In the
evening we had dinner at Africa Café, which is a very nice restaurant that
both offers tapas and musical entertainment from all over Africa. The
entrance is level, but there might be a kerb from the street to the
entrance. The disabled toilets are nice (but the lock is unreachable) and
there is plenty of space between the tables. The restaurant’s own craft and
curio shop is also accessible, but can be a bit narrow. Beware not to break
the nice ceramics!
January 8th 2006 -
Knysna - The
blue lagoon
After breakfast we checked out of the City Lodge and stuffed our bags
into the Caravelle. We were starting our Garden Route tour, and our first
destination was Knysna, about 6 hours of driving from Cape Town. The first
part of the drive, was according to Warren "the boring part", with naked
mountain passes and nothing but bare fields with some cattle. We even had
some drops of rain along the route. Fortunately, since the car didn't come
with a stereo, Warren provided us with a lot information about the Cape area
and different aspects of South Africa. We stopped for a toilet & coffee
break in a Quick Stop station in Heidelberg. Nice disabled toilets were
obviously to be found in the countryside as well!
We came to Knysna early in
the afternoon, and checked into the
Protea Hotel Knysna Quays, that was located on the Knysna Waterfront,
vith a view to the famous Knysna Lagoon. The entrance of the hotel was
accessible via a steep stone ramp (can be slippery). The reception and the
breakfast restaurant was accessible, and the hotel had 2 fairly large lifts.
There were two steps to get to the
pool area and
the path to the Waterfront, but it was possible avoid the obstacles by going
through the restaurant, that had a ramp and a wide door. The
disabled rooms
were very nice, with a lot of space. The bathroom had a
wide door, a
sink that was possible to wheel under, grab bars at
the toilet and a
wheel-in shower
via a small ramp. The shower had a fixed seat. The only awkward thing,
was that the tube to the shower head was very short and that the
showerbattery could be hard to reach.
After check-in we went for
lunch at the Drydock Food Company at the Knysna Waterfront. The place was
ok, but the burgers was nothing to write home about. We didn't check the
toilets. All in all the Knysna Waterfront was quite accessible and easy to
wheel around in. After lunch, we went to get more clothes, as we were going
on a "sunset cruise" on the lagoon. In the tourist brochures the cruise was
described as a 1½ hour cruise aboard the mv John Benn - Knysna’s only luxury
cruising restaurant. The boat leaves from the Knysna Waterfront, and there
are some steps and a steep ramp to get down to the boat. When you're on
board, it's easy to move around with a wheelchair inside, but to get outside
your chair has to be really narrow. I don't know whether it was the lack of
sunset (the sun was hiding behind the clouds) or the lack of luxury, but the
sunset cruise was not an unforgettable experience. It was nice seeing the
Knysna heads, that we had heard so much about, but nothing more than that
really. We were not able to go ashore, to have a peak at the Featherbed
nature reserve, but according to our walking friends, we didn't miss
anything.
After several days of good
but heavy African food, we felt like having something lighter for dinner, so
we asked Warren to take us to a chinese restaurant. We ended up at Bow Tie,
a restaurant that was fairly accessible (some small thresholds) both inside
and outside. We did not check the toilets, but I suspect that they were not
very accessible.
January 9th 2006 -
Outdshoorn - Can
you Cango?
The sun was shining again (Warren
quickly understood that Norwegians are obsessed with nice weather), and
after breakfast we were ready for a day filled with animals and cavemen. We
drove to the town of Outdshoorn, a 1,5-2 hour drive from Knysna.
Our first stop was at the
Oudtshoorn Ostrich Showfarm,
where we were given an exclusive tour by a nice and friendly
guide. The tour was both informative, exciting (for the more daring of us),
and entertaining (for the not so daring, but evil spirited ones like myself).
We got to see the breeding facilities, to feed and touch the ostriches (I
actually did that), to sit and ride on the ostriches (and even fall off them)
and finally we got to see an ostrich race. To be able to ride an ostrich,
you should have a good balance, because there is nothing much to hold on to
really. We felt very much like stupid tourists, but it was both fun and
interesting. The farm area was fairly accessible. Pretty flat with small
ramps. They didn't have accessible toilets however.
Our
next stop was the Cango Wildlife
Ranch, which is supposed to be one of the best breeding facilities for
cheetahs in the whole world. Actually wheelies (and children under 16) are
not allowed to touch the wild animals, because they regard you as prey.
