Tube n Axe  Verified Listing

We had a great experience, and the staff were accommodating and very nice.

Tube and Axe was such a wonderful surprise! The restaurant was lovely, very good pizza and the staff was extremely friendly and helpful, Best location! A quick walk to town and we met amazing people from all over! Happy to have stay longer!

Service was ok.

Really cute place with amazing lodging... the food is great there as well, so you don't have to venture far from the pool when ordering, definitely recommend.

It was around September 09 when we finally made up our minds to go to the Eastern Cape for our December holiday in 2009. Our first thought was to do the famous Otter trail in Tsitsikamma, but apart from it being fully booked, we probably weren’t ready for such a long hike . . . not yet. I searched the internet for a similar “outdoorsy” experience and found the Tube ‘n Axe backpackers lodge.

Instead of flying, we decided to take a road trip so that we could enjoy all the beautiful scenery on the way. We got an early start on Sunday morning 27 December, about 5:30, and stopped for coffee and breakfast on the way. As we turned inland at Port Sheptone the terrain changed to that typical of the Eastern Cape, beautiful high relief mountains and gorges. As always, there were loads of cows, goats and sheep as we passed the farms and fields along the way, always keeping an eye on the tree tops and the sky for any interesting birds we might be lucky enough to spot.

The smell of camp fire filled our nostrils as we arrived at the Tube ‘n Axe on the 29th of December around 12:30 in the afternoon. At the T&A we were shown around by a very friendly "hostess". The dorm rooms and elevated forest tents were very inviting. We were surprised to find that we could pitch our tent wherever we pleased. We’ve only really camped in camp sites and were used to having sites allocated for us, but we found a perfect spot under a tree and set up our tent. The T&A have great facilities and friendly staff. At the reception desk there were loads of pamphlets advertising all the exciting activities available from leisurely nature walks – “yes please” - to heart racing bungy jumping – “no thanks”. On our first day we headed for Storms River mouth. We hiked up to the suspension bridge and sat on the beautifully pebbled beach and as the waves broke on the shore we listened to the soothing sound of the huge pebbles as they rolled over each other. The water was icy but after a while your body goes numb enough for you to be able to enjoy the swim. The sun was gloriously warm and we got some sun before heading back to camp.

The next day we headed for the canopy tours. We slid along cables high in the trees, as high as 30 meters off the ground. We were lucky enough to see Knysna loeries hopping around the branches and showing off their beautiful red feathers as they flew from tree to tree. It seemed as if they were as interested in us as we were in them.

It was old year’s eve so we didn’t expect to be getting any sleep that night as guests laughed and partied the night away around the campfire. On new years day we went black water tubing in Storms River. It was a 5 hour river adventure. The Garden Route was still experiencing drought so the river was very calm. As our group lazily floated down the river on the comfy tubes we marvelled at Gods beautiful creation all around us. In contrast to our tree top experience the previous day, we viewed the massive indigenous forests from below stopping every now and again to inspect the little dragon flies, spiders and insects on the river banks. After a day of cliff jumping, rock hopping and tube floating we returned to the T&A for an inclusive traditional South African braai with the rest of the group - YUM! We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon outside our tent, reading and playing cards. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets and brilliantly dazzlingclear skies most nights.

We were on our way to do some wine tasting the following day, but got distracted by Monkeyland and Birds of Eden parks along the way. When we arrived at Monkeyland I wanted to know what the price included and very stupidly asked: “What do you have in there?”. . . DUH, Monkeys!!! Well, needless to say, the guides at the entrance had a little chuckle at my expense. We went in and I was overwhelmed by the cuteness of the little Squirrel monkeys, specially when I saw the baby Squirrel monkey holding onto its mothers back. The Squirrel monkey baby was no bigger than the palm of my hand - awwwwwww! We saw lemurs, capuchin monkeys, vervet monkeys, the cute little squirrel monkeys and a few more that I’ve forgotten the names of. The birds of Eden park was beautiful. We were quite exhausted when we started to walk through the massive enclosed bird sanctuary (all the previous days activities and lack of sleep catching up with us), but got over it as soon as we marvelled at the lovely birdlife all around us. There were countless species of birds everywhere. Hornbills, Parakeets, Loeries, Flamingos, Violet backed starlings and parrots are just a fraction of the birds we saw. We stopped halfway for something to drink only to be pestered by a cheeky little African grey parrot that wanted our can of Appletiser, but was not interested in being touched and nipped at our fingers whenever we tried. Closer to the end of our walk we saw another pretty Knysna loerie. As we got closer we realised that he was quite tame and he climbed on my arm and nibbled on my finger in search of a treat, but much to his and the African greys disappointment, we weren’t allowed to feed any of the birds in the sanctuary.

When we got “home” to our tent we had our staple dinner of braai toasted onion, tomato and cheese sandwiches. On the morning of the 3rd of January we packed up our tent and headed to Addo elephant reserve. It was incredibly hot, but we saw so many animals. At first we thought we weren’t going to see much as it was scorching hot and the animals were probably hiding in the shaded bushy areas where we wouldn’t be able to see them, but we ended up seeing quite a bit. At the waterhole we saw no less then 150 elephants flapping their ears and rolling in the muddy water in an attempt to cool themselves in the blistering hot weather. We also spotted some buffalo, bush pig and even got a glimpse of a sleeping hyena. We saw storks, ostrich and various kinds of buck. After Addo, we stopped at a cousins house in East London. Clayton and his room mate were nice enough to give us a bed for the night and the next morning we got up at 4:00 and drove home.

The only negative thing we experienced at the T&A was due to some pesky guests and so I have two tips on etiquette for you if you ever visit a camp site or backpackers lodge:

If you are a smoker, please realise that everyone around you might not share your enthusiasm for inhaling cigarette smoke. Also, we are surrounded by nature and your stompies don’t add to the surrounding beauty. A match box fits right in your pocket and is great for keeping your cigarette buts until you find a rubbish bin to throw them in.
Also, if you love the nightlife and enjoy visiting with friends until late, be considerate of the people who are in their tents trying to sleep. The T&A has a stunning bonfire area. Use it. And on the other side, if you are an early riser, it would be nice to remember that there are some people still sleeping, so whisper if you need to chat.