Our last morning broke in Knysna sunny and cool. We had rented a car the day before because it was less expensive than the ‘safe’ local taxis. We were going to make the most of it. Our host at Jembjo’s Backpackers had told us that Diepwalle had great hiking in the forest and so we made the 40 minute drive, mostly over gravel roads, to the park. We had one mission for the day: see a Knysna Loerie  (or Knysna Turaco). Our host informed us that they’re quite difficult to see. “People travel to Knysna to see these birds and, after a week of persistent searching, go home without seeing nary a one,” he said. If we do see the Loeries, however, we’ll be able to tell because their distinguishing feature is bright red feathers on the underside of their wings.

Vervet Monkey through the trees

There are three main paths in the park: white, red, and black. We chose the white because it linked up with another trail and had a stream going through it. Typically water means more animals. All of the paths were at one time carved through by elephants ages ago. In fact, most of the roads in the area were based on old elephant trails. Now the trail was used for hikers and loggers. We saw a few trucks going by, loaded with logs. Some companies have learned that in order to keep a friendly public image, they should leave some areas virgin forests, and replant the rest. Not sure how much replanting actually gets done, but the trees where we hiked were beautiful.

We didn’t even reach the trail head yet when two vervet monkeys ran across our path. Sweet! We followed them to try to pet them get photos of them. Unfortunately they were quite quick, and launched themselves into the woods, nimbly swinging from tree to tree. We managed to get one far off shot when they stopped, thinking that they had put enough distance between us and them.

Our one decent shot of the Knysna Loerie

We kept walking through the trail, and a few minutes later heard the flutter of wings through the trees. Looking up, we saw a bird take flight; a bird with red wings. Holy cow, it’s a Loerie!

We followed the birds for about ten minutes before they took off deep into the forest. We ended up seeing the Loerie’s a few times throughout our hike, and saw about ten birds in total. It was so cool. The forests are very dense, however, so photographing these elusive creatures proved difficult. We managed to get one halfway decent shot of a bird, and now are determined to see more (and get a better photo) as we continue our trek up the Garden Route.