Western Cape

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The Choo Tjoe to Mossel Bay

If i suddenly dissapear for a couple of posts, don't worry. I seem to be loosing bandwidth somewhere and have a feeling that somebody is tapping in from somewhere. I'm hoping the problem will be sorted out soon. Anyway, on with the tour. One of the most popular tourist attractions on the Garden Route is the Outeniqua Choo Tjoe steam train. Its usual route between George and Knysna was damaged very badly a couple of years ago and its furure…

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15/11/2008
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Knysna.

My apologies for missing yesterday's post, but I had some problems with my internet. All fixed now and back to our tour. The next town on the tour is supposed to be the millionaires' playground of Plettenberg Bay. Unfortunately I don't have any good digital pics of the town so we will bypass it and move on to the town of Knysna.Knysna have twice been voted South Africa's favorite town and is the most popular town on the Garden Route.…

6 Comments
12/11/2008
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Birds of Eden

Seeing that we started touring down the Garden Route I decided to just continue and show you why it is such a popular tourist route. I may interrupt the tour every now and then to do other posts, but we will keep on making our way westwards.The next stop after the Tsitsikamma National Park and the Bloukrantz Bridge is Birds of Eden, situated just outside the town of Plettenberg Bay. Birds of Eden is the World's Biggest Free Flight Bird…

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10/11/2008
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Bloukrantz Bridge Bungy Jump

The Garden Route is not just a very scenic area but also an adventure junkie's playground with near countless activities to be done by thrill seekers of all shapes and sizes.The ultimate adventure activity can be done at the Bloukrantz River Bridge in the Tsitsikamma. The river is also the boundary between the provinces of the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. Here you will find one of the highest commercial bungy jump sites in the world.Measured at 216 metres…

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08/11/2008
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Cape Point Critters

Although the Table Mountain National Park is not a game reserve, it does have some game in the Cape of Good Hope section of the park. Land mammals include zebra, eland and baboon, while dolphins and whales are often spotted along the coastline. Many bird species can be found there as well, from the world's biggest bird, the ostrich, to sometimes antarctic birds making land here. But for all the scenery and everything else there is, its the little things…

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18/10/2008
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Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope

At the tip of the Cape Peninsula, about 50km from Cape Town, you will find two of South Africa's best known points or capes.The first one is The Cape of Good Hope, the most South-Western point of the African continent. Just over 2km away is the second, and more spectacular point, Cape Point. Both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point offer spectacular scenery. Indeed, the whole of the southernmost portion of the Cape Peninsula is a wild, rugged,…

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17/10/2008
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The Penguins at Boulders Beach

Boulders Beach is a sheltered beach made up of inlets between granite boulders, from which the name originated. It is a popular tourist stop because of a colony of African Penguins which settled there in 1982. Boulders Beach forms part of the Table Mountain National Park.Although set in the midst of a residential area, it is one of the few sites where this endangered bird can be observed at close range, wandering freely in a protected natural environment.From just two…

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16/10/2008
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Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens

Nestled on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town is the best known of South Africa's eight National Botanical Gardens. Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens cover five of South Africa's six different biomes. With minor exceptions, only indigenous plants are cultivated. The outdoor focus of the gardens concentrates on plants native to the Cape region, highlighted by the spectacular collections of proteas. Kirstenbosch is a very popular attraction with both locals as well as tourists. In summer there is usually…

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14/10/2008
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Table Mountain Part 2

To wrap up yesterday's post on Table Mountain, I decided to show you the sights on and from Table Mountain, just to give you a better idea why people go up the mountain. As posted yesterday, there is several trails that you can follow once you are on top of mountain. (In actual fact you don't only have to go up with the cable car, you can also hike up the mountain via one of many different trails). The trail…

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13/10/2008
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Table Mountain

Who hasn't seen a picture of Table Mountain? The most popular view of this iconic mountain is from across the bay at Blouberg Stand or from the V&A Waterfront. But just for those who don't know much about it, here is some info. The main feature of Table Mountain is a level plateau surrounded by steep cliffs. The plateau, flanked by Devil's Peak to the east and by Lion's Head to the west, forms a dramatic backdrop to Cape Town…

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12/10/2008