Tag Archives: Summertide Rambles 2020-2021

Summertide Rambles 23 December 2020

I think it’s more the inclement weather than the government-imposed restriction on beach-going in the Garden Route (an attempt at limiting crowds to curb the spread of COVID-19) that caused the beach at Nature’s Valley to be this deserted today.

The deserted beach at Nature’s Valley

We’ll be spending the next few days with close family in Jeffreys Bay but we’ll resume our summertide rambles through two of the Eastern Cape national parks on the 27th.

Summertide Rambles 22 December 2020

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As the sun sets this evening we’re enjoying the serenity of the next destination of our 2020 summertide ramble: Nature’s Valley in the Garden Route National Park. From our chalet we have a beautiful view of the Groot River and the Tsitsikamma forest and mountains beyond – who could ask for more?

Chalet 12 at Nature’s Valley Rest Camp

The view from chalet 12 at Nature’s Valley Rest Camp

Groot River and the Tsitsikamma

Summertide Rambles 21 December 2020

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A rainy day here on South Africa’s Garden Route today – always welcome in a dry country such as ours – so we took a short hike in the Woodville Indigenous Forest, where an 800 year old Outeniqua Yellowwood that towers above the canopy is the star attraction. There’s just something so magical about the smells in a rain-soaked forest.

Woodville Forest

Woodville Forest – Common Arum Lily

Woodville Forest

Woodville Forest’s giant Outeniqua Yellowwood (Podocarpus falcatus)

Summertide Rambles 20 December 2020

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It’s the fifth day of our 2020 Summertide Ramble, and we’ve moved again – this time about 200km due east to the Wilderness section of the Garden Route National Park, where our cosy log cottage in the Ebb-and-Flow Rest Camp has a lovely (if overcast and rather chilly at the moment) view over the wetlands of the Serpentine River just before its confluence with the Touw River.

Wilderness Ebb-and-Flow Cottage 13A

Serpentine wetlands

Serpentine River in front of our cottage

Touw River

Summertide Rambles 19 December 2020

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A focal point of the Bontebok National Park is the Breede River, serenely flowing along the park’s southern border. Visitors can kayak, fish and swim in the river or picnic and camp on its banks.

Breede River at sunrise

Breede River panorama

Breede River rapids at Lang Elsie’s Kraal

Summertide Rambles 18 December 2020

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After spending two nights in the Great Karoo, today we traversed four scenic mountain passes to move to the next destination on our 2020 summertide ramble. This is the view we enjoyed at sunset this evening from the verandah of our cosy little chalet in the Bontebok National Park.

Summertide Rambles 17 December 2020

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The open landscapes of the Karoo National Park really shows off the wildlife that inhabit this arid environment to great effect – in this case a beautiful gemsbok that we saw this morning just after sunrise.

Summertide Rambles 16 December 2020

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Our long awaited summer holidays have finally arrived, and we kick it off in the wide open spaces of the beautiful Karoo National Park – a little over 1,000km southwest of home.