Blogs from Port St Johns, Eastern Cape, South Africa, Africa

I have been 5 years of the last 6 in the region, hoping to do the world famous "Sardine Run" once. Well, now it's done. Let me explain a little the process of the Sardine Run. Each year, in June and July, the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa witness one of the biggest animal migration...underwater! Millions of sardines makes their way up from Port Elizabeth all the way to Durban. The highlight being the few weeks around the 1st July from the little town of Port St Johns to Coffee Bay in the Transkei. Put it simply....this is a mere 168kms from home if you had to draw a straight line from my home and the backpackers where we are staying in Transkei. But by road, it's 380kms...and it takes just short of 6 hours ... read more

Last day of our Malaria prophylaxis. Since our arrival we diligently were taking one tablet of Malanil a day. The North East of South Africa is Malaria country especially in the rainy season and it is certainly prudent to take precautions. Since Rorke's Drift we have exited the Malaria territory, needed however to continue the treatment for another 7 days. Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death. Symptoms usually begin ten to fifteen days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Malaria is caused by single-celled microorganisms of the Plasmodium group. The disease is most commonly spread by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito bite introduces the ... read more

Hi all, the wild coast is realy wild but unspoilt, nature is what it was supposed to be, wild. What thay say about the roads here are true, you need patiants and be wide awake, lots of road works and stop and go, then you get to go you find a notice board that says there are traffic calmers for the next 20 kl, what that is is speed humps every 100 meters and then you get 3 in a row, now towing a van here is no fun, first gear to go over the humps then to 2 nd and back to 1st for the next humps, (traffic calmers, my bum, more like traffic agrevaters.) But when we reached our destination it was all worth it,we are on the bank of the Umzumvubu river about ... read more

Wish you all a happy new year, I am updating the blog after returning to Mumbai (and naturally a few days of lazing around and meeting friends, worked for a day or so, but have gotten out of that habit swiftly :). These updates are about my last trip in South Africa, to Wild Coast. Wild Coast, which is in the Eastern Cape of South Africa is described as "the most naturally beautiful" part of South Africa. This is an area seldom ventured into by travellers, but those who venture find a mouth watering treat of nature's beauty. I came to Wild Coast along with Rusty, Shelly, Shaurya along with their neighbors (Balram Bhaiya, Madhu Bhabhi and their two kids, Muskaan and Animesh) who have gone onto become friends. We drove down from Joeberg in two ... read more

Christmas didn't bring us much joy in terms of weather, but we still decided to go to Coffee Bay, a town about 190 km from Port St Johns, known for its black pebbled beaches. We also planned to visit Hole in the Wall, a rock formation in the sea about 9 km from Coffee Bay that creates unique and sometimes very loud sound due to the hole in the wall amidst the water The road from Port St Johns to Mtata was nice and very scenic. From Mtata to Coffee Bay (distance of 90 km), we encountered the first hole, I mean potholes. Massive ones, strewn across the road for almost 40 km. Driving there was like rally driving, we must have driven couple of km sideways to avoid the holes. Once we reached Coffee Bay, ... read more