Road Trip: Oceans (Part 2)

Part 2: It was time to hit the long road once more ...a scenic descent, gravitating towards the coastal plains and the ocean...

The transition from highlands to sea level took us through spectacular mountain passes, where we enjoyed the novelty of travelling down through the clouds.

During this section of our journey, the usual minor tussles with our electronic friend turned into all out war! After she point blank refused to acknowledge the existence of a brand new shiny highway, her subsequent protestations from the dashboard were so vocal and non-productive, we were forced to shut her off entirely during that stretch of road - a very drastic act of hostility!

Finally, approaching our destination - the coastal town of  Port Alfred, I was happy to note a "Beware of the Warthogs" sign - a brief reminder of our distant home!

At last...the Indian Ocean, in a misty mood.. I was so excited to be there, that I took a celebratory drive-by shot of this speck sized ship out at sea...

Ten years had passed since last seeing our good friend, Jan. A prohibitive number of kilometres of distance between us had been a contributing factor to this, and life had kept on getting in the way. However, it was as if the intervening years had never happened, and our precious few hours of our overnight stay with her were over all too soon. We had to dash off the next morning, but even a brief re-connection with old friends is very much worthwhile.

On the road again...the Storms River Bridge spans an impressive, dizzying canyon and features a walkway right under the bridge itself. Here you can perch nervously over the gorge for a photo, while the awesome structure above rumbles and shudders with the wheels of the passing traffic.

All along the coast we drove, on the beautiful Garden Route - ending up at a gorgeous, almost deserted seaside campsite just beyond Knysna. It is so good to be able to travel out of peak holiday seasons! We could  hardly wait to get out onto the beach, kick off shoes, and enjoy the salt, spray and the wide open spaces!!

In my role as fishing companion, I spent an amazing afternoon on the beach just watching the waves and the horizon, the jellyfish and shellfish, the seabirds and the shining sand. Listening to the addictive sound of the surf, and probably just reconnecting with the cancerian part of me...

Just before the sun went down, several dolphins materialised in the waves not far from us, and entertained us for a while. For us inland dwellers, the joy of watching wild dolphins in the ocean is difficult to describe!

What would this blog be without a sunset photo? Note the familiar silhouette of a certain fishing addict.

Next day,  on the road again to Cape Town for a brief overnight stay with our very great friends Ingrid and Bernard. They had last done the mammoth distance all the way up to northern Botswana to visit us, so it was now our turn.

Turning away from the coast for a while, yet more scenic beauty appeared. We also came across this funky old caravan which appeared to be a mobile 'biltong' shop..

Back on friendly terms, our GPS picked this sea-side route into Cape Town, which turned out to be extremely pretty with all these beautiful blues, whites and turquoises.

With  our friends on leave from work in honour of our visit we all headed off early the next day to the West Coast, to meet up at their other home.

Please note a famous landmark en route!Not sure if it is very recognisable, but this tourist was absolutely determined to photograph Table Mountain as we drove straight through and out the other side of Cape Town. Despite the misty haze, it was still impressive!

Leaving the Mother City behind us, we suddenly realised our wheels were pointing North once more! We were about 3200km away from home, and no further southerly options were available.

Here in the West Coast region, alongside the Atlantic, the pace is very laidback and leisurely. Watch out for tortoises!

This section of the coast is stunning. Amongst other places, we visited the quaint fishing village of Pater Noster, where we got blown around on the beach, froze our toes off in the Atlantic, got taken in by some big-eyed, dreadlocked, un-melodious, singing-for-cash children, and then temporarily adopted by a random beach-walking dog ... We then recovered from these serious exertions at a truly fabulous seafood restaurant for a very lazy late afternoon lunch...

Next day, the mists cleared up for a bit of sailing, which was a real highlight. What we two know about sailing is pretty non-existent, but it was just fabulous to be out on the sea with the sound of the wind in the sail, and that beautiful sense of freedom!

I loved observing this lone seal ... so comfortable in the cold water, just doing its thing, and rolling over co-operatively for this photo!

Our last night, we drove through an orange-gold sunset to have dinner at yet another fabulous restaurant, at The Farmhouse Hotel, looking down over the Langebaan lagoon..

Although it was chilly and the main restaurant had a fire going, we preferred the spacious high-ceilinged section, featuring this seashell chandelier and the lovely view of the post-sunset sky over the lagoon.

All too soon, Part 2 had to come to an end, and we had to reluctantly say goodbye to our friends and the very appealing West Coast lifestyle. We had thoroughly enjoyed the good company, the sea, the glorious weather, wonderful food, and let us not forget the renowned wines of the Cape...

A green line on my map shows our travels in Part 2, and it seems that home is still a very long, long way away..

Part 3 to follow, and hopefully I will manage to finish this holiday journal before it is time to embark on yet another trip!!  Warm almost end of weekend wishes to all reading this very long travel installment!