If you look up things to do in South Africa, one of the first things that pops up is the Garden Route. This beautiful stretch of road starts in Cape Town and takes the N2 all the way to Port Elizabeth. In order to properly see everything the Route has to offer, you need a few weeks and unlimited money. As a student on a time and money budget, we had to squeeze as much as possible into a 4 day weekend. There are tour buses that will take you along the Route and stop at popular lodges and activities along the way and most people in my program chose this option out of pure laziness. I personally feel that the tour buses are overpriced and take the adventure and fun out of a road trip. After asking everyone I knew, I finally convinced a friend to rent a car, drive ourselves, and plan our own trip. One thing I’ve learned about people in general here is that they are quick to say yes to great adventures but are equally quick to back out of a promise so I was thrilled when she followed through and we booked our trip the night before we were to leave.
We woke up early on Friday and headed over to grab our car as soon as they would allow us to. My friend wasn’t very keen on driving right away through the city since she hadn’t driven here yet. I hopped into the car, the same exact car I drove to Hermanus and the Bastille Day Festival, and we were off. With adrenaline and coffee in our systems, we set off on our journey. We started out with an empty highway and all of a sudden it changed to a dead standstill. We had no idea what was going on and it was clear that the traffic wasn’t going to let up any time soon. I know that all of you from cities are thinking that I am just being a baby and can’t handle rush hour traffic, but this was ridiculous. Thankfully we were at the very back of the traffic and everyone around us just started to do a U-turn on the highway to drive back to the nearest exit. I remember my Deda backing up on the freeway when I was little and I was horrified but desperate circumstances call for desperate actions. Once the cop car next to me turned around, I knew it was time for me to make moves. We got off at Mitchell’s Plain, the same place I accidentally rode the bus to the other day, and asked the dozens of cops to direct us to the nearest alternative route. They told us the N2 has been shut down for kilometers and to take a different road. As we drove through the sketchy area looking for our next turn, a man drove up beside us and motioned to roll our windows down as we drove. He looked concerned so we obliged. He screamed out and said we looked lost and that we shouldn’t be in this area. We hollered back where we were trying to go and he said to follow him. We figured he was our best bet at actually finding our way since our GPS was “out of range”, and we were correct. 5 minutes later we were back on track, we honked a thank you to him and he sped off. A few hours out, we passed mountain after mountain and finally came out to open land. It was breathtaking. Between the stunning blue sky, the mountains in the distance, the bright green grass, and the blinding yellow flowers, it looked like a picture. One of the advantages of driving yourself is that you have the ability to stop anywhere you want, whenever you feel like it. We pulled over to the side of the two lane highway and snapped as many pictures as we felt necessary. As we continued on, I realized this drive was going to have one major annoyance. With the beautiful surroundings comes animals roaming free. Animals roaming free means animals walking across the road with no concern for cars. Cows, sheep, horses, baboons, and even ostriches strolled in front of our car like they owned the place and when you beep at them, they looked at you slightly annoyed and proceeded to move slower. All the way to Plettenberg Bay, we were in a constant state of awe just taking in the scenery around us. We phoned the lodge we were to stay at to ask for their address to plug into our GPS. She laughed and said to put our useless contraption away, it wouldn’t help getting to the backpackers. We followed her simple directions, went past a few farms, through the forest and finally pulled into the Wild Spirit Backpackers Lodge. I’ll tell you right now that I’m about to describe this place in excruciating detail. It is my favorite place in all of South Africa and if you ever do the Garden Route, this NEEDS to be your home. We walked into the reception area and checked into our dorm. There are three houses with two floors of big dorm rooms and bathrooms in each. We stayed in The Dove, on the second floor, in a room of about 10 beds. I choose an open bed tucked away in a little nook in the corner, next to the window. We had a balcony that looked out over the forest and into the mountains behind the lodge. Just like our drive in, it was gorgeous. We threw our stuff down and went back to the lodge to have a look around. The lodge is a large log cabin with a roaring fireplace surrounded by cozy couches. There is a massive map of the Garden Route on the wall, along with many pictures, and guitars for the guests to use. There was a book exchange shelf snuggled next to the piano, and the two dogs were fast asleep on their bed in the corner. If that’s not enough, you walk outside onto the covered back porch to look over the same view as our dorm balcony. On your right is the kitchen/bar/reception area. Next to the water spout, there is a pot to boil water, fresh milk, sugar, and endless amounts of free Rooibos Tea and coffee available 24/7. I grabbed a cup immediately and throughout the weekend I am pretty sure I drank about 50 cups of tea while sitting on that porch. The big dinner table is painted with pictures from “Where the Wild Things Are”, there are colorful flags everywhere you turn, signs with different quotes hanging up on the walls, and the whole place just has a carefree, whimsical feel to it. As you walk down the porch stairs, you find yourself on the stone patio, a hand made driftwood wall on one side, and the open forest and mountains on the other. There are two major fire pits and surprisingly comfortable stone benches surrounding the warmth, painted with the words “We Love African Rhythm” in a style that matches the rest of the décor. There was a man sitting by the fire making Belgium Chocolates and offered me one as a hello. Obviously I took it and it went wonderfully with my tea. I sat down with him and a group of people from Seattle. We drank our tea by the fire as more and more people began to crowd the outside of the lodge. It was two people’s birthdays and since the people who own the lodge are all family, they decided to throw a proper party to celebrate. There were about 70 people, all dressed in ridiculous outfits from the costume bin, drinking, and listening to the live music. There unfortunately was a large group of sorority girls from Alabama who were running around in the freezing cold wearing only bikinis and complaining that they thought Africa was hot all the time. The rest of us, in blankets, hats, and scarves, sat and talked for hours until dinner was ready. They made a huge pot of vegetable and beef stew which tasted as if it were straight from my Mom’s kitchen followed by a massive birthday cake. While the night was still young, one of the guys came around asking, “Can I interest you in some powdered caffeine?” . I’m politely declined. I remember my dad trying to take caffeine pills to keep him awake while driving one trip and he became a little too jittery for his liking. I’m also the person who has a sip of red bull and my heart feels like I just ran 10 miles. The people to my right took the pills and the hippies to my left were busy thoroughly enjoying their home grown marijuana. I sat back and listened to a man puff away as he talk about his life as a vegan (because we all really care about what food he chooses to eat). He spoke about how great life would be if everyone were a vegetarian and how he had come to this conclusion after his “mind gates were opened” whenever he smokes. It was at that point that I excused myself from that conversation and turned to the people hopped up on caffeine. They were a lot more pleasant than I had first thought and it turns out one of the girls was going to be in Cape Town for a night before she went back home. She knew no one in the city but wanted some tips on where to go. She was staying at a backpackers place a street over from Perspectives and we offered to take her around when we got back. After exchanging information, we called it a night and went to bed.
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