15 March 2010 - Heideplaas to Wilderness

And so it began! Yes, it finally began and what a relief! The nerves were killing me before departure and I knew that once I hit the road, I would relax.
Monday was a perfect day - the way I have been visualizing the trip. Blue skies, no wind, not too hot. One could not ask for more!

I left the farm at 7:35 in the morning and headed for the N2. I was concerned about heavy traffic on this stretch of road, and to my relief, the traffic was no problem.

The cycle into Knysna went well and before I knew it, I was popping in to say goodbye to friends of mine. Two other stops were wasted as the people weren't in, but luckily, none were too far off the main route.

The other side of Knysna begged a quick stop, to take a picture of the old railway bridge (Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe, sadly not running anymore) and the Heads in the distance. Road works were also not too much of a bother and so I continued to Sedgefield. On the way there, I was blessed with sighting two Bushbuck grazing in the long grass opposite Groenvlei.

In Sedgefield I made a quick stop with my family, for a cup of tea, then on to the bike shop for the tyres I ordered a few weeks earlier. Sadly these had not arrived, so I continued past Sedgefield and turned off the N2 towards Rondevlei Bird Hide. I stopped there for lunch, took my binoculars out and had a good time spotting some waders. The water level is quite low, so most birds were far off. I saw some Flamingo's way off in the distance - always special to see.

The road condition (gravel) was quite bad and my brains were shook up somewhat! Between the 2 Langvlei Lakes, I spotted a Malachite Kingfisher - also one of my favourites.

Not much happened further and by around 15:30, I made it to Wilderness National Park's Ebb and Flow campsite. After pitching my tent, having a shower and a lekker cup of coffee with Thys and Nerina (my friends traveling the same route by car), we went for a walk up-stream where we saw many Knysna Loeries (or Turaco's - think that is the new name). My bird count for the day was 46 species.

At 6pm we were joined by my "other Mother and Father", the Vorsters, from George, for a braai and kuier. A good time was had by all, and we were spoiled out of our socks, by Ma Sus's divine treats.

Then off to bed. So, the first day was complete and much enjoyed.