From Franschoek we travelled to Knysna on the Garden Route. Although it was winter there were plenty of aloes in flower. It was a long drive, stopping in Swellendam for lunch. We arrived in Knysna in the middle of their oyster festival.
Our first full day was spent touring around the lagoon and heads. We were rewarded with a school of southern right whales swimming past when we were on the eastern head. (John and I had been whale watching at Walker Bay on our previous trip so we knew to look for the characteristic V-shaped plume of spray around large grey objects in the water).
Our second day we retraced our route from 2003 into the Grounveld Forest and the gold mines. We had a walk at Jubilee Creek and then it was on to Mother Holly's for lunch. It was good to walk in the forest and relax a bit from the more hectic side of sightseeing.
Our main reason for going to Knysna had been that Dad wanted to go on the Outeniqua Choo Choo, the only scheduled steam train in the country. Unfortunately there had been a landslide near Wilderness last year so, instead of running from Knysna to George, the train now ran from George to Mossel Bay. It was now much easier to do the trip from Wilderness, so the Cango Caves, which had been planned for Wilderness, were covered with a large detour on the way from Knysna. The route took us through the ostrich farming area of Oudtshoorn and then on through the Klein Karoo. It was well worth the detour.
The Choo Choo is still as enjoyable as ever, although the route is a little less spectacular without the Knysna lagoon and the Kayman's river crossing. The return trip was completed with a tour of the railway museum in George - steam locomotive after steam locomotive. There were also photos and carriages of the royal train that King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and the princesses travelled on when they visited South Africa in 1947.
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