Pretty ironic huh? The wildlife farm was very nice and accessible though,
with wooden boardwalks all over the farm. A few places the ramps/paths are
quite steep, but I guess the staff would be kind enough to help you, if you
don't bring an assistant. Some of the fences were a bit high of course, but
if you are able to stand while holding on to your chair, you should be able
to see most animals from cheetah, jaguars, bengal tigers, lions, snakes,
alligators, suricates and much more. The restaurant was accessible, and the
crocodile burgers were both tasty and good (if I can't touch the wild
animals, at least I'm going to taste them). There were also nice disabled
toilets near the entrance of the farm.
The last stop was the
Cango Caves. Endeavour Safaris
had originally removed this sight from our last itinerary, because the caves
are filled with thousands of steps. But since we had heard about a secret
door to one of the first chambers, we wanted to go check the place out
anyhow. The secret door obviously didn't exist, but the staff were nice
enough to show us around inside the cave entrance, which was accessible. The
visitor's centre was also completely accessible with ramps (quite steep),
accessible movie theatre and disabled toilets and parking.
After a day of intensive
sigh-seeing in the sun we were ready to go back to sleepy Knysna. This night
we felt like having Italian food, and just outside the town centre we found
a nice little place called
Piccola Italia. Level entrance, lots of space and good food. We didn't check if
they had disabled toilets.
January 10th 2006 -
The
Garden Route:
Knysna - Nature's Valley
- Tsitsikamma - J' Bay - Addo
After breakfast it was time to stuff our bags into the c
ar and hit the
road again. We could either drive straigt to Addo on the highway, or we
could go via smaller roads, and see what the most beautiful part of the
Garden Route had to offer. We chose the latter alternative and left the N2
for a drive through Nature's Valley. Ever heard about natural beauty? Well
you'll definitely find it here. You'll also find baboons, who are neither friendly
or particularly beautiful. After Nature's Valley we passed Storms River, where
mad men tend to jump off bridges. Back on the N2 again, our first stop was
Ttsitsikamma National Park, at Storms River Mouth Restcamp for a coffee and
toilet break. And not to forget, to enjoy the more or less perfect view. If
your favourite colours are green and blue, you don't want to leave this
place. You just want to hang around and gaze out on the sea and forrest. The
café was accessible as well
as the toilets. But you won't be able to go down on the beach with a
wheelchair.
Next short stop was
Jeffrey's Bay, or J Bay, as the cool people like to call it. In J Bay you will find an amazing beach with white sand
and big waves. And on the beach you will find surfers. A lot of them.
Actually the whole society in J Bay is nowadays built around surfing, surf shops and
people waiting for the ultimate wave. The beach was both nice and tempting, but we had elephants
waiting for us, so we couldn't hang around for long.
We hit the road again, and
after driving through Port Elizabeth, we found the road heading up to the
Addo Elephant National Park,
some 45 minutes North of Port Elizabeth.
In
the reception in the main restcamp it turned out that there had been a
mix-up. The disabled friendly chalet was not available until the day after,
and despite Warren's strong and emotional efforts, this was not possible to
change. I was not very suprised by this, because according to Endeavour
Safaris, it was always difficult to get accomodation in the Addo confirmed.
They rarely answer the phone or e-mail there. Oh well, we got a regular
chalet for the night, and besides the steep path and a few steps at the
entrance, the regular chalet was not that bad. We headed off for a late
lunch at the restaurant, which was accessible via a steep hill/ramp. The
entrance was level, and there was a nice disabled toilet in the reception
area. The only bad thing was (except from the service maybe) that the
restaurant tables outside were fixed parkbenches, so they were not suitable
for wheelchairs. The tables inside were nice though, and the room had plenty
of space and a ceiling fan.
Activities in the park were
not included in our itinenary. We decided to go for the guided sunset drive
(230R pp) at 18PM with a
real safari
vehicle instead of doing a self drive. Seats are limited, so you should
try booking in advance, at least earlier the same day. The vehicles are very
high landrovers or trucks, so they can be quite hard to get into for people
who are paralyzed or have little strength in the upper body. No matter what,
you should have someone to carry you, and not be too heavy. Still this can
prove to be a difficult operation for some. If you manage though, it's
definitely worth it. The guides know where to find the animals at the
different hours and they can drive "off road", something the regular cars
are not allowed to do. They also have radio connection, letting each other know
where the different herds have been spotted. In the beginning of our sunset
drive, we didn't see that many animals, and from what I had been reading
about the Addo park, I was not very optimistic. But things picked up, and
after a while we had seen both kudus, black rhinos, elephants, turtle and
the dung beetle. Actually the first dung beetle we saw was brutally murdered
(run over) by a self-driving car. According to Warren, the guide's
expression when this happened, was not easy to forget.
