We left Grahamstown on 29th August for the relatively short drive to Nature's Valley. This area is in the The Garden Route National Park. The entire area is stunning, with wonderful coastal scenery, backed by old growth indigenous forest. Nature's Valley is in a secluded valley & just outside the very pretty village, is the National parks camp site. The campsite & the immediate area are stunning.
Our camp.
The entrance to the campsite.
Crystal clear rivers run through this aea.
Delana at the base of a giant
Yellow-wood Tree.
Knysna Lourie
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Birding inside the forest was difficult, but we did record some good species: African Goshawk; Lemon Dove; Knysna Lourie; Scale-throated Honeyguide; Olive Woodpecker; Greater Double-collared Sunbird & Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler.
Chorister Robin.
In the darkness we had another visitor:
Large-spotted Genet.
It came to visit us every night.
The small window which the Baboons
entered the caravan.
The broken extractor fan & skylight.
We picked an idyllic spot & made camp inside the forest. It was perfect for a short while, then the Baboons found us! Now we are used to camping & indeed living with wild Baboons, but this was a whole new level. We left a tiny window open & returned to find six baboons inside the caravan causing mayhem. On another day we returned to find a Baboon on the caravan roof, breaking into the caravan by trying to open the closed skylight. It got so bad that we couldn't leave & go & do things for fear of the camp site been destroyed in our absence. It was such a shame, as we would have loved to have stayed longer. We later found out that this place is infamous for bad Baboon behaviour & that is why it is under used. We certainly won't camp here again, although the area is fantastic.
At The Blue Rocks Bar & Restaurant.
The village itself is a beautiful low-key spot on the map, with great beaches & coastal scenery. Definitely a top spot to live.
Rock Dassie
One day we visited Storms River, which is a spectacular spot on the coast. It is popular with both local & international tourists & the walk towards The Storms River Bridge although beautiful is not exactly a quiet walk. I was having a good day & managed to do the walk along the coast, albeit slowly!
We decided to leave Nature's Valley a day early on 3rd September & we headed north to Camdeboo National Park. It was quite an interesting drive, although we did get stuck behind slow moving & abnormally wide vehicles, which made us arrive quite late.
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