South Africa – Plettenberg / Knysna 南非克尼斯纳 12/2018 Stop 30 站

29/12/2018. From Plettenberg, I walked 3 kilometers to the main trunk road to wave down a local minibus to take a day trip to Knysna, 40 minutes away on the Garden Route. The bus dropped me off at the Knysna town center. There was no taxi, no bus, and no car, so I put my thumb up to hitch a ride to the scenic spot, Knysna Heads, but no one stopped. I kept walking for about 5 kilometers, then spotted a partially obscured bum hidden in a shrub. I spoke into the shrub to ask for directions. Hearing my sweet voice, an elderly white lady emerged from inside the shrub, with a bag of empty cans and bottles she had picked up inside the shrub. On hearing my predicament, she offered to take me in her little car to the scenic spot for a small reimbursement. That again saved the day for me.

The Knysna Heads is a beautiful scenic place. Two sandstone cliffs guard the entrance to make sure the water in the lagoon is tamed. I hopped from rock to rock, enjoying it as quickly as I could, as time was fast running out. I headed back to Plettenberg in a fully packed local minibus, instead of proceeding to Wilderness, another scenic Garden Route spot as originally planned, for fear I would not be able to make it back to Plettenberg before nightfall. I was the only one in that bus that looked like I came from where the sun doesn’t shine.

Not having my own car created a big logistical problem. Not knowing yet where to stay that evening was also another problem. Plettenberg was fully booked due to the peak holiday season. It was a price I had to pay for being too impromptu. By then, I had given up thinking. Impulsively, I booked a bus ride that evening right back to Cape Town, where it all began. I felt as though I was going around in a circle, but I relished it. I did it all my way, the hard way, the African way.

29/12/2018 从普莱藤堡我乘当地小巴到四十公里外的花园路线的另一站点克尼斯纳（Knysna）。到镇中心后没的士没车没巴到景点，只能边走边拦车。走了五公里后，路过一灌木丛隐约看到人在从里，走过去问路，一老太从丛中钻出来，手里拿着一大袋捡到的空瓶空罐，听了我的困境后欣然把我送到景点克尼斯纳角，只收点汽油费。这挽救了大局，不然真不知什么时候才到目的地。

克尼斯纳角确有三分姿色。两座大岬角守住环礁湖入口，确保大洋流入绿水流入后平心静气留下。时间不多，只能海滩岩石上走马看花，放弃到花园路线上另一景点“荒野”（Wilderness ）的计划，搭上当地小巴直接回普莱藤堡。这小巴就只我与众不同，全车就我像是黑暗中的一只萤火虫，格外抢眼，很不自在。

没开车来的确非常不便，不知当晚在哪过夜也是个问题，这假期一房难求，我最终总要为自己即兴随性放纵付出代价。最后索性当晚就踏上大巴从普莱藤堡直奔开普敦，凌晨又回原地开普敦，好像团团转，其实不然。很享受这过程，入乡随俗，就这样脚踏实地体验真实非洲，吸其精髓。