6 days ago
5 bucket list thrills in 2 days: Kayaking to paragliding, my Shot'left provincial escape
South African Tourism wants South Africans to travel more within the country and have the campaign ''It's your country, enjoy it'.
A trip between the Western Cape and Eastern Cape has the potential to help a keen traveller tick a lot of boxes.
While there are obvious must-see places in all the provinces, there are less popular spots that are definitely worth exploring.
Since TikTok exploded, many South Africans have had a front-row seat to how people from other countries are enamoured with South Africa. Every second video shows us travellers from the global community blown away by everything from our sunsets to our waterfalls and mountains.
Many of us know that South Africa is a beautiful country. We know about the Big Five at Kruger National Park, the unparalleled Durban beaches, and the magic of Table Mountain in Cape Town.
Some of us are more nuanced in our inter-provincial tourism and will speak of the magic of the Northern Cape dark skies, the vibrancy of Soweto, or the all-you-get buffet of experiences in North West's Sun City.
However, some gems remain hidden - known and enjoyed by the locals of that particular village or small town.
Through their local campaign, 'It's your country, enjoy it,' Shot'left is on a mission to encourage a feeling of ownership and pride in such places, not only from the people who have known about them all their lives but also from the rest of the nation and then the world.
Born and bred in Limpopo, I've become an unofficial plug for the many places we offer in my province. From Tzaneen to Bela Bela, Limpopo is the go-to place for bush getaways, with some of the most breathtaking resorts and good weather, and nobody produces better avocados or mangos (I'm ready to fight for this one).
However, I recently became a student when - through a Shot'left media trip - we touched down in the small George Airport. The town of George lies half-way between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth on South Africa's ever-popular Garden Route.
The Garden Route, gorgeous as it is, unintentionally promotes the misinterpretation that George is a 'drive-through' town. I recently learned that couldn't be further from the truth. We arrived in George on the first flight in and, because of the partnership between Shot'left and Ford, made our way to a Ford garage to collect a Ford Wildtrak X, two Ford Tremors, a Ford Everest and a Ford Tourneo - which would be our rides for the two days of the trip.
Because of George's strategic placement, we would spend a day in the Western Cape and then head to the Eastern Cape in a few hours. In George, the small town charmed us as we discovered why it has more to offer than a 'town you pass through.'
We headed to Garden Route National Park, where one of my bucket list items would be ticked off. After a brief talk on safety and fitting our life jackets, we were off on a kayak at the Ebb and Flow Rest camp, each equipped with a double-bladed paddle. The calm water made the experience much more fun, allowing us to enjoy the park's serenity. Once we got into the swing of things, we could go as far as our upper body strength would allow.
Straight after, we were on our way to a local gem, the PiliPili Beach Bar. This bar offered everything from mouth-watering fish dishes to pizzas and ribs, all with a cool vibe to match. While eating, with the beach a few steps away, you watch people 'fall out of the sky' every few minutes with parachutes.
That signalled our second location, where I would tick off the second item on my bucket list: paragliding. While there are a couple of options where you can paraglide, we ended up at Cloud 9 in Sedgefield. Paragliding is super cool, mainly because it doesn't even require you to be an adrenalin junkie. Most of what you do in that activity is run for takeoff. After that, you sit as the instructor controls the parachute for five minutes, and y'all glide in the sky until you land. I would do it again!
That was all the adventure we could fit into the available hours for day one. We watched the sunset from the beach, wine and non-alcoholic champagne glasses in hand, and retired to the Kamma Kai Beach Villa. We enjoyed a braai for dinner in this four-star homely place, complete with a whiskey masterclass courtesy of Gift Makoti and Glenfiddich.
After a few hours of shut-eye, we were ready to soak up what we could of George before crossing the invisible line into Gqeberha. We started the day with a traditional South African breakfast and, like the locals, made our way to the Wild Oats Community Farmers' Market.
It wasn't long until we were driving out to Plettenberg Bay. Almost two hours later, we were at the Bloukrans River Bridge, where I could tick off not one but three items on my bucket list: bungee jumping, sky walking and zipline.
The Bloukrans River Bridge is Africa's highest bridge, and if you take the plunge from there, you will have conquered a 216m high bungy jump. I didn't jump (I know, I know... honestly, I just wasn't keen on losing my breakfast, but I'll take my L), but I did skywalk and zipline, which was just as fun without the whole facing life and death thing. Everyone else in my group who did the jump said there's nothing like it, and they all highly recommend doing it at least once in one's lifetime.
All that activity left us hungry, so the next stop was Cattle Baron restaurant inside Tsitsikamma National Park, at least according to the itinerary. In reality, we drove to Tsitsikamma and ordered food, but instead of sitting down, we opted to do what we thought would be a short walk to Storms River mouth.
As it turned out, it was a hike. Not only was I not dressed for a hike, but I had a wig and makeup on and wore cutesy Puma sneakers (the uncomfortable kind) because I thought it was a cute little walk. Boy, was I wrong! Jonga, I was huffing and puffing like a big bad wolf just 10 minutes into it. There was absolutely nothing cute. However, I forgot the struggle when we finally reached the suspension bridge.
The Storms River Suspension Bridge, also known as the Tsitsikamma Suspension Bridge, is a well-known landmark in Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa. This suspension bridge, which crosses the Storms River and is only accessible by foot, provides breathtaking vistas and an unforgettable encounter. The bridge is a component of Storms River Mouth, a famous tourist destination in the park.
After we got our photos and videos, I huffed and puffed back - complaining every two minutes - but also appreciating God's creativity courtesy of the stunning views. The views to, at and from the suspension bridge are worth the hype, and they are quite literally breathtaking.
Needless to say, I was ready to call it a day after the walk turned hick, but Tsitsikamma and its hidden gems wouldn't let me. I am certain not many people know that there is a cute, straight-out-of-America, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley-inspired food joint called Marilyn's 60's Diner (if y'all knew and kept quiet, y'all aren't good people, she...). That's where we went for a very late lunch.
It has the most Instagrammable milkshakes I have seen, and some of the burgers are made famous in American movies. It was truly hard not to love.
We then check in at Tsitsikamma Village Inn. The three-star hotel gives us a vineyard feel, like the Kievits Kroon Gauteng Wine Estate or some of the boutique hotels in the Western Cape. We didn't call it a night until we had a potjiekos dinner and 'nightcap' at a homely restaurant called Tsitsikhaya Lodge Restaurant & Venue.
In the morning, after breakfast and check-out, Tsitsikamma, which I've nicknamed the gift that keeps on giving, had one last adventure to offer: a Segway Tour. During the tour, I learned about the close-knit community of Tsitsikamma and where the name comes from. Tsitsikamma is a Khoi word meaning 'abundance of water' due to the high rainfall experienced in this area, which sustains the lush natural vegetation and is home to various animal and bird life.
As we drove out of the 'place of many waters,' I held on to all the treasures I had discovered and was excited at the thought of what else Tsitsikamma had hidden that I needed to return to discover.
At the Port Elizabeth International Airport, we bid farewell to Eastern Cape. I had left Joburg in the AMs on a Friday and went on to experience two provinces over two days, which gifted me with a serene kayaking, ethereal paragliding, adrenalin-pumping bungee-jumping (almost), ziplining, sky walking, mountain hiking to the Suspension Bridge at Storms River mouth, one of the biggest farmer's market, an American diner and so much more. I would do this Shot'left over and over again.
