Discovering South Africa on a budget: Jubilee Creek

I am a big Dalene Matthee fan. She is a South African author who hailed from Mossel Bay and wrote about the destruction and reckless killing of animals in the Knysna forest. Her books were magical, especially the connection between Saul Barnard and his animal brother Oupoot, (Old Foot) in “Circles in a Forest.” Through her books I could feel the heart of the forest beat in my heart as well.

Jubilee Creek Waterfall

We decided to go for a picnic at Jubilee Creek in the Knysna Forest recently to celebrate Mother’s day.

We sat off from George in strong drizzle. The rain lifted though and we could stop at Sedgefield for our first tea and snack of the day.

View towards Gericke's point

Mosaic art at Sedgefield viewpoint

The views towards Gericke’s point over the lagoon from our pit stop was lovely. From there we drove past Pili Pili, a cute pizza restaurant perched on sand. Pity it is behind a sand dune though. I ate here previously and can recommend the pizzas.

We drove through to Knysna to buy salt bread at 34 South. It was hot out of the oven. Sadly it was almost finished before we reached the car!

Knysna stays one of the most beautiful towns in the country. The reflection on the lagoon is different every time. There are so many restaurants to choose from as well, you really are spoiled for choice.

After this stop we turned back onto the N2 and took the Rheenendal turn off. At the Sanparks Nature gate there were a couple of baboons foraging through the autumn leaves. Entrance fee without a wild card is R19 per person.

Jubilee Creek Picnic Site

We then took the lovely road through the forest to Jubilee creek. You go past Krisjan se Nek which has a memorial for Dalene Matthee and also have a picnic area. Jubilee Creek is also a lovely picnic spot with braai facilities, seating, toilets and recycle bins. BB loved splashing around in the sparkling clean river. I heated some soup and we had what little was left of the salt bread with the soup in a soft drizzle.

When the drizzle stopped the forest really came alive in the sunlight. Little droplets and spider webs sparkled in the sun.

I took the short 3.2km hike to the waterfall. It was quite muddy and I had to cross the little river three times. It was a lovely hike past exotic fungi and ended in a small waterfall.