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First Beach
View from First Beach Once again we had to brave the road that God forgot..me with a fever and sore throat from hell, and Dave with a broken toe. So picture, this, me driving this huge white panel van that looks very much like a taxi, with a trailer on the back,through this shitty town,through mud filled potholes, and every single person beside the road is hailing me down for a lift!!!
APPARENTLY, you can get to Hole in the Wall from this road,but after about an hour of driving and not seeing any definite signs, and having various GPS problems, from no satellite reception, to confusion about direction, we decided in our ill states to just stop buggering around in rural Transkei and move on to Port St Johns, so sadly we did not get to go to Hole in the Wall , this time.
But, it IS a must see, unfortunately, I cannot tell you how on earth to get there and neither can a Garmin GPS!
So, we continued on until we found some tar!!!! What a great sight that was,granted it isn't great tar,and the road is still full of trucks and potholes,so driving is slow and tedious,but we made it
First Beach
View from First Beach to PSJ in one piece.
We stayed at Jungle Monkey Backpackers,which is divine. It has three sections, a “budget” section with dorms, and a communal lounge and kitchen, and then you take a walk across to the “Isle” which has a swimming pool with an amazing view inland, this is more upmarket accommodation in double rooms, also with a communal kitchen and lounge. Then they also have these lovely tents,all with their own secluded entrances, nestled in amongst the trees,with forest,sea or mountain views to choose from.
Above the bar there is a large deck, for sundowners, and there is a massive fire pit outside,next to another large swimming pool.
The bar is large, with a pool table, an eating area(great pizzas) and a stage. The staff are friendly and treat you like family.
Everyday excursions are available, to the various beaches or hikes etc,and at night, you get to sit in the bar and play “shooter roulette” before going outside to the fire and hanging out with Fire,the local Rastafarian, who only comes out at night...
The beaches in PSJ are called First,Second and Third Beach...very creative. They are hard to get to in a scenic sort of way.
First Beach
View from First Beach,inland First beach can be gotten to by taking the local ferry across from just outside the taxi rank in town,OR, doing what we did, which I don't recommend,and driving for about 45 minutes through town and all the way around and over the river and up the mountain and crossing through a sort of “path” to the beach.
It is worth it though,unfortunately, because of the informal settlements around the river, the beach has a lot of debris and litter washed up on it, BUT,mine was the second set of footprints on the beach and there was no one else in sight. You can walk for miles and not see a single soul...THAT'S what the Transkei beaches are all about!
I am not sure if it was the time of year or the weather , but the sea in PSJ was so quiet and calm..it whispered,even sitting on the beach, it was so very quiet. This contributes even more to the air of tranquility and solitude. Maybe it was just my flu tablets....
Our second day was spent suntanning at second beach, which was relatively easy to find and get to,we were joined only by a local selling things made
First Beach
View from First Beach,inland out of palm fronds and the local municipal workers..see photo of them working hard!!!
We looked hard,but never found third beach and being sick, we returned to the backpackers to rest. Unfortunately, we couldn't do any of the hikes, but there are tons on offer in the area and Jungle Monkey also organizes overnight hikes.
There are quite a few local restaurants to eat at ,loads of guest houses,another backpackers and of course the famous Spotted Grunter Resort, which has a rather festive bar...
It rained on our third day, so we spent the day in bed and the evening on the deck, enjoying a short respite from the rain watching the sun go down.
There is something called Pondo Fever that you get, where you stop wearing shoes and fore go haircare and develop dreadlocks and start your day with walks on the beach and you find it very hard to leave a place.
I have to say that everywhere we have been on our trip has affected us like that,but the concept of Pondo Fever first became real to me in PSJ. Not to say that I haven't been affected by this before,I DID live in Kei Mouth
First Beach
Sea at First Beach after all,but if I could really sum it up it is basically a desperate wish to win the Lotto so that you can stay and do nothing forever in paradise.
There are places like this all over the world, but we have many of them here in SA.
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