For the first time in eighteen months we actually took leave!! Hit the road and travelled up the coast with our trusty Caddy campervan!.

In Knysa we almost had the whole camping site and lovely ablutions to ourselves. We enjoyed some touristy things like visiting The Heads viewpoint …eating oysters. It was really hard to switch off. I abandoned Florrie (who was taking care of Witvoetskloof and Trinity) after finding that a small peek at the phone just doesn’t work! The minute I switched the damn thing on all sorts of gremlins jumped out demanding my attention.  People leaving without paying and other equally juicy little hospitality industry gems jostled with the normal requests for accommodation. I realized again how much I handle on a daily basis. So for the rest of the trip I only answered the Budget Getaway queries and just trusted that Witvoetskloof and Fynbos Retreat would be absolutely fine without me!!

Nothing like a spot of leave to remind one of one’s control issues!!

We soon found that camping has it’s own little quirks. At the first few spots I woke up during the night because of a shrill persistent peeping sound. I was convinced that it was our new camping fridge and that we would be labelled : The Neighbours From Hell! At Port Edward we clicked (at least Jan did) that it was, in fact, a frog call keeping me wake! Guess what? Never heard it again. Go figure?

Travelling through the former Transkei (now the Eastern Cape) was fascinating. Such a beautiful part of our country and amazing to see the changes. For the first part of this journey we were intrigued to see almost no traditional dwellings or shacks. Just neat houses spotting the countryside. Many signs pointing to schools and clinics although we saw very few children actually on their way to school!

Port St Johns was a shock to the system. Such a beautiful place – we found it run down and filthy! Arriving late in the afternoon we searched for quite a while before settling on an enclave: The Spotted Grunter. Our host assured us they had a good festive season and that the town had looked neat and presentable! If you say so…

We spent four nights in Scottburgh and really pushed the camping envelope with a self-designed gazebo type addition to our tent. The caravan park is quite famous. Situated on the beach, it is definitely a well-run establishment. Being in the industry ourselves, we can’t help checking out the water and power arrangements, the bathroom fittings and trash cans. Fascinating stuff!

St.Lucia was great. We chose an air-conditioned self-catering cottage. Neither of us relished the thought of encountering an irate hippo or hungry croc on our nocturnal way to the ablutions! Or melting in the heat for that matter.

Too soon it was time to head home via Golden Gate and Clarens. Too beautiful for words. All in all an amazing trip!

Hippo’s at Isimangiliso – Place of Wonder and Miracles!