Earlier this year when it was still mid-summer here in the Southern Hemisphere, I went on holiday with my boyfriend to his hometown, the coastal town of St Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. It is a half an hour drive from the more popular (but not as exquisite) Jeffreys Bay.
This is the only petrol/gas/fill up station they have there.
The town itself started out as a farm that turned into a village and now a full blown town. The old village part, that is now the central part of town, all the buildings have to be white with black rooftops (it used to be thatched roofing, but the specifications changed due to the obvious fire hazard and upkeep). A lot of the buildings still have the traditional thatched roofing.
The photo above provides a good example of how all the houses look in the town. This is the man-made canals that serve as an alternative "street" to get to the houses. Here we went on booze cruises and the first time, as well as the second time we did, I was awestruck by the man-made beauty intertwined with nature, that being the ocean water.
St Francis Bay is also known as a surfer's paradise. If there are killer waves, the town almost comes to a standstill as everyone will be in the water. There are also a few beaches to choose from as Cape St Francis is a separate town next door, but uses St Francis as its main town as Cape St Francis does not have its own shopping facilities or petrol station.
A photo I took of Cape St Francis while standing in St Francis Bay.
Thyspunt
We also had the pleasure of exploring the coastline of Thyspunt. You can only enter here if you know someone that has one of the few houses there to open the gate of the super long gravel road leading there. Here we got to snorkel in the clear rock pools and also took a little hike on the hills behind the bushes that is basically a mini desert.
Not the best photo, but this rock pool that we swam in was crystal clear.
Here we find ourselves in a cave between the boulders.
The "desert" behind the bushes over the hill.
On our last day, we spent the day on the beach in Cape St Francis. Absolute bliss.
On the highway back to Cape Town, this is all you see for the first part.
St Francis Bay is absolutely gorgeous. Coming from Cape Town, I have to admit I didn't expect much of the Eastern Cape, but this place blew my mind. The photos could not do it justice and for that, I apologise. I can't wait to go back and if you ever visit South Africa, this place should definitely be considered.