Rob's mildly illegal beach cottage

rob the pharmacist very kindly took us to his family's beach cottage at mapansan, about 70kms north of the hospital. he and one of the doctors cycled there but me being slightly less keen on cycling drove along the back roads to get there. the cottage was built in 1995 when people were generally confused about who owned the transkei and now it is in danger of being knocked down by nature conservation. it sits halfway up the hill above a small bay and is visited by various sales people offering "wares" at bargain prices... big bargain prices. we bought the four lobster for R20. there was huge cyclone swell coming through all weekend so once again no surfing was done, im getting quite desperate for a surf. sharks point (pic 5) did work on the sunday morning but im not really that keen on 1o ft swells yet :( the weather is slowly improving with less rainy days now, the sunday was very warm indeed. once again the food was good and scenery well above par. if you want to come to the cottage you had better visit me this year while rob is still around :)

chintsa & east london

so for various boring reasons the first weekend of march was spent in chintsa, about half an hour from east london. i have to agree with the guide books and say that it is the best backpackers i have stayed in quality wise, with a great beach and lagoon thrown into the deal. the first night there we drove to east london to have supper at the smokey swallow, a top 50 in south africa resturant. it was divine, the best R220 rand i have ever spent on food. more specifically kudu in black cherry wine sauce followed by creme brule and double espresso. the rest of the weekend was sedate, shopping in east london in the morning (actually, that was crazy... shopping mall after payday, sheesh) and snorkelling in the afternoon, and then the rain came down. i have to go to that resturant again!