J-Bay and Plett

Ah Jeffreys Bay - another idyllic beach spot, famous for its surfing. The world championships had been held there two months before we arrived, and the town itself is littered with factory outlets for all the top surf brands, Billabong, RipCurl, Quicksilver, etc.

We stayed at the Island Vibe backpackers, another well-known place, and again, deservedly so. It's set at the far end of the town atop a big huge sand dune looking back along the expansive sweep of the beach. We had a cool little chalet right at the edge of the dune, and so we were the closest spot to the crashing waves. Just outside were fantastic viewpoints where I'd watch sunsets or spot dolphins surfing the breakers. One afternoon we strolled down the dune to the beach and I went swimming and snorkeling while Sarah joined in the games the backpackers had organised (volleyball and silly races and the like).

But it was the bar that was the real highlight of Island Vibe. Yet again the backpackers place was known locally as the best place to hang out. As usual the whole place had the funky, laid-back beach resort feel to it, all wood finishes and big comfy sofas, with the main focus of attention always centred on the bar.

We met loads of people here and ended up staying five days I think. But the people who stood out by far the most were a gang of four Irish lads - two from Kerry and two from Cork. They were on a three week holiday together, and being South Africa they weren't your usual college students on a cheap bender to Spain or somewhere. They were all in their mid- to late-twenties and had successful careers - they even rented a BMW for their holiday (something one of them later regretted a little, as it wasn't any better than a normal, cheaper car) . But collectively they were the funniest guys I've ever met anywhere. Without being in any way pushy, loud or obnoxious, each night at the bar they just totally took over. In fact, the guys themselves were actually all rather quite and very humble, all just really down-to-earth sound lads, but collectively they bounced off each other beautifully.

For example, one night they won a big pool competition that had involved loads of people, locals and backpackers from all over the world. But there was absolutely no triumphalism by the lads - instead they simply took their winnings and quietly went up to the bar and bought shots for everyone that had played in the competition. The reaction from the other players was really quite something to witness - many of them simply couldn't understand what the Irish lads were doing, literally could not understand. The looks on there faces was priceless as it very slowly dawned on these people that the lads were simply there to have a bit of craic and were never interested in winning any money. I'll never forget the transformation on the face of an Israeli guy that went from anger, to irritated frustration, to confusion, to suspicion, to slow acceptance, to reluctant gratitude and finally when he realised everyone else was getting a shot too, to outright delight and backslapping camaraderie - priceless.

On our second night there a gang of five Irish girls arrived, and so of course all of us Irish became one big group. It might sound all very corny and a bit sad, all the Irish hanging around together, but it wasn't like that at all. We were all mingling with all the other backpackers and lots of the local lads who worked there, and apart from one of the girls and one of the boys, all the Irish were single, so there was a fair bit of chemistry going on. But I honestly think it's fair to say that given they were all Irish, they were genuinely more interested in just having a laugh than anything else.

Another night I heard literally the funniest story I've ever heard in my life. It was quite a long and detailed story (as all the best Irish-told stories are of course), and involved all four of the Irish lads interjecting along the way, but told in the main by Nailler. It was the tale of a surprise birthday present from three of the lads to the fourth, but involved an inflatable swimming pool being installed in his second-floor bedroom and all the attendant logistics problems that involved, followed by all the increasingly ridiculous and life-threatening shenanigans that followed. Again though it was the collective input from all four lads, and the natural storytelling talent of Nailler that brought tears repeatedly to my eyes during the retelling. I can honestly say that even the inimitable Frankie Dunne would have had nothing on these boys, but he would truly have loved been there for the telling.

Anyway, we all got on so well together that we ended up travelling a bit further with the whole Irish gang (as the girls had also rented their own car). We passed through Storms River and stayed to watch the lads do a famous bungie jump from one of the highest bridges in the world before meeting up again in Plettenburg Bay.

Plett, as its also known, is quite an upmarket town with lots of shiny shops and fancy restaurants, so we didn't hang around too long really (we stayed at Nothando Backpackers, not cheap, but lovely and friendly). I did do probably the best hike of the whole trip so far though - hiking around the Robberg pennisula. It was a truly spectacular hike along cliffs, down to beaches, across a tiny sandy isthmus and back along more cliffs and caves. Negator hadn't fancied it for some reason (I can't remember why), so she just dropped me off and picked me up again at the end of the day. Definitely something I'd love to do again - you can actually book an overnight stay at the very tip of the pennisula in a very rustic, isolated shack, which I reckon would have been brilliant. You'd have to bring everything for your stay, water food, firewood etc., so it's a genuine 'get away from it all' kinda place.

