible, and continue until approximately 10 am. Resume in mid-afternoon and stay out until sunset. The early morning and late afternoon trigger all kinds of activities in the African bush. This is when many animals are most active.
In Africa, a few of the most formidable and fiercest have entrenched their place in the psyche of man – the lion with its awe-inspiring power and hunting skills; the mysterious and elusive leopard with its stunning coat; the unpredictable buffalo with its ebony flanks and horns of steel; the temperamental rhino with its insatiable appetite; and the charismatic elephant, the largest animal on land.
Although these five species are not the only ones that are rare, interesting, large, powerful or dangerous, they have captured man’s imagination and both trophy hunters and nature lovers refer to them as the Big Five.
In Amakhale Game Reserve we have seen four of the Big Five. We did not see a leopard, since there is none in that Reserve. Leopards can easily jump a two meter fence and are therefore hard to keep. Instead we saw a whole cheetah family, which was much more interesting to me, since I love cheetahs.
Have a look yourself:
