If you want to feel that you are in one of the best places on the planet right now, then the south Cape coast of Africa, in a region called the Garden Route, would fit the bill. It looks in parts like the lakes by the sea, and further on like endless stretches of smooth white sandy beach. It’s easy to find a touch of paradise here in this unknown stretch of remote coastline way down south.
The luxury of wide open space in pure nature lies stretched for miles in the form of land and sea. It’s easy to feel free and uninhibited, as well as uplifted and refreshed and at peace. This is a subjective view though I have heard international travelers admit as much. What an awesome place to escape to.
Today my hike took me on a fascinating stretch of pathway right up high on the cliff tops overlooking the rough rocky sea shore way down below. A carpet of green stretches for miles across the wide roaming hillside, swept by sea breezes. A beautiful sun shone down despite it being mid winter. The sun never fails us here, which is why I have a solar panel and battery, to assist me when the national power supplier goes to sleep.
I recommend self empowerment and self-sufficiency especially nowadays under the current global conditions. Fortunately international travelers are no longer required to submit to any covid restrictions at all. That is all over and done. And with such a healthy environment, I’m not surprised.
Nature is a real healer and to deprive ourselves of time outdoors among the trees and under the sun, is not ideal. Here on these epic and expansive shores, one can really feel free and surcharged by the ions in the atmosphere. Many places in the world lack this much open space to enjoy at our leisure, especially in the EU which is relatively small. Having all this space and log distance view inspires me to think big.
The actual rock architecture chiseled out of the African shoreline is truly awesome to behold. Magical caves lay invitingly ahead, though remain forever out of reach. Piercing pinnacles poke upward to meet the darkened caves, like dance partners in perfect unison and balance. Just gazing at these geological features really gives one a sense of harmony and balance, as if there was a designer behind this symmetric display.
Climbing dons to the shore is not so easy but over time I have found some pathways that are easier. Then it’s possible to hike down to the beach and bathe in the rock pools of which there are numerous. And down there one feels even more remote and isolated from anyone else on the landscape, as you’re on a thin slither of shoreline between the cliff and the deep blue sea.
From one high hilltop point one can see the Robberg Peninsula in the distance a few miles away. There is a four hour hike all around it costing about ZAR40 ($2.50). It’s a protected marine conservation area and seal colony specifically. It possible to see numerous seals as well as sharks around the peninsula on your hike. I’m closer to the remoter western coastline not far away from the peninsula itself today in these photos.
On the other side lies the beautiful sheltered Plettenberg Bay, the top gem of a tourist holiday destination for beaches and surfing. My hikes keep me on the lesser traveled stretches of the shoreline here, though overall this section of the Cape south coastline of Africa is one of the most impressive treasures of the natural environment. If you are looking for a lesser known gem of an adventure travel destination, then the natural beauty of Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route will impress you for sure.
(photos my own)