What a weekend! When will this happiness take a breather? I'm starting to think that death by delight is actually a likely possibility in my book. On Friday, five of us females embarked on an incredible tour of the Garden Route. We saw everything from spastic lemurs to suicidal bungee jumpers (aka moi). But before I get started, I just want to inform you that this is going to be quite a long post, so bear with me! I promise that it will be worth every misspelled word, but it will be quite lengthy for someone who might be low on their ADD meds. In order to break down this voyage, I am going to map out our excursion day by day. Lets get started!
DAY ONE: FRIDAY
After some last minute packing and what not, the five of us (Regan, Micala, Gabby, Marina, and I) squeezed into our rented Nissan with a life supply of oranges and cashews (no joke) and a supersized side of enthusiasm to go. Oh, I must also not forget the friendly "keep left" sign that was made in order to remind us that life was preferable and thus it was important to remember that cars stuck to the left on South African highways. Hello roadside abductors, we are a car full of American girls in case you didn't already know. We took off on the N2, rolling through beautiful a beautiful countryside lined with wildflowers and a surplus of sheep and ostrich pastures. So much for cows right? The weather was warm, sunny, and very spring-like. There were only a few legitimate towns (otherwise defined as places with actual petrol stations) that could be found after a certain mile marker. The horizon was softened with the glow of the setting sun behind the mountains lingering in the distance. About a million rounds of Kid Cudi and techno rave music later, along with about 5 near death driving disasters on the un-lit road, we made it to our hostel in Knysna. Exhausted and crippled from the cramped ride, we were a little fronted when met by our odd hostel keeper. Hansie, as we came to call him, was quite upset by the fact that we had missed his dinner and informed us that by leaving anything in the car (including the oranges), it would be ransacked by 14 year old drug dealers. Apparently, "Children of the Corn" is coming out with another sequel. In our tired and hungry state, the most we could do was laugh and hope that he didn't go Buffalo Bill on us later that night. Aside from dear ole' Hansie, the hostel itself was comfortable, quiet, and perfect for what we needed for the evening. The five of us squeezed in a late dinner at the harbor before crashing at the hostel and promising Hansie that we would eat his crumpets in the morning... we didn't want to test a potential milk carton add.DAY TW0: SATURDAY
True to our word, we got up the next day and scarfed down Hansie's crumpets, which were quite good, and then proceeded to re-pack the car... oranges and all. Given that we had spent our morning at his hostel, Hansie seemed to be on his meds again and quite happy with our clan. He gave us some all to friendly hugs and tried to carry on conversation which resulted in him asking "Now, which one of you is the naughty one?"... can you guess which one he pointed to? Yeah, am I really that obvious. Thanks Hansie, as if that needed to be acknowledged at 9:30am. What a weirdo... him I mean, haha. The weather was slightly overcast in the morning when we decided to pay a visit to the viewpoint in Knysna before heading up towards Plettenberg Bay, our sleeping destination for the next two nights. After parking our car outside of a small harbor, we set off on a short trail that wrapped around a rocky terrain, dented with small caves and beat with the chilly tide of the Indian Ocean. The sight was quite beautiful, a sight for sore morning eyes. After breathing in the sweet salty air for about an hour, we re-entered the car (which we decided to nickname Hansie) and trekked up Monkey Land and Birds of Eden to soak up some wildlife. 
Set side by side, we decided to indulge in Monkey Land first and upon entering, we were immediately met with a monkey who chucked his passion fruit at us from up in the canopy. Welcome? At the beginning of our tour, we were informed that touching the monkeys was prohibited (shucks) and that every monkey in the natural sanctuary was a product of human abuse and/or harmful interference through poorly enforced diets, ownership, etc. Thus, the park was set on ensuring that human interference through touch was nie obsolete. We saw about seven different species of these clever little things, fighting over orange peels and swinging around the canopy tops. The sanctuary was 100% natural and along the trail, we crossed the longest suspension bridge (that was made out of bamboo) in South Africa. It was a lot of fun to "monkey around" with the little guys for a while before moving on to the Birds of Eden. After we were through, we moved next door to flying rat paradise. Although I'm not a huge fan of birds, it was a lot of fun to dodge bird poo and beaks of furry in order to get a glimpse at some of the most beautiful avian individuals I have ever seen. This tour was not guided, thus our ears were able to give way to the beautiful bird lingo vibrating through the refuge. 
