Tsitskikamma – Port Elizabeth

The Tsitsikamma National Park is an 80 KM long coastal strip between Nature’s Valley and the mouth of the Storms River. In the park, the visitor finds an almost untouched natural landscape. Tsitsikamma is the Khoi-San word for a ‘place of many waters’. The beautiful indigenous forest is home to birds, antelope and other wildlife, as well as the giant Outeniqua Yellowwood – one of the true monarchs of the world’s forests. Whales and dolphins are regular visitors to the coast. Adventure seekers will revel in the assortment of activities. On the other hand, you can simply relax and unwind in a completely serene wonderland of forest, mountain and see.

Port Elizabeth is known for its sunshine and safe sandy beaches. Located on the South Eastern coast of Africa, this major seaport and tourist destination is set along the beautiful shores of Algoa Bay, and is fondly referred to as the Friendly Eco-City. The city is the second largest city in terms of area and the fifth largest in terms of population in South Africa (1.1 million). The city is also an important centre for the South African motor industry. On the bus early for a LONG drive day. It was rainy and windy. We headed east along the Garden Route towards Plettenberg Bay, a recreation spot for the rich and famous. We had a brief stop at the Bloukrans River Gorge which is a 400M span over a gorge. At the top the span rises 216 M above the Gorge below. Because of the rain we decided not to take the nature walk in the Tsitsikamma National Park to see the giant Yellow wood tree but instead spent about an hour exploring the Storms River Mouth. We enjoyed time at the shop, and some welcome warm coffee. We then went onto Port Elizabeth through miles of farm and ranch land. We said goodbye to our driver, Saban, who felt he was losing part of his ‘family’ saying goodbye to us as we off on a short flight to Durban, a large city with approximately 3 million people. We stayed at the Southern Sun hotel and were greeted with drinks, which was nice as we were all very tired and thirsty. We stayed one night at the Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel – nice hotel (Room 325)