Pete travelled to Port Elizabeth ("PE") for work on Wednesday and was so tempted by the sunshine & the coast that he booked us plane tickets to Durban for the weekend.
From the advice of friends Paul & Heather, we stayed in Southbroom which is on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. The South Coast is dotted with towns interspersed between luscious green rolling hills of either sugar cane, dense tropical forests or banana plantations. It's incredibly picturesque.
Southbroom was a lovely quaint community which is described by locals as a village.
We visited Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve on Saturday and enjoyed a picnic on an overhanging rock (hanging 100m over the gorge!). We weren't crazy enough to partake in the gorge swing- a free fall of over 70m into the Canyon before being saved by the swing. But the curdling death squeals did make for good entertainment over lunch! We decided to explore the surrounding region on the return drive to Southbroom and got a taste of life for the local Zulu's. We continue to be intrigued and amazed by their way of living. Women lined the dirt road carrying large mounds of dried grass or baskets of washing on their heads, and we even saw a young boy 'playing' with a car tyre for fun. The extremes of life are so apparent in South Africa.
9 holes of golf was played at Southbroom Golf Club on Saturday afternoon. It affords impressive views of the beach and Indian Ocean with 3 holes played overlooking the coast. Whilst a challenging course due to the amount of water hazards and bunkers on each hole, it was nice to be out amongst the wind and fresh ocean air!
Unfortunately we woke to rain on Sunday. We returned to Durban via the picturesque coastal drive and enjoyed lunch at Lynton Hall. Lynton Hall is renowned for their award winning cuisine and turn of the century manor. Whilst the food was quite good for South African standards the decor didn't do it for us! Never the less, worth the visit.
The South Coast is a another pretty region of South Africa and we will definitely consider returning to Southbroom at some stage.
Southbroom beach
Oribi Gorge
Pete examining the drop from the overhanging rock... a long way down!
Lunch overlooking the gorge in the winter sun
A lovely sight... a zulu boy playing & having fun with a car tyre!
Hole 3 on Southbroom Golf Club... depending on the wind extremes you could be using either a 4 iron or a pitching wedge to hit onto the green.
Teeing off the 4th hole at Southbroom Golf Club
Lynton Hall for lunch