WILDERNESS IS A WOW !

Our visit to Wild on Wilderness (WOW) coincided with the Thousand Sensations Craft Beer & Food Festival. The organizer, Alewijn Dippenaar brought together 13 Craft Breweries, i.e.  Stellenbrau Redbridge , Wild Clover , Robertson , Boathouse , South Cape Breweries – Glenhof , Misty Meadows , Karusa , Sneeuberg , Mitchell’s , Cederbrew , Devil’s Peak  and Triggerfish . 

There were many eateries to decide on and a number of great entertainments, I particularly loved the drumming sessions. A birdie whispered that 2016 is going to be bigger and better. Add this to your calendar events.  

One must admire the art of crafted beer where everything is done mostly by hand, this includes crushing the malt, stirring the mash, etc. and for someone that does like beer, I am glad that this serves my taste buds.

WOW has many activities on its doorstep and this is a major contributor in my eyes. One of these groups is called Eden Adventures, located at Fairy Knowe Hotel. They focus on outdoor adventure tours, and one of the best ways to get to know the area is through canoeing. 

These canoes comes in single, double and triple for hire and equipped with paddles, buoyancy aids and waterproof containers where you can store bags, cameras etc. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Our Warrior on Wheels, Damian Gower was nervous about doing the activity, yet daring enough to do it.  

The Kaaimans River becomes part of the National Park with the canoes and an entry fee must be paid. This is one area where I felt that the National Park should exempt these kind of activities from paying an extra fee, we all in it to promote the area.

For any bird lover, this is the perfect activity to do as you paddle through the indigenous forest. I suggest that you take your time enjoy the scenery and take it all in.  After about an hour we stopped, left the canoes onto the bank of the river and started to walk to the boardwalk.  

Rose was such a great tour guide as the explained the history, different types of birds and the ecology of the forest. There is so much to experience along the way to the waterfall. Make sure that you have enough water as you will need to hydrate yourself.

The best part came as we came to the waterfall, truly an Eden where angels dwell.

This activity requires time and to appreciate it you will need a solid few hours.

There is a fascinating cave in Wilderness, towards Victoria Bay with a story of its own. Kaaiman's Grotto as it was called is situated on the dilapidated Outeniqua Choo-Choo railway line. 

Once there was a popular restaurant and tourist stop on this coastal route that was only accessible via train. When the lined was damaged, the business had to close but the story has a happy ending or so I think.

The new occupant is Clifford, who moved there four plus years ago. He believes that God intervened and set place aside for those that are homeless and in need of a place while getting their live together. 

When he found the place, most of the furniture from the restaurant was gone; there was some infrastructure though in place, but it was in a mess.  Now the place is transformed into a haven, museum, still need to get a suitable name for it. As you enter you are amazed at the handmade seashell chandeliers, décor of the place and how he has managed to divide it into rooms, each with its own theme. To describe it does not do justice to what he has done to the place.

He is more than willing to tell you his story and the troubles of eviction he has faced and now eight years on where he finds himself. All that I can say is that I have such inspiration for this man and his tenacity to survive against all odds. What is missing here is for a business man/woman to come alongside his vision and build a legacy.

There are many adventures and things that I have not done in this area, but just to say that it truly is a little place of heaven on earth. Apparently this is one of the best places to do paragliding. Watch the space. 

Once again thanks to Rose Bilbrough know as @gotravelbug and Jonel Ackermann, the GM at The Wilderness Hotel for making this media event possible. They are such angels in Eden. To all the other role-players who contributed to make Wild on Wilderness a success, salute.

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Until next time !