S1 - Ep 327 - Port Alfred - An Adventure Filled with Charm and Scenic Beauty!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2023
- Our trip to Port Alfred was a delightful coastal adventure filled with charm and scenic beauty. As we embarked on our customary long drive through the town, it became evident that this was no ordinary destination. Although the Kowie Museum at the old Port Alfred Station was unfortunately closed, we relished the opportunity to explore the surrounding area on foot, taking in its unique ambiance. The sight of the old Municipal Market building left us in awe of its architectural splendour, with a fervent wish that it would one day be restored to its former grandeur. A drive through the marina proved to be a mesmerising experience, immersing us in the allure of the waterfront. The pristine beach and our accommodation provided the perfect retreat, ensuring that our time in Port Alfred was truly unforgettable. #DustBugs #adventuretravel #southafrica #southafricavlog #travelongravel #easterncape #portalfred
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It was one of my favorite little towns to visit growing up. Lovely to see it again and so clean. EC greenery is a gem in that part of our land 🎉
Green just for you! 🌳💚 I'm glad you were reminded of happy times in your childhood. I didn't know it when I was young, but it sure is a great place to visit and I'm sure to live in too! I'm glad you came back to see it with the two of us! 🚙🤩
It was a wonderful treat....thank you so much. I grew up on the sunshine coast🏖🏄♂️ so i know the area well. Cant wait to see where you off to next🚗🚙🚗🚙🚗🚙🚗
My wife and I, both in our mid seventies, are inspired so much about your travels in our beautiful country that we've decided to visit all those dorpies we drove past earlier in our lives instead of going overseas. We really enjoy your videos. Thank you!!
Please come and visit NZ if you can.😄
@Achmat Salie Thank you, I'm happy to hear you enjoy our videos so much! 🚙🤩 I think your plan is a fantastic one and I guarantee you that you'll love every single place you get to. Each one has something different to offer and there is always, always, always something beautiful to find! Enjoy and safe travels! 😍🇿🇦
Loadshedding affects us only as far as cellphone signal in most smaller places is concerned. It's also difficult not to have electricity in the evenings once we arrive at our accommodation, but we've learnt to cope and make do with whatever backup plan we can make. 🤷🏻♂️💡 We will certainly not let that stop us from travelling! 🚙😁
I totally love your idea ❤ and agree. Time for the roads less travelled
@@DustBugsTravel There is a saying in South Africa "A Boer maak n plan ". Still it saddens me to see what has become of the South Africa that I knew in the 1960's and 70's.
My uncle is retired in Port Alfred. He is a member of the Crochet Club. He also used to own a boat. Now he is in a Retirement Village in Port Alfred. Many wealthy retirees in Port Alfred. That bridge reminds me of the bridge at Balclutha here in NZ. What a beautiful mirror reflection on the water. Similar to the mirror lakes on the way to Milford Sound. I am amazed at how clean Port Alfred is. A credit to them. Sadly potholes are not being repaired in most rural towns in SA. Will forward this video to my uncle. Those pizzas looked lekker. Think of all the carbs. Lol. Excellent drone filming Curtis. Your drone skills are improving all the time. I can just envisage the two of you on the Crochet lawn. Wat van n bietjie Jukskei ?
Your uncle is a lucky man to live in this beautiful place! I'm sure he enjoys the odd game of croquet, it certainly looked like a fun pastime! 🏑 I'll chat to my darling wife about jukskei and hear what she comes back with! 😜 Those pizzas were indeed delicious and fortunately had very thin crusts, not that we worry about carbs when we travel! 😁🍕 I appreciate you sharing our video, thank you! 🚙🤩
I hope all is well in Cape Town and the Strand with the flooding
All is well in Strand, thank you! The Lourens River has subsided for the most part and the ocean is working around the clock to spit out all the debris on to the beaches. 🌊 There are folks in our area that have suffered major losses and damage though and our thoughts remain with them. I don't think we've seen the end of the rain just yet. 🌧️🤷🏻♂️
Best wishes to all have suffered, but I am pleased you are both OK. All the best from Port hedland Australia 🇦🇺 😊
29:30 I love the colour of the sun ❤
The beautiful late afternoon sun and its golden light! 😍☀️ I'm so happy you enjoyed that!