When we got to the
waterhole, the sun was setting over the Addo and a big herd of elephants
were having their evening drink at the waterhole. So were we it turned out.
The sunset drive offers snacks and drinks while watching the elephants at the
waterhole. After the herd had left, a young male elephant came running
slightly confused about. He suddenly started running towards our vehicle for
a short while, and my friend jumped into the car in 3 steps and 2 seconds.
Always ladylike though, not spilling a drop of red wine...
When we got back we had
dinner at the restaurant, while trying to agree on the activities for the
next day. We decided to go on a guided drive at noon (150R pp), and then see
what happened afterwards. Mabye we would go on a self-drive, or maybe we
would just hang around at the pool. After dinner, we sat on the front porch
on our chalet, listening to the different sounds of Africa. Sigh, sometimes
life's really not that bad...
January 11th 2006 - Much
addo about elephants
Addo Elephant National
Park
It was a hot and sunny morning, and
after brekfast
we went
to check out the discovery trail. The PPC Discovery Trail is a short
walk where you can learn more about
the plants and animals
of the region. The first loop is suitable for visually-impaired and wheelchair
users, since it has a wooden pathway along the different
signs. Despite the fact that I brought
a bottle of water, I felt that the heat was starting to fry my brain after a
while. So I was very happy when we could get on the safari vehicle again,
getting some wind in our hair. Warren decided to hang around the pool
instead . But he was kind of jealous when we came back, showing him the
digital photos of all the animals we had seen including lots of elephants (very
close), warthogs, ostriches, kudus, red hartebeest, elands as well as a
cobra and a egg-eater snake having a meal at a bird's nest.
After lunch it was so hot
that we decided to spend a few hours at the
pool instead
of going on a self-drive. After all, we had seen more wild animals than I
had expected and even hoped for. Warren had moved our luggage from the
regular chalet to the disabled friendly one, which was nice with a medium
steep ramp down
to the chalet and a
level entrance.
The chalet
was spacious with a couch, double bed and a
kitchen (for
tall people though). The bathroom was nice as well. A
wheel in-sink,
toilet with grab bars, a bathtub with handles as well as a
shower with a
fixed showerseat, grab bars and a handheld shower.
The area around the main
restcamp is covered with asphalt roads. Some of the hills are quite steep
though, so only a person with a very strong upper body will manage without
help. To get to the pool, you have to
cross a gravel path, and then some grass. The pool itself is not
particularly accessible, because of a 30-40cm edge which cannot be crossed
by a wheelchair. But if your upper body is strong, you'll might be able
to get into the pool without your chair.
After some hours og
sunbathing and swimming in the pool (we even saw wild monkeys at the pool) and a few beers, it was time
to get ready for dinner in the restcamp restaurant again. I don't think the
food was that memorable, but I do remember that we had a good time. I myself
had enough beer to sleep like a log the entire night, despite the fact that
we had 2 bats as visitors. My more sober friend had to go on a nightly
expedition to get rid of these not so cosy pets, and it turned out that we
had a bat nest just outside our front door. They had had a big fiest during
the night. I'm really not that sad I missed it...
January 12th 2006 -
Under the bridge
Addo - Jeffrey's Bay - Bloukrans Brigde - Mossel Bay
We (or my rhino obsessed friend)
decided to go on a short self-drive tour early in the morning before
breakfast and departure. We didn't see much (the guided tour seemed like a
far better alternative), and definitely no rhinos, so after getting the
elementary coffee and sandwich, it was time to hit the road again.
We decided to pay Jeffrey's
Bay and Dolphin's Beach one more visit. Dolphin's Beach is not very
accessible apart from a steep wooden pathway to get down to the beach edge.
We came to the conclusion that it was too much of a hazzle to get into the
Indian ocean. But it was nice to sit a short while on the perfect beach in
the sun (even if this resulted in sandy pants the rest of the day). There
were disabled toilets in the regular restroom area.
After buying some surf gear,
it was time for the brave people to stand up for themselves. We headed for
Storms River and Bloukrans bridge, where our bodyguard decided that he was
tired of us, and wanted to jump off a
bridge. Not any bridge either. The Bloukrans bridge offers the
world's
highest bungy jump, with a free fall of 216 meters! The area around
Bloukrans bridge is fairly accessible with medium steep concrete ramps
to the viewpoint and pub
area. Also there are disabled toilets in the upper area next to the road,
but you might encounter some awkward curbes to get there. I don't know
if it's possible for disabled people to jump from this bridge (I doubt it).
