Sunday, 17 March 2013

Port Elizabeth

We awoke to a windy day. Over a leisurely breakfast, we chatted to fellow guests, greek Cypriots who have been in South Africa for 37 years. They were in Port Elizabeth for their daughter's (Maria) wedding party for PE friends following her Jo'burg wedding in January. When she arrived, Maria suggested Jeffreys Bay as somewhere to see and a coffee shop along the way which has great views of the ocean.


It was about an hour to Jeffrey's Bay and along the way, we saw evidence of recent bush fires.





We spotted a coffee shop along the way that advertised ocean views, but it wasn't the recommended one - they didn't have coffee!





Still, we sat outside and could just see the ocean in the distance.





Jeffrey's Bay is essentially a surfing village. There was no shortage of surfing related shops and retail outlets, not all of which were open. We found a cafe open for lunch and ate flat breads. Unusually for such an establishment, they had a good range of teapots and china for clients.




A wide range of tea and coffee was also available for sale.


The beach is large and sandy.




This was one of the observation posts that we had spotted as we drove into the bay.




There were a few novices out surfing. There was not good enough waves to attract the better surfers. While it was windy the wind was from the land so not generating waves.





One did manage to get upright for a short time





We could see more surfers in the distance.



A small stretch of the beach, Dolphin beach was reserved for swimmers and a group of children were having a great time, despite the sea temperature.



There were some good waves to enjoy





The town itself is not very interesting. A few older buildings are mixed in with modern buildings.





The most interesting building we came across.



We drove on to Aston Bay which is a modern marina type development still under construction. We didn't see much evidence of boats in the marina.

The entrance












On the way back to Port Elizabeth, we stopped to take photos of the scenery.








We saw more fires in the countryside and fire service vehicles by the side of the road.

In the evening, we returned to the restaurant that we had eaten in on our first night in PE, de kelder.

Pat and John on tour