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.
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.
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.
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.
Join Us in Exploring Southern Africa
Here are all the posts belonging to the series about our trip to South Africa and Namibia. Read the parts by clicking on the links below:
- Part I: Doha, Qatar
- Part II: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Part III: Traveling To Namibia
- Part IV: Otjiwarongo, Namibia
- Part V: Cheetah Conservation Fund, Namibia
- Part VI: Etosha National Park, Namibia
- Part VII: Omaruru, Namibia
- Part VIII: Okahandja, Namibia
- Part IX: Windhoek, Namibia
- Part X: Cape Town, South Africa
- Part XI: Castle of Good Hope, South Africa
- Part XII: Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, South Africa
- Part XIII: Two Oceans Aquarium, South Africa
- Part XIV: Mariner’s Wharf, South Africa
- Part XV: Groot Constantia, South Africa
- Part XVI: Boulders Beach, South Africa
- Part XVII: Cape Point, South Africa
- Part XVIII: Chapman’s Peak Drive, South Africa
- Part XIX: Table Mountain, South Africa
- Part XX: Swellendam, South Africa
- Part XXI: Plettenberg Bay, South Africa
- Part XXII: Birds of Eden, South Africa
- Part XXIII: Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Part XXIV: Good Bye Africa!
- Part XXV: Trip Summary
Join us as we explore Southern Africa
