What to do in Knysna Archives

DAY TRIP FROM GEORGE : SOPHY GRAY’S FOOTSTEPS

If you love architecture and interesting stories, follow the footstep of Sophie Gray around the Southern Cape. This is an easy day trip with enough time to have something to snack at some of the amazing farm stalls in the Garden Route. You can start the trip at any point and travel in any direction. It all depends on how you feel and where you are staying. Our starting point will be in George at the St Marks Cathedral at the top end of York Street. Travelling towards the mountain you will find this little Anglican church on your right-hand side. Some of the interesting facts is that the stained-glass windows came all the way from Germany. It was recovered from a church in Germany during the French Revolution, brought to England and then found its way to South Africa. The church dates back to the period of 1850 and… Read more >

A MARINE ODYSSEY

Today we were up early and getting the troops ready for our boating trip with Ocean Odyssey in Knysna compliments of #visitknysna. The weather was looking a bit greyish when we departed from home base, but it turned out to be a beautiful day in Knysna. How lucky we are! Now our family are not sea people at all, but this trip however was on our to do list for some time, but somehow, we never got around to do it. We prefer the bush and greenery of the forest if we have a choice but are ALWAYS open for something new and eventful. Back to our sea expedition. As always, we arrived a bit early so there was enough time before the trip to use our coffee vouchers at nearby Trinity Coffee. This gave us enough sustenance to be happy on our expedition. The welcome and safety briefing was… Read more >

END OF THE LINE

Turn tables are interesting objects which not a lot of people know about or what its function is, unless you have a special interest in trains. I grew up around trains, but never knew that the picturesque town of Knysna had a turn table tugged away in its bowels. This is just another hidden gem of the Garden Route. So, what is a turn table all about? Or before we go there, why am I writing about a turn table of all things under the sun? Because I think it is worthwhile to write about it as it is not something often seen in South Africa. I discovered this one by accident in the beautiful town of Knysna, next to the waterfront at an almost forgotten spot next to a parking lot. On your next visit in Knysna head over to this GPS location to see it: S 34° 02.393… Read more >

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 >

WHO DID WE MEET AT THE KNYSNA LITERARY FESTIVAL?

So, who DID we meet? We met well-known Australian (or is it New Zealand? 😊) author Tony Park. And what a nice guy he is! The Knysna Literary Festival, hosted by Pam Golding, celebrated its 10th year in 2019. Although living around the corner from Knysna I never even knew this festival existed. So, what do you learn? That you are never too old to discover new things. Sounds a bit like travelling to me; you keep on discovering new things. The two lovely ladies of the Travelbucket team was invited to the event where Tony was speaking at the Knysna Turbine Boutique Hotel and Spa on Thesen Island in Knysna. The invite to attend was extended as personal guests of him, even though I only met him the Friday before the event! Apart from being an author who researches his books extensively he is also very concerned about nature… Read more >

FULL THROTTLE

Knysna was and is one of South Africa’s favourite holiday destinations and these days another different attraction is added to the scene where you can go full throttle. At first you will think this is all about bikes, but while browsing through the display you will notice there is much more than wheels to this living museum (if you want to call it that). You will notice the passion, the history and a story behind each bike on display. The Motorcycle Room is Colin Studen’s happy place. He takes old and new bikes which were heading for the dumpster, regardless make and model, and turn it into a memory (like the one of a kind model, Copper). It is his happy place and not only filled with his happy memories, but also happy memories of every boy, no matter the age, that visits the room. When we visited on hubby’s… 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 >

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