Addo and the Garden Route

We did a side trip to the Garden Route and Addo Elephant Park with Nick and Kerry,Rebekah and JJ. We stopped in Swellendam for breakfast and drove to the Tsitsikama National Park to stay over at Storms River Mouth. The setting of the campsite and chalets here has got to be one of the best in SA. You sit on the verandah of your cabin and braai with the waves crashing literally a few metres beyond you. Sunsets are magical. Kerry said she'd stay put for the week until a big baboon visited her balcony while she was still in bed with the door open. We headed to Addo the next day. Our first night was in a bush camp at a waterhole, followed by 3 nights at main camp. Facilities are really good. We saw plenty of elephants and had sightings of lion,buffalo and jackal; as well as zebra, antelope and warthog. Bird watching was also excellent. The park is growing as they acquire more land and some areas are still rehabilitating. It's not as all encompassing a bush experience as Kruger but still worth the trip. Heading back we stopped for the night in Knysna at a guest house run by Nick's friends John and Tanya; who were great hosts. John took us out on the lagoon in his speed boat and to Thesen Island for drinks at the boutique hotel, The Turbine. It's a  converted power station with amazing interiors incorporating all the old machinery. Of course Knysna has developed so much since the days of my childhood family holidays at a resort on Leisure Isle but it really worth a stop on any Garden Route tour.