Cape Road Trip: From bush to beach

11/25/2016

Day 5 - Addo Elephant Park to Bloukrans

DISTANCE: 260 kms

On the Road
A changing landscape. Saw plenty of animals on our trip through the Addo Elephant Park, as well as our first glimpses of the sea. Port Elizabeth was an overwhelming experience after a couple of days in the bush and Jeffries Bay an underwhelming one, nothing like Keith remembered. The garden route with its lush green mountains a stark contrast to fynbos and the Karoo.

Overnighted at: Bloukrans Caravan Park
Located: Tsitsikamma area on the Garden Route.
How we found it: Sign on the side of N2 Highway.
Road Access: Good.
Amenities: Campsites with power and braais; huge, high ceilinged ablutions, great showers, free condoms in both male and female bathrooms.
Cost: NZD14 / ZAR140 for two adults

Our experience
“Slow reveal” best describes this experience. We didn’t know anything about where we were staying. When we first arrived the camp ground was deserted and we felt a little uneasy. Then suddenly it was full of Xhosian youth laughing and playing as they carried in mattresses and pitched tents. The condoms in the ablutions, coupled with a receipt for camp fees from the Tisitikamma Forest Village Trust, helped us to figure out it was some sort of community project. It’s a spacious, well-manicured caravan park with large, level sites, and sharing it with a group of youth was a pleasure rather than an invasion.

Soundtrack: Traffic. Youth group playing until it got dark, then absolute silence. Boot camp at dawn, supervisor yelling instructions (Rise and Shine! Get running!) Singing.

Highlight: Not being the ones who had to get up and get running! Great to support a local community tourism initiative.
Lowlight: A really COLD night with heavy dewfall. Wore all our warm stuff all at once and still shivered.

Lessons Learnt:

Take weekends into account. We lost track of the days and didn’t realise it was Friday. Tried to book into the Tsitsikamma (Garden Route) National Park at the same time as a campervan convention and gave up. The youth group at Bloukrans was also a weekend thing, fortunately a happy experience.
Bring more blankets.