Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Southern Africa: Part XXIII

On our journey towards the east from Plettenberg Bay and the Birds of Eden, the weather started to worsen. It had been quite a promising morning when we left the guest house, but the wind was now increasing. We had two more stops planned for the drive to Port Elizabeth, the first was Cape St Francis and the second one was Jeffreys Bay.

Bloukrans Bungy Rest Area

Within the Garden Route National Park, we came across a rest area. We decided to check out what it had to offer and it turned out to be a bit bigger than we had expected. There were a lot of people in the area enjoying the view of the Bloukrans Bridge and the ravine.

A few others prepared themselves to actually go onto the bridge for an activity we can only imagine would cause quite a large adrenaline increase. There was a station for bungy jumping at the Bloukrans Bridge. Those participating are really brave – we are talking about the world’s highest commercial bridge bungy after all. We were a bit too comfortable with keeping our feet on the ground to give this activity a try.

Bloukrands Bungy Rest Area, Bloukrans Bridge, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Bloukrands Bungy Rest Area, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Cape St Francis

After Bloukrans we continued east on the highway towards Port Elizabeth until we reached Humansdorp. Here we turned off the highway and continued to St Francis Bay. We were actually more interested in Cape St Francis instead of the town of St Francis Bay. This is due to our hope of enjoying the view. As was the case this day we were not so lucky with the weather and the wind made the stop at the cape quite uneventful. We did however have a quick look at the penguins at the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). It didn’t however seem like the penguins enjoyed the weather any more than we did.

Once back in the car we continued to St Francis Bay in the hope to find some food. With our luck, however, we were greeted with potholes and a town that really looked deserted. It might not have been the best time of the year for a visit.

Cape St Francis, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Cape St Francis, Penguins, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

St Francis Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Cape St Francis, Lighthouse, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Jeffreys Bay

As we felt an urging need to find something for lunch we continued to the neighboring town of Jeffreys Bay. Jeffreys Bay, with its around 27.000 inhabitants, did offer a bit more activity and we soon found a cozy restaurant/bar where we could enjoy a pizza for lunch. The place turned even more interesting once the locals started to gather to watch the day’s rugby game on the television screens. Rugby really seemed to be a popular sport wherever in Namibia or South Africa we went.

Dolfynstrand, Jeffreys Bay, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Port Elizabeth

After Jeffreys Bay, we quickly continued towards our destination Port Elizabeth. It wasn’t a long drive and we soon found ourselves on roads with a lot more traffic again. There were also a lot more signs to keep an eye on to understand where to go. Luckily we did find the Amani Guest Lodge where we would spend the night without any bigger issues and were soon checked in. Susann did however fall asleep at once for an hour of something she calls a power nap.

Once she was awake again we started to discover the area around the guest lodge for a place to have a small dinner. It still wasn’t so many hours after our pizzas in Jeffreys Bay. Sadly we did not have enough time to also explore Port Elizabeth before it was time for bed. Early the next morning we would once more be off to the airport.

Amani Guest Lodge

In Port Elizabeth, we stayed at the Amani Guest Lodge. At first, it looked like we had come to an area of the city without much more than residential villas. This was until we noticed that there actually were quite a lot of stores and restaurants on the street just a block away.

We did choose the Amani Guest Lodge due to it being close to the airport. But it was nicer than we had expected. If the weather had been better it would have been a perfect place to spend a day at the swimming pool. It did really feel convenient to arrive, go out for dinner, have a good sleep, and be served breakfast before going to the airport in the morning.