A walk along the beach in Jeffrey's Bay

What good is a morning meeting in Jeffrey's Bay with perfect early summer weather if one can't leave a little earlier and go for a walk on the beach? Yeh, says me too.  Early morning and not a breath of air in Port Elizabeth so I took a chance and left just after 7am to give myself a bit of time for a walk along the beach at Kabeljous.

The tide was low and water was flowing out of the lagoon through the Kabeljous River mouth.  The stream flowed quite strong but I noticed others crossing through where the river and sea met.  I tried it and found that it was no deeper than my knee.  The walk was on.

The Kabeljous Lagoon, not quite as full at low tide, with the Jeffrey's Bay wind farm in the distance.

On the far side of the lagoon where the dunes start I found this pyramid of stones.  Curiosity got the better of me, it usually does, and I decided to investigate.

A lot of the rocks were painted and has beautiful messages, some actually very inspirational, written on them.  It makes one even more curious about who placed it there.  My guess, either the local school or youth groups that often have weekend camps in the town.

The view over the Kabeljous Valley from the top of the sand dune...

... and looking back towards Jeffrey's Bay.

I always urge people to not just look for the big stuff but also the little things as well.  There is often as much, if not more, beauty in the little things than the big stuff.

Plough snail trails

Now you tell me you wouldn't want to do this on a warm windless morning.  I wonder when my next meeting in Jbay is...

The Kouga Dam overflowing in all it's glory

This was my favorite photo from our visit to the Kouga Dam in the Gamtoos Valley to see it overflowing. I just slapped I with a bit of HDR to give it a bit of a more striking look. A dam like this overflowing is always a sight to behold.

A quick stop at Supertubes in Jbay

A week or so ago I attended the Kouga Baviaans Surf and Safari Marketing Association's AGM in Jeffreys Bay.  It was a perfect winters day and I decided to make a stop at Supertubes before heading back to Port Elizabeth.

A deserted beach that was packed during the Jbay Open just a few weeks ago

Enjoying one of the best right hand point breaks in the world

Aloes on the coastline at Lower Point

J Bay Wind Farm from a dirt road

Love them or hate them, the wind farms around Jeffrey's Bay, Humansdorp and St Francis has become part of the Kouga region's landscape.  After a meeting in Humansdorp recently I did a detour to Paradise Beach along the road that leads through Lombardini Game Farm and stopped to snap this pic back on the road. 

 

What's your feeling about the wind farms becoming such prominent landmarks on the landscape?

Dune Ridge - a country jewel in the St Francis Bay crown

When you think St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape you tend to think beautiful coastline and black and white houses on the canals.  If you had to spend a weekend in St Francis you would probably expect your guesthouse to have stunning sea views or be situated right on the canals.  Yes, but not always.  We spend a fabulous weekend at Dune Ridge Country House just outside (and with this I mean literally only a stone's throw away) St Francis Bay and found anything but.

 

 

As we arrived at Dune Ridge we knew we were in for a treat.  This award winning - it was the national winner in the four star country house category at the 2013 Lilizela Awards -  accommodation establishments are nestled away between thick coastal fynbos teeming with a multitude of bird species and the large dune fields to the rear of the property.  You are literally removed from the rest of St Francis Bay so it gives you a great country feeling while still only 5 minutes away from the beaches and canals.  We were welcomed by owner Sarah Swanepoel who showed to our rooms consisting of two of the 6 double rooms in the main house.  Unfortunately the family cottage outside was booked but there was an inter leading passage joining the rooms giving us our privacy yet still being close to the KidZ. 

 

The guesthouse is surrounded by lush gardens and once the KidZ started exploring they quickly came back to fetch us and point out the paths to the swimming pool and well hidden spa area.  The pool looks like the ideal spot to sit with a book and cool down between chapters.  Unfortunately for us it was a cool autumn weekend which meant that we skipped the pool and rather went for a couple of short hikes along the Cape St Francis coastline nearby.  The one thing we didn't get a chance to do was Dune Ridge's Frog Safari.  Not for the squeamish I presume but I'm sure the adventurous would get to see a couple of potential princes (and princesses?) hopping around in their torch lights.

