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South Coast article by travel writer, Colleen Setchell
December 14, 2011
Untitled Document As I close my eyes, I can remember the sounds, the smells, the multitude of
birds, the playful monkeys, the friendly people and their fresh fruit and
vegetables, the nuts and of course, the bananas. I have travelled
extensively in my life but nothing refreshes my soul quite like the Kwazulu
Natal south coast, officially named the Hibiscus Coast.
Here you have a choice of relaxing on beautiful beaches, lazing away sunny,
warm afternoons canoeing on a river or perhaps walking through a nature
reserve crossing off birds in your bird book or trying to remember the names
of the different animals. If adrenaline is more your thing, perhaps some
scuba diving with sharks or throwing yourself off a waterfall at 100m at the
renown gorge swing in Oribi Gorge nature reserve.
Sadly, I spent just one week on the Hibiscus Coast and it was nowhere near
enough to satisfy me. I stayed in a beautiful resort called "The Estuary".
Its location is perfect lying on the banks of a river that meets the sea,
hence the name. The river was almost full and it was so soothing to sit on
the patio and watch the river seemingly carry away my stresses.
The small, yet fully equipped town of Port Edward is just a short drive away
and provides you with all the essentials. The lighthouse in the town has
some delightful cakes if you need to reward yourself after enjoying the many
activities available to you here. If you’d prefer a touch of gambling, the
Wild Coast Casino Resort is a mere 10 minutes drive away.
There is so much to do on this stretch of coast that one week hardly seems
enough to fully appreciate it. Guest Houses and B&B's are plentiful and
reasonably priced and if you prefer roughing it, there are even camping and
caravan sites. Being on the east coast, you can also watch some gorgeous
sun rises on the beach.
As always, when you are this close to the wilderness, you come across the
ever-notorious vervet monkey. They are certainly entertaining to watch but
only if they are stealing someone elses food. I had a wonderful morning
photographing these undeniably cute animals. Luckily they raided a
neighbours dust bin and seemed satisfied with a few slices of sliced bread.
Monkeys are usually quite shy but as long as you are quiet and don’t corner
them, you can get close enough for some great shots. It is not recommended
that you encourage them though so throwing extra bread for close-up
photographs sadly didn’t happen – thank goodness for my zoom lens.
If you live abroad and you’re after an area of South Africa that has
everything - wildlife, beaches, birds, crocodiles, casinos, horse-riding on
the beach, diving, canoeing, hiking, swimming and more fresh fruit than you
can shake a stick at, then book a holiday here and you’ll be pleasantly
surprised at how much change you have after paying.
If you live in South Africa, then you might already know about this gem –
there’s a whole world in this small stretch of coastline that’s waiting to
be explored time and time again.
Article by Colleen Setchell - 'Colleen is a freelance writer and can be contacted on Colleen.Setchell@yahoo.com'
