South Africa South Coast

The Garden Route along South Africa’s southern coastline is a classic tour.

Officially it’s only the middle 300 km portion of Western and Eastern Cape I covered.

I started in Cape Town, went east 800 km to Port Elizabeth, and then back to Cape Town.

Most people rent a car, and in hindsight, it would have been nice as the roads are good. Though driving on the left side would cause some anxiety!

So I used BazBus, a tourist shuttle that you could book for whatever stops you wanted along the way.

I met lots of young travellers, often more than once, as we hopscotched along.

It picked me up at my guesthouse in Cape Town, and dropped me off at the guesthouse in Hermanus three hours later.

The town centre is on a high cliff overlooking rocks and waves. It is popular for shore whale watching, though the season just ended.

There is also a high number of the ‘linen & latte’ crowd in the cafes along the promenade that is lined with street art.

Its proximity to Cape Town increases poshness and prices.

Rock Dassies look like a hamster but is actually the closest relative to the African elephant!

November 11, and flowers in the cannon to mark Remembrance Day.

One of the eight places I stayed in my two week coastal tour. I chose different towns in each direction.

Then on the bus again for a four hour trip to Mossel Bay.

Lots of grain fields and vineyards.

Mossel Bay was where the first European set foot on South Africa in 1488.

Bartolomeu Diaz was sailing from Portugal in search of a route to India. They were the first Europeans to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, a notoriously dangerous area of storms and strong currents. His crew, what was left, threatened mutiny if he didn’t turn back.

Places to eat along the uninspired port. It wasn’t my favourite town for walking.

There were some nice old buildings.

A nice coffee shop in one of the old stone buildings.

One of the older houses built up the hill from the water.

But most were newer.

There has been continuous reminders to limit water consumption because of ongoing drought. And I only was affected once by ‘loadshedding’, a rolling blackout when power consumption exceeds availability.

Knysna was the next stop. More of a marina than beach in town.

Local buses in line for different routes.

Local museum.

Jeffreys Bay had a nice beach to walk.

And a nice salad of roasted vegetables!

And lamb.

Port Elizabeth was only another hour up the coast. But bigger and more frustrating as the locals kept telling me not to walk on the streets due to crime.

I took an Uber downtown where there were some nice old buildings and two blocks of shops.

But only took a few photos because my phone was tucked away in a thigh pocket of my biker style shorts under my dress. No jewelry, no purse, just a money belt with a card and a bit of cash. This met the approval of my guesthouse.

So then I took another Uber to a ‘white bubble’ mall where it was deemed safe to walk.

There was a nice pier and waterfront.

Trying to understand the crime. South Africa has one of the most severe income inequality problems in the world. A report from the UN says the top 20% of the population earns over 68% of the income, while the bottom 40% earns only 7%.

They link it to the legacy of apartheid, which took away property and excluded the majority of the population from economic participation.

Meanwhile, my observation is the the whites still seem to maintain their segregation by buying in expensive suburbs and utilizing private schools and hospitals.

I took a day trip to Addo National Elephant Park, which is very close.

The gestation period for African elephants is 22 months! Longest of any mammal because of their size and brain development. Newborns can be 120-165 kg.