South Africa: Eastern Cape

One of the things I wanted to do upon my return to South Africa was to take a road trip around the country. While I did not go around the whole country, I was fortunate enough to take a trip down to the Eastern Cape province. The Eastern Cape is the second largest of the nine provinces we have in South Africa and is known for the large stretch of lushes green forests of the Wild Coast as well as the desert region called the Great Karoo. It is the home province of two of our former presidents namely Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki and it also hosts one of South Africa’s largest National Arts Festivals in Grahamstown.

The Eastern Cape is home to many national parks such as the Addo Elephant Park- with over 170 elephants, the Tsitsikamma National Park – with untouched landscapes- and the Camdeboo National Park to name a few.

 

Beautiful wild untouched landscapes of the Eastern Cape.

Anyway, our destination was not exactly one of the most famous or largest areas in the Eastern Cape. In fact, it was a small coastal town situated on the Sunshine Coast about halfway between Port Elizabeth and East London and about 50 min drive from Grahamstown. The small town is called Kenton-on-Sea and it is a famous destination for those people who are lucky enough to own holiday homes – How I wish! 

 

The location of my date with Bhut 'Knight' hahaha!

Kenton has a number of beautiful beaches such as Kariega Beach, Middle Beach, Shelly Beach and a number of other beaches including a secret beach which I had the pleasure of visiting. It has a Spar, a petrol station and a few restaurants, a clothing shop or two and a bookstore. There is also a township nearby and some schools too.

 

One of the cute shops you can find as you take a walk around Kenton.

It took us about the whole day to get to Kenton due to the fact that we were taking it easy and stopping along the way. Our first stop was the city of roses, Bloemfontein and then we went on to take our next stop at the Gariep Dam, which borders the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces.

Gariep Dam

From there we took the longest drive and stopped at Cradock and then Grahamstown. When we arrived in Grahamstown, it felt as though I was in some British town because of the Victorian-type architecture of most of the buildings and monuments. It was really interesting to see all those beautiful buildings.

One of the beautiful old buildings in Grahamstown.

We eventually arrived at our lovely Airbnb and got settled in. Because we were on a week-long vacation, we decided to spend the first night chilling, drinking and having some girl chat. My friend, Pontsho, came down from Port Elizabeth to spend the night with us, so it was lovely to see her after so long. We had lots of fun getting to know one another and rekindling old friendships. 

 

Out and about at one of the restaurants a few kilometers outside of Kenton.

Most of our days during the vacation were filled with rest, eating out, beach walks and occasional visits to the local Spar and Chinese clothing store.

On one particular day, Sibongile and I decided to take a trip down to Port Alfred while Khumo and Lulu stayed behind. We drove down with our friend Lulu’s car because that was the car we came with. I was the designated driver and had only driven the car once before that day. Anyway, on our way there it was drizzling so, I switched on the lights. Eventually, we arrived in Port Alfred and we explored the little town- it was a wonderful and cute place. 

Exploring Port Alfred.

Finally, when it was time to go back to Kenton, we went into the car and I put the key into the ignition and turned to start the engine but then dololo!. Ah, bona man, the car was not starting! Hao bathong, what’s happening? I tried again and STILL, the car wouldn’t start- basically it was saying “Andizi!”

 In a state of panic, Sibongile went into the car, sat in the passenger seat and closed the door. I was like “Ah, this girl? Hahaha, how can she just leave me outchea?” Hahaha, it turns out she was inside googling how much jumper cables were because her first question when faced with a problem is “Can we buy it?” hahaha. Anyway, I was out and about in the parking lot asking strangers for help and getting turned down. Eventually, a knight in shining armour came to our rescue and saved the day. Yazi, God takes care of his children! Anyway, I ended up going on a date with the said knight and it was really great hahaha.

 

Lekker tea and scones at this cute shop in Port Alfred.

On one of the other days, we took an overnight trip to Port Elizabeth to visit Pontsho. She was a great host and took us out to experience the night-life of the friendly city. We first went to the News Café at the Boardwalk Casino and it was D-E-D, Dead hahaha! Then we moved on to another club opposite Cubana, which was lit. We danced the night away and made some friends too- hahaha wink, wink! 

 

There were literally about less than 10 of us in this News Cafe guys, I'm not even joking!

Overall, Eastern Cape was a wonderful experience with many great memories. We ate a lot, courtesy of my ‘chef-in-the-making’ friend, Sibongile and had lots of fun singing and dancing thanks to some liquid courage hahaha. It was indeed one of those girls trips that are needed every once in a while. No drama just lots and lots of fun!

Walking the streets of Port Elizabeth. 

Have you ever taken a road trip with friends? How was your experience? Please share below, I’d love to hear some of your stories.

Sources:

www.south-africa-info.co.za

sahistory.org.za

www.kenton.co.za