Although Dune Ridge serves dinner we tried out a couple of places in the village.  Breakfast was a feast though, served out on the stoep the first day and inside the dining room the second.  Talk about spoiling us rotten.  The KidZ especially loved the waitress who brought them hot chocolates with probably more marshmallows in it than actual hot chocolate.  The same stoep was also the perfect spot for afternoon coffee and listening to the birds (when we could get to KidZ to be quite for 5 minutes) with a glass of wine around sunset.  Was it sunset or wine 'o clock? I can't remember.  But is there a difference?

 

Dune Ridge really is something a little bit different from what you expect out in that area.  The guesthouse is a mixture of colonial nostalgia and modern sophistication yet it isn't stuffy and pretentious.  It's family friendly, very homely, a beautiful setting, offers great service and dishes up good food.  Yes I know that line sounded just a bit too cliché but believe me, you get everything but cliché.  The only problem?  Our stay being just too short. 

 

Disclosure: We enjoyed the visit as guests of  Dune Ridge Country House.  I received no further remuneration, wasn't asked to write a positive post and keep full editorial control.

A St Francis Bay canal cruise

When you think of St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape, the first thing that comes to mind are the beautiful canal system with its upmarket black and white homes lining the waterways.  You can drive through the area to admire its beauty but the best way to really take it in is on a canal cruise.

Our recent weekend in St Francis saw us join Brian Cunningham of Brisan on the Canals and a bunch of ladies on their last leg of the Chokka Trail for a canal cruise on the Swan of Brisan.  The one hour long cruise took us up and down the canals which was first dredged by Leighton Hulett in 1967.  As I mentioned before, all the houses are white walled and black roofed (with quite a few of them being thatched) as this conformed building style was insisted on by Hulett who originally owned the farm on which St Francis Bay developed.  Brian pointed out interesting facts along the canals while there were gasps from everybody when he told us about the devastation of the huge fire that burned down 76 houses in 2012.  The vastness of the event only really comes home when you see the area first hand.  Just before sunset we cruised out onto the Krom River to see the sun set over the Kouga Mountains with a drink in hand (that's us having the drink in hand and not the sunset) before heading back to the guesthouse to disembark.  I can truly say that you haven't experienced and seen St Francis Bay until you haven't been on a cruise as the best part of the canals can't be seen from the road.

 

Just another reason to come and #ExperienceEastCape.

Disclosure: We enjoyed the cruise as guests of  Brisan on the Canals.  I received no further remuneration, wasn't asked to write a positive post and keep full editorial control.

St Francis Bay, South Africa's own Little Venice... or vica versa

Little Venice, a tranquil canal area in London, home to restaurants, pubs and relaxing boat trips....

 

St Francis Bay, a tranquil canal area in the Kouga region of the Eastern Cape, home to beautiful homes, restaurants and relaxing boat trips... and lots of sunshine.

 

St Francis Bay wins

Drive carefully at Seal Point Nature Reserve

The Seal Point Nature Reserve in Cape St Francis is home to the SANCCOB penguin sanctuary which is situated right next to the historic Seal Point Lighthouse.  From St Francis Way there is a short road that takes visitors to the lighthouse and SANCCOB centre and it is at this intersection that SANCCOB has erected this very interesting warning sign.  Can you name the animals you have to watch out for as you drive into and walk around the reserve?

Coastal hiking at St Francis Bay

The St Francis Bay / Cape St Francis area has a number of hiking options and with such a stunning coastline how can it not?  Most of the walks are shorter hikes and include coastal walks like the Blowhole Walk, Bay to Bay Walk, Shark Point Walk, Wild Side Meander and the Two Harbours Walk.  There are also walks through the Irma Booysen Flower Reserve and up into the dune fields at the Sand River.  If you really want to experience the best hikes the area has to offer then the four day slack packing Chokka Trail is just for you.  We unfortunately only had one full day during our St Francis breakaway weekend so decided on two of the shorter walks.

 

The weather on the Saturday morning was cool which meant perfect conditions for a walk.  Our first walk was along the Blowhole Trail which was a nice and easy 5km return trip.  As we were about the set off from the parking lot at Cape St Francis' Wild Side, another car pulled up and hooted at us.  Turned out to be a couple of Geocachers from Port Elizabeth spending the day doing caches in the area and also on their way to the blowhole to do the cache over there.  Suddenly our little part of four became a party of seven with two Jack Russells.

