I was awake early this morning and was on deck 8 walking at 4:50 AM. We are currently at latitude 32.5 S, or about the distance south of the equator as Macon, GA is north of the equator. The temperature is beginning to reflect this latitude, it was 68 degrees this morning.
East London is a city on the Indian Ocean, in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. It’s known for its beaches, such as Nahoon and Cove Rock. The Buffalo Pass is a road crossing a forested valley and the Buffalo River. Fossilized human and animal footprints dating back 125,000 years have been found in The Nahoon Reserve.
Our excursion in East London is to the Noonan Reserve and the Dassie Trail, a boardwalk thru the estuary. It is only 1.2 miles but there are other trails in dry areas leading into the forest.
After a very irritating ship exit procedure, we were aboard our coach and leaving the port at 8:45 AM.
Unfortunately, a bad start only resulted in a bad tour.
Our first stop was the Dassie Trail, it was part boardwalk and part trail thru the woods.
(stock photo)
We spent 1.25 hours walking the 1.2-mile trail, stopping frequently to be enlightened about the flora. We saw no fauna, although we were told there were over 400 species of birds in the Reserve.
We then made our way to the Pine Creek Restaurant & Farmstall, where we were treated with refreshment, either a beer or a soft drink. This stop took another full hour.
At least they had a funny sign.
After our one-hour beer stop, we then made our way to the Nahoon Point. We were told we had 45 minutes to explore and visit the museum. The only problem was the museum closed at 4:00 PM and by the time we exited the bus it was already past 3:45.
We decided to take the boardwalk to the beach. It was beautiful. Nahoon Point is known for the discovery in 1964 of a child's fossilized footprint which dated back 125,000 years. For several decades, it was the oldest fossilized footprint every discovered.
During the 4 1/2-hour tour, we spent 1 1/2 hours either traveling (mostly short distances), boarding and un-boarding the coach or waiting for stragglers to make their way back to the coach. Add the 1.25-hour hike, the 1-hour beer break and 45 minutes at Nahoon Point and we have the tour.
And this only cost us $200 per person. Since there was no admission to either location we visited, I guess this is the most expensive beer I have ever had. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.
When we arrived back to the ship we were greeted by a line of Viking staff, with song and given an iced Bailey's coffee. As we exited the coach, Antonio, the Restaurant Manager, announced each couple or person by name with a megaphone, "Mr. & Mrs. Abernathy have arrived". Antonio is the only one who could have done this. He knows every person on board by name. Perhaps they knew how bad our day had been...
Birds of the Day - the only two sightings all day were at the port and taken from my veranda.
Tomorrow, we arrive early in Gqeberha, South Africa. I am hoping for a better day.
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