We had family from Johannesburg visiting us last week to spend Christmas with us.
Many people from Johannesburg often get frustrated with "bad weather" at the coast and either become grumpy or in some cases, even pack up and go home.
They need warm "sunny beaches" to make their holiday worthwhile.
On the one hand, I can understand it. They have obviously been dreaming about long, lazy days lying on the beach, getting a nice tan.
Rainy and windy days obviously are quite contrary to what they were dreaming about.
To me personally, even before we moved down here, I couldn't care less about the weather. To me, no matter what the weather conditions are like, it has elements of its own to be appreciated.
Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that I just cannot see myself lying in one spot for hours, just doing nothing...except for frying myself...lol!
This is what I appreciated about my 17-year old niece, who also came down to visit us. She just loves nature, irrespective of the weather.
As a little girl, she grew up in Cape Town and developed a natural love for the ocean.
But my brother-in-law got transferred to Johannesburg and she has spent the biggest part of her life, growing up in Johannesburg. She has clearly not lost her love for nature and the ocean though. They still visit Cape Town at every opportunity they can get.
Even though we had rainy weather over the past week, I had an awesome time taking her around, showing her some awesome sights we have in and around our area.
On Sunday, we decided to take her down to the South Coast.
I was aiming to go down south as far as possible to one of the more remote beaches to get away from the crowded beaches and holidaymakers. We were all in agreement that we would prefer some peace and quiet, just enjoying the ocean.
But, we got as far as Amanzimtoti where the traffic came to a complete standstill. This was where Karin (my niece) started having a giggle at us "Durbanites". We had no clue what was going on.
I mean...we have heavy traffic during peak hours, but coming to a complete standstill...something is wrong somewhere. Yet, she reminded us that in Johannesburg this is an everyday occurrence.
Nonetheless, I decided to take the first possible turn-off I could get and we headed for Amanzimtoti's main beach.
I didn't want to get my hopes up, as Amanzimtoti is also a very popular holiday destination and I thought it would be crowded...which was not exactly what I had in mind.
But to my surprise, we found a parking spot relatively easy.
There was some activity on the main beach, but nothing major. I think this was due to the "bad weather" and clearly with some rain to be expected soon.
While my wife and her mom went to the restaurant to have some coffee, my niece and I headed for the beach.
We easily found a spot that was nice and quiet just south of the main beach.
The wind became stronger and the clouds started moving in. When we found these rocks we decided that it would be the perfect spot to start taking photos.
Karin was clearly also keen on taking photos. So, at times I also handed the camera to her, and between the two of us, we managed to get some nice shots.
The currents were strong and the sand was clearly visible in the surf as the tide started coming in.
The waves started getting bigger and breaking closer to the shore.
I just loved to watch those waves come rolling in...
I also loved the contrast of the white surf against the background of the grey sky.
In the next photo, you can clearly see how the clouds were coming in and how the wind was becoming stronger with the spray on the surf.
The tide was clearly coming in and the waves started breaking closer and closer to the shore.
Waves came rushing in towards the rocks.
By now, the waves started getting bigger and bigger.
It was getting darker as the clouds got lower and thicker, and the white surf on the rocks gave me the opportunity to capture this moment.
And this one...
As the weather got "worse", I managed to get some more photos capturing that "special atmosphere" that goes hand-in-hand with that type of weather...but I'll save those for another post.
So, that's all for today, folks.
Thank you for reading my post. I really do appreciate it.