And yet again an awesome video of your travels - this time closer to home 😁I’m not sure if you mentioned this fact and I missed it , or if you were not aware of it - Every year the Washie 100 - ( 100 miles) marathon starts at 5pm on a Friday night in Port Alfred ( at the bridge (if it hasn’t been changed) and the runners run to Buffs Club in EL - the cut off time is 26hours after the start . This year the Washie takes place on 28th July . Thanks again for an awesome interesting and informative video ! 👏👏
Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed our visit to Port Alfred! 🚙⛵ Thank you for the info about the Washie 100! 🏃🏻🏃🏻♀️ I've heard about it before, but didn't know the details. It sounds wild and my hat is off to those who complete such a gruelling race! 😨 Six weeks to go and they're off!
Thank-you for this episode, incredibly interesting through your lense, I too cannot believe how much the town has grown since I have been there almost 15 years ago. The town boasts one of the best flying schools in the world and attracts many international students. My Mom holidayed there as a child and often speaks of the trip by train and the wonderful times that she had there. There's probably nothing better than to be able to sit on a bench overlooking the sea at sunrise just before setting off to work. The sun shining through those clouds was magnificent as was the mirrored waters and your stunning drone footage. I cannot wait for tomorrow's episode 😊
Port Alfred is a pretty place with interesting history thrown in for good measure! 🚙😁 Super cool about the flying school, thank you for sharing that, we had no idea! I can only imagine the good times your Mom must've had as a child! 🌊🏖️ The gentleman watching the sunrise was one of a few we saw admiring the beauty. 🌅 What a wonderful way to start any day! Glad you enjoyed this one!
I love all your great videos of our beautiful country. I was only in Port Alfred once in the early 1970s. It's really changed. But it's still a beautiful place with the river that goes straight into the sea. Only one thing to add...what a great place to wake up in the morning! Thanks again for the stunning video.
Thank you for your kind words, we appreciate that! 🚙🇿🇦 I can only imagine how the town has changed sine you were there last! It seems to have become a lot bigger in the almost ten years since we were there last And you're right, we woke up that morning to catch the sunset from Kelly's Beach and it was spectacular! 🌊🌅
Always nice and interesting to travel with you. Thanks
And it is always our pleasure to have you travelling along with us, thank you for joining us again! 🚙😁
So so sorry you missed out on the Kowie Museum. It's a private museum run by volunteers hence the short opening periods. The roof is about to undergo repairs and painting so will be watertight after years of drips causing damage to items. It has fantastic exhibits and information. It contains history of the 1820 Settlers, items from early Port Alfred homes, 43 Air School, shipwrecks (of which there are many), railway memorabilia, and chiefs and history. Really worth a visit.
It is what it is, we're used to finding places closed at the random times and on the random days we arrive. Fortunately there are always other things to see in the place of whatever we couldn't or didn't see. I was super happy to see the train tracks, as well as the nameboards, we always love those. I hope some of our viewers will pay it a visit when they're in the area next. It certainly sounds like a good stop! 🚙🚂
Interesting
I'm so facinated by all the places you going to,that we sometimes forget what a beautiful country we living in,thank you for sharing your videos, I've become one of your followers, 🙏🌺👍
Thank you and welcome to our channel! 🚙🇿🇦 There is indeed an abundance of beautiful places in this country of ours and we're happy to share all that beauty with you! 🤩
Hi you two! What a surprising trip under blue skies into the Sunshine Coast this is! Trust you to stumble upon an old railroad! The old buildings of the museum/station and the market are such beautiful examples of their time. It seems there is not a single place where the view is not exceptional with those wonderfully shaped trees everywhere. As Sonia rightly said, it looks like an artistical painting. That restaurant at the marina made me want to be there NOW!
Thanks again Sonia for filling in the history.
The sunset walk at the channel and the beach was stunning. I'm so glad that you had time for cuppas in the cute garden of your stayover before you took off next morning. Your drone views at sunrise were stunning!
Thank you so much for this outing, I'm ready for the next one!
Keep safe!
We just loved the old station and market buildings and were so happy to see the station turned into a museum. Now they need to find a purpose for the market too! 🤞🏻The mirror lake and the marina were both feasts for the eyes, especially in the fading light of the late afternoon! ⛵🌳 We were up early that day and enjoyed our cuppas as we listened to the town waking up. And we're so happy to have caught the sunrise! 🚙🌅
Lived here for 6 months as a Dutch family. Port Alfred has a special place in our hearts. Will return regularly.
How nice is Port Lfred. Was there many moons ago. Really a town with a nice character. The drone footage added so much value to the viewing. Thank you for this one. Well done. My seat is warm for the next one!
