Our drive from Tsitsikamma to Port Elizabeth was exactly as anticipated – nothing but stunning country vistas pretty much the entire way! Seeing as we arrived at night– this was all the stuff we missed out on the drive over and we were definitely pleased to at least get to see it properly during the day!
After a 2 hour drive, we arrived at Port Elizabeth and made a beeline straight for the Singa Lodge, where we would be staying for the rest of our time in Port Elizabeth.
Before I carry on, let me take you a quick tour of the digs… 😉
That’s the bar area below by the way and there’s no barman – they rely on an honesty policy for you to take what you want and write it down. The only other place in the world I’ve seen this is in the Isles of Scilly (where people have unmanned shops and you pay for the thing in the coin boxes). There’s just something so sweet about this – especially so that this exists in the middle of a bustling city.
As you can already tell, Singa Lodge is very proud of its African heritage and showcases that in the rooms. The rooms by the way, aren’t just rooms – these are mini palaces that span for ages through several inter-linking rooms. I’m a fan of lots of space in hotels so I was right at home as soon as I saw the rooms.
We decided to go for dinner at the hotel as it was already quite late by the time we settled down (also, we had almost no internet for a few days there in Tsitsikamma so there was A LOT of catching up to do).
I fully intended on taking photos over dinner to share with you but alas, after my starter above (avocado and smoked salmon salad), I ended up eating my meals faster than I could pick up a camera (it seems). Truth, hunger got the better of me and I forgot. 🙂
The next morning, we got up bright and early for breakfast and excitedly made our way over to what, we had decided, would be our first activity in Port Elizabeth – sandboarding.
The sandboarding place is in Colchester in Port Elizabeth (which I’ll just refer to as PE from now on) – a fact I didn’t know when I put it into the SatNav and after a 10 minute drive from the hotel, we arrived at a random street (near the clock tower in the centre) where I spent an embarrassing amount of time attempting to rectify this error and simultaneously apologising to Lloyd so if you plan on going sandboarding in PE, pay attention to the address.
Before long though we’d arrived at the sandboarding venue to light drizzle. Thankfully this didn’t last long (otherwise that would have been it for sandboarding for the day).
After a short boat ride, you arrive at the sand dunes…
…where we quickly got on with the important business of attempting to sandboard.
Now, the answer to that all-important question 😉 😉 😉 – what’s it like to sandboard for the first time?
Answer:
1.) It’s very very awkward at first but surprisingly easy to pick up.
2.) You move very quickly on the inclines here and that means you need to first learn how to control yourself – once that’s done though, you’re pretty much most of the way there.
3.) You also need to grease up your board every couple of go’s.
4.) You will most likely fall down several times but don’t worry, it won’t hurt too much.
5.) It’s easier than learning to ski (in my opinion)
6.) It’s a proper work out as you have to carry your board right to the top (or as high as you’d like) each time. The board carrying isn’t the big deal – it’s the uphill walking in sand
7.) IT’S SO MUCH FUN!
This was Lloyd’s 5th go (as you can tell, he’s already starting to get cocky here)…
…but he learns his lesson very quickly! 😀
He was laughing so hard at the bottom, I wondered for a second if he was alright!
I, on the other hand, was as graceful as a swan!
I wish!!! 🙂
The lovely stretch of sand dunes is right next to a river – perfect for fishing (and apparently a dip to cool off as some of the other sandboarders before use did).
It’s such a beautiful place, isn’t it? Seemingly endless stretches of sand, complimented by dramatic skies.
After a couple of hours of doing this, completely knackered but totally exhilarated, we bade farewell to the sand dunes, feeling thoroughly accomplished and heading off in search of our next adventure…
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