We spent the week between Christmas and New Year in Jeffreys Bay, most of the time on the beach. I did try to break away to visit one or two attractions and do a few Geocaches.
One of the places I made sure to pop in was the Spekbook Labyrinth. Opened in 2022, the labyrinth was a project driven by the “Jeffreys Bay Dorp van Drome” movement. It was designed by landscape architect Pieter Kok, while the four columns were designed by Zuanda Badenhorst.
The four columns at the entrance to the labyrinth represent the four natural elements: earth (green), water (blue), air (white), and fire (red). Sadly, last time I was there, the columns had been removed after vandals damaged them, but I was really glad to see them back up.
Have you ever wondered why the difference is between a maze and a labyrinth?
Unlike a maze, you can’t get lost in a labyrinth. The paths in and out are clear and it has no blind alleys or dead ends as mazes have. The path twists and turns back on itself a multitude of times before reaching the center.
Walking a labyrinth requires you to merely follow the pattern, with no puzzle to figure out, and they are designed to encourage mindfulness and symbolise the inward journey.
There’s also a reason why spekboom was chosen for the labyrinth.
Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) is an indigenous South African succulent that grows naturally in the drier regions; it’s especially prolific in the Eastern Cape around Addo Elephant National Park and in the Gamtoos Valley.
It’s adaptable to many different environments and is easy to propagate, but that’s not all . . . For the amount of water that a spekboom uses, it’s also the most efficient carbon guzzler in the world – even more efficient than a rainforest tree! One plant can absorb 8,5 kg of CO2 in a year and can live for as long as 200 years.
I think it’s one of the attractions that most visitors to Jbay probably don’t know about, but it’s really worth visiting and walking. Like Miggie did while I was taking the pics.