Your seat better be warm for the next one, it was quite chilly! 🚙😁 Glad you also thought Port Alfed was a pretty town. It has a holiday vibe and it's hard not to have a good time there! And you know I'm always happy to hear that you enjoyed the drone shots! 🤩
I always enjoyed Port Alfred on my travels. Once again, I must say, that it certainly has spread since those days. Its actually fun to remember these things through the eyes of a small child. I remember how we would pull over at the beach, and there was this yellow plastic mug and warm water, and my mom was very cross when I wouldnt drink it and said it tasted like wee! That big bridge really impressed me, and I used to dream about it. So glad to see they are preserving the station as a museum. You really caught the marina at a beautiful time of the evening. Hmmm...yes, definitely a few paintings here! Thank you for a beautiful video
I had a chuckle at the yellow mug with warm water, I can identify! 🥤That bridge was our standout memory and it still is! It's simply gorgeous and looked so beautiful against the sky. It would've been great to catch the museum open, but at least I was able to see the tracks and the nameboards, we're always happy about those! Happy you were reminded of special times in your life by our video! 🚙🤩
Love to travel along with you guys it's amazing to see such beauty ❤❤❤❤
Indeed incredible beauty along this coastline. It's great for us to have you along for the ride! 🚙🤩
@@DustBugsTravel thanks I appreciate it
Very nice to see Port Alfred again..we had friends staying there and visited them a few times. Very nice holiday town with lots to do. Brings back a lot of memories...thanx
The way you describe the times you had in Port Alfred, tells me that you had some good times there with special people. 🚙😊 It certainly is a beautiful place. Thank you for taking the drive with the two of us back there, we always appreciate your company!
Sonia loves languages I can tell, she can pronounce African language words very well ❤️
She says I should thank you for your most kind compliment. 😊 She does indeed love languages so much and often speaks fondly of her Northern Sotho teacher at her High School in Pretoria. 📚 She wasn't exposed to Xhosa until she met me and we practise the clicking sounds together. Her tongue still sometimes struggles with those! 🥰
Thenk you for taking me on a tour to this beutiful place !
Our pleasure! We look forward to sharing many more beautiful places with you! 🚙😍
😂More dankie dat ek weer die vooreg het om saam met julle te ry dis so intresant ❤😊baie dakie
It is our privilege to be able to share our travels with you and I'm always happy to hear that you enjoy our videos! 🚙😍
Hello again, yes good old PA. Spent many week ends there when hubby worked there. Would pack kidlets in car & visit him instead of him coming home for week ends . The varsity students used to congregate @ the Kowie river annualy for some function or the other. Once the juice started flowing they'd be brave enough to climb the bridge before being reprimanded by the 👮😂. Thank you once again for an amazing trip.
I have no doubt that you know this town very well, having spent so much time here in the past! Interesting those tales of the students scaling that bridge! 😨 No doubt they were part of the reason there are now warning signs posted not to jump or dive off it. It's a stunning bridge which absolutely dominates the view from every which way you look at this pretty town! 🚙🌉
Hiya you two, Warren and I having following your trips for a while now, really fab, thanks for mentioning Port Alfred NSRI, we are both fundraisers for this amazing organisation. Safe travels,
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy our videos! 🚙🤩 The NSRI does wonderful work and we support our local branch in Gordon's Bay too. Although we're very appreciate of their work in aiding distressed individuals and vessels, we most appreciate their efforts in rescuing and saving marine wildlife. That is the cause most special to our hearts. 🐬🐡🦀💙
Beautiful road trip. Thank you for sharing...a destination to add to my bucket list.
Oh, you'll love it if you do decide to visit! 🚙😁 Until you hit the road yourself, I'm happy that you got to see Port Alfred with the two of us! Thank you for watching.
❤❤Wow beautiful 😮😮town stunning marina. "Bridge. Estuary. I will have too go visit.
Stunning thank you so much for a great vedio. I enjoy yr channel.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much, I'm so happy to hear you enjoy our travels! 🚙🤩 Port Alfred is certainly a town worth visiting for all the reasons you mentioned. I hope you'll get to do so one of these days!
