A Magnificent Loop in the Southern Rainbow Nation (page 5 of 14)

Thanks Bruno for the map (and thanks to Caperam for sharing the info)... oh well, if the beach becomes a little less "secret" 😉.

I actually wonder about that "oh well" part.

I’m a bit worried that Montagnard’s helpfulness (yeah, it’s true, you’re really nice to share your great tips, Bruno) might end up spoiling this magical spot 😛.

Because, like you and many others, I’m thinking, "Damn, I’ve got to go there!"!!!

I bet that before I even get there, they’ll have put up barriers everywhere to protect the cute penguins from all the "tourist predators."

Anyway, it’s the same old debate!!

Indeed, The three times my gaiters took me to this spot, There were no penguins on that beach at all! So...

Thanks for giving me so much credit, but honestly, this beach isn’t exactly a secret... Groups don’t go there because the access is trickier than through the center, and when I went three years ago, the barriers still weren’t up... But as caperam said, it’s on page 59 of my Lonely...

And honestly, I think this has more of an impact on tourist behavior than I do... So no regrets, Christelle—you can go tease the Penguin!!

I’ll add that if there are guys like me who have the LP (Lonely Planet) in hand and still can’t find either the first or second beach, the penguins will stay undisturbed for a while longer...🤪😄

Ah, okay, I feel reassured now. The secret’s already out if it’s in the Lonely Planet 😉

Hey! Well, here's a big letdown! Did you have the LP in hand? The first version was still better: I missed the parking lot and ended up alone on this beach 😂😂😂😂 Actually, Christelle, you should go, and you’ll have to tell us all about it 😉

Bruno, it was you who used "secret" in the first post where you mentioned it... actually, you wanted to make us believe in your discoverer talents, but the Caperam folks saw right through you! 😉😎 Besides, in the aerial view you posted, it looks like the long pier lets you go from one site to the other... Muriel

Hold on, friends! 😏

1/ I did say it was by chance that I took this entrance, both in my travel journal and in this discussion... 2/ I never mentioned being a discoverer or having any talents 3/ I think Rouquine is still upset she didn’t find the entrance and is turning it into some kind of hidden treasure...

Yes, you can access the beach via the pontoons (actually, we did the route the other way around). It’s written in black and white in my travel journal! But maybe we can move on, no? 😊

2/ I never talked about discoverers or talents

It was meant to be a joke (okay, maybe a failed one 😇). For what comes next, we’re waiting for Isabelle 😉

Yes, yes, we'll move on to the next part... probably tomorrow since we're skiing today! 😄 Hey! What if we went to see the penguins at Betty’s Bay? 🐧😍

I suspect that by the time I get there, they’ll have put up barriers everywhere to protect the gentle penguins from the many "tourist predators."

Anyway, the same old debate!!

There’s already a flexible fence to the right of the beach to keep people from venturing onto the rocks on the right. And when we were there (not many of us), everyone respected the restriction. What I’ve read about these penguins and their risk of disappearing in the near future isn’t linked to tourism... but rather to intensive fishing, which takes away their basic food supply, attacks by predators on their eggs that are no longer laid in the thick layer of guano that was collected as fertilizer in the early 20th century, along with the eggs themselves, stolen by the millions... The artificial nests installed in the reserves help protect the eggs (from non-human predators), but when it comes to food, it’s complicated. A fascinating article on the subject (though not very reassuring about the species’ survival) here

After that digression, I’ll bow out... 🙂

Anne-Marie

3/ I think Rouquine still feels bad for not finding the entrance and turns it into some kind of hidden treasure...

Yeah, I do like a bit of mystery and a touch of adventure—but not too much! Something to talk about when we get back 😄😁

It was a joke (okay, maybe a failed one 😇).

No Worries Muriel 😉

Wednesday, December 26 : Cape Town - Gansbaai

Today, we’re leaving Cape Town to start our little road trip through the south of South Africa. After packing up the studio and our suitcases and returning the keys, we don’t leave Cape Town until 9:30 AM.

As we leave the city, we see townships. Unfortunately, these are still very much present in almost every city we pass through. Next to them, permanent housing is being built to rehouse people more decently.

In South Africa, a township refers to underprivileged and under-equipped neighborhoods reserved for non-white populations. These urban areas are mainly occupied by Black or Coloured communities, as well as Indian workers forcibly relocated under apartheid laws.

On the outskirts of cities, single-room houses made of bricks or corrugated iron line straight streets in neighborhoods lacking basic amenities. Designed to be expanded later by their owners, they do have water and electricity.



We take the exit at Strand to take the scenic route after Gordon’s Bay: the Whale Route.









Our first stop of the day is Betty’s Bay, where we head to Stony Point to see the penguins.

So! Penguin or penguin? There are two key differences: their geographic distribution and their (in)ability to fly. Penguins live in the Northern Hemisphere and can fly! As for penguins (the ones we’re seeing), they can’t fly and live in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite this, in English, they’re both called "penguin."

