Knysna by the Sea!

What a wonderful week I have had! Last Sunday I packed the car and headed off to spend a week with my daughter. They are now 'home' again in Knysna after several years in the desert sand and heat! My drive there took me all day, through small towns, empty, straight roads and beautiful passes that were so twisty and turny that I thought that I may be driving up my own exhaust! Finally I drove into Knysna, triumphant, tired and thirsty. (A very good dry white wine sorted out that problem though and Stuart cooked a wonderful chicken for dinner!)

A layout of the Island, spot P 44, their house!!

At the moment they are staying on Thesen Island, so we went for some lovely early morning (yes, 6.30, gulp) walks. The bird life is stunning, but even though I was desperate to see a Knysna Lourie, and kept my eyes open everywhere we went, I was disappointed. One day!!!

Our first (but not last) breakfast. Look at the view of the Heads.

And of course, we spent a lot of time eating. Out. Breakfast or lunch or supper, but never all three on one day!!

The cafe wall gave me inspiration!

We did a spot of shopping, just for essentials really. There are a couple of malls but nothing like Dubai and it was lovely to go into the small 'old fashioned' shops where the owners take their dogs to work and they lie on cushions and blankets in the windows watching the passers by and rushing out to say hello. (That's the dogs, not the owners!!!) I think one of the things that really impressed me, is how serious Knysna is about re-cycling and re-using. The re-cycling is collected regularly and things that can be re-used find their way to people that use them. Salad dressings are hand-made and sold in 'Savanna Dry' bottles, plastic cool drink bottles are made into bird feeders, metal and wood re-appear as furniture, beautifully made.

Music on the way into the Market.

There is a Farmer's Market just near Sedgefield, held every Saturday morning and so we went along and had breakfast! The place was heaving and every stall was busy. The merchandise is for the most part, home produced and really well priced, and by the time we left to go on to George, the parking was full.

Nuts, coffee, dairy products, salad dressings, bread, cheese, you name it!

Cheers to a wonderful holiday!

It was a wonderful way to catch up with my daughter again, we laughed and we chatted, but there were also quiet times when I read and she worked. We met up with an old friend and spent hours talking about the 'old days'. And then, sadly, it was time to drive home again.

And what was Rob doing in the mean time?
He had visitors! The gate had been left open for some reason and Alfie alerted him one morning to the fact that a family had arrived.

The family arriving.........

eating and drinking.........

And leaving...............without a word!

They ate, drank and then left without a word.

How they have grown in just over a week!