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Married to Nick for 13 years, with 2 children; Sabrina - 12 and Dominic - 11. I am a girlfriend through and through in that I love girly things and anything that celebrates the essence of being a woman. I love vintage, shabby chic, the country and try my best to do my bit for the environment. SO yes...we have 3 bins in our house and try our best to recycle! I believe that with everything in life, the closer we stick to nature, the better off we'll be. I would love to have a balance in life, but have learnt that balance is not always possible, so strive for significance instead, in the hopes that that will be just as meaningful, and the rest will hopefully follow.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

5th July – Day 4 – J-Bay Sunset beach and sea shells on the seashore….


The Stemps in the square outside Commemoration Hall.

The steel drum show in Grahamstown before lunch was INCREDIBLE! The children's facial expressions were a PICTURE - sadly one we couldn't photograph due to no cameras allowed into the church where the performance was held, but what a show! The children got to play on the instruments after the show, and for Dominic in particular, I knew this was one of the highlights he wouldn't forget. Then onto J-Bay

Ok – I never thought I would ooh and ahhh about J-Bay, but you know what they say - NEVER say NEVER!! I guess maybe because everyone talks about J–Bay as one of the 'places to be'. Personally, I prefer exploring quaint little out of the way places, yet to be discovered, as opposed to the more “commercialised” spots. However, I must concede that there’s a reason why J-Bay is “THE BUSINESS” – because it is!

I think overall, over the course of our trip, one of the biggest surprises was not encountering the EXTREME cold we were ASSURED by EVERYONE we spoke to, we would face - I have NO DOUBT it exists, but everyday, we were in t-shirts, basking in the sun, only changing when the sun set. I have always believed that the good weather follow my DH and I, as we have always been so blessed on trips with the kind of weather that has allowed us to make the most of our holiday - this trip was no exception. So all the ESSENTIAL - "LIFE SAVING" devices I packed (like heater..well anything/everything else that emits heat…like for example a hair straightner?? ..giggle) came to naught. We arrived at J-Bay, and landed a site right on the beach. Within 10 minutes of us arriving, we were all settled in our chairs (the joys of a campervan!), with sundowners in hand. There are many golden moments in life, and this was definitely one of mine - watching our children play on the sand, which had THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SHELLS i have ever seen on a beach, and experiencing yet another unbelievably beautiful sunrise with our friends - the children camped on the beach till after dark…

Memorable moments:-

- our children being able to experience their first show at the Grahamstown festival
- the character of Grahamstown
- finding this beautiful spot - JBay!
- shells, shells and more shells
- SUNDOWNERS under a gorgeous African sunset - bush and beach....sigh
- settling for a fish and chips dinner to end of the evening
- the shell museum
- the billabong factory shop
- octopus and starfish!!!!
- watching whales at "The Supertubes" - famous for the Billabong surf competition which sadly we missed by a few days.
- the view from our campervan (bedroom) window

Our family decided to stay in J-Bay for an extra night - sometimes you just have to revell in a good thing. On day 7 we went DUNE BOARDING before leaving J-Bay and moving on to Tsitsikama National Park. En route we stopped in Cape St Francis and St. Francis Bay - and then visited the lighthouse and the penguins.

3 comments:

  1. You have certainly had a wonderful holiday!!

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  2. Stunning pics Beryldene. One can see that you all had a great battery recharge break.
    Have a great weekend.
    Hugs
    Desire

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