Lucky us! We found a way to walk from Wilderness to George and stay away from the un-pet-friendly beach and N2 motorway. And so our Walk 4 SOS Huskies journey continues. Except we walked the other way – from George to Wilderness. Yeah, I know that’s weird when we’re actually heading for Cape Town. Here’s how it came about…
When the Fossil and I arrived at Waterside Lodge Wilderness yesterday afternoon, we met Casper Van Vuuren who is also staying at the lodge. What a nice human! He knows Siberian Huskies well ’cause he reared two of my breed from pups to old age. Anyway, when Casper heard Des’s “no doggy walking route to George” story, he said there is a way; “take the Old Knysna Road at the back of Wilderness”. So that’s what we did.
But first, let me tell you about the pet-friendly Waterside Lodge. Last night, we stayed in the luxury Sunbird Suite (the pic below shows the view over the Touw River from the wrap-around balcony (Yeah, I know – my arse to the camera again, but I was thirsty!).
Inside, the suite is really spacious – just the way I like it! It has all the 4-Star comforts and conveniences that people could want. And for me? Well, the Fossil brought my own bed but I prefer sleeping outside under the stars. Except last night there weren’t any, ’cause it was overcast.
I really loved the big garden – except that it’s fully fenced and I couldn’t escape to explore the wilderness! And the pool deck. And … I could go on forever! But don’t just take my word for it – book a stay here and let your best friend (hope he’s a Husky) tell you about it.
So, getting back to the beginning of this post, and why we went George/Wilderness instead of the other way ’round. Casper (the human, not the friendly ghost) drove our Mahindra PIKUP to show the Fossil the way to George along the ‘Ou George Knysna Pad’.
When we got to George, the Fossil asked Casper to drop us off there so we could walk back to Wilderness. What he forgot, though, was all the downhills on the way, which became uphills on our walk back!
As you can see in the video clip, it was raining when we started. And kept raining for the entire 3 hours of our hike back along ‘The Passes Road’. It really is a beautiful route to walk, even in the rain. The road winds through indigenous Knysna forest, and over really old bridges.
Hey, did you notice? In the road sign pic above? There’s no “No Dogs Allowed” icon! Must be a very old sign. One benefit of walking in the rain is that I didn’t have to drink any of the water that the Fossil was carrying in his backpack – there was water-water everywhere!
At a few places along the road people had dumped garbage. Plastic bottles, bags, take-away wrappers – all scattered about down the steep valley to the forest streams below. Dunno why humans do that!
Anyway, we arrived back in Wilderness after three hours twenty minutes of walking – and the rain stopped as we arrived back at Waterside Lodge – and the sun came out. Because Des had changed our plan for today, the pet-loving owners extended our stay for tonight.
So tonight we’re staying in the Loerie Suite – well, the Fossil is – I prefer the big garden! This self-standing unit is a bit smaller than the Sunbird Suite, but just as luxurious! In fact, there’s lot’s of luxury rooms here – go check them all out on the Waterside Lodge Wilderness website. Come Stay and Play!
That’s all for now human folks. Wanna talk to us? WhatsApp the tall fossil hanging onto my leash. Here’s his number: +27 (0)82 374 7260.
JAXX
PS. That extra X on the end of my name is supposed to be a kiss (yeah, I know it’s soppy).
BTW: if you happen to be anywhere along our walking route between Plettenberg Bay and Cape Town during late July to mid-August 2021, look out for us. We’ll be walking along the beach (or not), or on a hiking trail (unlikely), or along the side a main road. Come over to say “Howzit Husky Boy!” (and ” Hello Fossil Man” if you want).
