We spent two weeks over the Easter holiday period in our “happy place” – our home in Mossel Bay, which lies at the start of the famous Garden Route in South Africa.

During our stay we ventured out to various places along the coast, west and east of Mossel Bay, and rediscovered just how beautiful the coastline is where the southern Cape meets the Indian Ocean.

My camera is seldom far from my side when travelling but I had left both my “good” cameras in Pretoria this time around so that they could be serviced and recalibrated by the technicians at Nikon – something that was long overdue after the frequent use to which I put my equipment and the rough life they endure in dusty and bumpy conditions most of the time.

So I was left with one option – my Iphone –  which I have found is a fantastic substitute when taking landscapes and such like, but not much help with bird photography.

What follows is a selection of photos of the beautiful spots we visited, all taken with my Iphone – for a change I will let the photos do most of the talking (Is that a sigh of relief I hear?).

This map of the region shows most of the places mentioned in the post :

Starting with the westernmost spot and heading east………..

Just click on any of the photos to open a larger view

Jongensfontein – small coastal holiday town near Stilbaai

Stilbaai (“Quiet Bay”) – Favoured by retirees and holidaymakers

Fransmanshoek Conservancy – unspoilt beauty near Vleesbaai

Mossel Bay – our favourite small town

Victoria Bay – best small bay with superb surfing

Sedgefield beach – a hidden treasure

And this is just a taste of South Africa’s beautiful coastline!