![\"RESTAURANT\"](\"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/RESTAURANT-300x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThis year my birthday present to myself was spending the day at the Tsitsikamma National Park with my daughter as hubby was in a far away place in Africa.<\/p>\n
Situated halfway between Port Elizabeth and my hometown of George it was an ideal place to hook up with my daughter to do a hiking trail or two in the park.\u00a0 The weather was just what we have ordered \u2013 sunny without wind and low humidity.<\/p>\n
Before we settled for our walk to the mouth we enjoyed brunch, on the deck of the Cattle Baron, with\u00a0 breathtaking views of the river mouth and cliffs as a backdrop.\u00a0 The day is going to be good!<\/p>\n
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The wooden walkway contributes to an easy walk to the mouth \u2026\u2026 until you get to the last steps.\u00a0 Well going down is still easy going and not the biggest problem, but as you know what goes down must go up again.\u00a0 So you will need knees, knees, knees and more knees to climb the stairs back up the incline.<\/p>\n
![\"MOND\"](\"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/MOND-300x300.jpg\")
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After watching the resident dassies<\/em> (rock hyraxes) basking in the sun we set off for another of the many trails.\u00a0 This time the Loerie trail. this is named after the smallest antelope in the park.\u00a0 They are of nature very shy and you will be extremely lucky to spot one while on the trail itself.\u00a0 So off we go.\u00a0 Up another steep incline again with steps, steps, steps.\u00a0 The walk then meanders through fynbos until you get to a viewpoint with some benches.\u00a0 Now you are about midway and if you feel energetic you can opt to include the Duiker trail as well – this is named after the smallest antelope in the park.\u00a0 They are of nature very shy and you will be extremely lucky to spot one while on the trail itself.\u00a0 The last part of the Loerie trail consist mostly of a tree section until you descend again to emerge into the sun near the camping grounds.<\/p>\n The Tsitsikamma will always be dear to my heart!<\/p>\n –oOo–<\/p>\n Sadly the park’s restaurant and shop burnt down on 25 November 2016 apparently due to a gas leak in the kitchen just before the start of the peak holiday season!<\/p>\n Photo credit: PE Herald (shared via Facebook)<\/p><\/div>\n While shoppers go bargain hunting on 25 November, also called Black Friday here in SA, the sad end of the restaurant is my take of a black Friday ……<\/p>\n Photo credit: PE Herald (shared via Facebook)<\/p><\/div>\n![\"TRAIL\"](\"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/TRAIL-300x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"tsitsikamma-park-rest\"](\"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Tsitsikamma-park-rest-300x169.jpg\")
![\"tsitsikamma-rest-brand\"](\"http:\/\/travelbucket.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Tsitsikamma-rest-brand-300x225.jpg\")
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\n \u00a0<\/em>Have you heard about the Berlin based Ecosia search engine?\u00a0 They claim that they plant a tree from their ad revenue thus contributing to plant trees in Burkina Faso to eradicate desert encroachment. \u00a0The great thing is you can even track how many trees YOU have \u201cplanted\u201d while using Ecosia from your armchair!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n