Emily Moon River Lodge

An amazing little place with just 8 cottages along the Bitou river. If there's not time to spend a day or two here at least stop for a meal

http://emilymoon.co.za/

A hidden gem - bring binoculars!

The Fynbos Ecosystem

Fynbos (pronounced Feinbos), meaning 'fine bush' in Afrikaans as leaves are thin, is found throughout the western Cape. Of the worlds six floral kingdoms this is the richest and smallest for it's area. Of the 9000 varieties found in the Cape, 6200 are endemic to the region.

The major fynbos plant families are Proteas, Ericas and Resticos, of which most seeds require fire to germinate. Other seeds are carried away by ants protecting them from the fire and deposited in the ants self-made fertile compost for germination. This symbiotic relationship is referred to as myrmecochory, which I still can't pronounce.

The most down to earth and practical appeal of these plants is that they are hardy and flowers can last up to 3 months.

Want to join me in a garden tour to this amazing part of our world?

Along the road to Plettenburg Bay through The Little Karoo

As our Afrikaans was not too good and we wanted to drive over the Tradouw pass in the middle of the Little Karoo we tried to tell 'Phyllis', our GPS, to take us there. After all, does Op en Tradouw mean Tradouw Pass or the town of Tradouw - but with no address it was too complicated and we gave up. Old fashioned maps seemed a much better solution.
Wendy and I had a wonderful day ambling wherever we wanted including a stop for roadside curried mutton pie. We included Montagu along our travels and could have spent the whole day there but went on to the Arabella winery and of course this scribe after several years away from the bush also had to stop for a troop of baboons.
With a day filled with no cares you can imagine our surprise when Phyllis, the irritating- know- it- all who can get it so wrong so often, announces 'arriving at destination on right' as we passed the Tradouw lookout pass. Maybe for the only time in her life - we placed her at the top of the class.