Hi guys, again thank you so much for sharing your adventures with us , I'm so happy your'e covering the Eastern Cape , hopefully onto East London next (my home town) , if you can do some research regarding a certain convent six and a half miles outside King Williams town which has a nice history perhaps depending on your route a bit of exploring beckons :) keep safe and keep the vids coming . The convent is Izeli Convent , mind the cow pats on that gravel road :)))
We're very happy to be sharing our experiences of our travels with everyone who may find them interesting to watch! 🚙😁 The Eastern Cape was truly a revelation in terms of cleanliness and beauty, we loved it. This trip was about a month ago already, so we're long back home already, but I make notes of all the places our viewers suggest we go to and I'll do the same with your suggestions.
Wow Port Alfred has grown, we were so amazed. Very clean. Port Kowie would have been a cool name.
It's a beautiful town no matter what the name! 🚙🤩 I'm glad you enjoyed this episode!
We used to call it Kowie not Port Albert when jolled there up from East London then Bathurst
Hi guys what a beautiful place the marina had a miami vibe only better the town seems so well kept the main St was thriving the station looked amazing loved the wrought iron work what a interesting market building tudor beams was fashionable everywhere during the empire day. Loved the sign going over the bridge no diving. The area seems very wealthy up market. South African are definitely sports fans tennis bowls and croquet I'm with you on the pronunciation. The library and the monument lovely especially in the setting I agree with Sonia the view looked like a picture. Got to admire the guys who built the canal and first inSA the accommodation was top notch loved the Murphy beds the drone footage really amazing thanks for taking me along cheerio till the next one
I just knew you'd love the station and market buildings! 🏛️😍 There are certainly enough recreational facilities in this town to keep the folks busy, that was great to see! 🏑🎾🎱 Amazing as the bridge was, I'd definitely never dream of diving off it! 😳 The war memorial was super special to see. Our accommodation was spacious and cosy and we were up early for the sunrise the next morning! 🚙🌅
interesting, i didnt know about the mall
And it's ginormous! 🚙😳
My home 🙌. Glad you guys enjoyed the kowie
You're very fortunate to call this beautiful town your home! 🚙🤩 We had a wonderful time admiring all the beauty! 🌳🌊
Thank you. Please keep up the good work. You are so up beat!!!
I wonder if the marina is seasonal? (Looks like there are a lot of unoccupied berths). Might also be a case where it got sold to someone who charged too much, or the club that owns it is busy putting more energy into fighting each other than running things. Who knows? Obviously there was a time where there were boats for those berths.
I seem to remember there were oyster farmers in the town who would pay for the right to hang crates of young oysters to grow under peoples floating jetties. The conditions there were apparently very good for them. Nice, clean water with enough nutrients to feed hungry little oysters. They might still be in operation. Probably better to have no boat on the jetty you're cultivating your oysters on.
For a big town they seem to have looked after their coastal bush quite well. (Always something it makes me happy to see. I can remember the highlights of our trips to the coast when I was little were when we went for a drive "through the jungle". The beach was nice enough, but the "jungle" was the best thing, too me.)
I believe holidaymakers moor their boats in the marina when they come for holiday, so the number of boats in the marina when we were there, are probably mostly those belonging to the full-time residents of Port Alfred. ⛵ i think this town overflows during peak season! Interesting to read about the oysters growing under the jetties. The vegetation in this town is stunning to see! 🌳💚
yippie I won too
You did indeed! We eventually got there! 🚙😁
I loved this wonderful visit to PA - the restored station is such a lovely asset and the old market building still in good shape - with lots of potential to be used for other purposes.
The marina development(s) are gorgeous! What a beautiful town! It must be quite wonderful to live there.
As always, your drone views are thrilling! I get so excited each time you lift off! 😁
You picked a perfect day for your visit!
Thank you so much! 🚙🤩 There is just so much to love about this beautiful town and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. The gorgeous sights everywhere we went, were a fantastic way to end this travelling day with. I agree with you, it must be a fantastic place to live! It was rather thrilling to fly the drone over the marina and, even in the absence of bright sunlight, I also love how those shots came out! ⛵😍
I stumbled at your video yesterday, you guys are the coolest people ever and Port Alfred is my most favorite town in our country... thanks a lot you guyz are beautiful...
Visited Port Alfred April and August of 2016! Beautiful place indeed. I’ve just re-visited again, baie dankie👏👏👏👏
Truly amazing place, the scenery is just divine
Divine indeed! I'm so glad you enjoyed our visit to this pretty town! 🚙⛵
Port Alfred is a beautiful little town!!
I moved to SA in 1983 at age 6 from the UK, my aunt and uncle had moved there in 1980, they moved to Port Alfred in 1987 so I spent many a school holiday there between 1987 and 1995..
