Day 10: Storms River - Jeffreys Bay - Flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban - Ballito
Today we have at noon the flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban, with which we will begin the second stage of this trip to South Africa in 25 days, but before going to the airport, we will stop at Jeffreys Bay, a beach known for its waves and for Be one of the most frequented places by surfers in South Africa.
In addition this place is also known for being one of the points where there are more whale sightings at this time of year, so we want to miss this last chance to see them in South Africa for free.
Jeffreys Bay is located 100 kilometers from the Andelomi Forest Lodge, which has been our accommodation at Storms River tonight, where we left at 8 in the morning, after breakfast and charging energy for today, which although it is presented With virtually no visit, we hope it will be the gateway to some of the must-see places in South Africa.
After a quiet ride, today with quite gray weather, we arrived at Jeffreys Bay when it is 9 am, to leave the rental car in South Africa in one of the parking lots on the beach promenade.
Jeffreys Bay, a stop before the flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban
This town with little charm is one of the must-see stops for any traveler who loves surfing or wants to see with their own eyes some of the best waves in the country. Whatever the reason or even if it's like us to make a stop before catching the flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban, Jeffreys Bay is the perfect option to stretch your legs, enjoy the beach and even if you're lucky, something that we Today we cannot say, see whales from the coast.
Jeffreys Bay
As we still have an hour or so before leaving for the airport, we decided to take the opportunity to sit in a cafeteria facing the sea, where we had a lemonade, coffee and a portion of chocolate cake by R70 that serve as a perfect excuse to enjoy during a while of watch life go by, that we like so much and what we sometimes do not spend all the time we would like.
It's 10:30 when we can walk to the Port Elizabeth airport, 90 kilometers from here, where we arrive at 11:30 in the morning.
Rental car return at Port Elizabeth airport
Keep in mind that Port Elizabeth Airport is very small, so it is incredibly easy to locate Europcar car return parking, with whom we rent the car in South Africa.
Once there and after reviewing the car completely and taking pictures, to have proof of how we returned the car, we wait for it to be checked, something they do quickly, without even looking at the gas tank for everything the return process of the rental car made, go to the delivery of luggage and make the billing with Fly Safair, which is the company with which we will make the flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban.
Europcar at Port Elizabeth airport
With a couple of hours of margin until we leave our flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban, we take the opportunity to review the next stage of South Africa for free, which will be almost entirely to see animals besides eating in a small restaurant at the airport and take this wait as a break from the full days we have had so far, with the routes of Cape Town in one day, the tour of the Cape Peninsula, the whale watching in Hermanus, touring the Garden Route in South Africa and the Natural Park of Tsitsikamma we were in yesterday.
Port Elizabeth airport
Punctual leaves our flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban and on time we landed in this new city where we will begin a new stage of the trip to South Africa in 25 days, in which as we mentioned before, we hope to see many animals and we are sure, it will become one of the cherries of the cake of the trip.
Flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban
Pick up the rental car in Durban
After landing, the first thing we do after collecting the luggage, is to go to the Europcar office, where we find that after doing all the paperwork of the second car rental in South Africa, the credit card with which we have to do the deposit, they tell us it doesn't work.
After a first moment of panic, we began to try different credit cards, always from Roger who is the driver, who after trying, they tell us that they don't work either. Given this problem, we propose to pay the deposit in cash, to which they refuse and the only solution they give us is to add me as a driver, for a cost of about 80 euros and thus be able to use my credit card.
We accept seeing that this is the only possible solution to take the rental car and after doing the management, we have the same problem with credit cards in my name. At our insistence that something strange is happening, since in the first rental car in Cape Town we had no problems, they agree to try another POS and finally realize that the problem is theirs, with the card machine that It doesn't work and that's why I was giving error
More practical information to prepare your trip to South Africa
- 10 essential places to see in South Africa
- The best tips for traveling to South Africa
So after this bad drink, we collect the rental car that we will have these days, which is a Toyota Avanza, a higher car to be able to have better visibility in the safaris, we take advantage to make a purchase of basic food in an airport supermarket and we are on our way to what will be our accommodation tonight.
Do not forget to read the post car rental in South Africa in which we explain all the details of the car rental in addition to many tips on driving in South Africa
Do not forget to read the post car rental in South Africa in which we explain all the details of the car rental in addition to many tips on driving in South Africa
Rental car in South Africa
It's 6 in the afternoon when we arrive at the Hampshire Hotel, our accommodation in Ballito for tonight, a small town just 14 kilometers from the airport that we will use as a sleeping point and tomorrow start the route visiting St. Lucia, one of the strengths of this stage of the trip.
We leave you a map of today's route in South Africa, including the flight from Port Elizabeth to Durban, with which we will begin the second stage of this trip.
Day 11: Ballito - Saint Lucia - What to see in Isimangaliso