The other thing the Irish crowd wanted to do in Plett was a skydive. So we joined them at the drop zone and ended up spending the whole day there with them (the operation was very small, and they only had a single small plane that could take two tandem jumpers at a time, so turnaround time was slow). I tried to get a jump on my own but they were very strict about me needing to have my license, which I'd left at home by mistake. But Sarah was kinda contemplating doing a jump, so we stuck around - and no, I never cajoled or pushed her into doing it if she didn't want to. But after she'd seen a few of the girls and the lads do their jumps, and of course their elated, ecstatic reactions when they got down, she finally decided to give it a go.

I got to go up in the plane with Sarah, but only as a passenger as I wasn't allowed to jump (and there was no way I was going to forked out for a tandem and then be stuck strapped to someone else). The plane ride up was spectacular and we flew right over the Robberg hike I'd done the day before. Sarah's tandem master guy was brilliant and did his best to try and calm Sarah down. She was pretty much OK until the door opened and it was time to go - but as her video is testament, she really loved the whole experience. I've been telling her for seven years that she should try it (I think everyone should, as I think everyone truly wants to), but in the end it took a bunch of crazy paddies to finally convince her, and of course she'll never regret it now.

By the way, each and every one of the Irish guys who tried both the mad bungie and the skydive said they thought the skydive was miles and miles better than the bungie - no comparison in fact. Something I've heard from every other person I know who has done both, myself included. So if you think you want to try one of them (and of course, I really know that you want to try both!), then definitely go for the skydive.

Anyway, that night in Plett was needless to say rather a hyper night - everyone was on a bit of a high from their skydives. I suppose it culminated really with a couple of Irish boys reenacting the final scene from 'Dirty Dancing' - not a very pretty sight, but a damn funny one. We ended up that night back at the backpackers place we were all staying at - after nearly ending up at the beach with a weirdo local guy who'd latched onto us, but one of the skydive instructors warned to stay clear of him. I ended up chatting to that instructor for a lot of the night, as he was a really interesting guy who basically just travelled the world being a tandem master - cool I suppose, but he seemed a bit sad and lost to me.

From Plett we also did a tree-top zip-line thing. It looks kinda cool, where you climb a big tree, clip onto a high tension wire strung over to another tree and then zip down the wire. Then do the same thing to another tree, then another. It was actually quite boring really, although the setting in the forest was beautiful. So after that we rented bikes for the remaining half day and cycled back through the forest (renting the bikes from the Tube 'n Axe), which was nice but not great (I think it was a managed forest, as opposed to a natural, virgin forest).

So, it was from Plett that we bid farewell to all the Irish gang - they all had only short holidays and so had to move on quickly toward Cape Town. For me and Sarah it was just back to business as usual and a leisurely drive along the coast to the next lovely wee town - Knysna. It had been a hectic week-and-a-bit spent together, and to be honest it was kinda a relief to get back to just the two of us again.

Lastly though, I thought it was poignant of Nailler to say later on a FaceBook entry that he'd had the best holiday of his entire life in South Africa. He said he'd never been interested in the idea of taking serious time off to travel the world properly (even saying he that couldn't understand how ANYONE could), but that after this short three week trip he was now utterly convinced that that was exactly what he was going to do. The poignancy for me though comes from him telling me during the trip that back home he had been a really very quite guy who never went out much at all. He'd met one of the other lads (Rory, the guy who owned the pub), and they'd become friends and so came on holiday together. It was clear to me that he'd discovered something of his real, true nature whilst travelling in South Africa, and that he'd realised it was probably due to the nature of proper travelling itself (i.e. nothing really planned, nothing booked in advance, just bopping from one place to the next, and having little or no expectations and the sheer freedom that all brings), that had brought that nature out.

I really do hope he follows through on the travelling thing, before the 'machine' gets it's insidious teeth into him again and he settles back into normalcy (i.e. getting a mortgage, getting married, having kids, etc. when it then becomes 'impossible' to travel anywhere except packages trips to Benidorm or wherever - and anyway, no its not impossible I reckon, it just becomes more awkward, while still remaining every bit as important a thing to do).