The trail is a nice and easy one with beautiful views of the rugged coastline and surrounding Fynbos.  On the way we passed the wreck of "The Osprey".  Not that there is much left of this wreck dating back to 1867.  Most of the ship was built of wood which means that it has all but disappeared.  All that remains are a couple of small twisted pieces of metal.  It seemed that the ship just steamed straight into the land with no attempt to stop.  One sailor died in the wreck.  The Captain, Navigation Officer and another Lieutenant were all court-marshalled.

A short distance later we got to ground zero and the geocache (called Blowhole) was quickly found and the log signed by everybody.  But where is the actual blowhole and why couldn't we see it?  We fanned out over the rocks and it wasn't long before one of our party spotted it.  A hole in the rocks connected to an cave underneath.  Problem was out timing sucked and it was low tide. Darn!  At high tide the water washes into the cave and gets forced up through the hole with a bang.  Apparently quite impressive if the sea is quite high... which it obviously wasn't today.  Oh well, we'll have to come back at some other stage to come and experience it.

For our second walk we decided on the one to Shark Point.  The deciding factor?  Another Geocache of cause.  We decided not to make a too long a walk and approached it from a parking spot at the end of St Francis Drive as you come from the St Francis Bay side.  Other spots to start from is Port St Francis or the Cape St Francis side.  We went for the shortest walk we could find which meant about 2 km return.  This time our view was into St Francis Bay itself with the village of St Francis Bay, Paradise Beach and, further away, Jeffreys Bay visible.  The coastline was also slightly different from the rugged coast on the other side with more boulders than actual rocks. 

Shark Point is the second point you find as you come into St Francis Bay from the west.  The main point where you will find the lighthouse is Seal Point and it was this second point that led to the demise of the Genesis, a racing yacht that ran aground here in 1994.  The shattered mid section of the hull can still be seen at the point.  At our turning point we found what we were looking for.  The oldest active Geocache in the Eastern Cape, Port Elizabeth - St Francis, placed in 2001.

St Francis Bay is the perfect destination for somebody who loves the ocean, loves exploring the coastline and loves walking and going on short hikes. Do make a plan to visit and #ExperienceEastCape.

50 Shades of Grey... and Orange

Our weekend in St Francis Bay gave me the perfect material for a Random.... post.  This time random shades of grey and orange.

 

Orange, grey and white flowing together on the rocks along Cape St Francis' Wild Side on the walk to the blow hole. 

This rock I found on the walk to Shark Point had me dotty...

Check out the different colours of clay used by this swallow in building its nest on the porch at Dune Ridge Country House.  Now this is the real 50 shades of grey.

A Krom River wind turbine sunset

I snapped this pic during a canal cruise at St Francis Bay a week or two ago.  During the trip we cruised out onto the Krom River as the sun was setting in the west behind the Kouga Wind Farm.  Have I mentioned how much I love my new camera? 

Canals, Coastline and Candelabra flowers - Exploring St Francis Bay

We are very fortunate here in Port Elizabeth that we have a number of excellent destinations surrounding us.  This does mean that it isn't always that easy to decide where to go for that much needed weekend break with your loved ones.  Seeing that we can't get away over Easter this year, we decided to have a family weekend away a week or so earlier.  After much deliberation along with outside encouragement and a couple of invitations to visit, we decided to spend the weekend in St Francis Bay, throwing anchor at Dune Ridge Country House.  Dune Ridge an award winning four star Country House nestled between thick coastal fynbos and located just outside St Francis Bay.  It is actually perfectly located to give that "away from everything" feel while still being close enough to easily explore the nearby St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis. 

 

After a warm welcome by Sarah Swanepoel and her team, we settled in and explored the property a bit before a drive into St Francis to grab dinner.  Dune Ridge is a mixture of colonial nostalgia and modern sophistication.  When one thinks St Francis you think canals and coastline.  Dune Ridge isn't quite that.  Its location rather lends to a bush and beach feel than just a coastal holiday  With six double rooms and a family unit it's also not big and crowded like a hotel and gives you more than enough privacy to relax in. 



Saturday morning was a nice cool one so we decided to start the day off in Cape St Francis after breakfast and go for a walk.  A quick bit of research showed two possibilities, both with Geocaches for us to find.  You know me, a possible Geocache find is always a game breaker.  We decided to do both.  Heck, we're here so why not?  The first walk was along the rugged coastline going westward from the village towards the blowhole.  The 2,5 km walk took us past the wreck of "The Osprey".  Not that there is much left of it.  The ship, which wrecked here in 1867, was built of wood and all that remains are small twisted hunks of metal.  The blowhole itself is apparently impressive at high tide when the water rushes in through the cave and blows up through the hole in the rocks.  We unfortunately didn't check the tides and ended up there at low tide. Bah humbug.  Will have to return some other time to see it perform for us.  The walk was still more than worth it with stunning coastal beautiful fynbos and lots of little flowers, especially the bright pink Candelabra flowers blooming at the moment.



