A road trip that sparked a desire to discover more of South Africa
At the beginning of 2019, a group of friends and I got to planning our annual local holiday. Usually we would choose a location fairly close to Cape Town, so we could easily drive straight there and back without a fuss. But this year we felt like straying a bit from our usual holiday antics. After some consideration we decided to map out an extended and comprehensive road trip from Cape Town to Jeffreys Bay.
Come July, after a tough 1st semester at university, we were all more than ready to escape our lecture notes and head down the coast on the road trip we had so eagerly been anticipating these past few months.
Getting going
Our day of departure had finally arrived and at a wake up time where we would’ve usually pressed the snooze button, this particular morning we had no problem jumping out of bed and into our cars to get going. The first stint of driving was filled with excitement and chatter about how relieved we were to see the city ever so quickly becoming smaller in our rearview mirror - an escape from our student reality. Our conversations soon turned into silence as we emerged from the darkness of the Huguenot tunnel where we were greeted by an infamous South African sunrise - this was the perfect awakening of our first ever group road trip.
The most important stop to make
The sun came up quickly and it wasn’t long before we could hear our tummies telling us it was breakfast time. The Oude Post Bistro at the Malgas BP garage was a place we had marked as a must during our planning. We were after a Roosterkoek, something I had heard a lot about but had never personally eaten. Let’s just say it lived up to the hype.
A full tummy but an empty tank… don’t make this mistake
Breakfast done and dusted, we decided that a small detour was in order. We strayed off the N2 and towards Oudtshoorn so we could to spend some time at the Cango Wildlife Ranch. It was bound to happen at some point, we just never expected it to be so early on into the trip - in the middle of the desolate, dusty roads of our diversion, the petrol light ‘binged!’ A piercing sound that filled the entire car with a sort of anxiety no one had experienced before. We were so far away from any town that our Google Maps wasn’t even picking up on a nearby fuel station. If we broke down here, with no signal and limited resources, who knew how long it would take for someone to find us! We were supposed to fill up during breakfast, but the excitement over the highly anticipated Roosterkoek’s had clearly demanded all of our attention.
No one spoke a word for those agonising 40 minutes as we climbed the mountain pass, our eyes peeled to the gauge on the dashboard edging closer and closer to zero. The wave of relief that passed over us all as we rounded the final big bend to see a glowing BP sign in the middle of the desert was indescribable - an oasis for our very thirsty vehicle.
Once our car had been replenished and our minds put at ease once more, we were able to enjoy the drive into the town and onto the ranch. We didn’t spend too long in Oudtstoorn; I think at this point we were just wanting to get to our final destination for the day, Wilderness.
Meandering into the exquisite Eastern Cape
The beautiful Outeniqua Pass accompanied us for the rest of our drive down into the town of George and finally led us to the picturesque riverbank cabins of Pirates Creek. We spent our evening enjoying a well-deserved homemade dinner alongside the river as we watched the sun go down. Many laughs we shared and exaggerated stories from the stressful morning we had experienced were saved to the memory banks.
Stumbling into an unplanned for stop
Driving was tiring and despite us all wanting a sleep in, we decided to make the most of the morning sunlight and got another early start - making our way up the coast to Jeffreys Bay. A stop we hadn’t planned for was breakfast that morning, and so when we drove past a buzzing roadside market we couldn’t resist wandering around. The Wild Oats Farmers Market is a 20 year old community market that offers an incredible variety of local products that we had never encountered before. A rare selection of honeys, jams, and some of the most magnificent flowers we had ever seen, all just a stones throw from the unassuming Sedgefield. Truly, a hidden gem.
What’s a road trip without a couple bumps in the road?
With our stomachs full once again and our eyes already so satisfied from a morning of new sights to take in, we loaded the cars with some new snacks and hit the road one final time - the last stretch to Jeffreys Bay. We felt like at this point we had done enough venturing off the beaten track so we decided to stick to our main plan and the main roads. However, there was always a nervous eye or two checking up on the fuel situation. An hour or two along the drive, we reached the Tsitsikamma toll. None of us had any idea of what we were in store for over the next few hours of driving - the good and the bad.
Through the toll we were welcomed by more jaw dropping landscapes. But true to our group, the enjoyment of the road trip was short-lived - we ran into another problem, however this time it wasn’t with the car, it was with a passenger. The long hours in the car and twists and turns of the lonely roads had our driver experiencing vertigo. This wasn’t an occurrence we had even considered being a possibility, let alone planned for and with no medication in the car she was forced to endure the pain until we could pull over at our next stop. Some food, close to the Stormsriver bridge, did the trick and our trusty driver came back around quickly.
The home stretch
The final section of our drive was smooth sailing. Arriving in Jeffrey’s Bay with just a few hours of daylight left, we unpacked the car and decided to explore the sandy shores on our doorstep to welcome ourselves to what felt like a beloved home-away-from-home. After our home-cooked dinner plans were interrupted by Eskom, we headed into town for a causal supper out. Luckily the restaurants still had power and we got to enjoy a glass of wine and a much deserved meal in celebration of us reaching our destination!
Jeffrey’s bay in July is something every South African should aim to experience. The normally ‘quaint and quiet’ town comes alive with the influx of international surfers and supporters coming for the renowned J-bay open. Around every corner you can find something new; you can spend hours rummaging through the many local factory stores for ridiculous deals, explore the countless coffee shops and cafe’s that will transport you to an eclectic European town, and of course the magnificent sunrises that make it easy to hop out of bed at such an early hour.
For such a small town, it’s incredible that there really is something for everyone.
The road trumps the runway
As a first long-haul road trip, it was a success. We got to our final destination, albeit with many bumps along the way. We all learnt so much in those few days we spent on the road; about driving, about South Africa, about each other and about ourselves. That’s what a road trip is meant to do right? Never again will any of us miss the opportunity to fill up with fuel, nor will we fail to pack medicine supplies that can cover any unexpected emergency. We discovered so many people and places that weren’t planned for and made memories that we will be able to laugh about for many years to come.
I find it sad that many people believe road trips are an outdated or silly way to travel nowadays. For sure, flying to J-Bay would take less than a day and promise fewer stressful moments but there is just something about being cooped up with a couple of friends for a few days, exploring the open roads and stumbling into a few problems every so often that will always (at least in my eyes) remain timeless.
