Day 1 of our Walk 4 Huskies journey is done & dusted! Well, I’m OK but Des looks kinda dusty – the old fossil took a bit of strain today. But he made it. Just as well that I let him hang onto my leash 🙂
Before I tell you about our day, I have to start this blog post at the end of our day and then go back to the beginning. Why? ‘Cause we’re staying at a really comfortable pet-friendly place in Knysna and I really needed a rest. And this is not just any pet-friendly place – it’s a lodge, like a safari lodge where dogs are allowed – the Elephant Hide of Knysna Guest Lodge, no less!
The fossil has stayed at a lot of lodges all over Africa and he says our room here is “on a par with best of them” – whatever that means. Well, this is a first for me and I like the space – and the smells! And the balcony deck with a view over the lake, although I can’t get out to explore ’cause its enclosed. And the balcony deck is high enough that I wouldn’t want to try squeeze through the railing gaps (I don’t like heights – there, I’ve admitted one of my few fears!).
The fossil, of course, likes the bed. Not that I’ll get to sleep on it. But that’s OK – the wooden floor is warm and I have my blanket bed for comfort. We really appreciate being hosted overnight, Ryan (that’s the owner of this lodge).
OK. Back to the start of our day. We left “The” Plettenberg much later than planned – I think the fossil was enjoying his English breakfast so much that he lost track of time. So, we only started our walk from Wedge Beach to Robberg at 9:30 am. The beach walk was great, except for the fossil embarrassing me by handing out leaflets about my mission to everyone along the beach. Des did that all the way to Robberg, and we had a short break in the shade when we got there.
Seeing as no dogs are allowed on the Robberg Nature Reserve Hiking Trail, the fossil used his phone’s GPS App to navigate a walking route to Noetzie Beach near Knysna, which where he wanted us to end up. So, we backtracked along the beach and walked up Robberg Road, and then along Plettenberg Airport Road until his GPS indicated a turn into a dirt road heading to Hakerville Hut. That was a cool walk – lots of puddles and mud for me to get down & dirty!
At one point, we heard a troop of baboons barking alarm calls in the forest nearby. I was keen to see them but the fossil hit a panic and accelerated his pace.
Eventually, his GPS showed the route continuing along the 9.5km Perdekop Nature Walk. This is SANParks turf and there’s a sign banning dogs from entry. What bullsh*t! Like we weren’t willing to use the trail at our own risk like the sign says? I mean, it’s not as if my human wasn’t on a leash to stop him chasing bokkies or whatever!
Anyway, we walked back to the dirt road and ended up hiking along the N2 roadside verge. By then, the time was 4pm and we still had 17km to go. The main road was really busy with big trucks whooshing past – that really scared me!
Then I heard the Fossil calling MJ – the GM at The Plettenberg Hotel where we’d left the Mahindra PIKUP 4×4 – and he asked him to come fetch us. If we’d carried on walking, we’d have got to Noetzie Beach at 7pm and the fossil was worried about walking in the dark.
So, we dropped MJ off at The Plettenberg and then drove back to Knysna to check-in at the Elephant Hide of Knysna Guest Lodge, which takes us back to the beginning of this story! And now I’m going to sleep (in luxury, nogal!).
JAXX
PS. That extra X on the end of my name is supposed to be a kiss (yeah, I know it’s soppy).
Reminder: 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 on a hiking trail, or along the side a main road) and come over to say “Howzit Husky Boy!”
Wanna talk to us? WhatsApp the tall fossil hanging onto my leash. Here’s his number: +27 (0)82 374 7260.
