TSITSIKAMMA AN ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME
What started off as a week of uncertainty turned into an experience of a lifetime. I overcame my fears, did things out of my comfort zone and most of all - enjoyed myself. Tsitsikamma, nestled in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, is definitely a place to visit if you are looking for fun and adventure;whether you are with your family, friends or your partner.
tsitsikamma is a beautiful, diverse place in the Eastern Cape. The word “Tsitsikamma” is a khoisan name that means a place of abundant waters. And oh, were they right! Other than the stunning scenery, I love how they offer accommodation and restaurants ranging from no star to 5star. It accommodates everyone’s budget and gives value services for any places you may want to go to.
The week started in Jeffrey’s Bay where we were welcomed by Palette Worx Arts and Cuisine. We were invited to their RUM pairing dinner and the theme was Jamaican. This was probably the closest I was going to get
to the beautiful Caribbean nation. The dinner was definitely something I have never done before. It was a five course meal and each course came with a special rum drink. The drinks were paired with Jamaican deep fried chicken, Jibarto Sandwich to the Caribbean bean soup. Definitely a wonderful way to be welcomed to the Eastern Cape.
That evening, we were lodged at the Beach Cabanas, a three-star self-catering accommodation in Jeffreys Bay. Beach Cabanas is 200 meters from the beach and is surrounded by shops and places of entertainment. The staff were friendly and very helpful. I love how my cabana felt like a small apartment. It was equipped with all the essentials you may need and free coffee and tea. There was also free WiFi and you received the password on arrival. In the morning they even made us complimentary breakfast.
Once we had enjoyed our breakfast, we headed to Papiesfontein beach horse trails for horse riding. The place was situated just 10km outside Jeffreys Bay and 70km from Port Elizabeth. I was so nervous because I had never been on horse-back and I was terrified I might upset it and it would buck me off or run off with me. When we arrived, we were kitted out, the horses were saddled and I mounted my first ride ever. My horse's name was Jodie. I rode with a family from New Zealand and almost all were experts in horse riding except me and their mother. The two of us riding behind everyone else. Our instructor Bennie was so help
ful and kept on coming back to check up on us. The view of Papiesfontein was absolutely breathtaking. We started riding in the bush and went uphill from the dunes and that was the most beautiful area of the ride and the final stretch was along the beach. We did t wo hours and I was not happy at all because my horse started slowing down and it was windy and my thighs were hurting. However, there was no way I could get off and walk because the starting point was too far. I accepted my lot and I made it back with Jodie. When I got off the horse my thighs were on fire and I was tired. On the other hand, I was happy that I didn’t quit along the way and I was happy I did something that was out of my comfort zone.
When we got back to the star ting point it was lunch time and we drove to Oude Bosch Farmstalls in Tsitsikamma, a small country st yle restaurant. The menu offers simple lunch and breakfast foods from chicken strips to fish and chips but their bakes had to be my favourite. They offered
from chocolate cake, carrot cake to giant muffins. While we were at the restaurant we met with Le Marque, the marketing and Public Relations manager for Canopy Tours and he took us to the factory where they grew South Africa’s national flower, the protea. That night we were lodged at the Tsitsikamma Cottages, a family owned property. The cottages are a three-star accommodation and it is also a self-catering place. The cottages are equipped with all the necessities that one may require and the cottage was spacious and clean, and they even had complimentary rusks and coffee. That evening we were fortunate to be invited by the family for dinner and they told us all about how they started Tsitsikamma Cottages and how they had to rebuild after their property was burnt down. The cottages were mostly rented by people touring the area. The family was warm and welcoming, they were always willing to help and it felt like home. In the morning when I was not feeling well they gave me medication and vitamins that would help me during the day. The next day was full of activities and that morning we started at the Tsitsikamma National Park, where we did a small hike to the suspended bridge and the views along the way were absolutely stunning. The park is in
fested with local trees like the yellowwood to Big trees and the animal life that occupied the area were bush bigs and cape batis. The park also offered activities to part take in like kayaking to snorkeling and you can catch a glimpse of the whales depending on what season it is though. Once we were done there we made our way to Tsitrus Café a pizza place and café shop. we had wood fire pizzas and a milkshake. I loved the crispy bases of the pizza and the toppings and the milkshakes we thick and the sweetness was also well balanced. When we were through with lunch we headed to the Bloukrans River Bridge we were supposed to bungy jump from the highest bridge in Africa. The whole time I was making my way there I was honestly trying to talk Lee Marque into me not partaking, but he told me no I have to do it. For
someone who is terrified of heights I talked myself into doing it, but while I was getting into the gear I kept on asking myself if I wanted to do it or not. The time I wanted to back out, it was too late because I was already tied up and I was on the edge of the bridge, ready to jump. I asked the guys from Face Adrenalin to untie me and they told me I will be okay and they helped me jump. Once I jumped I was asking myself why was I making a big deal over it. I was so relieved I didn’t back out of doing it because I would have still been curious.
That night we were lodged at Tsitsikamma’s guest house. A two-bedroom house that
was well furnished and was owned by the Canopy Tours group. I was so tired I decided to take a shower and sleep. In the morning we lef t the guest house and headed for breakfast at Armagh Countr y Lodge and I was so famished. My colleague and I had a full breakfast consisting of muesli, fruits to hot breakfast which was omelets and English breakfast. The food was well prepared. This is definitely a place to visit when you are around Tsitsikamma. When I thought we were done they spoiled us to some complimentar y neck and back massages.
When we were done at Armagh we headed to the Canopy Tours offices so that we could take par t in a canopy tour. This meant we were cable sliding from the Tsitsikamma National forest. Af ter bunjy jumping I was pretty confident I was going to do a good j ob cable sliding. The experience was amazing and we were 36 to 40 metres up i n the trees and while we were moving from station, to station the instructors were giving us the background of the trees and forests.
Af ter that exciting experience we headed to our last accommodation in Tsitsikamma and it had to be my favourite place out of all the places we have been to. The Fernery Lodge & Chalets, a four-star lodge and chalets is located in Tsitsikamma’s mountains, overlooking the coastline of Tsitsikamma and the Sandringham river Gorge.
We were shown to our chalets and they were absolutely beautiful. Each chalet spor ted a fitted kitchen, a small lounge with a fireplace, a beautiful bedroom and bathroom. The fireplace was at the corner and it was ver y much needed because it was so cold that night. The bathroom felt like a room on its own. There was a bathtub and two showers. The bed was a king size bed with a headboard that looked like the game of thrones actual throne. When we went down for breakfast the view from the breakfast l ounge was stunning. The lounge was overlooking the coast. The food was good, I had croissants with cold meat and cheese. Definitely a place to visit when you are looking for modern chalets with beautiful scener y.
If you are looking for a different experience and adventurous outdoor activities then make sure you visit Tsitsikamma, Eastern Cape’s undiscovered treasure. A totally unique experience that will make you want to visit the Eastern Cape more often.