South Africa
Southern Africa
UK
Campsites (Africa)
Between Tsitsikamma and Knysna we followed the coastal plain for most of the way but then drove up into the mountains Much of the mountains are forest (mostly plantations now) but we did stop at a lookout point up a rough track to the summit of one of the open hills and had excellent views. There were lots of flowers on the open hillside. In the forests there are several 'Big Trees.' We stopped for lunch at a picnic spot and then had a walk out to one of them - can you spot Kev in the photo? We had booked a pitch at the campsite at Brenton-on-Lake which is on the western side of a huge lagoon. The much larger town of Knysna (below) is on the other side of the lake. The view of the lagoon from the campsite. On the second day we went into Knysna for a meal at the waterfront and noticed some smoke on the hillside above the campsite. By the time we drove back to Brenton the fire had spread down the hill towards village and campsite. Soon after 2pm a helicopter arrived and started water bombing the fire. The skill of the pilot was amazing and he undoubtedly saved several house from the flames with his pinpoint accuracy. The people in the foreground are all from the campsite and you can just see the helicopter about to drop some water. At this point the flames were literally metres from some of the houses. The helicopter collecting water from the lagoon......... .....and then dropping it on the flames. The helicopter stayed until 7.30pm and then returned the next morning at 5.45am for several hours!! Most of the fire was out but there were pockets of smoke and flames, however after lunch, when the wind got up again, the flames built up again and a couple of different helicopters arrived. By the evening it was all under control. Luckily no-one was hurt and no houses were burnt (although some must have had some smoke damage). It was rather noisy at the campsite with the helicopter overhead so we drove out to Bufffels Bay (on the promontory) a few km along the coast. We had a walk along the western beach. 1. Mountain Zebra National Park Diary (Word '97 document) Black oystercatchers are quite rare.
Christmas 2009 - South Africa - Knysna
