The Knysna Heads are quite striking geological features of the area and have history dating back to the break up of Gondwanaland. The rocky formations consist of quartzite which can be observed at the Coney Glen (eastern side).
These two heads were made when the river cut it's way through to the sea, creating the Knysna lagoon and estuary. The river was busy eroding the quartzite slowly downwards while the area was in the tertiary "upliftment" period which lasted about 55 million years and raised the area by 500m source . This is probably a geologists wet dream to go and research this area, it is not only aesthetically appealing because of the aquamarine water, but it also has some epic rock formations.
Apart from seeing the Heads from the lagoon on a boat, there is a viewing point a short drive from where we live which offers a very nice circular walk to 4 of 5 different viewing platforms.
What goes up must come down...and vice versa.
Even though they are all well fenced, they are exceptionally high up and if you suffer from vertigo, it probably wouldn't appeal to you. The views are absolutely spectacular and I would imagine that sunsets from here would be well worth it.
This walk and viewpoint is managed by the Municipality and is very well maintained. The first section is wheelchair friendly, but the elevated areas do have quite a lot of steps. You don't need to be very fit to do this walk and kids will love it as long as you can keep them from climbing on the railings. Luckily Lory does listen when it comes to places like this.
We also found a freshly spun Rain Spider nest - I couldn't see mommy spider and decided I didn't want to find out where she was. There was also some lichen growing on the tree bark which Lory found fascinating and really liked the texture of.
Something that I have noticed about the Knysna area is how much information is available for public consumption in places like this. There are always plenty of signs and brochures.
There is also a bronze statue dedicated to the estuarine conservation efforts of SANParks and the residents who aim to help look after the natural heritage of Knysna. Very nicely crafted and whimsical looking, it was handed over to SANParks (South African National Parks) in October 2016 by Mrs Uschi Schultz, who is a resident with a strong passion for Nature Conservation source.
It took us a good 45 minutes to an hour to do the entire walk. By the end of it, Lory had decided that ice cream would be the perfect wrap up to the day. Finding an ice cream place in the early evening on a Sunday isn't exactly easy in this area as most of the places around the heads were already closed. I made some phone calls and Presto! I found a spot.
We headed to Leisure Isle and sat down at Nadine's Corner, a little coffee shop under two huge Ficus (wild fig) trees. Lory had her ice cream with chocolate sauce and of course I had coffee. I even cheated a bit and added whipped cream - because sometimes I like to over-indulge too.
This is a really nice coffee shop and we will be heading over there again in the near future. They have some fresh produce that you can buy, a little shop with souvenirs and arts & crafts as well as a little library that you can take a book out of if you bring a book with you to replace it. I love this idea and will do a post in the near future about it.
We headed home after dark and Lory had a wonderful sleep. Exercise and toddlers work wonders on making mom's life easier in the evenings!
Knysna Viewpoint added by me on Pinmapple here
[//]:# (!pinmapple -34.079015 lat 23.061236 long Knysna Heads Viewpoint d3scr)
All images are my own unless otherwise stated
