Heading to the Heads, Knysna

Knysna is the town on the Southern Cape garden route where much of 'Sailing for Trouble' is set. My last journey to this, one of my favourite places on earth, was different from my heroine Alexa, though, because I didn't arrive by sea. Instead, I drove from George airport, travelling a windy, up and down road, savouring each beautiful bend, the views of hills and lakes, all so familiar and yet so strange, living so far away as we do these days.

I don't have an image to show from Alexa's sea-side arrival, but you can read about that in the book. Here's the vista I used to enjoy very soon after setting foot on Leisure Isle, the place where she begins her hunt for an unknown treasure. You can see those imposing headlands in the distance.

and get a glimpse of the yacht club (on stilts) in the distance here:

When staying on Leisure Isle, as we used to do for many summer vacations, you live very much with the movement of the tides. They also impact Alexa's search, because she needs to explore the sand flats at very low i.e. ebb tide when the lagoon's plug has been pulled. So here's what that looks like:

I always used to feel as if my soul expanded to these wide horizons, sea and sky.

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Happy reading!