After watching a beautiful sunrise, I went straight back to sleep for about thirty minutes before it was time for breakfast. We had breakfast and afterwards, I was really sad to leave Port Elizabeth.

Jeffrey’s Bay is about an hour from Port Elizabeth. We stopped at the Jeffrey’s Bay Beach. It’s a beautiful, clean beach and people love surfing here. We found Jan se Gat under a “what to do in Jeffrey’s Bay” google search and so we set off to find it. We got there, it was R30 entry per person and after a six minute drive and a short walk you get to a small waterfall and a waterhole. If you’d like to swim here then you can but definitely be cautious. Personally, I would’ve given Jeffrey’s Bay a miss.

After an hour’s drive, we reached Storms River. It has lots of trees and a landmark called the Big Tree. It costs R24 per person to enter. After a 500m walk, you reach the Big Tree which is +- 1000 years old, 36m tall, with an average circumference of 8.5m, it was beautiful (I have a thing about trees as in I love them).

Twenty five minutes later, we were at Tsitsikamma National Park. We got to the Stormsriver Mouth gate, it was R70 entry per person. From the beginning, I was blown away by the beauty of this national park. The ocean was a deep blue with waves crashing against the rocks and it was honestly one of the most beautiful oceans I have ever seen.

We parked and walked down to the Stormsriver Mouth. There is a small beach to swim in, the water was 18°C but because it was so hot, it definitely felt warmer.

We booked a boat ride for R280 per person. It was really windy so our guide Sam warned us to be prepared to be splashed with water. It was a bit daunting because I really didn’t know what to expect but it was one of the best experiences of my life. After being splashed with the salt water, we got to the Stormsriver Mouth. It was extremely beautiful, it’s filled with marine life but no crocodiles. We got to a cave on the side and there was a ladder there which was used by people to get to a tunnel that is 60m long. Sam said that there’s also different kinds of bats that live in the tunnel. The boat can only go about 500m in before the water gets too shallow so at this point we turned around and got splashed by the ocean once again. It’s a thirty minutes experience.

But the adventures weren’t yet over in Tsitsikamma. We had to do a 1km hike/walk through a forest to the suspension bridge. This walk is not for the faint hearted and everyone’s faces while walking are filled with concentration and purpose. You see beautiful views of the ocean as you walk. Walking across the bridge feels safe and the views are spectacular because you’re literally walking across the ocean. You can’t help but think that if this world is so beautiful, then how beautiful is Jannah. The bridge is 77m long and 7m high while the River Mouth’s width is 69m and 9m depth. It’s all fun and games walking down to it but going up is a whole different story. We walked the 1km back. This experience was honestly worth it.

We spent a little more time just looking at this beautiful ocean and then it was time to get back to our road trip. I was so sad to leave and I would definitely go back to Tsitsikamma in an instant again.

One hour later, we were in Plettenberg Bay. Our first stop was Lookout Beach which is beautiful and sandy and blue. Then we went to Beacon Island Beach. This is definitely an Umhlanga Sands/Cabana Beach vibe and it brought back lots of childhood memories.

After a bit of a mix up with our accommodation, we checked into an Airbnb in Plettenberg Bay. We were exhausted and after some home made khari kitchri, we went to sleep after esha.

Step count: 10 767 (yes! 100 discovery points)