We started our day really early and left Bloemfontein around 3:15am. The stars in the Bloemfontein sky were beautiful and bright and made me want to live in a farmhouse so that I see the stars every night.

We read fajr on the road and the sunrise brought a whole new day filled with possibility. I’m constantly in awe of how beautiful the sky is, it’s always changing and always perfect.

The only stop we made on the way was Gariep Dam. The area around the dam was quaint and sweet with little boats on the dam which looked like a postcard from the olden days. All the dam walls were open and it was surely a sight to see. The best way to see the dam is to drive across the bridge which is a little way down. So it takes a bit of exploring to find.

After slipping in and out of sleep, we reached Port Elizabeth at 11am. We checked in at Garden Court King’s Beach. 10/10 would recommend. The staff are friendly, the hotel room is clean, the beds are comfortable and it has a sea view.

We were pretty hungry so we decided to have an early lunch at This Is Eat. We bought prawns, kingclip, hake and calamari. The portions are very big so one portion can definitely be shared by at least two people. The food was really good and everything was fresh.

If there’s one thing you need to know about Port Elizabeth, it’s that you will experience all four seasons in one day.

We first stopped at Sardinia Bay Beach. It has sand dunes that you need to climb up and then down to get to the beach. It’s absolutely beautiful and luckily for us, there wasn’t anyone else there.

After that we drove through Malabar. Nothing exciting happened here.

When we got back to the city, we drove along the beachfront. The beaches are absolutely beautiful and if we had more time in Port Elizabeth, I would’ve loved to swim here.

After this, we went to the Boardwalk Mall, it’s a unique little mall inside a beautiful building. They have your usual stores. Woolworths iced coffee was much needed (and they give you 10% if you swipe your woolies card).

The day wasn’t over yet and we went to Summerstrand Beach which is my favourite. It has a little cove which took my breath away when the waves hit. We spent quite a bit of time just soaking in the fact that we were in this beautiful place.

We ended the day watching the sunset from the boot of our car and eating cheese bombs from Roccomama’s.

All in all, Port Elizabeth pleasantly surprised me and I’m so excited to see everything else because the garden route is just starting.

Step count: 14 531 (high key happy)