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Tag Archive: Knysna Forest

PARING ELUSIVE FOREST ELEPHANTS AND MYSTICAL PHANTOM GIN

Reading the invite in my mailbox my imagination was immediately triggered.  This time around we were not invited to Phantom at the Opera, but to a Phantom ginning night in the mystical Knysna forest. It was time to broaden our horizons and travel to Knysna for the experience.  And what an experience it was!    The setting at The Cabin at Simola was exquisite with a view over the estuary to the one side and the haunting beauty of the Knysna forest on the other side, while sipping on some handcrafted gin. Life cannot get any better! The story of how the husband and wife team of Karel and Chantal started off in Worcester distilling gin in their living room to where they arrived at the name of Phantom for their gin is truly an inspiring story interlocked with all the mysteries the Knysna forest has to offer.  This includes the… Read more >

SPITSKOP ON PRINCE ALFRED’S PASS

Take a day trip to Spitskop and enjoy the scenery deep in the Knysna Forest.  If you follow the Prince Alfred Pass that links Avontuur to Knysna you will pass the turn-off to Spitskop.   Take your own refreshments as there are no facilities along the road.  It is a slow drive as the gravel road may not be in a good condition and in any way, you should not be in hurry because the road is at times very potholed and maybe, just maybe, you will spot an elusive Knysna elephants. Along the route you will find a couple of picnic spots with the beautiful names like Valley of Ferns, Ysterhoutrug and Diepwalle.  In the shade of some indigenous trees at Ysterhoutrug picnic spot you can light a fire for a braai as there are designated areas.  This is also a good stop for the children to stretch their legs as… Read more >

FOREST LEGENDS

While everyone else was hanging out on the beach for the first day of  January 2016 our family went to visit the Forest Legends Museum on the gravel road as you traverse the Prince Alfred Pass from Knysna to Uniondale. What a pleasure to drive through the damp forest and then unexpectedly arrive on top of the hill at the coffee shop.  It was a lot busier than we expected.  Families with grannies and young children were having something to bite in the shade of a tree, others were taking hikes and on the decks families camped out and were just relaxing and enjoying nature.  This is far from the maddening crowds and cell phone towers. First we ordered something to eat from the coffee shop – a vetkoek stuffed with curried mince, a home made hamburger and toasted bacon and egg sandwich washed down with delicious home made gemmerbier. … Read more >

FORESTS, FERNS AND FUNGI

We spent the weekend at Forest Edge chalets on the edge of the magical Knysna forest in the Rheenendal area.  These cottages are located just a couple of minutes’ drive from the memorial of Dalene Matthee, a renowned South African writer, at Krisjan-se-Nek.  This was her favorite spot in the Knysna Forest. Through Dalene Matthee’s books, the stories of the Knysna forest took on a new life.  We followed Saul Barnard and Old Foot on the forest footpaths in Circles in a Forest.  We got to know the people of the forest in Fiela’s Child and the Mulberry Forest.  And we got a glimpse of the magic of the forest through Karoliena Kapp in Dream Forest.  En excerpt from :  www.dalenematthee.co.za                     It was a weekend filled with the happy chirping of birds in the morning when the sun rises, the… Read more >

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