12 November 2012

south africa: arrival

the trip was a long jet flight. i slept as well as anyone can on a plane. that is to say, my neck hurt when i disembarked in joburg. the jump from joburg to port elizabeth was aboard british airways. those guys server food on their flights still! i felt like i’d been thrown back in time to more civilized time.

shaun picked me up at the jetport in port elizabeth (a.k.a. p. e.). this was the first time in 37 years that i’ve seen him. he drove me from p. e. to kenton. it’s about an hour’s drive east. he pointed out a few interest spots along the way. i took pictures of the drive out. not much to see, but this was my first real viewing of the south african countryside.

milkwood manor b&b was my lodging for the duration. the place is very nice situated at the mouth of the bushman’s river. the view from their lounging area was amazing. i found myself always taking pictures of the view when i would sit and look out. the blue water of the indian ocean filling up the river at high tide. the sand dunes on the far shore had a haze from the blowing sands. it was very windy when i landed. this apparently is bad weather for them as they all kept apologizing all week for it. i however enjoyed the strong winds.




sunset at milkwood manor

chester and jean were the hosts and made me feel right at home. shaun left me to get settled in and told me that he’d come back around for me at six. after unpacking my stuff, i grabbed my camera and headed for the beach. a small path leads right down to the beach/bank of the bushman’s and from there it’s a short walk down to the rocks which make up the our corner of the river’s entrance.

i’ve seen our american beaches and i’ve seen greece’s mediteranian beaches, but nothing compared to these beaches. massive sand dunes unlike anything i’ve ever seen. and the rocks were a playground for exploring.




indian ocean at the mouth of the bushman’s river

next >> south africa: family