Our thought: "You know, nothing beats a road trip!" So, a road trip it was.
The plan: Drive southeast through Kwa-zulu Natal out to the coast, back west to the Drakensburg mountains, down and up...up...up to Lesotho, and finally drop southeast again to take in part of the Eastern Cape. Basically, it goes: coast, mountains, coast...then all the way back home again. About 3,500 kilometers in all. Whew! (Don't worry, in between bouts of driving we managed to squeeze in some sights.)
First Stop: St. Lucia.
St. Lucia is a town on the northeast coast of South Africa very near the Mozambican border. It's small. Six streets in all. It's also very clean and extremely inviting after a long day on the road. Since everyone in St. Lucia is either a tourist or in the tourism business, it's pretty safe to walk around...even at night. I must admit, we relished being able to walk around the town past buildings that were open for business past 6pm. Plus our B&B was incredible...clean sheets, supportive mattresses, en suite bathroom, ultra-powerful air conditioner and a private deck!
Is this heaven?
I mean, we were thrilled just to be able to walk on sidewalks again. But, air conditioning! Wow! I think we could have ended the vacation after that first night and been completely content.
Little did we know that the best was yet to come...
The next morning we found our way to the ocean. The Indian Ocean!
Our introduction to one of our new favorite oceans was via a wonderful, hidden, little place called Mission Rocks. This is a beach littered with huge rock formations from which people fish, sunbath, and simply soak in the stunning surroundings (alliteration, I love ya!).
However, if you turn north and walk for about 300 meters, you'll find a beach that looks like something out of the "Pristine and Untouched" section of National Geographic (no, that's not an actual section in the magazine, but it should be...and this place should be featured).
Ahhh, just breath it in. To be completely honest, we were surprised how much we had missed the ocean. OK, it's not the same ocean, but it managed to rejuvenate our souls just the same. I can still remember the smell. (Wait. No, that's our community pool. Oh, well.)
We spent most of the morning catching warm waves,
or running from them,
exploring the rocks,
losing our feet in the sand,
and trying never to forget this place.
Yes, this is heaven (minus the sunburns).
