From beach bums to horse riders!

Saturday, January 24, 2015
Plettenberg Bay, Western Cape, South Africa
We set off from Knysna to Jeffrey’s Bay last Sunday after an early lunch. It’s a two and a half hour drive on the N2, the main highway between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. There’s not much in between, apart from Plettenberg and Humansdorp. The scenery though is impressive. For the first half of the journey, the landscape is forested from the coast up to the mountain ranges in the distance. We crossed a number of deep gorges with rivers hundreds of feet below, leading to the ocean beyond. And then the terrain levels out to be replaced by lush green fields and farmland - although the actual farms are few and far between. Africans pop up along the highway, hitching lifts on the hard shoulder, but where they come from is hard to work out; there are few visible settlements in the bush. The terrible shanty-towns are mainly located on the outskirts of the towns and the poverty is appalling.




 
We arrived in Jeffrey’s Bay mid-afternoon . The hot sun and strong winds obviously make for great surfing and that is what the town is all about. Huge waves on rocky beaches attract surfers from all over the world but that is about all that Jeffrey’s Bay has to offer. The town is tatty and old-fashioned with very little in the way of restaurants or other creature comforts. A little disheartened, we went on to look for our house-exchange. The house was amongst many others, tightly packed on the hill overlooking the bay. We had been offered the ‘garden cottage’ because the owners were there for the holidays. We dragged our luggage and bags up the steep drive and round to the back of the house where there was a small garden. No sign of the swimming pool offered on the house-exchange site. The ‘cottage’ was not much more than a shed with a small sitting area/kitchen and a bedroom, reached via the lavatory/shower ‘room’. We were appalled; this is not what we have come to expect with the numerous house exchanges we have done all over the world.




 
Taking to the bottle, I raked through the hundreds of enquiries I had originally sent off when we were planning this trip and eventually came across an apartment in Plettenberg Bay . I had been in correspondence with these people at the early stages of our planning but had turned it down as it was so close to Knysna. I sent off an email and within an hour or so, a reply came back, all the way from Australia! The owners were in Oz but were happy for us to use their apartment. The next morning, we hurriedly packed up, made our apologies and headed back the 200km to Plett.




 
We made a wise decision. The apartment is stunning with breathtaking views over the bay to the Indian Ocean as far as you can see. I lay in bed this morning and watched the sun rise over the distant mountains, counting my blessings.  




 
We have been enjoying the beautiful beaches, awesome waves and gorgeous seafood restaurants here in Plett but on Thursday we took a ferry up the Keurbooms river which was an incredible experience . The Keurbooms runs through the Kwitansie Nature Reserve and the heavily forested sides of this amazing gorge are breathtaking. The pure ‘black’ water of the river is clean, soft and silky but in fact, the colour of the river is a deep amber as a result of the tannin in the rocks. When we stopped for a picnic lunch on a naturally formed river beach and had a swim, our bodies looked a wonderful, golden colour in the clear warm water. The wildlife was fascinating (there were a number of very experienced birders on the trip, Barbara) and our informative guide kept us up to speed with everything. The Keurbooms is millions of years old and some of the yellowwood and other indigenous trees are incredibly ancient.




 
On this trip we met a chap called Sweetnam from Johannesburg who told us his ancestors came from Kent, too and had left Sittingborne to travel with the 1820 Settlers . It is quite possible his people may have been on the same ship that John and Beth Hougham Hudson (my ancestors) sailed to South Africa in! He has told us that there is a very good 1820 Settlers museum in Grahamstown which we will be able to visit from our next exchange. Very exciting.




 
On Friday we visited the Robberg Nature Reserve and Marine Protected Area. We took one of the three circular hiking routes (the shortest!) but still found it quite hard going. However, it was well worth while; the views are spectacular and the scenery and flowering plants are beautiful. The Robberg Peninsular is a national monument; its rocks date back to the early Cretaceous period (120 million years ago.) It was very hot up there and at the end of our hike, we felt we had earned a long lunch at our favourite restaurant in Plett - the Fat Fish. Sushi and fish & chips, followed by Amaretto Affogato (see picture) - wow! We finished the day by watching hundreds of children from the Plett Surf Rescue Club being put through their paces. It was so entertaining; these kids are like little fishes on and off their surf boards and all highly competitive!




 
This morning we were up bright and early to go on a horse-back safari through the forests at Hogs Hollow which is about 18km from Plett . I have not been riding for 20 years and Mike thinks it is at least 30 years since he last sat on a horse! We both felt a little apprehensive but our beautiful horses, Freedom and Charlie, (coincidence? Charlie Hebdo?) who were perfect gentlemen and behaved impeccably throughout the two hour ride. The scenery on the mountain tops was outstanding and the forest rides were a perfect way to explore these dense and luscious woodlands. We came across several herds of fallow deer who were totally unperturbed as we passed by. It was a wonderful experience but we could live to regret it tomorrow; we both felt distinctly wobbly-legged when we dismounted.




 
Tomorrow (Sunday) is our last day in Plett; we intend to take it gently, lick our wounds, have a swim in the sea and dine out tomorrow night. We will be on our way early on Monday because we have a five hour drive to Fish River, which is near Port Alfred. We will be just a few miles away from Bathurst which is where my ancestors were allocated land when they first landed in South Africa 175 years ago!




 
Thank you all for your comments on the blog - keep them coming, please!

Comments

Jennifer P.
2015-01-25

Stunning photos Mike ? We have stayed in a few Sheds around the world B&B ,but nothing as grim as yours. You should shame them. However your hardwork is paying off ,keep treking & never travel without a bottle of wine to hand! xxx

megamike
2015-01-26

Finally! I have managed to sort the technology side of this conversation! Mike don't laugh!, who said men can't multitask!
An amazing trip so far, sheds and beds, what a well recovered disaster!
I am really enjoying the journey and will be glued to the blog!
Travel safe
Mike

Nicola Fellowes
2015-01-27

Happy 47th (or 48th?) Wedding Anniversary, have a wonderful day. Have just been to collect your repaired engagement ring and it looks beautiful. So glad you are having such a wonderful time, where are the photos of the shack that you didn't stay in, I can't see them on my blog page?? All love Nicola x

mvgarside
2015-01-31

I had to laugh at the shack bit, Gillie. We had the same experience some years ago when I did a timeshare swap for our lux place in the Lake District (you'll remember the one) for an equally, so it was claimed, top of the range place on the Garden Route during one of wanderings. When we got there it turned out to be a wrinkly tin shed with a concrete floor and hose with which to wash ourselves! It was so ridiculous. Some of those South African folks have a strange interpretation of the term 'de luxe'!

2025-02-11

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