We started our day with some delicious breakfast at our guesthouse. Our host was very talkative and had lots of advice for us about fun things to do along our route as well as interesting things to say about South Africa as a whole. We enjoyed chatting with her before heading out for our first adventure of the day.

The rain had stopped, so we enjoyed getting some photos from the deck of our guesthouse before taking off. 

We started by going to an attraction in Mossel Bay itself, the Dias Museum. 

The museum helps tell the history of Bartolomeu Dias and exploration around the southern tip of Africa. In 1488 Dias became the first European navigator to round the cape. 

Most interesting in the museum is the replica of Dias’s caravel, the ship that carried him and his crew. The ship was built in Portugal and sailed on the same route to commemorate the 500 year anniversary of the original trip. So though it is not the original, it at least made the same voyage. It’s definitely not a large ship, so impressive to imagine sailing it all that way. 

We thoroughly enjoyed the museum, walking around the grounds as well, which allowed me to spot a couple of new birds I hadn’t seen before. We also stopped in the shell museum which was part of the complex. 

Finished up at the museum, we headed back to the guesthouse to get our car and then took off down the coast.

This part of the coast is known as the Garden Route, and is definitely as beautiful as the name suggests. We enjoyed coastal views before arriving in Knyssna, our first stopping point.

We walked out to Thesen’s Island, intending to stop at a bakery for lunch. Unfortunately the bakery was closed, but it was still an enjoyable walk out along the water.

Back in town we found another bakery called All That Jazz to grab a couple of things to eat and then picked up some drinks at the grocery store nearby. 

After finishing our lunch, we headed back to our car and back down the road again. We stopped for the night in Plettenburg Bay where we stayed at the Dolphin Circle Bed and Breakfast. We dropped our things off before taking off to go get in a hike before the sun set.

We headed to Robberg Nature Reserve and paid to go in. We only had a short time before the gates closed and the sunset, but we opted to do a short loop as it was a beautiful location. 

Most spectacularly, there were hundreds of fur seals jumping in the surf. According to a local with the storms recently a lot of their resting places had been disturbed by the abnormal waves. Regardless it was an amazing sight. 

We did the shortest loop of the park and then headed back to our car as the sun was going down. Back in Plettenburg Bay we walked down to a restaurant called Nineteen 89. We shared some Tempura Prawns and Fried Halloumi with beet and avocado hummus, balsamic, and figs. Both were delicious. I had a burger for dinner and a berry mojito for a drink. All in all a tasty and delicious meal! 

Back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest. Then off to Gqeberha the next day!