South African postcard 4
Well, my love of Knysna has been substantially reduced (notwithstanding the excellent Carmen’s Corner, which served the best food we’ve had in South Africa, an amazing mix of French, Thai, and Cape Malay Cuisine). Around three in the morning we were awoken to the sound of two men fighting and screaming at each other. My immediate response was to lock the room door and hear what happened. From what we overheard, it seems the owner of the backpackers came back late, and didn’t shut the security gate tight. An unidentified man followed him in, only to be quickly confronted by the owner. After the man refused to leave, saying he was trying to visit his brother, the owner pre-emptively (and rather ruthlessly) sprayed him with mace and pressed the panic button, summoning armed security guards, who arrested the intruder. Having myself been mugged at gunpoint during my graduate school years at Duke University, I can honestly say that that was far less scary than having to listen, impotently, to another person’s struggle with an intruder.
We packed up our car earlier the next morning and drove to the Roburg Nature Reserve. The hike there was gorgeous, with blooming fynbos and views of a Right Whale and calf off the coast. However, it seemed as if our luck had ran out for this trip, as we managed to lock our keys in the car. The problem was quickly solved with the help of a locksmith, and our vacation officially ended as we returned our car to the Port Elizabeth airport, and I prepared for the beginning of the Society of Conservation Biology meeting.
