Andy and I decided it was time to flee Mount Frere for the weekend and head for the coast.

A&A at the Indian Ocean

Someone suggested Margate, which looked even crappier than Atlantic City (if that’s possible), but when Scilla told us about the bungalows where the Umngazi River meets the Indian Ocean, well, we were convinced. Think we made the ride choice?

View from the Umngazi River Bungalows

Andy outside our bungalow

The 3 hour drive to the coast was peaceful and breathtaking, and it was great to put thoughts of work to rest for 24 hours. We arrived at noon, managing not to kill any of the cows idly standing in the middle of the road, and immediately set off for the beach. It’s still off season here, and we had the beach entirely to ourselves, which was an absolute dream. The waves were crashing, but warm, and we paddled around for hours.

Purple lobster tail on the beach!

The next day we did the same, but decided to go for a hike, too. They told us we couldn’t go on a hike w/o a guide, but guides be damned!!! We did it anyway, and the only downfall was forgetting to put on enough sunblock (sorry Mom!).

Hiking along the Umngazi River

It was breathtaking. I hope we’ll be able to go again some weekend