Who did not catch the “Knysna Oyster Festival Bug”? I have heard from many people that the rife “Bug”, which spread as fast as a viral flu, was caused from eating local cultivated Oysters… true or false as the statement may be, most people have been so bed ridden that the the only thought available was for the closest bucket or toilet bowl – gippo guts, runny tummies and total nausea were the majority share holders of our lives for 2 or 3 days, sometimes even just 24 hours. So where does the history of the bug begin we are wondering? Was it’s ancestors originated from Gauteng 2 months ago and brought down by a vaalie holidaymaker or was the awful bug moulded and brewed in our homegrown soil? Watch this space for more info as we unfold the mystery of the Knysna Oyster Festival Bug!

Cruise Cafe is situated at the same deck where the Featherbed Cruiser begins their daily trips and so shares the same exquisite location and view, a tourist and local attraction for a relaxed experience, topped with South African cuisine found on both the food and wine menu.

Their menu is local gourmet offerings, such as Venison, Ostrich and a good selection of fresh Seafood, they also have a lunch menu with blue cheese Burgers and Chilli bites or a large helping of Fish and yummy skinny fried chips, all served on funky crockery with a twist. You have to try their cocktails, my favourites being the Lemongrass and Strawberry Daiquiri’s, also interesting is the glass used for the mixers, such as your Bacardi and cokes etc. SO don’t forget to have a closer look before you get a little razzled.

Cruise Cafe house an indoor fireplace and outdoor patio with wind barriers and heaters to allow the patron a table choice, weather depending. There is also a bar & couch area for those who want to chill out with a few drinks only and take in the lagoon and mountain views. They also have a bottom deck area full of tables and benches with umbrella coverings for the warmer days and nights and they will always offer you a fleece blanket to throw over your knees or body, very good idea indeed.

The lagoon is a mysterious element and changes everyday in colour against the cloud cover and when the sunshine sparkles on the still water the best place to see the natural Knysna lagoon with Mountain backdrop is at Cruise Cafe, so bring your cameras for the eye-candy at sunset or lunchtime.

After an engine fell out one of Nationwide Airlines boeing 747 airoplanes last year, on take-off from JHB, landing safely none-the-less, Nationwide was reportedly grounded but few people were pleasantly surprised when they reopened office and began running their planes on schedule.

Nationwide Airlines then released a press statement, at the end of February 2008, stating how excited they were to have partnered with African General Equity Group and that clients could look forward to fleet upgrades, employee share holdings and overall improvement of services. CEO of Nationwide, Vernon Bricknell, said that the staff had secure jobs within the company and his intention was to expand his network.

Then came the breaking news early this week, in one day, without any warning, that Nationwide closed all their offices before any press statements were issued leaving pre-booked national and international ticket sales up in arms, clients and staff of the company still do not know what the outcome is at this time? Whether monies will be refunded is a mystery but very disappointing for many. Infact I hope their tickets can be redeemed, afterall Nationwide is offering a service and if they cannot supply any service or feedback the client should be entitled to full refunding and tickets purchased with another service provider. Airlines are quick to charge you if YOU cancel a flight. BUT it looks like anything goes with Nationwide at this critical crisis time and they will only endevour to suite their needs alone.

Let us hope at least that they release a statement to committ to a decision for the sake of staff and pre-booked clients, if I was either of the above I would not be impressed, infact this type of standard is unacceptable and is setting a poor example to our country – no news is NOT good news as these actions have and will affect many peoples lives in a negative way – well, everything happens for good reasons too but my goodness… may it be a good reason that you missing that flight!

If you’ve been living in Knysna for any length of time you will undoubtedly be familiar with the phrase “let’s move to Knysna and open a coffee shop”, the enthusiastic cry of many a visiting upcountry-man. There are in fact many coffee shops in Knysna and recently we even sport some of the big brand coffee people. While being a huge fan of some of these bigger franchises when visiting Cape Town in my home town I prefer to offer support to some of the smaller independents.

One of my favourite haunts to enjoy a caffe latte at the moment is L’Opera in the Knysna Mall. For the uninitiated (my mom etc) a caffe latte is a tame way to enjoy espresso. As the word latte implies the drink is one third espresso and two thirds foamed milk, more or less. This delicate balance of milk to espresso is often denoted by the terms “shot”. One can have a single shot, double shot, or, for the incredibly brave, triple shot latte. My own preference is somewhere in between one and two and is also dependent on the strength of the espresso used. Why the technical info you may ask…simple. L’Opera serve a latte the way it should be served, in my opinion. A tall glass of foamed milk is presented with a delicate sprinkle of cinnamon on top and your espresso in a neat little jug next to it. This enables the drinker to decide exactly how brave they are feeling on any given day. I have not yet resorted to sucking the remainder of the espresso from the jug, but at least I have the option. The other advantage of this will be obvious to frequent latte drinkers. One can easily sweeten ones drink before topping it up with espresso. I’m sure many people have had the “now where do I put the sugar?” experience when faced with a beautiful head of foam protruding from the top of their latte glass. Of course this method of serving does rob one of the aesthetic pleasure of seeing the delicately swirling layers of milk, espresso and foam in the perfectly prepared latte, but as with most things in life, you can’t have everything.

The atmosphere is fantastic at L’Opera, they manage to balance the careful level of attention without making you feel like you should hurry up as they need your table. My friend and I have spent many an unhurried afternoon sipping lattes and eating nothing and have not felt pressurised to leave. Although admittedly our conversations border most often on the bizarre and it could be they are keeping us for the entertainment factor.

L’Opera have also risen to the challenge of load shedding and you can be guaranteed a perfectly good cup of filter coffee, cappuccino or even a latte as well as a limited menu during power outages. It seems these fantastically French people have not forgotten to fine art of using a French press and are not crippled by the lack of an espresso machine. Of course this is not necessarily the technically correct way to prepare a latte, but when needs must.

I picked up an article in the Herald and whilst the speaker was pointing a finger at the hospitality industry in the E. Cape what he had to say applies just as much to our local restaurants and service providers in general

“A TOP businessman dished up an overflowing plate of criticism to Nelson Mandela Bay restaurants and their management yesterday, saying they were letting the city down by creating a poor impression with visitors.

World traveller Phil Gutsche, non-executive chairman of Coca-Cola Sabco, was speaking at an empowerment business summit at the university campus on the positioning of the Eastern Cape for international investors.

“As for the food, it is okay – but just okay.”Gutsche said it appeared that the owners and staff of restaurants “just don’t care a heck” and action must be taken to improve the situation.

“This is necessary because these restaurants are the frontline of our image and they are not making a good impression at all.”

Knysna is well known for high prices, bad service and mediocre food. However on the up side at least its consistent and allows one the rare pleasure of being pleasantly surprised from time to time.