Coffee Bay

Bomvu Paradise was the name of the backpackers we stayed at in Coffee Bay, one of only two - the other being The Coffee Shack, just across the road. It's another funky, rustic place with the same chilled out vibe as many of the other backpacker places in South Africa. It's also a bit of a stroll to the beach, having to leap-frog over stones to cross a small river - but as usual the awaiting sweeping beach was just reward.

Again we stayed longer than I would normally have anticipated, with days spent just lazing around or strolling to and along the beach, or watching pied kingfishers from atop the large sand dunes. There was a lovely expensive resort at the very far end of the beach, so of course that made a nice luxurious lunchtime stop one of the days.

The staff at Bomvu would organise little free 'events' each evening, and we partook of quite a few. Drumming lessions, sundowners on the adjacent hillside, free traditional Potjie (lovely slow-cooked game stew), local girls singing and dancing.

We also did a day trip to the next village along the coast, called The Hole in the Wall - named after a natural rock formation. Yet again this hike was magnificent, with the usual stunning coastal views on another beautiful day. After a relaxed lunch of BBQ'ed sandwiches gazing at the 'Hole' we got a lift back to Coffee Bay, sharing the van with the hostel's racist guard dog (he'd lean his head out of the window and bark furiously at any black people walking along the road - he never barked at white people, not very nice really).

Eventually it was time to leave, and it was here that we left young Luke. He had been stalling, wondering whether or not to ask for a short-term job at the backpackers. He also fancied one of the girls working there, but we had to leave him with neither issued resolved (I literally bumped into Luke a couple of months later in Cape Town, and both issues had found satisfactory outcomes in the end!).