The site is part of a nature reserve, with an entrance fee of R25 (hours: 8 AM–5 PM), though it’s no longer covered by the Wild Card. It’s already 11:30 AM when we step onto the boardwalk. It’s much quieter than Boulder’s Beach, but the penguins are less visible—even if they’re closer—since they’re on the rocks.

















You can also spot a colony of cormorants—there are four species, including the endangered Bank Cormorant. We stay for a good hour and a half; today, we’ve got time and spend it watching this little family of dassies.







After lunch at Stony Point, it’s 2 PM when we hit the road again for Hermanus, 50 km away. It’s really nice driving along the coast—it’s still a public holiday today, and South Africans are taking advantage of it to go to the beach.

We arrived in Hermanus with high hopes of spotting the last whales of the year. Southern right whales come close to the coast from June to November to breed, then give birth a year later before returning to Antarctica.

Still, we spent half an hour walking along the coast. The wind is blowing hard, and no whales in sight 🙁.





We then continued to Gansbaai, our stop for the night. Again, it was tough to book here. Our first accommodation was canceled shortly after we reserved it because we were staying for 2 nights. Then Booking.com rebooked us at a new lodge, which was also canceled, and we ended up at Sea Star Lodge.

We arrived at 4:30 PM with a warm welcome—a snack was waiting for lodge guests. The rooms are spacious and modern with ocean views. Too bad the sky is gray because the view is stunning. Really a great location in De Kelders, just before Gansbaai.





It’s in Gansbaai where you can go cage diving with great white sharks. Uh, that’s us in the cage, and the sharks are lured in. No thanks for me, but my husband was tempted—that’s why we made this stop.

We quickly headed out to the Walker Bay Nature Reserve right next door. Entry is included with the Wild Card; otherwise, it’s R50. The landscape is beautiful despite the gray clouds. We took a short walk on the dunes.









We booked a table at Thyme at Rosemary in Gansbaai for tonight since it’s still a public holiday, and very few restaurants are open.

It’s really a great spot—smoked crocodile and springbok carpaccio for starters, then bobotie and springbok shank. Delicious 😉.









There’s even a little vegetable garden out back 😎.



To be continued here

So many great memories coming back to me—I also had lunch at Rosemary’s and can confirm it’s really good!

Yes, it's a safe bet in Gansbaai 🙂. Our charming lodge hostess recommended it to us.

Thursday, December 27: De Hoop - Swellendam

Well, we weren’t very efficient this morning—after half an hour of driving, we had to turn back because the road we wanted to take was closed for construction. So, we lost an hour and went back through De Kelders to take the route via Stanford and Napier. Long straight roads, lots of farmland, and the harvests had just been done.





We drove to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of the continent and the dividing line between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. We arrived around noon—we’re not exactly ahead of schedule. The sky was gray, so the landscapes weren’t great, but the white houses with thatched roofs brightened things up a bit 🙂.





The site is a National Park covered by the Wild Card; otherwise, it costs R160 per person. A paved path runs from the lighthouse (which you can climb) to the plaque. We didn’t have time to linger and just drove over to snap our photo 😉.





Honestly, given the time we lost, we should’ve just stuck to our original plan and skipped this—lots of driving for not much payoff .

The goal for the day was De Hoop Nature Reserve. Carmen’s (Ticapi) travel journal had made us really want to stay there. Unfortunately, we couldn’t book just one night at the lodge through Booking.com—you have to stay at least two nights during the Christmas period. I emailed the lodge directly and got the same answer 🙁.

I’d been wondering if it was possible to do Gansbaai to Swellendam in one day, and Guillaume’s travel journal confirmed it—he did the same route. Once again, thanks to the forum and all the shared experiences. Without them, it’d be tough to gauge what’s actually doable sometimes 😉.

It’s a little over 100 km to get there. With the gray weather, we were worried we’d be disappointed, but we went anyway. At 1:30 PM, we hit the dirt road and spotted a few farms. From there, it’s 36 km to De Hoop Collection, with an average speed of 50 km/h.







It took us about an hour to reach the park entrance. The entry fee is R40 per person, which is also covered by the Wild Card. The landscape is much greener here.

The few kilometers to Koppie Allen were filled with lots of photo stops—ostriches, zebras,











Blesbok or bontebok? We looked up the difference between the two online, but it’s really minimal—apparently, it comes down to the size of the patch on their forehead.



It’s 3:30 PM, and here we are near the dunes.





The detour is totally worth it—the white sand dunes are stunning. But the wind is blowing so hard we can’t even walk around. We’re pretty disappointed because we were really looking forward to it.









We only stay for half an hour before heading to another Point Die Mond, about 10 km away, which offers a view of the lagoon. The sky is gray again.



We quickly stop by De Hoover Collection, where a small herd of bonteboks—not very shy—have settled.

It takes us an hour to reach Swellendam and the Marula Lodge we had booked. No issues with the reservation at this accommodation 😮.





After dropping off our bags, we head straight out for dinner—we’re hungry since we skipped lunch 😕. We go to "De Vagabond," just 200 m from the lodge. And there it is, another bobotie! Thanks, Guillaume, for this spot 😉.





To be continued here