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Sho’t Left to the Crags and Natures Valley

Tourism in South Africa isn't just for international visitors but also for locals.  Yes there are places that most locals would never be able to afford to visit, but there are more places that are affordable to visit and even more things that you can do that actually doesn't cost you anything.  South African Tourism encourages locals to travel through their Sho't Left campaign.  "Sho't Left" is derived from everyday South African "taxi lingo" where a commuter wanting a ride to a…

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24/04/2014
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Surfing dolphins

On my way to Colchester for a meeting I had some time to play with and decided to stop at Wells Estate to snap a couple of pictures (and look for a Geocache).  Standing on the end of the Wells Estate Pier I noticed a pod of dolphins swimming along the shoreline just behind the waves.  Suddenly they started surfing the waves right in front of me. Now that is always a treat and even better if one has a camera on…

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23/04/2014
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Groenvlei jetty

The lakes district between Knysna and Wilderness on the Garden Route is made up of a series of lakes, most of them visible from the N2 itself.  Out of all those lakes, Groenvlei - just east of Sedgefield - is the only one that is a fresh water lake and without an inlet or an outlet.  The lake is maintained by rainwater and springs alone.  There are very strict restrictions on boating on Groenvlei with only electric motors, and no outboard motors, allowed.  The lake…

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22/04/2014
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Earth Day 2014 – Swartkops sunset

On 22 April (today if you read this post on the day it got posted) we celebrate Earth Day.  Earth Day is an annual event held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection.  The day was first celebrated in 1970 with 192 countries now taking part each year. In celebration of Earth Day 2014 I'm posting a picture of the Swartkops River taken by fellow Geocacher Emile Hallaby, or Speedbird315 as he is known in Geocaching circles, just after sunset from Bluewater Bay.  I'm posting…

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22/04/2014
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An Incidental Tourist at Shark Rock Pier

Last week two fellow travel bloggers, Dawn Jorgensen (The Incidental Tourist) and Di Brown (The Roaming Giraffe) came on a four night Sho't Left trip to the Eastern Cape which I was very privileged to play some part in.  Unfortunately I was busy over the weekend otherwise I would have joined them on the trip.  I did get to meet the two of them and show them around a little bot of Port Elizabeth though.  Here Dawn is getting a…

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21/04/2014
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Discovering secret spots in the Tsitsikamma

Geocaching is the ideal activity for people who love to travel and discover new places.  Yes I know I've said it before and I will say so again many times in the future.  On a visit to the Tsitsikamma I went in search of a cache called Elands Delight (GCX2QF) and even though it was raining (yes we geocache come rain or shine) I was very keen to find it.  The coordinates took me onto the old road a couple of…

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21/04/2014
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River and dunes

Today is post #6 (and the second last) in this week's Sundays River Ferry seriesThe dunes at Colchester is part of the Alexandria dune field which is the biggest coastal dune field in the Southern Hemisphere and seriously high.  From the top of the dunes you get a fantastic 360 degrees view of the surrounding dunes, the river below all the way to the river mouth (picture to come tomorrow), Algoa Bay, St Croix Island and Port Elizabeth beyond.  After huffing and puffing…

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19/04/2014
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Stopping at the dunes

This is post #5 in this week's Sundays River Ferry series.A trip on the Sundays River Ferry is made up of two parts.  The actual cruise and stopping at the sand dunes to climb to the top.  Its difficult to decide which one of the two is my favorite part of the trip but I do have to mention that I was getting over bronchitis last time I went down the river with them and I still huffed and puffed up the…

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18/04/2014
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Looking down the Sundays River

This is post #4 in this week's Sundays River Ferry series.After cruising upstream to the Mackay Bridge the cruise heads downstream towards the river mouth to climb the dunes.  The river flows in a northerly direction with the villages of Cannonville and Colchester on the left hand side before turning east and seaward at Pearson Park.  Looking down the river you can see the sand dunes waiting with the ocean beyond.

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17/04/2014
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Beacon Isle view – Plettenberg Bay

My previous post was a picture from a scenic lookout spot in Plettenberg Bay looking towards Robberg.  I mentioned that the view to the left is of the Beacon Isle Hotel and the Piesang River Estuary.  This iconic spot is now under threat of a huge development that started out as an request for ideas for a small boat harbour which has ballooned to a multi billion rand development that will change the landscape of Plettenberg Bay for ever.  In my opinion, not for…

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17/04/2014