How safe is it where you live?

I wrote a blog post a few weeks ago ‘How safe is South Africa’ and I’ve been thinking about it and realised that it should’ve been entitled ‘How safe is Gauteng?’

We’ve just returned from a 17 day road trip from Centurion to Cape Town, via Durban, The Wild Coast, The Garden Route, Cape Town and back to Centurion via the Karoo.

We receive and entertain many visitors, family, friends and colleagues and I’m sure they all think we’re being over dramatic with our instructions/orders on the do’s and dont’s of life here.

A twitter friend who I’ve met and reads my blog asked me to give his parents a few pointers about their upcoming holiday here and my mind went into over drive with the do’s and don’ts till I found out their trip is to Cape Town and the Garden Route only. My advice was to enjoy their holiday and treat the trip in the same way they would when going anywhere on holiday. 

On our journey to Durban, slowly the security disappears, there were still security estates and individual security around houses, but not as evident as it is up here. By the time we arrived in Addo, North West of Port Elizabeth almost all signs of personal security had disappeared.

We drove through Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, it appeared that every man, woman, child and goat was out in the town that day, endless queues at the fuel stops for the bathroom and not once did I consider my personal safety. The biggest risk came from hitting a pot hole or a cow whilst driving. None of the places we stayed in had any kind of security other than maybe a fence to keep the wildlife out, even staying in the middle of the Karoo on our journey home.

South Africa has bad press and most of it with good reason, but it doesn't mean to say it's all bad and like everywhere you go on holiday you should always exercise care and caution. You wouldn't leave your door unlocked while you popped to the corner shop, so why would you do that on holiday? You wouldn't leave your front door open at home for some fresh air while you slept at night, so why would you do that on holiday?

Few people who arrive at OR Tambo, unless they live or have family or business here, just wander out the door with no idea of where they're going or staying, usually met by a tour guide, on a package holiday with a full itinerary scheduled. More people should come here, book their accommodation, hire a car and explore this beautiful country.

Whale Watching in Hermanus

We chose to stay in Hermanus to Whale Watch, naively we assumed it would be like ‘oh look there’s a whale’ but sadly not.

Although Whales can be seen here September till December it does require a little more effort than a room with a sea view.

So without any Whale pictures to post I thought I’d share some of the things I found out about The Southern Right Whale and Hermanus.

 

• Hermanus is generally regarded as the best land based whale watching centre in the world. Acknowledged by the World Wildlife Fund for nature WWF.
• Hermanus has the worlds only whale crier, Eric Davalala who patrols the streets blowing his kelp horn alerting tourists to the position of the whales.

·         Calves are born tail first

·         Calves measure 5-6 meters at birth

·         The mother takes the calf to the surface for their first breath

·         Within 30 minutes of birth a calf has learnt to swim

·         Gestation period is 12 months

·         A fully grown male is around 15.2 meters long and a female 16.5 metres

·         The life span of a Southern right whale is between 90-100 years

 

Mossel Bay on the Garden Route

In 1500 Pedro de Ataide left a letter in a shoe, under a large tree in Mossel Bay. In his letter he warned of troubles near Calcutta and a year later it was found by Joao da Nova on route to India, who took head of the letter and turned back. This was South Africa’s 1^st post box and is still in use today. You can find it in the Diaz Museum.

 

Mossel Bay is the half way point between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, approximately 400kms between the 2 cities.

The approach into Mossel Bay isn’t the most endearing with gas towers on the approach, but you really can’t see them when you get to the beach.

 

This year we arrived a little earlier and it wasn’t as busy as last December. Near the lighthouse is a campsite which fills quickly, making parking and getting a table in a restaurant a little tricky.

We stayed slightly out of the town, but still in walking distance, visiting the Diaz and Shell Museum, exploring the side streets and a market. The town centre is currently undergoing modernisation and there are few main street shops there.

We spent time on the beach which is full with an array of shells and scrambled over the rocks, also climbing up to the caves under the Light House to learn more about the San people who originally lived there.

 

 

I cannot recommend highly enough the Kingfisher Restaurant, with amazing food and sea views and the occasional seal in the bay.

Tsistsikamma on the Garden Route

Tsistsikamma, place of abundant water, is approximately a two drive from Port Elizabeth on The Garden Route.  Managed by the SANParks and accessed with the annual Wild Card, a wonderful visit for walking, hiking, bird watching, relaxing on the beach with a selection of accommodation including camping. It features a well stocked gift and grocery shop and a restaurant.

 

15km inland is Storms River, which suits both young and old and the adventurous. We stay in the original hunting lodge built in 1840 which is now the Village Inn. Our room was in the old stables now converted to bedrooms, although small in size, good use of the space was made including an ensuite shower room and separate toilet. There are numerous places to stay and several restaurants in Storms River.

 

We stayed for 2 nights on route from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, more than 2 nights is needed if you want to experience everything on offer. From Canopy Tree Top Tours, Falls adventure zip lines, segway trails, bungy jumping, tubing, and kayaking.