Steemit Engagement Challenge-S12W5 | Favorite Travel Destination

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“What can you see?” This is the question my cousins would ask when we lay on the green grass as kids, looking up at the clouds in the African sky. They could always see sheep, faces, and smoking chimneys.
I, on the other hand, could only see the world. The clouds took me to places far… far away.

Till today I like to visit these places that are far away. The only difference is that it is now no longer dreams but reality.

My favorite travel destination

Reality, however, always brings me back to my own country. There is no beauty better to be found than in my own country, South Africa.

Today I take you on a travel trip on the Garden Route, a road trip that will take you through a breathtaking scenery of unspoiled beaches, mountains, and forests with unique flora and fauna.

Google maps

The Garden Route stretches from the town of Mossel Bay in the west for +/- 300 km to the east, where it ends at the Storms River. It is a route traveled by many tourists and locals each year.

The route consists of twelve bigger towns and numerous small villages in between. I am lucky as I have visited all these towns and villages.

Our stopover is going to be in the town of Plettenberg Bay.

Plett, as we call it, has been our home away from home for many years. We would visit it at least twice a year, with the summer holiday stretching over two months. It is the one-holiday destination I will go back to at any time.

Not only is Plett rich in history, with seafarers like Bartolomeu Dias trading goods with the locals as far back as 1487, but there was also evidence found of Middle Stone Man that lived there in caves more than 100,000 years ago. These caves are open for visitors.

Plettenberg Bay's specialty is nature.

Years ago Plett was known as the “playground” of the rich and famous. In later years, it became a “hotspot” for holidaymakers, with three beautiful beaches, fantastic sunrises and sunsets, scenic drives, and plenty of entertainment. With two rivers, the Bitou and the Keurboomsriver, it offers so much for visitors. A must is a ferry ride down the Keurbooms River, a horse trail, hiking in the Keurbooms Nature Reserve, a visit to one of the sanctuaries, the whale lookout point, and a game drive.

Plett is where pods of dolphins can be seen in the mornings and late afternoons; whales give birth to their little ones while seagulls make their nests in the largest mainland colony in South Africa; divers dive with the seals, and fishermen catch those big ones that always get away.

Robberg Nature Reserve, at the "point" of Plett, is a popular destination and a must-visit for many.

Not only is it a nature reserve, but it also has breathtaking views. It is also a marine protected area and a South African National Monument, Nelson’s Cave.

Plett is also known as part of the Fynbos region. Fynbos is the vegetation and home of our national flower, the Protea. More than 4,500 different species of plants can be found on Robberg.

A special moment

Going to Plett always has its special moments.

Although our holiday home is in Keurboomstrand, which is a small holiday village only 10km from Plett, we drive to Plett for shopping, swimming, and entertainment.

Special moments are those early morning drives to take my husband to the boat club, which is at the main beach, Beacon Island. It is always a good excuse that we only have one vehicle and that I must take him. It is time for me to join my “me time.”

With him long gone behind the breakers of the ocean, I sit there looking at the sunrise, writing in my diary, and doing my daily devotions.

It is with huge excitement that I return later to watch him beach the boat. This time, with the rest of the family, all fingers crossed that the catch was good and that there would be fresh fried fish on our plates later that evening.

Plettenberg Bay is a never-ending holiday, as you will always return.

➜ All images except for Google maps are my own
➜ Information obtained from years of visiting

I invite: @shahidalinaz @nexcis @sailawana @aviral123

CC: @isha-rehman @mehwish-almas @jesaf7

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