I`m back in the gloomy UK now and regularly dream about going home and settling in Port Alfred...ho hum...
Port Alfred was amazing
Thank you it's very very nice
Gorgeous marina👌👌👌👌 and that spectacular bridge👌👌 Wow!!!!
Tash’s se kos is ook heerlik! Ons pragtige Sunshine Coast! Julle is awesome! Dankie vir al hierdie video’s! ❤
We had an absolute ball on your beautiful Sunshine Coast. 🚙🤩 Tash's pizzas were awesome that evening! 🍕
You just made me discover a new restaurant!! Also had no clue, that the museum was the station. Been here 2 years.
Our pizzas from Tash's were fantastic with the thinnest crusts we've ever had! 🍕 Loadshedding was scheduled for 20:00 that particular evening, so we decided to grab them to-go, but I'm sure you could have many fun times there! The museum certainly looks like an interesting place and fortunately we were able to still see the old train lines and the station nameboard signs. You're really lucky to call this pretty place your hometown! 🚙🤩
I had lunch at Guidos👌👌👌 beautiful sights everywhere!!!
Port Alfred het ‘n ongelooflike ryk geskiedenis ❤
Indeed! 👌 We thought it was very interesting how the town, and the port, was established and named!
A buddy of mine back in the 1980s took a mx bike over that Kowie River bridge arch....going up was ok...coming down on the other side wasnt...he was an absolute nutter😊
One adventure after anither for me!!!
That bridge reminds me of the Umtamvuna River Bridge connecting Kzn with Eastern Cape/Transkei
Hi Petro. Het nou net lekker deur Port Alfred getoer saam met die DUST BUGS. Nogal n belewenis. Het nooit besef dit is so n groot dorp nie. Hoe gaan dit met jou.? Die weer hier by ons baie op en af. Groetnis.😘
Jammer Curtis en Sonia......Die boodskap was eintlik vir fam wat in Port Alfred bly. 🤔😏
I'm so happy you enjoyed our visit to Port Alfred, glad you came along! 🚙⛵
You should have come for Tea at my home in East London😀 Next time please do come and visit!
Ek kan nie wag om die Bathurst video te kyk nie! Ek is gek oor Bathurst! Gaan gereeld soontoe ❤
We're also crazy about Bathurst and have only been there once! I hope you enjoy! 🚙😁
I’m going there in three days in a place to my friends house on the Leute river and Ive been there alot
I remember Tash's from when it was Barnacles. I believe that large wooden post inside is the one that people would try to climb to sign their names on the roof. Perhaps the old signatures still exist above the new roofing. If those walls could talk!
How interesting! I had no idea that Tash's was Barnacles before or that folks would try to sign their names on the ceiling. 😁 It certainly looks like a fun place. They have a fantastic setting and the pizzas were great too! 👌🏻🍕
I love your videos❤❤I am curious how do you do that zooming in to relevant info ( it looks like a pic) in the middle of your video...for example when you showed us when the bridge was built or opened
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoy our videos! 🚙😁 You're correct, it is a pic that I zoom in on every time to display info or dates which we deem important.
That fine old municipal market building has in fact been looking for a tenant for several years! I know because I have been trying to help a couple of young guys out with business plan to run the place as a community café. Alas although having a sound project they were not successful getting a lease for the building - perhaps not knowing the right people?
I appreciate your comment and your insight, thank you. I'm all for tenant screening procedures, as long as those procedures and processes are conducted fairly. I still wish and hope that that gorgeous building will one day soon be alive with people and business again. 🏛️😍
@@DustBugsTravel I am 100% with you! Still it worries me that this building, with so much potential, has been standing vacant for more than 7 years! Surely, the best way to preserve our heritage of beautiful, historic buildings are to use them and to love them! I know there has been several bids to tender for this one, and for sure I am not the right person to judge which one would have been the best - but surely most should have been better than nothing!
By the way, I am kind of local (but only kind of) having owned a farm between Port Alfred and Bathurst since 2015, loving the place and its great potential and looking forward to semi-retire in his most wonderful part of the world soon!
I think these small dorpies are run by other parties than the ruling parties. Discipline, no corruption
We're not into politics at home and even less so when we travel. So we don't know who the ruling party is in any town we visit. We look for the beauty and the interesting and we always find those, no matter where we find ourselves! 🚙🇿🇦