But I didn't feel suicidal that day, so I didn't bother to check it out. The
whole jumping experience takes 3 hours
and we spent them waiting in Cliffhanger Pub in agony with our cameras ready
(we should have had binoculars, videocamera or at least a proper lense). We think we got
the right guy on film, at least he had blue shorts...
After
leaving the bakcpackers behind in Bloukrans, we were heading for some luxury
in Mossel Bay, our last stop on the Garden Route and the way back to Cape
Town. We were spending the night in the Diaz Strand Hotel & Resort. And when
we first got there, we thought the whole place was so pleasant that we
wished we had arrived much earlier. The hotel was accessible and the rooms
had balconies with a stunning view over the beach in Mossel Bay. The regular
rooms were spacious and the bathroom had both bathtub with handles (but no
handheld shower) and a shower. The shower didn't have a seat though. The
hotel had several different restaurants, but since this was our last day on
tour, we decided to go for a 3 course meal with good wine in the gourmet
restaurant Bahia dos Vaqueiros on the 1st floor. And with Warren's excellent
wine choices, this was definitely a meal to remember.
January 13th 2006 - On
the road again
Mossel Bay - Cape Town - Hout Bay
With the nice surroundings and
weather, we decided to skip the lunch in Hermanus and stay at the hotel pool
in Mossel Bay until check-out time. The pool was accessible via a hidden
back entrance and a medium steep ramp. The pool itself had no ramps to get
in, but no edges either. And when you're in the pool, the temperature is
just perfect and the view of the beach and ocean is even better. The beach
was not accessible and had steps from what we could see. But it was
definitely nice to look at. Alas, we had to leave Mossel Bay at noon and
start the final part of our tour...
The last leg was mainly
transportation. Warren was doing the "What have you learned about
South-Africa quiz", to test if we had been paying attention along the tour.
I'll leave it up to him to conclude on how skilful we were. We grabbed a
lunch to go at a junk food place in the middle of nowhere. And early in the
afternoon we reached Cape Town. Warren took us a small extra tour through
the Gardens, to show us his house. And then we headed off to Hout Bay, to
find Amblewood Guesthouse, where we were spending our last days in South
Africa.
Amblewood Guesthouse is
situated on one of the hills in Hout Bay, with an amazing view of the bay
and the Sentinel Mountain. When I saw this view on their webpage, I just
thought: "We have to stay here". When I searched for wheelchair friendly
accomodation in Cape Town & the Western Cape on
www.sa-venues.com, the Amblewood came
up as one of the alternatives. Since I don't always trust descriptions in
those kind of listings, I e-mailed the owners and asked about accessibility.
And even if I realized that this was probably not the most wheelchair
friendly accomodation in the world from the answer I got, it didn't scare me
off either. I mean...the view!
When we first parked
outside Amblewood, the only thing we could see was a steep path of stairs
leading up to the house. Warren asked me with doubt in his voice: "Did you
really check if this place was accessible?!". I was having doubts myself.
But it turned out all right. It was possible to walk (or drive) around the
property via a steep asphalt hill and enter the house via a medium steep
wooden ramp. It was time to say goodbye to Warren (the best tourguide in the
world), who we had gotten to know pretty well during the last 8 days. We'll
meet again, don't know where don't know when. But I'm sure we'll meet again
some sunny day....
Our room (the wheelchair friendly one) was on the ground floor,
while the rest of the guest rooms were upstairs. The doors were wide, an the
room was spacious. The beds were possible to move. The bathroom though was
on the small side even for my tiny wheelchair, and had no grab bars. The
shower had no thresholds, but no chair and handheld showerhead either. But
Trevor provided a regular plastic chair to use, so that worked out ok. The
pool and the kitchen area was reachable via a quite steep ramp (you need
some guts and a strong upper body). All inn all, Amblewood was not the
perfect place for wheelchair users, but it was manageable for a person with
a small manual chair. Besides this, the owners of the guesthouse were very
friendly, and didn't know what they could do to make the stay easier for us.
And remember - the view!
Trevor, for instance, took
us down to Hout Bay in his old Chevy van (not adapted) whenever we wanted,
and picked us up again when we wanted to go home. And we did not pay
anything extra for this. We didn't go to Hout Bay that many times, but we
really appreciated the hospitality at the Amblewood. On the first night we
went down to Hout Bay in the evening, and had dinner on the
Butcher's Grill House. The restaurant is accessible via a ramped side
entrance. And they did have disabled toilets. And even if the place was nice,
it was kind of crowded and very loud. It was probably the most expensive
place we've been to in South Africa as well. But the food was delicious, so
it was worth it.
