Port Elizabeth South Africa

Port Elizbeth, South Africa

2^nd April 2014

WOW, WOW, WOW andf WOW again.

What a welcome we had to Port Elizabeth.  We were approximately six hours out, late the night before, when we had the most fantastic lightening storm, not a lot of thunder, but just continuous lightening for about two hours.  Even I say it was amazing.

Anyway we docked in Port Elizabeth, it was misty and raining, so it looked a little bit ominous for our overland coach tour entitled The Garden Route.  However, we needn’t have worried as within an hour it had brightened up and we had sunshine, which lasted throughout our trip in South Africa (and still lasts eight days on). 

We followed the N2 Coast Road admiring the views of mountains on the one side and sea on the other.  We stopped for a comfort break at a roadside garage, where Doreen spotted a beautiful bunch of Proteas, which she could not resist buying. 

Further down the road we stopped at the Tsitsikamma National Park, where we saw glorious coastal views, baboons, and a Rock Hyrax (like a tail less rat/squirrel.  Due to the climatic conditions there was plumes of foam being pushed up the beach by the waves a very unusual sight. 

We eventually arrived at Plettenberg Bay, a famous area, where dolphins and whales can be spotted.  Our luxury hotel called The Plettenberg Hotel, was at the top of the cliffs with magnificent views across the bay.  As we were one of the first to book the tour we were upgraded to the Bridal Suite, with a balcony overlooking the bay. (Alas we saw no dolphins or whales as we were too early in the season).

At the hotel we had a very nice dinner and as we were all exhausted we all had an early night.  However, we were up early in the morning for breakfast and walked round the hotel with Ed and Barbara, friends we had met on a previous cruise.