Eastern Cape

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The Great Fish Point Lighthouse – finally visited

I have driven between Port Elizabeth and East London so many times over the years yet the Great Fish Point Lighthouse has always just been a dot on the coastline some distance away.  The reason? Word has always been that the track up to the lighthouse is terrible and my Polo isn't quite high clearance nor 4x4.  A little while ago a fellow blogger posted about the lighthouse and I asked what the road was like. "Not a problem, you'll…

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26/02/2018
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A bath with a view in Hogsback

Most people would prefer a bath (with the drought, not something I have done in a very long time*) in the privacy of their own bathroom behind a closed door.  Most people don't mean everybody though.  There are those who would jump at the opportunity to take a bath in what is probably the most famous open-air bath in South Africa.I've only seen photos of it, but on my last visit to Hogsback I decided to swing by Away with the…

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14/02/2018
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Scuba diving party in Port Elizabeth

Parties are getting more and more sophisticated.  Back in our days it was kids coming over and eating cake and sweets while watching a video and playing.  These days parents are pulling out all the stops to make a child's birthday party a memorable one and with two kids, a boy and a girl, we've been to everything. Movies, ice skating, trampoline park, pool parties, supertube, survival parties and more.  But Drama Princess had a first the other day.  A…

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18/12/2017
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Hole in the Wall – an icon of the Eastern Cape

The Hole in the Wall near Coffee Bay on the Wild Coast truly is one of the iconic sights (and sites) of the Eastern Cape and South Africa and recognised worldwide. Hole-in-the-Wall was named by Captain Vidal in 1823.  Vidal was captain of the Barracouta and was sent by the British to survey the coastline between the Keiskamma River and Lourenço Marques (present-day Maputo). He took his ship as close as 800m from the coast and described the phenomenon of a…

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04/12/2017
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The views of Coffee Bay

At the bottom of the beach in Coffee Bay is Bomvu Hill offering stunning views of both Coffee Bay to the north side and Bomvu Bay to the south. The village is located to the left just out of the picture next to the Nenga River. Looking at the Coffee Bay view the white building at the top of the beach is the Ocean View Hotel where I have now stayed twice already.  Comfortable accommodation, great dinner buffet, direct access to…

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28/11/2017
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I finally got to visit Hole in the Wall

One of my absolute travel highlights during 2017 is the fact that I finally got to visit the Hole in the Wall near Coffee Bay on the Wild Coast.  It was somewhat of an embarrassment to be somebody promoting and marketing the Eastern Cape but having to say that I have never been there. It's not the closest destination to where I live in Port Elizabeth though so it's not like I could just pop up to go and see…

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22/11/2017
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Spending a day in the Tsitsikamma – video

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IFafsAvdCQ&w=500&h=400]I have always wanted to make travel videos.  When I started working as a tourist guide in 1998 I had a little video camera which I filmed my tours with.  Back then I didn't know anything about editing.  The video was basically what I shot and I had to make sure the video was rewound just far enough for the next shot to start where I wanted it to.  All those videos are somewhere on VHS tapes in a cupboard at…

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18/11/2017
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Going surfing in Coffee Bay

One of the very popular activities to do when young international backpackers visit Coffee Bay is to learn to surf.  Most of the backpacker lodges in the area offer surf lessons and there is always somebody walking around with a surfboard either heading for the waves or out of it.  This young lady just finished her surf and was making her way back to where her friends were waiting for her. Now surfing is something I have never tried and…

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08/11/2017
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Koffiebus and Teebus on a moody day in the Karoo

The Karoo Heartland has a unique beauty which I have really learned to appreciate more and more as I have gotten older.  If you're a forest or beach person then the Karoo may not be for you, but if big skies and open spaces feed your soul then there is no better place.  One of my favorite Eastern Cape Karoo Heartland landmarks is the Koffiebus and Teebus mountains outside Steynsburg.  Although there are many similar Karoo koppies throughout the whole region,…

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03/11/2017
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Beware the Warthog

 Being from the Eastern Cape we all know that there are areas where you have to be very careful driving at night.  Unlike our friends in the Big Smoke it's not robbers and highjackers we have to be careful of, but rather Kudus.  These big antelope jump fences up to 2 meters tall and come and browse on the side of the road after dark, often jumping into the road and colliding with cars when they get startled by the…

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19/10/2017