Day 9

Day nine
Saturday 25th January 2020
Current position
Emitem Bed & Breakfast
Plettenberg
Eastern Cape
6312
South Africa
S 34°11.93904'
E 24°49.90788'

We're getting slower and slower at getting going in the morning so we were only just about ready to leave our room at the ten o'clock checkout.
I haven't used Google maps as a satnav too often before but I am making headway and managed to program in Bloukran Bridge where we hoped to see the bungy jumpers leaping off from a height of 216 metres. Which according to their sales blurb is the highest bungy jump in the World.
The roads we travelled on were well maintained and as straight as a die. Even the mundane Nissan cruised along without rattle or bang. At one point a troop of monkeys appeared at he side of the road and watched as we drove past.
The bungy jump centre wasn't at all busy for a Saturday and Ros and I managed to get a good viewing spot from the café without having to buy a meal. We watched a couple of jumps wondering why anyone would want to pay for such an experience. On the way back to the car we successfully managed to dodge all the Africans trying to sell their hand carved animals. They do look nice but there is no way we would want to lug a wooden hippo elephant or even a giraffe around for the next seven weeks.
With Google maps set for Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary we left the jumpers behind and travelled along even straighter roads with little or no traffic. I have to be careful not to nod off as attention can wander with mile after mile of flat straight road with a speed limit of 120 kph. By two o'clock we pulled into the sanctuary and were lucky enough to get on the only afternoon guided tour just twenty minutes later.
There were only half a dozen of us on the tour. Our guide told us that all the animals had been snatched from death one way or another either being saved from a zoo circus or hurt for worrying livestock. The sanctuary's modus operandi is to look after the animals which are mainly large cats for the rest of their lives. They cannot be returned to the wild as they are unable to fend for themselves and as he said they enjoyed captivity so much they live a lot longer. He also said however tame you think these animals are you have to be careful wisely saying "you can take the animal out of the wild but you can't take the wild out of the animal"
The tour lasted an hour and a half and the time flew by as we saw lions tigers panthers leopards and even a near extinct Siberian tiger.
Soon we were back at the car programming in tonight's bed and breakfast stop but on the way we popped into a supermarket to buy a few provisions and a snack as we'd missed lunch. Old habits die hard and like we do when travelling in the Bentley we ended up eating a couple of samoosa's and a pear in the car park.
Feeling better for a bite to eat we  thanked goodness when the satnav took us to the front door of tonights bed and breakfast place. Without any messing about the little Indian lady showed us to our room without any of the normal check-in procedures. She simply said all I need is on booking.com and most importantly I know that you have paid.
It's always nice to have an hour or so before venturing out to eat. Time to relax with a glass of wine and a few nibbles. Tonight was especially nice as it was warm enough to sit outside.
We ate at the Ocean Basket part of  a chain of restaurants which we'd visited for quick snack in Durban. The restaurant here was equally as good.