January 14th 2006 - Robben Island
After having a relaxing breakfast at the patio on Amblewood, Trevor was
kind enough to take us to the V&A Waterfront in his van. We had tickets for
the boat that was leaving at 11AM from the visitor's centre at the
Clocktower. The centre is accessible with ramps and lifts (although we
didn't find out how to get to the ticket booth with a wheelchair). There are
disabled toilets downstairs. When you are boarding the catamaran, there are
6 steps to reach the dock. I didn't see I ramp, but it might be possible to
fix one if you let them know at an early stage. I'm not sure. At least the
guys working there was helpful. There is level entrance to the boat, and
it's easy to move around between the aisles in the catamaran. There is not
disabled toilet onboard. There will be waves, so hold on tight!
When you get to the
visitor's centre, you should ask for accessible transportation at
Robben Island. If you do, you
will be met by a completely accessible Mercedes Sprinter with a wheelchair
lift, instead of the old inaccessible buses the other passengers are
transported with. If you're even more lucky, you'll get Tabo as your guide
on the tour around the island, that offers a cruel and unusual history in so
many aspects.
When the tour of the island
is over, you enter the prison where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for so
many years. It is the ex-political prisoners who act as tour guides,
something that makes the tour an extra interesting and emotional experience.
They provide a movable ramp to enter the prison, but you will face a few
steps and some uneven surfaces at the exit. When the prison tour is over,
people walk the few meters down to the boat again. You can either visit the
penguin colony (which we didn't) or the curio shop. The shop is accessible
via a steep ramp, but there are no disabled toilets on the island.
When we got back to the V&A
Waterfront again, we had lunch at the Fish Market in the Victoria Wharf
shopping centre. After that we did our final shopping, and strolled around
watching people who there were many of because of the ongoing jazz festival.
While waiting for our friends, we had a drink at den Anker. Unfortunately it
started to rain, so we had to go inside. Fortunately the restaurant had a
movable ramp.
While on tour, Warren had
told us about his favourite local italian restaurant called
Limoncello, which was situated in Breda Street in the Gardens. Warren
had made reservations for us there, and we took a taxi from the Waterfront.
Limoncello is a small trendy restaurant with a level entrance. Half of the
tables are accessible, but to get to the bar and the toilets (regular ones)
you will encounter steps. But the food and service is excellent, not to
forget the Limoncello (lemon liquor)...
January 15th 2006 -
Hout Bay
It's
burning, burning, burning
After so many days on the road doing intensive sight-seeing, we had
decided to spend an entire day doing absolutely nothing. And the weather
turned out dangerously well. It was 27 degrees of celcius in the air, a mild
breeze and 28 degrees in the pool. We had sudoku, postcards, beer in the
fridge and don't forget - the view...
The only thing we (or at
least I) forgot was to wear enough sunscreen. My face and arms had got a
pretty good tan from all the sight-seeing, but my back had not seen the sun
for months and months. This resulted in a pretty bad sunburn (just call me
Pink Panther) on my back. So don't forget: always wear enough sunscreen! I
know, there is no point in telling you. People don't learn from other
people's mistakes...
In the early evening Trevor
took us down to Hout Bay, where we had dinner at the
Mariner's Wharf. The
place was accessible via a long and medium steep ramp made of wood. The
restaurant was slightly narrow some places, and had steps to some of the
tables (so let them know that you are in a chair when you order). Out table
had a nice view to the sunset on Chapman's Peak, and the food was nice as
well. But the whole place was very touristlike, so we didn't have the time
of our life. In some weird we were depressed by the thought of leaving South
Africa, at the same time as we were looking forward to coming home after 2
weeks on the road.
January 16th 2006 - Time
to say goodbye
The weather was still stunning, and
we were lucky enough to keep our rooms up until departure. So this day was
spent relaxing as well (for some of us in the shadow). If we got bored, we
could always play around with the two house dogs at Amblewood. But life can
be pretty good doing nothing, if you're in the right place. The thought of
going home to snow and minus 10C was definitely not tempting...
But alas, everything must
come to an end, including nice holidays. At 18PM Trevor took us to the
airport, and we thanked him for a wonderful stay at Amblewood Guesthouse. It
was the perfect and relaxing ending of a holiday I will remember for the
rest of my life...
January 2006,
Ingunn W.
After
watching the sea life, it was time to eat it. We had lunch at the
