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Doing the tourist thing at Cape Agulhas, standing on the southernmost tip of Africa, where oceans meet.
We’ve added another night to our stay in Hermanus. We just don’t really want to leave, and our days here were spent with too much driving around and not enough putting ourselves in the picture as we looked out our car windows. Also, with two big “touring” days, we skipped school and the girls need to catch up a bit. All that, and we’re in love with the rental house.
In South Africa, we have met more people than in any other country, mostly because everyone is so warm and open and we’ve had several friends of friends and other contacts. It has been nice to get the insiders perspective, we’ve spent hours now talking about different regions and favorite places. Besides the usual searching of forums on Trip Advisor and Thorntree, I’ve founds insight on one of my favorite blogs, Sunee Sees the World, when she’s posted about traveling in her home country, and on SA Venues. Although the last one is not really about opinion, it’s been invaluable to us. Still, there is nothing like sitting down over lunch and listening to people talk about exploring their own soil, especially when this home is so loved.
Of course, everyone has differing ideas, depending on what they like, and different tolerances. What people think of as built up or touristy depends on perspective. We found Clifton and Camps Bay beautiful, but too developed for our tastes, even though some people told us how wonderful it is. Rows of seven story apartment buildings lining the street across from the beach make the place soulless, having sold out that which made the place unique to become what we would call a she-she destination where people go to be seen. Still, nothing we’ve seen here is gaudy-glam like resort coastlines of Mexico. Cancun and even Playa del Carmen bear no resemblance to the quaint villages they once were.
Many people told us that Hermanus had become too built up, and although it is on the bigger end of what we’d call a charming little town, it still feels very residential, summer cottage. It also has the most amazing trail that winds for miles along the oceanfront bluffs. I suppose the waning crowds help our impression, we’ve seen what the holiday hordes do to the small towns in Hout Bay and Kalk Bay, backing up cars into major traffic jams.
Our tours of the last couple of days took us down to Cape Agulhas and the tiny town on the southernmost tip of Africa with the same name. We also wound through the little side roads of Betty’s Bay and Pringle Bay to the north. The relaxed feel of these tiny towns is a nice contrast to the bustle of the bigger tourist centers. The challenge is how to find, before arriving, the perfect balance of quaint, yet with services. Relaxed, but offering a decent restaurant or two, a grocery store, and maybe some recreational options like surfing lessons.
The other day we sat and had lunch of fish and chips and looked at maps of the garden route with a contact of mine named Meg. She is the South African coordinator for “SIGHT,” a branch of an organization I belong to that is set up specifically to help traveling members. She’s not been to the garden route in a number of years (I loved her quote) because she does not love the view of golf courses and polo fields. It is, however, popular for a reason, and a “must see” for South Africa.
We’ve planned out our Klein Karoo week, with a farm stay and a visit to the ostrich farming capital of the world: history and agriculture. Now in our planning, we’re seeking balance on the southern coast, and contemplating bungee jumping and zip lines. A beach bar, but no traffic jams, please.
I’m flattered, thank you very much! I suddenly wish I had a lot more local content on my blog to help you decide where to go while in the country. If you’re heading for the Garden Route, then Knysna, Oudtshoorn, Tsitsikamma, the Kango Caves and Wilderness would be my recommendations.
And if you’re looking for some more insider inspiration, these are some very good local magazines:
http://www.gomag.co.za/
http://www.getaway.co.za/
Enjoy
You’re very welcome, Sunee. Really, I enjoy your blog more because I like the writing than for tips of places to go, I wouldn’t change it. The travel guide type blogs can be helpful, but I like the well-written personal impressions better for entertainment. I’ll go back there to just read for fun, where a travel guide is only worth a visit while researching, in my opinion. (Of course, I’m not what one would consider a hugely successful travel blogger, so what drives traffic might be something different.)
We’re headed to some of the places you mentioned, but trying to decide whether to do both Wilderness and Tsisikamma or just one or the other and not have to move as much. Also, I’ve heard mixed things about Knysna, some people think it’s too touristy. Is it built up like Camps Bay, or touristy but still cool like Hermanus?
And, thanks for the links, I’ll check them out.
Eva
Thanks, I appreciate that very much. I’m not too worried about site traffic either, as long as those who do read enjoy, I’m happy
If it’s a choice between Wilderness and Tsitsikamma, then definitely Tsitsikamma. It’s absolutely beautiful there, while Wilderness is really just a small holiday town. Knysna is touristy, but in a good way. There are so many things to see and do there, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. A lot bigger than Hermanus, but still very cool, and not at all comparable to Camps Bay. Also, the culture of the East Cape is very different from that of the Cape Peninsula (you’ll probably notice that as you make your way through the country).
You’ll get your gaudy-glam places the further north you travel along the coast (especially KZN), where the water is warmer and us inlanders flock to during school holidays.
Thanks for the feedback, this is helpful. I was leaning toward just staying longer in Tsisikamma, I think we’ll do that. It’s nice to have a bit more time in one place to catch our breath, rather than spend too much of our time moving around. Good to know about the KZN coastline, too. We’ll probably head inland to the Drakensberg before we get that far anyway. I guess that does make sense, with the warmer Indian Ocean water and good weather so close to the large population over in the Johannesburg region. Just not my thing.
Again, thanks for the insight, we really appreciate it!
Hi Eva, enjoyed reading about your travels in SA and thrilled to hear that you are having such a lovely experience. As a Wilderness resident since 1997, I would just like to say that Wilderness is indeed a quaint little holiday village but it also offers 18kms of golden unspoiled beaches and it is situated on the brink of the Wilderness National Park with beautiful lakes, a lagoon and amazing hiking trails and some amazing accommodation – definitely worth a visit. Perhaps you’ll be back and will visit our special little piece of paradise next time. Travel safely.
Thanks, Tracey. I would definitely love to stay in Wilderness, or at least come by and see it. Because we will be dropping off our rental car and picking up a Land Rover that is set up for camping in Port Elizabeth, we’ll be backtracking to Tsitsikamma, anyway. (not that we plan to camp all the time, but we wanted a bit more space and flexibility.)
We won’t leave the Garden Route for a bit, so who knows? It does amaze me though, considering the seemingly endless time we have for this trip and the number of things we’ll not be able to take in. Sigh…