Cocomo Restaurant

In the heart of wilderness there is a restaurant that brims with colour. The twin fireplaces did a lot to impress my taste. Normally the amount of different colours and textures this place uses comes off as tacky; yet Cocomo pulls it all together. It is actually rather striking, and implements a unique and comfortable style. In the evening; with the lights and colours of the garden area, it's a sight to behold.

They have live music every Friday and Saturday, and sometimes on a Thursday and Sunday. They also serve wood-fired pizza, which for me always adds points to a place. They even have a Black Label special, R75 for 6. So if you find yourself spending a weekend in Sedgefield or Wilderness, at least now you know were to spend your evenings.

E-mail: info@cocomo-resturant.co.za

Knysna, Till We Meet Again

I am posting this to say my loving farewell to Knysna. I have loved being in this town, and would like to thank every one here that has made my time so special. There is definitely something about the place that will live in my heart always. It is with great reluctance that I head off towards Hermanus and the coastal villages along the way. The N2 shall not keep me its captive; I will find the prettiest way down for all those who enjoy a good scenic route.

Do not think I have told all I have to tell about Knysna. There are still many more stories, some I will have to come back to finish. There is more to come, and more to be told.

If you don't see any new posts, fret not it will be my internet that will be down, not me. If after a week nothing, then start to get worried. Maybe call the police. Though I doubt anything bad will happen. *gulp*
Enough with the spooky, scary talking...

Knysna, I will miss you. Never again will I simply drive through. You deserve more than that.

The Heads

I know that I have spoken about the beauty of Knysna. Now, I could tell you about this place; but I methinks my words, elegant as they my be, will simply not be enough. I will, however, tell you that the view almost made me crash my car.

Driving up that road to the Viewpoint will fill you with a strong desire to live there. If you do not want a view like this when you  wake up then you are surely blind, or agoraphobic. The viewpoint provides an expansive view... from many different.... points.

So, I took pictures. Enjoy.

Pretty Knysna

There are few South Africans worth their salt who don't know that Knysna is a beautiful place. It inspired the works of Dalene Matthee, thus giving us Kringe in 'n Bos. It is the gem of the Garden Route; whose forests have given the world fabulous tables and desks. Oh, any poet can wax lyrical about the rolling mountains, the lush forests, the subtle greens, the stunning beaches or the majesty of the lagoon and the waterfront. Photographers have tried and failed to completely capture the grandeur of its beauty. So, who cares?

This is all known; so you may be asking yourself what the hell is this guy's purpose to rant about it? Ah; well I am glad I asked for you: it's the people. Yes, you read correctly. Did they read Frank Miller's 300 and take things a bit too far? Because I have yet to see a person under 30 in town that was not in some way appealing. Even the car-guards aren't that bad. Even what goes for an ugly person in Knysna is well-dressed; and in the right light, after a beer or two, is anyone's game. I am accustomed to the odd minger here and there, but I am just not seeing them; and it is rather unsettling -- in a good way. 

I can only suppose that there is a group of people that hunt down new arrivals to this town; and if they don't meet up to the 'pretty' standard, then they get kindly asked to leave. Perhaps with cattle-prods. Seeing as people have been friendly and forthcoming to me I can only assume I am good-looking enough to reside in this town. Whether or not that's true, I shall choose believe it; if only to feed my ego.

There is another puzzling element to this town that I had not known: people here are friendly, very much so in fact. I go out, easily strike up a conversation, and have a good night. Now I may be an easy-going guy; and I may be easy to get along with, but that only gets a person so far. Within almost no time at all I felt at home in this town with mutantly attractive people... that may not have come out the way I intended.

So I ask you unfortunate-looking people out there (whom I am sure have stunning personalities), have you found you stay in Knysna to be a pleasant one; or did mean-looking people with pitchforks and torches kindly ask you to leave?

Pretty Costs

There is one thing that I did not take into consideration when I started this trip, the Capitalism of Aesthetics.

People like looking at pretty things. As a strikingly shallow man I understand this Principal all too well. People like pretty things so much that they are all too happy to pay money to look at it. You may even say that is one of the reasons people work to make so much money. That, too, is understandable. The dissemination of images in our media-driven culture has shown us how many pretty things there are in this world. Though, herein lies the rub. No image, no matter how well taken or composed, truly captures the magnitude of natural beauty. Only in its presence can we grasp how in ages past they were considered gods. Rivers, trees, mountains, oceans ... they feel alive. Not just on a biological level. It may just be harking back to an infantile anthropomorphism of the world; I am not sure.

One thing I do know though, is that if we wish to experience these wonders today, someone needs to get paid.  Most people with a lot of money aren't exactly stupid. Sure they be nearsighted at times; even egotistically selfish and brutal, but at least smart enough to amass great wealth. So when they come across a place they know people would lose a lesser appendage to see, it's not surprising that their eyes would tint over with the proverbial dollar signs.

But I will admit that is not the whole story. Because we live in a financially driven world, the maintenance and protection of our natural wonders do cost money. From advertising to the hiring of staff to protect it from those who would harm it; it all costs money. And in that case, I understand why it is necessary -- although a bit unfortunate -- that we have to carry cash with us on road trips if we wish to bask in the glory of mother nature. Admittedly this is not the case everywhere. I am also a big supporter of spending money to visit animal rehabilitation centres, and I have been to a few thus far. Not only do you learn a lot, get to experience things one could never imagine in a suburban lifestyle; but you are also supporting a noble cause.

So keep the odd note in your wallet, lest you have to backtrack to find an ATM, or miss out on something splendid.

Something pretty along the way 08-08-2012

Coasting down the N2 listening to Bright Eyes can get a bit stale so I turned off onto the R102 for more of a scenic route. I am glad I did. Along the way I came across a dead tree amoungst the detritus of a long-abandoned building. It was one of those strange images along the road that stick in one's mind. A random but powerful collection of colours and shapes that just happened to have formed, and be found.

Oh, and I drove past some cattle being herded. I felt the need to take pictures. It felt rather African.