Glenn's Journal for 11-13-02 Oudtshoorn
We awoke today, again at a leisurely pace, enjoying the view from the balcony as we enjoyed breakfast. One of the important tasks that was accomplished yesterday was the Denise found coffee filters and a funnel so we could make "real" coffee. Everyone enjoyed the taste of "real" coffee in the morning instead of the instant that Erin had gotten used to.
After breakfast Erin and I packed down to one backpack and one daypack for the next 5 days. We left quite a few things behind that we would gather back up upon our return next week. Chris and Denise dropped us off in town where we picked up a minibus taxi, our first experience in South Africa, to make our way to Oudtshoorn. The taxi is a minivan that supposedly holds 14 people at capacity. Can you imagine folks in the states accepting of a taxi that would cram 14 people into it and then drive you up to 60 kilometers away? Not likely, but this is the inexpensive way in South Africa. To get to Oudtshoorn we had to taxi to Knysna, then to George, where we would pick up a shuttle from the hostel to Oudtshoorn. The ride to Knysna was fine as there were only 12 people loaded into the van. No worries though as we were leaving town the driver continued to holler out of his window looking for more passengers. To our luck we did not find any more.
The transfer to George was relatively quick and was in a run down Volvo station wagon. Erin and I sat in the back where extra seats had been added (not by the manufacturer) and were cramped. Once in George we were not scheduled to meet the shuttle until after 1:30 pm and it was only 12:15 pm. We made use of the time as we located an internet cafe (listed in our Let's Go guidebook) and spent the next hour checking e-mails and doing research. We made our way to the hostel in George where we were due to be picked up. Finally at 2:30 pm the shuttle showed up only to advise us that they would have to wait for another 3 hours before departing for Oudtshoorn. We were not too happy about that but with some luck the driver flagged down another couple that lived in Oudtshoorn and they were nice enough to take drop us off at the hostel.
We arrived around 4:30 pm where we checked in before settling into our double room. Erin relaxed by reading while I joined a game of volleyball that was going on in the yard. We then found ourselves watching a movie, as the hostel had a vcr and movies, before dinner was called. Dinner was extra (40 Rand) but included ostrich meat and sausage along with salad and baked potatoes. We both enjoyed the meal and ended up watching the rest of the movie. After dinner Erin enjoyed another movie while I watched the first part of it before heading off to bed. Tomorrow we had signed up for a trip to the Cango Caves, the Ostrich Farm, and the Cango Wildlife Ranch. It should be fun!!! |