Before the next walk we swung past the historic Seal Point Lighthouse and adjacent penguin sanctuary for a quick look around.  Renovations to the lighthouse is coming along very nicely and it will hopefully be open to the public again some time soon.  The SANCCOB penguin sanctuary offers tours around the facility to show visitors the awesome job they are doing in the African Penguin's battle for continued survival.  

Our second walk was from the Port St Francis side to Shark Point, the easterly of the two points in the area, the other being Seal Point where the lighthouse is situated.  The cache we found near the point turned out to be the oldest active Geocache in the Eastern Cape.  Nice to get that ticked off my list.  The views on this side of the coastline is slightly different from the first walk as you look into St Francis Bay itself with mountains on the horizon across the bay and the houses along the coast in the distance.

 

Late afternoon we headed to Brisan on the Canals in St Francis Bay for a cruise on the canals.  The canals with their black and white houses are stunning and if feels like you are in a different world yet it's right here in the Eastern Cape.  (And here I can't help but to use my #experienceeastcape hashtag)  Other than just showing us the appeal of the area, owner and skipper Brian Cunningham was telling us about the huge fire that destroyed over 70 houses in 2012 and pointed out how many of them have been replaced, built bigger and better than before.  During the one hour tour we made our way out onto the Krom River and as we cruised along with a glass of wine in hand (cold drinks in the case of the KidZ) the sun set in the west behind us.  The perfect end to a choc and bloc day of exploring.

Sunday morning after breakfast we decided not to go out and spent some time next to Dune Ridge's welcoming swimming pool.  After checking out we opted for a bit of a detour via Jeffreys Bay rather than heading straight back to PE and ended up on the beach at Aston Bay close to Marina Martinique. Oi, if only we had more time but this part of the Kouga will have to wait for another visit.

 

Disclosure: We enjoyed the visit as guests of  Dune Ridge Country House, Brisan on the Canals and Kouga Baviaans Surf and Safari Country.  I received no further remuneration, wasn't asked to write a positive post and keep full editorial control.

Gamtoos River boats

The Gamtoos River is a very popular fishing destination in the Eastern Cape.  A quick trip down to the Gamtoos Mouth had me spending some time on the river banks taking pictures of a couple of boats lying at anchor there.  The owner of this one live right across the road and came out to chat to us.  Turns out he doesn't use this particular boat for fishing.  He uses it to take his boerboel dog across the river to go and run in the dunes.

Aloes and Supertubes

Jeffreys Bay is seen as the surfing capital of South Africa with Supertubes being rated as one of the top 10 surf spots in the world.  Supertubes is one of the best right hand point breaks in the world and one a good day can break over a distance in access of 300 meters.  Swinging past there the other day the conditions were flat with no real break.  The coastline is still stunning and with the aloe in picture its exactly as one is supposed to imagine the Kouga region coastline, an area where beach and bush meet.

Enjoying the view at Bruce's Beauties

There are some really tranquil spots along the Jeffreys Bay and St Francis coastline where one can sit and take in a view of the ocean.  Passing through St Francis Bay I had an hour or so before a meeting and decided to grab a couple of Geocaches.  One of the caches was located close to the legendary surf spot, Bruce's Beauties where I found this young lady taking a break on a bench overlooking Bruce's.  The sea was fairly calm so there weren't any surfers out there on this specific day. 

 

So how did Bruce's Beauties get its name, you ask?

 

In the 1960's, surfing film pioneer Bruce Brown hunted the world's perfect surf spots for the cult film classic ' The Endless Summer'.  He wanted to find the "Perfect Wave" and at St Francis he did.  The spot became known as Bruce's Beauties and is renown as a surf spot for the fearless.  This exposed point breakis seen as an ultimate wave ride.  Unfortunately due to development along the coastline the break isn't what it used to be but two or three times a year the conditions are just right and then you know this is the place to be if you own a surf board.

