Knysna: On A Boat

One of the things I love most about Knysna is the fact that it's coastal. 

Drinks at the local yacht club, dinner near the water's edge, sunsets at the beach, shopping down at the waterfront... life just seems more at ease when an ocean is nearby. 

So when Mylene suggested we take a ferry trip around the lagoon, of course I said hellz yes!

Again, we were blessed with perfect weather. Not sure how we swung it with the Big Guy upstairs but the day was sunny, calm, and clear. Perfect for a squizz to The Heads and back. 

Pretty waterfront where shops and restaurants abound

Oh how I yearn to one day go on a real sailboat...

The ferry is called the John Benn. After shuttling tourists and locals around the lagoon for the last 25 years, it's pretty much a Knysna institution. Everyone who's an anyone has been out on the J. Benn ;)

John Benn and I 

While we ate ice cream on the wharf and waited for our docking time to roll around, I glanced around and noticed a large signpost to my right. It's arms stuck out in a myriad of directions, all pointing to various cities worldwide.

I chuckled to myself as I thought, "Damn, if only Winnipeg was special enough to be there. I bet it's Toronto. Everyone in SA thinks that's the capital of Canada. Come to think of it, I bet they forgot about Canada all together. I bet there's only an American city up there"....

And then I saw it:

Winnipeg 15 269kms

YOU ARE FREAKING KIDDING ME!!

How hilarious is that!? I practically sputtered ice cream all over myself like a five year old child as I lept up in excitment. I don't know WHO was responsible for erecting/designing this thing... but they defintely deserve a medal for including 'Winnipeg' amongst the likes of 'Melbourne', 'Athens', and 'London'.

Who woulda thunk it??haha 

After I stared at the signpost for a good solid five minutes, Dids called me over and we were ready to board the John Benn. Couldn't wait to get out on the water!

We managed to snag a perfect spot: a corner seat on the upper back deck. It was the perfect place to get panoramic views of the lagoon. 

As we pulled out from the marina and the boat's propeller kicked into gear, Dids casually mentioned that I should keep an eye on the boat's wake. 'Why?', I asked. 'Oh, because in Africa our ferry's use the boat's propeller to funnel out the sewage from the bathrooms on board. Sometimes you can see turds floating in the water.' I was stunned. I thought that was crazy but then again... it's Africa so anything's possible.

Yeah. Not true. Stupid Didier. 

He also told me earlier that the lagoon was home to two saltwater hippos. I believed him for a solid few minutes. You'd think I'd learn???haha 

Enjoying the view and the sunshine on the deck!

While the wind got a bit chilly at times, once you were in the sun you warmed right up. The sun also did wonders for the water. It was so greeny-blue. Just beautiful. 

I'm on a boat! (Mom: look up Lonely Island to fully understand that reference)

How gorgeous is that water?! That house you see is owned by the same man how owns that entire mountain. He charges people around $35 to ferry them across the lagoon, hike up the mountain to see the ocean from above, and then dine at his private restaurant. 

It was cool to see these properties closer-up than we did earlier on the beach. They are stunningly large! Imagine owning a property with that view....*sigh*.....

Our heads with... well, The Heads, in the background 

The awesomeness only increased when Mylene suggested we order oysters. Knysna is known for harvesting some of the freshest, most tasty oysters in the country. The town even has an entire festival dedicated to the slimy critters in July!

They came out looking so pretty in their iridescent shells. A few squirts of lemon and Tabasco and down the chute they went! Yum! 

Nom nom nom... wow Dids looks like he's about to pounce on that oyster, doesn't he??lol

The big moment of oooohs and ahhhhhs came when the boat reached the mouth of the two Heads. You could peek through its mossy banks to see the frothy surf of the Indian ocean. It was so pretty. A moment where everything is calm and right in the world.  

If you look at the picture above, you can see a small white structure on the left-hand side. This is the restaurant where we first met up with Darvey over gin & lemonades and cheese bread. 

It was also the place that I made contact with my first ever live, wild starfish!!

Despite the strong wind and incoming tide, Didier and I scoured the black mussel-covered rocks trying to find one. When he heard me say I had never seen or touched a live one before, Dids was extra determined to hunt one down. 

Finally he zeroed in on a pair tucked away in a crevice. They were both orange with white spots. 

One of them was huge! I told him to pluck it off the rock so I could touch it. Kindly, he obliged :) 

I'm not sure what I was expecting to feel, but when he placed the starfish in my hand, I was surprised. The top part was shell-like in its hardness, while the underbelly was fully of tiny string-like tentacles. They reached out and wiggled around if you flipped it on its back. It felt like itty bitty suction cups on your palm when you held it. Very cool indeed! 

No starfish were harmed in the making of this photo... he was promptly returned to his home in the ocean

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Well, this marks the end of my Knysna posts. Hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures in this beautiful seaside town! I'm pretty jealous of Didier at this point when I consider he got to grow up here. Cause grew up in... you know, Selkirk, Manitoba. Woo. haha!