Gap Year Experiences

Away With The Fairies

Tuesday 10 March 2009

After a fairly lengthy drive from Coffee Bay, we eventually arrived in the land of fairies, originally where the idea of Lord of The Rings was taken from. The area we were in was called Hogsback and was situated in the mountains. The backpackers we stayed in was called Away with the Fairies, which seemed to fit the relaxed vibe of the place. We arrived in the late afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing, ending up in a restaurant called Nina’s and quite an early night for most. The next day Johnny, Snake (Larry), Doug, Jules and Ricky went on a hike around the mountains. They always manage to fit one in at each place we visit. Coffee Bay was prime example, where Johnny tried to convince us that the hike was more of a stroll, and him and snake (the only two who went) came back hot, tired, and ready to admit that they spent the whole morning walking up a steep mountain.

In Hogsback the views were amazing, and there was a perfect view of the three Hogsback hills from an opening called The View Point. Lucy, Carrie and I spent the day exploring the area. There was a very high, rickety tree house in the gardens which we climbed where you could get see the whole of the Hogsback mountain area. Ricky and I decided to climb the tree house that afternoon, not aware that we were going to have to babysit a four year old boy who thought it would be funny to spit all over my top. That evening we went to a restaurant called The Enchanted Tree house where we had the most incredible food. Foxy Roxy was our waitress and we later learned that she loved a good party, including a trance party which she was hosting a couple of days later. Most of us spent the evening in the bar playing drinking games with a crowd of 80 university students and other groups of people in the mood to party. The night ended very late, and most of us woke up to bad hangovers. That day we drove to a couple of spots where we then walked to some of the most beautiful waterfalls which we stood under amid masses of screaming children messing around in the streams. Again the night ended early, after the boys had one last drink with snake who sadly flew home the next day.

Arriving in Plet Bay we began preparing ourselves for the madness of what was to come: Sky diving and Bungee jumping. Half the group went treetop zip wiring on the first day whilst the other half went on a four hour hike along the coast to look at the seals. During the zip wiring, we met a group of, as Johnny put it, absolute inbreds, who made the day a whole lot more amusing. Lastly we cooked up a braai, to put a good end to the day.