It’s another beautiful day on the southernmost shoreline of Africa. Winter has just started though snow has yet to appear inland on the higher peaks. Here in the deep south the days are shorter but they are as sunny as ever, so let me share with you some of the awesome coastal attractions that only a few fortunate travelers are aware of. This hidden seaside paradise is one of the best kept secrets in the world when it comes to outdoor nature tourism, so let me share this treasure with you.
This particular region of the Cape province in sunny South Africa is called the Garden Route. Snow never hits the ground at this latitude of 34 degrees south. At most you might see it on the tops of the distant Tsitsikamma mountain range, particularly the highest point in this region, called Formosa Peak. It only lasts a day or two before melting under the winter sun. Nevertheless, it’s time to stoke up the fire places. However, there is still plenty of sunshine and the opportunity to explore the hidden little beaches dotting the shoreline.
As you step outside the fresh sea air fills your lungs with healing oxygen and you can bask in the life-affirming ions in the atmosphere produced by the constant waves of the Indian Ocean rolling ashore like eternal time with it’s precision clockwork predictability. “Time and tide wait for no one” as the saying goes. Fortunately they are predictable and permanently present to facilitate our participation in the eternal now.
Stepping out under the winter sun and strolling to the white sandy beach, you will find very few people simply because this entire continent in huge and very sparsely populated. Even South Africa itself is a relatively massive country compared to Europe, and has so much space for so few people. What a pleasure. You could have the entire beach to yourself some days, or perhaps see just a handful of people, who like you have either emigrated here or have discovered this hidden tourist paradise for a while.
There’s no place I would rather be, personally speaking, than here and now at the beach on these sublime African shores anywhere along the Garden Route. The name speaks for itself, since this place is like a garden in paradise all year long. The abundance of natural vegetation and coastal scenery is truly healing for body, mind and soul. Sunshine, of course, is also one of the most healing treasures of the planet so this region is a veritable sanctuary for anyone suffering under the “slings and arrows” (as Shakespeare wrote) of outrageous fortune on the planet today.
This particular region of the Garden Route is called Plettenberg Bay and it is the topmost gem and crowning glory of the entire southern coastline of Africa. It is situated about 550 kilometers east of Cape Town – the mother city of the country, as it’s known locally. Having personally been born and raised in Cape Town, I know and have experienced quality beaches and coastline there. Yet this Plettenberg Bay is on par for world class quality when it comes to idyllic and immaculate shoreline.
So if you ever find life up north is getting you down, then simply hop on board the tourist train and follow the trail all the way to the south. Once you arrive at the African coastline, life will appear far more sunnier for you. You health and mood will be uplifted in an instant, simply by breathing in the fresh sea air and basking in the pristine beauty of this vast nature paradise. Already many are flocking here, some permanently as they relocate their lives to this hidden holiday resort.
With all the stress of life increasing daily in the world, there are few places more appealing for those who with to settle in the blissful surroundings of a nature paradise than this hidden gem of a coastline called the Garden Route. Now you know, so make your travel plans and make your way to paradise. You won’t need to go anywhere else once you find yourself back where you belong. Plett (as the locals call it) awaits you with open arms.
(photos my own)