Knysna

Knysna (pronounced nys-na) is a little beach town on a harbor around the halfway point on the Garden Route. It is one of the most beautiful towns along the Garden Route and has lots of different hotels, backpackers (what South Africans call hostels), and B&Bs. We stayed at a hotel that was slightly similar to the one we stayed at in Mossel Bay, but as it was a B and B, it felt much more like a home. Joyce and Graham, the owners, were hosting friends in their garden and we joined them for a glass of wine before spending the day walking around the harbor. http://www.candlewood.co.za/

Pool at Candlewood Lodge

Overlooking the town of Knysna and the bay. 

Harbour at Knysa. Almost like Venice. The people who own this home can pull their boats right up to their front door. 

My mom loved this harbor so much that she spent almost all her money at the little shops, and since ATMs are hard to come across on the highway along the Garden Route, this made for quite the adventure later on…

So far away from so many cities. 

Mommy and me. 

Mussels at 34 South, a famous deli in Knysna. http://www.34-south.com/

Us at JJ’s, a famous restaurant overlooking the harbour in Knysna. At around 9:30, the waiters, who are all black, stop serving and perform a concert for all the customers. As we were leaving, we asked Justin, the white restaurant owner, if he had vocal auditions for the serving positions. He said no but “the blacks can sing, same as in your country. They got the voices, we got the hair.” Just like in every culture, stereotyping is common here. His view of blacks is a relic from the apartheid. All races here are guilty of generalizing the other races, putting them into categories and making quick judgments, but his outlook is definitely not representative of the entire white race here but people here are much more obvious with racism than they are in America. 

At JJ’s I ordered Ostrich, and it was a great decision. Ostrich is the leanest red meat that you can eat, and it tastes like a more tender steak. It may or may not be my favorite meat from now on. 

JJ’s had a tradition where you write a message on the bottle of wine that you order, and he sticks it in the wine racks in the ceiling. As JJ’s is one of the most popular restaurants in Knysna, the messages are written by visitors from all over the world. 

Lets play I spy… Can you spot our wine bottle?

Another popular attraction in Knysna is the craft market, but when we asked where many of the goods were made the sellers usually said another sub-Saharan African country. However, some of the sellers were marketing their own goods.

I bought a beaded bowl from this guy, who had also spent about a month constructing Michael Jackson out of beads. Just like every other part of the world, it was a major tragedy when Michael Jackson passed away. This is definitely not the first tribute to him that I’ve seen here. 

Harbor in Knysna

View of the canola fields on the road home from Knysna.

Mom and I loved Knysna. While walking around the harbor, I realized I could have been in any beach town in the world. The seafood restaurants, the expensive beach clothing stores, the touristy gift shops. It didn’t feel like I was in Africa, but it was an unbelievably beautiful little beach town.