Supertubes on a calm day

Jeffreys Bay is famous as a surf destination and one of the reasons is Supertubes.  Supertubes is said to be the best right hand point breaks in the entire world both in consistency and quality.  Generally Supertubes break for about 300m or more but if conditions are right and the surf is big enough then it links up with the surrounding surf spots and result in a ride of about a kilometer in length.  I'm not a surfer and have never had the opportunity to try it, but I enjoy scenic views so on my last visit to JBay I stopped by the Supertubes view site.  It was a beautiful day although not one with big surf.

The old Gamtoos River Bridge

When the first Dutch farmers arrived in the Kouga and Gamtoos region they had to travel upstream some distance to cross over the Gamtoos River. In the mid 1800's a pontoon was used to convey traffic across the Gamtoos River.  The ferry was close to the Gamtoos River Hotel, and was owned by the late Mr. G. D. Smith, of Nocton Farm.  The problem was that this very primitive method of crossing a broad tidal river was frequently a source of much annoyance and delay, owing to freshets, and it often happened that carts and wagons were delayed on either side of the river for several days owing to the inability to cross.  As the country districts became more thickly populated the volume of trade on this, the main road connecting the Eastern Province with the west, increased, the need to find a way to bridge the river increased.  All our local members of Parliament advocated such a bridge, with the exception of Major-General Nixon, who wished to see a causeway erected, so that, in his opinion, it could be used as a roadway as well as a means of damming the river and so irrigating the immense flat on the western side. General Nixon's idea, however, did not meet with much support, and ultimately the present (old) bridge was decided on.  

It took several years to plan and build the bridge owing to the unfavourable conditions of the bed of the river for solid foundations, but was eventually completed and opened on the 3rd December, 1895. The " christening" ceremony was performed by Mrs. Garcia, the wife of the Civil Commissioner of Uitenhage. who was accompanied by Mrs. C. W. Andrews, wife of the Humansdorp Magistrate.

The originally estimated cost of the bridge was £20,000, but this sum was considerably exceeded on account of the delay caused by the difficulty of finding suitable foundations. It is a cylinder bridge of six 100-feet spans, and is therefore 600 feet long, with 16 feet between the abutments. The approaches to the bridge on either side cost £6ooo to construct.  A little while ago I stopped at the bridge for the first time and took a walk across.  Yes, yes, I had an ulterior motive as there is a Geocache located somewhere on the bridge.  But I did take my camera with and snapped a couple of pictures. 

Information courtesy of "Uitenhage  - Past and Present" Centenery 1804-1904"

Driving on the dunes at Brakkeduine

Boys will be boys and when it comes to boys and their 4x4 toys there is no stopping them.  When the South African government banned driving on beaches both the angling and 4x4 fraternities took a big knock.  The anglers couldn't go as far along the beaches as they used to or had to find overland shortcuts while the 4x4 okes had to stick to mountain trails and off road paths.  There is one place I know of where the boys can test their toys and sand driving skills though.  Brakkeduine close to Oyster Bay (and St Francis Bay) in the Eastern Cape. 

 

Brakkeduine offers a beautiful grassed campsite on the banks of a dam with a long slippery slide and zipline into the water.  But it's the natural inland dune field that attracts 4x4 enthusiasts to Brakkeduine.  They offer guided trips following a set route with drivers given the opportunity to test their skills going up and down the dunes either on the straight or around turns, pushing their vehicles to the max. 

 

The trips are led by experienced 4x4 drivers who know the dunes like the back of their hands and will show the way to approach each "obstacle" first before the others attempt it.  They come prepared to assist if anything happens, anything being a wheel popping off the rim or getting stuck on top of the dune like the one on the picture above.

 

 

I'm not a huge 4x4 enthusiast and don't own a 4x4, but we have camped at Brakkeduin on two occasions and both times I tagged along on a trip into the dunes.  I may not have had a chance to drive the route, but I had lots of fun taking photographs of it. 

 

 As the whole group stops at each obstacle it gives the drivers and passengers the opportunity to get out and watch the other vehicles.  The amount of jokes and chirps heard on the trip is amazing as they guys gun each other when they fail an attempt.

The very last stop is at the Rollercoaster where the drivers get a chance to really play on a slightly longer route than the previous obstacles.  If you are into 4x4'ing then Brakkeduine is an experience that you just can't afford to miss.  Specifically because of the opportunity to drive on dunes.