Diary 6

 

 

2004

 

 

"The busiest tourist I have ever met"

 

 

 That is what Mike from Fergies in Table View called me the other week and today I feel I lived up to that name. Got up at about 7.30am..(yes 7.30am!!) went for breakfast at 8.30 and just asked the owner just in passing) how long it would take me to get to " Storm River Village " as I had tree gliding at 10.00. She informed me that it took an hour and a half to get there and I should leave straight away. So with two bits of marmite toast in hand I ran for my car. Less than an hour later!!! I was booking into the adventure centre. Had a bit of time to kill so I drove a bit further up the coast to see the "big tree" Had to fight my way past two coach loads of German and American OAP's to see the rather large but not mind boggling tree and ran back to the car to make it in time for Gliding. Now tree gliding is awesome and on the very edge of my braveness in fact slightly beyond!!! 100 feet above the jungle floor we where hooked (fully harnessed) to steel cables and slid between trees. Braking was by means of your right hand. We were issued with a welders glove and by pulling down on the cable above, you could slow yourself down and even stop, but believe me stopping before you reached the safety of the next tree platform was not something you wanted to do!! And by not slowing enough you would bury yourself and the awaiting guide into the 500 year old trees at the end of your slide. It was awesome and not something I will ever ever forget. This is one of two tree gliding adventures in the world the other being in south America I believe. All this and lunch for thirty nine pound. Wild just wild!!! After this and a change of under clothes, I sped off aches and all for Titsikamma national park and a mammoth walk up a mountain to a suspension bridge between the cliffs. I found it funny to see one and all hanging on to the sides as the bridge swayed from side to side, myself after my morning activities had a casual stroll across totally unperturbed and feeling no need to even take my hands out of my pockets :-) But I was just about to be humbled however, after another drive I reached the worlds highest commercial bungee jump 216 meters TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY METERS!! It is from a bridge traversing a gorge and I must admit even from the safety of my vantage point I was hanging onto the wall in front of me. I stopped to watch one crazy fool throw himself off then it was back down the road to monkey land driving ever so gingerly over the bridge where underneath the perfectly normal people (yeah right) were hurling themselves towards the ravine below. I must admit I had a quick look at the monkeys but my aches and pains where getting to me and I headed back to my guest house in Knysna where a well earned two hour power nap was in order. I woke up at 7pm with a very rumbly belly and headed down to a restaurant down by points meet and had the best mussels in garlic and cheese sauce followed by steak and prawns and a nice bottle of wine ever. So yeah today I was a very busy tourist but tomorrow I have booked back into a paradise called "mes amis" in wilderness where I shall just sit and ponder for a few days!!!

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