After a short recovery turnaround in Johannesburg we catch a CemAir flight down to Plettenberg Bay (Plett), gateway to Tsitsikamma National Park and the Otter Trail.
A small local airline, CemAir has a few flights a week between O.R. Tambo and Plett. They also operate flights between other South African cities.
Plettenberg Bay
Plett is an upscale beach town with reasonably priced B&Bs and restaurants due to the current favorable exchange rate. We’ve been to the area before, click here, and thought it a good place to chill for a day or two before hitting the trail.
A hilly town, but if you find accommodations near the center you can easily walk to the beach, shops and restaurants. For airport pick-ups or going to the other destinations a bit further out of town such and Robberg Peninsula, Noel offers a fair priced taxi service. Noelharris962@gmail.com +27 060 419 0061 or +27 078 338 6540. Drop the first 0 when dialing from an out of country phone.
5th House
Centrally located and within walking distance, albeit with some steep climbs, to the beach, shopping and restaurants, this small B&B has just 3 nice rooms. The nicest is just off the common area balcony so we took the room in the back with the private balcony.
Great sea views from the balconies and common areas.
Rooms are medium sized and not too cramped. Our bathroom was on the small side with a shower in need of updating but the other two rooms have nicer bathrooms.
Breakfast is the SA usual cold buffet of yogurt, cereal, coffee and tea service with a hot breakfast choice of eggs, meat, mushrooms, tomato and toast.
Maryke is the real gem of the establishment, very kind and attentive. She even drove Don to the local clinic to have his knee aspirated before our hike.
Fat Fish
A fun, smart, casual, modern restaurant with good fish and great service. On a cold evening we had a great table in front of the fire.
Our server gave us good advice on suggesting the spicy chowder, our favorite dish of the evening. We also tried the fish cakes, the parmesan crusted king clip with a spicy butter, and tuna special ordered rare in the middle – lovely and tender.
Fabulous meringue with berries for dessert.
Nguni
A little more formal than the Fat Fish, the smallish dining room is in a cozy low ceilinged building with rustic wood floors and zinc tables. One wall is covered in green AstroTurf and red kudu antlers. Service was efficient and food well prepared.
Started with the roasted butternut squash and feta salad and the salt and pepper calamari. For mains we tasted the springbok fillet – ordered rare – perfectly cooked and tender and the kobo, a fish, served with potatoes and vegies.
September 11, 12 and 18, 2016
For links to all the posts in this series see the South Africa page.