WE’RE ON THE SHARK PIER
There’s many things that I have shared on this blog, or maybe over shared.
Definitely over shared.
But something you may not know about me yet, is that my Dad grew up in Port Elizabeth. That said, the place doesn’t hold any more value to me than that. A name from a history that is technically not my own. We’d never taken trips there as a family when we were growing up to see it with him. And although Seth and I ventured there for a day when we were last in Jeffrey’s Bay many moons ago, it didn’t cement it in my mind as a place we had to visit.
However, fellow blogger and family adventure lover Sarah from Chasing The Rainbow offered to host us for a couple nights at their amazing accommodation. The Plantation is an absolutely stunning wedding venue that makes me want to get married again! And because we can’t say no to gracious hospitality or the chance to explore a new place, we said thank you very much and joined them.
THE PLANTATION BEDROOMS – YES PLEASE!!
Look, I wouldn’t put Seth or myself into the box of extroverts, like ever. So meeting new people and connecting is stressful. It just is. Wondering whether your kids are going to act like total chops in front of everyone or if you’re going to say something stupid to make them wonder why they bothered. But we felt right at home with Sarah and her family and it was really great sharing a meal with them and swoping stories about travelling the country. Although it was more like listening to stories as we had only been on the road a couple weeks and didn’t have much to share. It was so lovely to hear their tips and make mental notes of all the places to see and things to avoid.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism also gifted us with some really cool merch and Nelson Mandela Bay Passes. Did you know that you could get those? Yup. I know a few people who are actually from the area that didn’t know you could get them. Anyway, there are a few different options but the cool thing is that it gives you access to a range of different experiences for free or a greatly discounted price.
FARMYARD FUN
We dedicated our entire day to exploring the city and using our passes. Our first stop was Holmleigh Farmyard where you got free access to the animals, feed for the animals and a free brekkie. Yes please! It was so worth the trip – we fed pigs and steered clear of ostriches that just freak us out a little, Seth more so than anyone else. The kids ran around like crazy and played on every piece of jungle gym there was.
After that we had to head into the CBD area to take a picture at the infamous pier. Apparently this is one of the places that you have to check off your list. So we took a picture at the end, marvelling at the people in their wet suits swimming around the bottom. Then we took one from the beach to give you more of an idea of what it looks like from the side. For some strange reason, I don’t have the second one loaded on my PC, so you’re just going to have to check it out on our Instagram.
Next on the list was the iconic Madiba voting statue, the mosaic tiled area, pyramid and the lighthouse. It was Madiba day when we were there (almost like we planned it!) and so there was a centenary flag that had been launched that morning. We should have paid to go up the lighthouse but because it was Madiba day they let us in for free which was pretty rad. A really cool view from the top!
Then we went to try and find somewhere to do laundry. This was more difficult that I anticipated. We eventually found one who wanted to be paid immediately. No problem, except we had no cash and they don’t take cards. We had to find an ATM, so we drove around aimlessly for a bit until we found one. As Seth was walking back to the car he was offered some coke. We laughed about it for ages. I’m not entirely sure why, but we found it quite funny.
KNOX GETTING EATEN
NELSON MANDELA VOTING STATUE
After that it was time to put my arms and fear of heights to the test. I don’t think any of us have ever seriously tried rock climbing. Especially not free from ropes rock climbing but we headed to the the rock climbing gym to do just that. It was so much fun even though I have to say that I am so very unfit that my arms were shaking so badly near the end that I couldn’t even lift myself up anymore. The kids did so well, like little spidermen.
Seth was frustratingly good at it. So we made him do a difficult one which he did with an ease that made it even more frustrating that I couldn’t even get to the top of some of them. Aside from his height which is definitely an advantage, it’s obviously because he is totally ripped. I shouldn’t complain about that, so I won’t haha.
RIYA SPIDER
KYLA SPIDER
SETH WHO WAS ANNOYINGLY GOOD AT IT WITH HIS MUSCLED ARMS
SETH DOING THE UM, THINGY WHERE YOU STOP PEOPLE FALLING ON THEIR HEADS THING
We tried to get back to Sardinia bay before the sun set but we just missed it, so we settled in to the accommodation and had hot chocolate instead. It was great!
HOT CHOCOLATE AND SUPERHERO BIBLE TIME
The next morning I went out for coffee with some of my favourite Port Elizabeth bloggers! Ella from Just Ella Bella, Luchae from My Spreadsheet Brain, Odette from Confidently Insecure, Zaahida from Zaahida Joel and Sarah from Chasing The Rainbow. We went to Heritage Cafe and now that I’m sitting here writing this in the mountains of Lesotho with no decent coffee in sight, I am dreaming of going back here for a decent cuppa. It’s situated in an area that reminded me so much of the Bo Kaap back home. Really pretty. So pretty I wish I had my DSLR with me but at this point of the trip that was still to much to mentally tackle having to do.
It was so great to catch up with them and chat about blogs, life, parenting and the general insecurities that have us sharing from behind screens.
From there it was time to head to Addo Elephant Park. This was one of the places that I was so looking forward to visiting and it exceeded my expectations! More next time.
6 comments
I’m a PE girl, I only moved to Knysna 3.5 years ago. PE is special for many reasons. I think the wind is the major negative factor – beautiful beaches that are tricky to visit in the 45 minutes between sunrise and the wind starting. But, it has AWESOME restaurants, stunning farmy places on the outskirts (The Kragga Kamma Game Reserve is literally IN a suburb and it has RHINOCEROSES! IN A SUBURB!), quirky homes, friendly folk, and a laid-back vibe. And, it’s waaaay cheaper than the Western Cape. I’m kind of glad it still has a not-so-great rep – I wouldn’t want it to get overrun with tourists just yet 😉 I’m glad you guys got to experience a bit of PE-ness.
WHAAAT! I didn’t even know about the game reserve with Rhino!! We would have been there in a heartbeat!
LOL, that Game Reserve is just down the road from the farm you went to. And literally 5 minutes from where we live. Sad to say that one of their Rhino was poached not so long ago and even after being dehorned to prevent being poached. But apparently they are going to be home to some lions shortly. Exciting times
And the tourist! Oh yes, we get them. A LOT of them. We don’t go to the beach in December because their is no space for us locals. We get really annoyed with the hostile take over and let’s face it, some tourist just don’t have manners, have no idea how to keep our lovely beaches clean. Rant done 🙂
Yeah that’s the general problem with tourism, people come in but aren’t invested in the area, so don’t look after it. It’s a bit of a use and abuse situation.
Living in PE myself, I agree that we are a bit spoiled, having so much on our doorstep. I hope you didn’t get blasted by the wind, people often moan about how windy it is.
LOL at Seth being annoyingly good at rock climibing
I love the versatility of the things you can do there, a bit of everything. We didn’t have too much of a bad time with the wind actually, so it’s all good.