"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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