#gourits

[jacquesmarais]

FULL ALBUM LOADED ... Great to explore a brand new #outdoor playground for a change. Although I know the #MosselBay area pretty well, I've never been into the #Gourits Biosphere near #Herbertsdale. So what an absolutely pleasant surprise to discover the stunning @jakkalsvleiwines Estate this past weekend during their annual #Jakkalsvlei MTB & Trail Run Challenge. This superbly executed event - with three MTB distances and two #trailrun options - boasts a full-on family vibe. The 60km ride and 12km run are both challenging enough to make you feel you deserve your #Jackal Craft Lager, while loads of kids (and couch potatoes) took to the trails in the shorter events. Great wine, gourmet pizzas and burgers, lush lawns, chilled music ... you can't ask for much more after a solid day out on the #trail! There's more to the Herbertsdale area than lekker wine and kiff people, though. If you have a gravel bike, the remote and dusty dirt strips past Cooper, Goedemoed and Wolwedans Dam are sure to beckon. Plus, there is 4km of purpose-built #singletrack on the #Jakkalsvlei as a special pre-pinotage piece de resistance. We spent the evening at the sumptuous @wolwedansgamefarm and this is certainly another spot that needs to be pinned for a return visit. Lavish accommodation and endless views across the renosterbos plains make you feel as if you are a hundred miles from the rat race. So next time you're tripping the #GardenRoute, duck off the N2 near #Albertinia and head to #Herbertsdale. Once you hit those back roads life will be sure to slow right down ... and I'll put money on you not being disappointed 👌 All images shot on the @sonyalphasa #A7riii from @OrmsDirect #ishootwithorms #Jakkalsvlei #MTB #trailrun #MosselBay #Herbertsdale #SonyAlpha #SonyAfrica #Sonya7r3 #HelloSonyZA #extremesummer #SonyZA (at Jakkalsvlei) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqHQl8cnYX7/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1pi4dzap3xyu3

[craiglotter]

We still need to spend our day at the river for this holiday. Not today though, today the wind has reared its head and I don't feel like sandblasting my teeth. #river #gourits #decemberholiday #gouritz #gouritsmond #southafrica #anexploringsouthafrican (at Gouritsmond)

[craiglotter]

Last year the girls and I escaped with Chantelle’s folks to Gouritz (better known by its more common Afrikaans name, Gouritsmond) for a couple of days, ending off 2016 and ringing in 2017 with a proper little December Holidays getaway.

Gouritz is a small coastal holiday town situated at the Gourits River mouth, about 30 km away from Mossel Bay and on the same stretch of coastline as nearby Vleesbaai, Boggoms Bay, and a particular favourite of mine, Pinnacle Point.

Thanks to its access to both the Indian Ocean and Gourits River, Gouritz is a mecca for fishing, boating, and other water sports, and given its relatively remote setting, is a popular area for nature lovers to gather.

Also, come the December holidays, it gets packed to the rafters with people escaping to the coast!

After an enjoyable drive up with loads of short stops in between, the girls and I eventually reached the tiny town and joined up with Oupa and Ouma at our house for the next couple of days, the peculiarly named Drie Plekke Lekker.

(Sadly, Drie Plekke Lekker is rather… lacking on the maintenance front, meaning that despite the nice space, for now it is difficult to wholeheartedly recommend until someone steps in and fixes it up a little).

Over the next couple of days we enjoyed milktart pancakes, walks around the town, drives along the coast, swims in the river, lunch in the middle of nowhere, a trip on a train to Hartenbos, and a massive New Year’s Eve lamb spit braai in the caravan park with Bernard and the rest of Monty and Cheryl’s friends!

Jessica flew her kite, the girls played non-stop with their Oupa, and pretty much every morning kicked off with multiple games of Snakes and Ladders. (Oh, and as a bonus surprise, Chantelle managed to slip away from the guest house in order to drive up and join us for a day or two!)

So. Pretty impossible to say that we didn’t have a good time then.

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A great little off the beaten path holiday spot.

Related Link: Gouritz | Gouritsmond

Winding Down the Year in Gouritz (2016-12-30) Last year the girls and I escaped with Chantelle's folks to Gouritz (better known by its more common Afrikaans name, …

[craiglotter]

Gouritz River Bridge. Thanks to safety concerns there is no more bungie jumping, no more bridge swinging, no more bridge walking. All that is seemingly left are abandoned buildings slowly being battered and taken over by nature... #gourits #bridge #abandoned #bungie #n2 #southafrica (at Gouritz River Bridge)

[jessicasapsford]

[jessicasapsford]