Following the end of our walk through was loaded up into Hansie and passed by a group of baboons on the side of the road before hitting the N2 again for our 30-minute drive to Plettenberg. Although the town itself was dead due to the fact that we were visiting in the winter months, it was quite nestled in a beautiful stretch of the coastline. Our hostel, which was equal to the cost of about $12 US dollars a night, was a five minute walk from the beach and possessed a balcony that overlooked the bay and all of its visitors including the occasional whale, dolphin, and surfer. I'd call that a deal hey? We walked down to the beach for a while, digging our toes into the cool sand and whale/surfer watched from the handsome shoreline. The hostel owner, Ben (a really chill and stoked guy), and his girlfriend invited us to the hostel cookout that was all you can eat South African cuisine for R85 ($13) on the balcony. Of course, our skinny pockets screamed out "Yes!" and we joined the rest of the hostel that night for some of the best grub of my lifeeeeeee!!! Upon meeting the rest of the backpackers, we made friends with a group of guys from Cape Town who were passing through on their yearly surf outing and also an American couple who was spending some time in South Africa for the summer. A couple glasses of wine and 2.5 plates of food later, our hearts and tummies were full... ready for a good night's sleep.DAY THREE: SUNDAY
So, for those of you who have stayed in hostels before, you know that possibly the worst thing that could happen to you aside from ending up on the missing persons list is being bunked with a chronic snorer. Well folks, the five of us were introduced to our Colombian counterparts through a loud, rude awaking caused by what might have been the strangest snoring technique known to mankind. In other words, none of us slept. On the bright side, we were all awake to witness the breathtaking sunrise that had crept of over the bay. After our alarms sounded, the lot of us dressed and readied our still full tummies for another fun-filled day. Regan, Micala, and I were scheduled to embark on a canopy tour of Tsitsikamma, just past the Bloukrans bridge where I'd be bungee jumping the following morning (but keep your clothes on, we will get to that soon enough!). Marina and Gabby had decided to opt out of the tour and enjoy some free time instead due to the questionable weather report. Side note on South African weather (hence the blog title): ITS 100% UNPREDICTABLE. In other words, if it says hey guys, there's a sub zero blizzard approaching, then expect to throw on a bikini and hit the surf. Great motivation to stay in swimsuit shape year round right? We saw everything from snow on the mountain tops to boys in board shorts. Totally mind bottling. Anyways, apologies for the tangent, but long story short the rain that was supposed to ruin our days decided to hold off and the three of us were rewarded with the breathtaking and fulfilled experience of zip-lining through the canopy tops of the rich forest with a group of about 9 loud and fabulous Italians. Needless to say, it was blast. 
For the remainder of the afternoon, we hung out at the hostel, watched Alice and Wonderland with Ben, and then hit Knysna for a delicious dinner at a small restaurant called Crab's Creek right on the water. Some of our new hostel friends joined as we watched Regan and Micala eat half of the Indian Ocean's population of fish and shellfish on what was literally referred to as a "Seafood Feast." I swear the little mermaid lost flounder and Sebastian somewhere in that massacre. Anyways, the conclusion was that we all had yet another amazing meal and evening all together. After all, that meal might have been my last for all I knew, for the following morning I would be jumping from the world's highest commercial bungee jump location at Bloukrans Bridge.
DAY FOUR: MONDAY
Once again, we all woke up at the crack of should-not-be-awake-slash-alive-slash-functioning dawn in order to start our day. We sadly said farewell to our beloved hostel in Plett and returned to Bloukrans for the jump of a lifetime (or potentially the last one of my life EVER). The windy climate brought back to my mind the previous ill experience with it on the top of Table Mountain a couple of weeks ago, but never the less, Marina and I (the only two crazy enough to jump) suited up, jet puffed in fleece beneath our harnesses and walked out towards the bridge. There wasn't really a moment when I felt truly afraid, just humbled by the task at hand. The employees were a positively radiant bunch, and after crossing the grated crosswalk which gave you a direct line of vision to the bottom of the gorge (aka a rocky and distant death) below, we made it to the center of the bridge where shaking consciousness was met with the amped volume of upbeat tunes. It was literally like being at a theme party/ hazing ceremony.
We were not able to choose our order of execution, but I was the first out of the two of us to be chosen to go. Up to this point, the scariest thing that I can say happened was the fact that everyone's weight was put on our hands in plain sight. Thank god none us knew how the conversion system worked after the dinner we had the previous night. Would have been a depressing last thought eh? The man strapping me in wrapped my legs in padding and then plated it with a very simple, tightly wrapped rope. And when I mean simple, I mean simple. It wasn't much for trying to make you feel safe... although they insisted that you were. Lets not mess up that 100% satisfaction rate yeah? After I was strapped in and attached to the bungee, two of the guys helped me hop to the edge... and when I say edge, I mean edge. My shivering toes hung over the sliver of oblivion below my eager tennis shoes. For my own sake, I chose not to look down at that moment, but rather to laugh it off instead. With a smile stretched from ear to ear, I waited for their count down of, "5...4...3...2...1...BUNGEE!" and jumped out as far as I could, "Stereo Love" blaring in the background. For those 7 seconds, I was in total and complete free fall, one of the most inexplicable sensations there is. My heart was dropped into what felt an endless realm of bliss and was then caught by the security of a light tug of the bungee line that bounced me back up and down until my marvelous momentum was brought to an end. Hanging upside down, I was literally able to see the world from a differ view. After about a minute of blood rushing to my head and the now daunting view of the ground below me, I was relieved to be met by a guy on a harness, ready to lift me back up to the top of the bridge. For anyone who thinks that they might be able to do it... DO IT! It was an unreal experience.
After our jumps, the lot of us waved goodbye to our "adventure land" and turned Hansie back in the direction of Cape Town, our come to be home away from home. Instead of taking our previous route, we headed further inland through St. Lowry's Pass on the N1, an awe-inspiring road that hugged some of the most beautiful mountain landscape that I have ever seen. Waterfalls sleeked from the top of the melting summits and snow could be seen falling on the tallest of the peeks from the gray clouds that chilled the entire atmosphere. We were all exhausted and relieved to be out of Hansie after our 7-hour drive, but the memories of the laughter filled adventures we stowed away in our smiles will be worth storytelling for the rest of our lives!
Do me a favor and listen to "Swim Until You Can't See Land" by Frightened Rabbit... it'll give you a better salute then I could ever conjure of for the end of this post!! :^)
**Hopper**
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