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GET IN TOUCH WITH THE ELEMENTAL IN NIEU BETHESDA
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Nieu Bethesda, home to a mix of eclectic characters, is a dorp determined to hang on to its rural roots; there are no street lights, no ATM’s or tar roads. It oozes an energy, a strange sense of power, that is difficult to escape. Nieu Bethesda is elemental Karoo – dry and dusty, but magical – and good for the soul. |
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| TSITSIKAMMA FOREST |
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In the magical Tsitsikamma Forest, trees cling on to cliffs and grow in tumbles down hillsides. From the canopy of trees, some of South Africa’s biggest yellowwoods, stinkwoods and ironwoods poke they’re tops and underneath the canopy, cycads, ferns and creepers thrive. |
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| WALK ON THE BEACH BETWEEN THE KOWIE AND BUSHMAN'S RIVERS |
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Take a walk along the 24-kilometre beach between the Kowie River in Port Alfred and the Bushmans River at Kenton-on-Sea. Go from either side and you will find that the holiday resorts might be packed during the summer holidays, but you don’t have to venture too far to lose sight of all developments and feel like you are on a private beach |
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| PLAY AT TARZAN |
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Check out the Tsitsikamma Forest Tarzan style on a tour that will have you swinging through the tree tops at a rate of knots. You’ll find yourself hanging on a steel cable about 30 metres above the forest floor, sliding from one platform to another – many of which are in giant Outeniqua yellowwood trees. |
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http://www.treetoptour.com/ |
| THE BIG TREE |
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Stretch your legs on the N2, halfway between Knysna and Plett at the Garden of Eden, to visit the Big Tree. About a kilometre of boardwalk has been built into the forest – indigenous trees and giant tree ferns take you to a grand yellowwood estimated to be over 600 years old. |
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| HOLE IN THE WALL |
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Hole in the Wall, at the mouth of the Mpako River, is one of the most recognisable geological formations on Southern Africa’s coast. The huge rock formation, with cliffs that drop into the sea, has a hole clear through the middle. It’s at its most dramatic when the seas are high and the Indian Ocean hurtles its waves through the hole in an incredible display of shattered water and crashing echoes. |
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| REST IN NATURES VALLEY |
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The wide, pristine beach at Nature’s Valley is flanked by the Indian Ocean, a placid lagoon and mountain slopes and engulfed in the Tsitsikamma National Park. While the beach is a wonderful place to relax, it’s the lagoon that delights children. Here they can paddle for hours and play on boogie boards and not worry about sea currents and the tides. |
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| RIDE AN OSTRICH |
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The memories of riding an ostrich can last a long, long time – and if you catch the moments on a family video, even better. The birds seem to run all over the place and flap they’re wings and riders have to hang on tight to make sure they stay on. They the biggest birds in the world – you cant beat riding one. |
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| FEED AN ELLIE |
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When you feed an elephant at the Knysna Elephant Park you can feel the rough end of its trunk as it takes the food from your hand – it tickles a bit. And you can watch it move its trunk to its mouth and hear it chew. The baby elephants are very cute – especially if they don’t yet know how to use their trunks properly. |
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