Overnighting in Wilderness National Park

[leachy]

i was astounded to see how much more territory had been placed under the jurisdiction of sanparks,
since my last visit to the wilderness - knysna area which was probably in 2009

this especially in the area between the outeniqua pass and the knyna forests.

on my previous visit to sanparks wilderness i stayed in the north section in one of the budget rondavels with en suite.

definitely good value for money and will be my accommodation of choice should i return

this time i stayed at the ebb and flow south in one of the very comfortable log cabins.





4 sleeper with shower toilet en suite all utensils with stove and microwave inside and fridge on the veranda.
the units are serviced daily and the braai facilities are cleaned every day.
they do not however scrub the braai grids as they do in kruger.
i think kruger is one of the few places in the country where the grids are scrubbed clean every morning





veranda overlooks the touw river.



the board walk next to the river.....



there is a vast network of these board walks all around the wilderness area and its surrounding lakes and waterways


sanparks wilderness is very much a family holiday destination with a very popular well manicured and maintained camp site in the northern and southern sections.

there were kids running around everywhere...........

but thankfully due to the proximity of the river they were always under adult supervision



there are fairly strict rules in place which ensures that the terrain does not turn into another version of hartenbos
which is a bit of a bun fight during the december holidays

for example no audible music may be played on any form of electrical or digital device
anytime of the day or night

and i think i am correct in saying that generators are forbidden.

one of the outside kitchen facilities....



the staff are friendly and efficient especially at the access points and there are staff manning the entrances to most of the nature trails
as a permit is required resulting in stricter control of tourists.

no dogs are allowed on any of the nature trails.

[leachy]

i must admit that was astounded to see that the area around jubilee creek and millwood gold mine is also controlled by sanparks.






these "characters" are at the entrance to the road that goes up to jubilee and millwood








there is a quaint little coffee shop and gold mine museum near millwod that is a favoured destination on every visit to the area.







this shop is very isolated and has no electricity at all

but still manages to produce a very tasty plate of food

[Lisbeth]

Looks very interesting, green, clean and tranquil The big tree looks really "big"

Lots of great info

[Richprins]

Your tireless work is greatly appreciated, leachy!

Go WC SANParks! Looks very sorted indeed!

What an enormous bottle of whiskey!

[leachy]

the area in the vicinity of the karatara, woodville and the big tree is now also under the control of sanparks which i do believe is a step in the right direction as the place is spotless.







i just love the heading of this permit

"Access to Garden Route National Park
FOR RECREATION, EDUCATION, CULTURAL
OR SPIRITUAL FULFILMENT"

[leachy]

i could not believe it, but.........

while i was there a knysna turaco was flitting around in the trees above

i did not have my telephoto lens

it is the shape within the red circle



the "big tree"









an information board showing some of the animals that occur in the forest...

note the elephant !!!!!!









tbc

[Flutterby]

It all looks so clean and well-kept!

Ellies? Wonder if there are really any left there?

[Toko]

The big tree is impressive

The log cabins are nice, have been there some years ago and liked it. But we haven't seen much wildlife around there

[leachy]

when one is seated outside the log cabin

you can see the traffic on the N2

but because the sound of the ocean is so loud it drown most of the traffic noise

to the north atop the surrounding hills are a few very impressive residences......

[Lisbeth]

The second place looks gorgeous, even if a bit biggish