Last Day on the Route - 10/21/2012

BEN - We were a bit sad to say goodbye to our new friends at Wild Spirit.  We had a great time hanging out by the fire last night.  Before we left we decided to do a 20 minute hike on a trail that promised another waterfall that was on the backpacker’s property.  We climbed almost straight down a slick, wet trail to a stream where we saw a nice waterfall.  Once again, we were tricked as we approached the waterfall and found its giant big brother falling from a mossy cliff way above.  Another amazing scene.  We hung out and took pictures for a bit before hoofing it back up to the car.   On our way out, Ola, the owner told us to give Orange Elephant Backpackers her regards, and if for whatever reason it didn’t work out, we could always come back and volunteer for her.  It’s nice to know we have that option if for some reason Addo does not work out.  Anyway, we started driving toward a highly recommended hiking trail at the Robberg Nature Conservancy, a little nub of land sticking out into the Indian Ocean.  This little peninsula is a series of sheer cliffs that we hiked atop and watched giant ocean swells crash against the rocks below.  The hike got our hearts pumping as we reached the highest point where we found what we had come for, a seal colony.  Some were basking on rocks in the sun while the main pack was in the water, jumping and plunging in the giant waves.  We sat and watched them for a bit and then continued on our hike.  We got to the middle of the peninsula which was intersected by a giant sand dune that ran to the other side and down to a beautiful secluded beach.  We ran down the dune to the beach where we basked in the sun and put our feet in the cool water, we even saw our first African Oyster Catcher.  We snacked on our final ration of cake pops before heading back.  The trip back up was extremely steep.  It was Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes to the extreme.  We hoofed it and were pretty sweaty by the top.  We continued hiking and only got lost once which resulted in climbing directly up a cliff full of fynbos bushes on a very small not-really-a-trail trail.  Tired and hungry, we found our way into the town of Plettenberg Bay for a tromazzini, a delicious Panini with foccacia bread and mozzarella and whatever other toppings you would like.  After pigging out, we drove the two and a half hours east through gorgeous Tsitsikama National Park to Port Elizabeth.  We checked in at 99 Mile Beach Backpackers, and actually had a TV in our room for the first time!  We each took showers.  I was surprised to get iced by my lovely girfriend, a nice throwback to the States.  She’ll get hers.  We went out to a final dinner, just the two of us (even though we weren’t that hungry after our tromazzini feast) and fell asleep watching old James Bond movies, our only channel option.  The next day we would arrive for our first day of volunteering work.  I fell asleep uneasily pondering all the different possibilities that we could face tomorrow.