Africa	Cape Town Jan 17 - Jan 21 Garden Route Jan 22 - Jan 27 Overland Tour Jan 29 - Feb 19 Soweto Tour Feb 24 Kruger Park Feb 25 - Feb 27

Newsletter from Africa - Garden Route

We had a few days before our Wildlife Overland trip started, so we rented a car and drove along South Africa's famous Garden Route. This stretch of highway hugs the south-eastern coastline and takes you through some beautiful towns. We stopped in Arniston on our first night. The town is home to a well preserved fishing village. We didn't find the village itself all that exciting, but the beach was very pretty ...and perfect for lazy strolls. We had dinner that night at the backpacker lodge (which is really a resort with a dorm building for backpackers). I ordered what I thought was a glass of wine with my dinner. I assumed it was a glass of wine because of the price ...it was just under $2.00 U.S.. BOY, was I shocked when they asked me if I'd like 2 glasses for the bottle of wine (it was good too)!!!

Our next stop was in Knysna. We enjoyed 2 nights of absolute luxury in a quaint log cabin on the beach (Brenton on Sea). We decided to "splurge" and spend all of $32.00 !! This place was gorgeous ...in room jacuzzi and fabulous views of the ocean. The beach was just steps away ...and it was a beautiful walk. We could never find a place like this back home for only $32.00!!

That's the one thing that keeps surprising us as we travel ...you can get so much more for your money in other areas of the world (assuming you get paid in U.S. dollars or Euros). It really has been much cheaper for us to be on the road than living back home. Every time we're tempted to buy property in another country (or even relocate there), we realize that we really wouldn't be able to do it unless we get paid a U.S. salary. So, we're really trying to take advantage of staying in nice places (similar places back home would cost four times as much).

From Knysna, we went inland to Outshoorn. We visited a wild animal park. What was unique about this park was that for an extra $30 Rand (almost $3.00 U.S.), they will let you into the cheetah enclosure ...and you can PET the cheetah (or the cheetah cubs). Once a cheetah is domesticated ...it stays so for life (or so they told us ...just in case, we let others pet the cheetah first). As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, we went to the ostrich farm next. They do amazing things with ostrich eggs around here ...and the egg shells are very strong! We got to feed the ostriches and even RIDE one!

We found a great bed and breakfast in Outshoorn called Tom's Mill. This place was sooo charming!! The rooms were beautiful and located around a garden courtyard. It was also located in the center of town, which was convenient for walking. We had a great dinner at Godfather's Restaurant. This restaurant specialized in game meat ...South Africans are serious carnivores!

We drove back to Cape Town on Route 62 ... which took us inland through the rocky hills and winelands of the south east. The garden route was definitely worth the visit!!

region	lodging	$US / night	rating	notes
Arniston	South of Africa Backpackers	$17.14		Clean and sterile, lacks character
Knysna	Brenton on Sea Hotel	$32.11		Fantastic ocean view, log cabin, in room jacuzzi
Outshoorn	Tom's Mill B&B	$18.34		Very charming, garden setting in the heart city
Paarl	Jacky's Place B&B	$22.93		Comfortable