The night after my stay with Brother Paul, I was in nearby Plettenberg Bay. Upon arrival in the early evening, the sky was grey and overcast, and the main street of this popular resort town was empty. After a quick walk around, I settled into a nice pasta dinner at Europa, a block from my backpackers (hostel). When I only expect to spend one day or night in a location, I don't tend to invest much energy in meeting new people. I went to sleep early, hoping for better weather to make my stay worthwhile.
In the morning, I awoke to partly cloudy skies with enough sunshine to showcase the natural beauty of the coastline. Checkout was at 10am, though the bus wouldn't arrive until 6pm, so I had the day to spend in town. I started with a walk past idyllic B&B's to a scenic viewpoint. There were a few surfers out, and more on the way, all donning full body wetsuits to stay warm.
The town was bustling with people and cars. I spent the rest of my time wandering around, eating two lunches out of boredom. The downside of the Baz bus is that if you want to see a place firsthand, even or just an hour or two, you have to commit to a full night's stay.
Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He’s been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.
Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:
- G Adventures for small group tours.
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Matthew Rowe
Sunday 18th of April 2010
After reading your post on Plettenberg bay, I felt that you did not get the full experience of our most wonderful town. Plett has a lot more to offer than coffee shops and restaurants. In the time you had your two lunches you could have done the hike on Robberg Peninsular one of the most scenic and adventurous places on the garden route with it's splendid views of the ocean, caves to explore, a colony of cape fur seals, fynbos and amazing bird life. Plett also offers other great activities like Scuba diving, Skydiving, Plett Game reserve, whale and dolphin watching, Cycling in the Harkerville forest, Monkey land (the largest free roaming monkey sanctuary in the world), Birds of Eden (also the largest bird Avery in the world with almost 3000 birds), Elephants rides or just interaction with these amazing gentle giants. What ever your circumstances you may find your self in while travelling in this wonderful town on the Garden route we will always make sure you have a time of your life and just to prove this I would like to invite you to come and spent a few days with us at Starling Village Backpackers on the house.
Matthew Rowe
Sunday 18th of April 2010
After reading your post on Plettenberg bay, I felt that you did not get the full experience of our most wonderful town. Plett has a lot more to offer than coffee shops and restaurants. In the time you had your two lunches you could have done the hike on Robberg Peninsular one of the most scenic and adventurous places on the garden route with it's splendid views of the ocean, caves to explore, a colony of cape fur seals, fynbos and amazing bird life. Plett also offers other great activities like Scuba diving, Skydiving, Plett Game reserve, whale and dolphin watching, Cycling in the Harkerville forest, Monkey land (the largest free roaming monkey sanctuary in the world), Birds of Eden (also the largest bird Avery in the world with almost 3000 birds), Elephants rides or just interaction with these amazing gentle giants. What ever your circumstances you may find your self in while travelling in this wonderful town on the Garden route we will always make sure you have a time of your life and just to prove this I would like to invite you to come and spent a few days with us at Starling Village Backpackers on the house.
Dave
Tuesday 20th of April 2010
Hey Matt, thanks for highlighting more of what Plettenberg Bay has to offer.
Lil Dave
Friday 21st of November 2008
Wow, it looks great there!
Lil Dave
Friday 21st of November 2008
Wow, it looks great there!
Tours in Cape Town
Wednesday 19th of November 2008
I just love Plett, lovely photos there, you really sound like you having an adventure, I would love to do something like this someday and before have kids.