So last weekend the roommates and I ventured off on a little road trip to Knysna (the "K" is silent), a small town about 3 hours outside of Port Elizabeth. We rented a car (SUPER tiny for five people plus our bags!) and headed out after school. The road to Knysna is the N2, also known as the Garden Route, which runs all the way to Cape Town (about 8 hours away from P.E.). The route is beautiful and makes the time stuck in the car far less tedious! On one side of the road are mountains, on the other is the ocean. After we arrived and checked into our hostel (an adorable little house with murals of giraffes and elephants) and had some dinner at a pretty non-descript little restaurant. But then, on our way back to the hostel, we stopped at club called "Zanzibar." We initially just stopped in to have a drink and check it our since we weren't ready for bed, but we ended up having a lot of fun and staying much later intended. South Africans are quite humorous dancers, never separating their knees or bending their hips. But it was fun attempting to imitate them; they were also very impressed with our American dancing (not understanding that we were actually making fun of them)!
The next day, Saturday, had breakfast at a cute little restaurant called Fat Susie's (delicious pancakes that were actually more like crepes, served with cinnamon and lemons!) and then proceeded to explore the town. Knysna is a coastal town and is actually reminiscent of cute little Southern towns, perhaps Chattanooga. We watched the boats in the harbor and explored the quaint shops selling crafts and such. That night we went to dinner at a restaurant where we could overlook the bay. Knysna is known for its seafood and we were not disappointed! This was perhaps the best meal I've had in South Africa so far. We had a mussel pot (fresh from the bay!), steak, creamed spinach, pumpkin, a red South African wine, and amazing desserts. After dinner we were full to popping and called it an early night.
Sunday morning we left Knysna after breakfast (a chocolate crossaint! YUM!) and headed to another small town, Wilderness, about another 30 minutes away. There we rented canoes and took them out on a river surrounded by gorgeous mountains. We canoed to a rocky beach where we got out and proceeded to hike. Along the trail, we spotted a monkey in the trees. Unfortunately, it was too far away to get a good picture but it was adorable with a little white face and black body. At the end of the trail was a waterfall; it was small but beautiful nonetheless. We spent a little while there enjoying the view, taking pictures, and falling in the water (very cold!) before heading back.
I loved our weekend in Knysna! It was overall very relaxing, with just a tiny bit of outdoorsiness to balance out the weekend. I definitely hope we are able to go back another weekend, maybe do some more hiking. I'm having trouble uploading pictures here so check them out on Facebook. Ta-ta for now!
