Beautiful blue sky awoke us. The peacock sounded his alarm that it is time to get up. We have an exiting plan today. Kayaking into the gorge of the Stormy River. After our kayaking in Umngazi was washed out, we really are looking forward to this. Breakfast with a view was served high up over the blue Indian Ocean, who was smiling at us. The Peacocks were by monkeys who were, what else, looking for food. So hold on to your croissant Mr. Benko ! The National Park check in at the entrance about 10 km away was very slow. We were warned that they do not work well and that if there is traffic, it can take a while. As usual the traffic was not heavy and we came to the kayak adventure check in well on time.
Safety procedures, Corona procedures and kayaking techniques were explained before we pushed our kayak into the sea. We had to cross the bay and navigate the surf before we could slide into the Stormy River entrance. To us the surf looked quite intimidating, the guide said, no issues, just follow my line..... Nenads adrenaline started kicking and with a big
grin he was rowing with a not too confident Nui in the boat at the beginning, who was nevertheless bravely going along. Her confidence picked up quickly and we both enjoyed being pushed around by the big waves of the ocean. Once on top of the waves they were pushing us into the river mouth with an exciting speed.
The gorge is narrow and deep, with caves populated by bats along the walls. The water color of the river is red due to leaves which contain tannin (same chemical as in red wine). When they fall into the water and float there for a while, they color the river waters and the rocks intensely red. A fascinating picture. We were finally not alone but with a group of about ten fellow kayakers. They all could have been Nenads kids reminding him of the agenda containing fooling around in the gorge waters planned a bit later. The question if this is his place or should it be Gorans (his son) crossed his mind. Blast it, he thought and did the fooling around with lots of enthusiasm. As the river in the gorge became narrower, a section of rapids appeared. So
pull the kayak over it. Behind the rapids we found a nice quite lake the river made. Red of course in color. So jump on the Lilo (a floating device) and play.... Paddling back was fun as well, as we were by now confident maneuvering the ocean waves and surf. Our lunch nearby was next to crushing big waves creating snow like white foam and matching with the foam of our cold beer. A good way to end the morning.
After a hike in the forest of Tsitsikama it was time to head back to Misty Mountain and have our planned BBQ next to our lodge. The South Africans call their BBQ a Braai. They are equally fond of it and it is part of their outdoor culture Nenad experienced it in Australia. The word braai (pronounced bry, plural braais) is Afrikaans for barbecue or roast and is a social custom in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It originated with the Afrikaner people, but has since been adopted by South Africans of many ethnic backgrounds. The word vleis is Afrikaans for meat. Similar to a potluck party, this is a usually grand social event (but still casual and
where family and friends converge on a picnic spot or someones home (normally the garden or verandah) with their own meat, salad, or side dish in hand. (Bring & Braai). Meats are the star of the South African braai. They typically include boerewors, sosaties, kebabs, marinated chicken, pork and lamb chops, steaks, sausages of different flavors and thickness, and possibly even a rack or two of spareribs. Fish and crayfish (kreef in Afrikaans) are also popular in coastal areas. Sometime also native meats like springbok, impala or kudu are included. For us it was a braai by two event. Nevertheless fun to prepare the fire and get the stuff roasted.
