From Whales to Wild Cats - A Garden Route Ballad

🌍 The Self‑Drive Ballad of Jukani

We set out east from Cape Town’s shore,  

Adventure calling, hearts to explore.  

At Hermanus bay the ocean played,  

Southern Right whales with calves displayed.  

They breached the waves, a mighty show,  

A dance of giants, calm and slow.  

Then Oudtshoorn’s plains, where ostrich fed,  

We tasted their fare, our journey spread.  

With windows shut and doors held fast,  

Baboons along the roadside passed.  

To Jukani’s realm the big cats lay,  

Tigers prowled and lions held sway.  

Leopards lingered, cheetahs ran fleet,  

A chorus of pawprints, wild and sweet.  

Our guide spun yarns with laughter bright,  

Of childhood cats in the dusky night.  

And one sly thief with a curious brief,  

Who stole not pairs but the left shoe’s leaf!  

We drove on east, the road our song,  

Stories and pawprints carried along.  

At Amakhala, dawn’s first light,  

Game drives stirred the coming night.  

Elephants marched, rhinos stood tall,  

Wildebeest thundered, zebras called.  

Cheetah shadows, buffalo strong,  

The bush alive with nature’s throng.  

No hippos seen, yet in the dark,  

We heard their laughter, water’s mark.  

A self‑drive journey, stitched with delight,  

Whales by day, wild cats by night.  

From Cape Town’s shore to Eastern skies,  

Our road was written in nature’s eyes.