
Take me to the “best” beaches in the world and I am certain I will still return to the South African coastlines of my youth. Beaches from the Cape all the way up the Garden Route are something to behold. But it is the mid-east coast shoreline which forever has my heart. I won’t deny there is a certain amount of bias involved in this statement. But, have you been there?
Every time I go back to South Africa, specifically to Port Elizabeth, East London and in between, I am in awe of the spectacular coastline; unspoiled sand beaches, cliffs, lagoons and estuaries running into the sea. Only once I smell the sea bush and hear the ocean, do I feel truly at home.
I cannot tell you about my favourite spot in the world because it wouldn’t remain my favourite anymore. It is unknown to many and therein lies the secret to its beauty.
Fortunately (and unfortunately), more and more people are discovering the joys of holidaying in the Eastern Cape; where you can visit a first class game reserve and spend time on the beach all in one day, where you can rent a simple beach shack in the quiet or a giant family house in the busy bustle; where you can watch dolphins from the beach or surf with them in the deep; where you can play golf while enjoying a view of the ocean and walk for miles hardly seeing a person.
I’ll swap you the crowded, beer bottle, tanning oil, hot ocean, smooth sand island beaches of Thailand any day for just a short sojourn on the ragged-cliff, uncrowded, wild seas coastline of South Africa. But perhaps that’s just me.