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After four weeks of exploring South Africa we are home. The flight home was approx 11 hours overnight, with only 2 hours time difference. 

I would recommend our journey to anyone who is interested in exploring South Africa. The Nambiti Safari was a highlight. It’s not as big as the more famous Kruger national park, but it is a beautiful location, free of malaria. We had were able to see many amazing animals and birds living in their natural habitat. 

There are safari's in South Africa that are more like zoos, where the animals are feed by the keepers, making locating the animals very easy.. Nambiti is not one of those, but they do play an important role in protecting many of the endangered animals. 

We didn't explore Johannesburg, but based on feedback, we felt this was the right decision. Nambiti is close to Drakensberg and the eastern escarpment which is supposed to be stunning. Its also within the historical area of the Boer war. We would like to visit this region if we travel again. 

We used Durban, or to be precise Umhlanga, which is north of Durban as an over night stop before travelling to Cape Town. A nice place, but we were pleased to move on to Cape Town, which is a must visit place. A lovely city, with the imposing Table Mountain. 

Hiring a car is easy. We drove nearly 2000km as we explored the Cape region. Driving down to Cape Point, before travelling to the wine region. On reflection, we wish we had spent more time in both Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. There are many restaurants and vineyards worth visiting, but we ran out of time.  

As we travelled towards Port Elizabeth, it felt like we were moving between seasons. From the 30 degree Celsius heat in the wine region, to the cold and driving rain in Cape Aqulhas. The mountains follow the coast, which seems to create micro climates. From what we could gather, we did experience unusual summer weather. Normally there is very little rain this time of year.

Load shedding was the only downside of the holiday. The power outages often occurred in the evening, which meant dark evenings, but it was manageable. 

But overall a country worth visiting. We plan to go back. 

Heading home via Port Elizabeth

It’s time to travel home. The previous day had started with rain, so we headed to Jeffreys Bay for breakfast and an explore. Jeffreys Bay is a surfers town with wide sandy beaches and all the surfing outlet stores needed to keep the surfers looking cool. As a comparison, St Francis Bay and Jeffreys Bay is like going from The Witterings in Sussex to Bognor Regis. The big house budgets are in St Francis. Close to Jeffrey’s bay is Paradise Beach, that is a nice wind swept island with amazing beaches, but has the feel that little has changed since the 1970’s. Pristine white painted houses are not mandated here.

        

In the afternoon we walked the St Francis Bay Harbour to Harbour walk, which is around a four mile round trip coastal walk hugging the beach and rocks. Starting at Granny's Pool and finishing at Port St Francis, it takes you along the rugged coastline which is home to a wide range of wildlife. 

To finish our time in St Francis Bay, it seemed appropriate to have dinner at Seal Point Lighthouse. Lighthouses have been the main marker points along our journey. The restaurant overlooks the lighthouse and makes a perfect setting to watch the sun go down. The food here is exceptional. A very unique menu, including Springbok. The food beautifully cooked and presented, all at South African prices. The only downside was a drive home in the dark, which was the first time we had driven in the dark, but we had been told that it is a relativity safe area. Doors locked with the intention of not stopping, we quickly drove back safely.

         

So time to head home. Our last car journey was about 120km to Port Elizabeth Airport. It appears to be quite an industrial town, so based on first impressions, it was a good decision not to stay there. 

In total we drove just under 2000km from picking the car up in Cape Town. This included our journey down to Cape Point. It was sad to drop off our trusty polo, which had battled hills, the heat, rain and often bad roads without an issue.