The plan was simple: I wanted to make a three-part series on the Eastern Cape and a handful of places that make it a favourite playground for those who enjoy exploring this beautiful country of ours. On my list of must-visit places were Rhodes, Hogsback, Dwesa Nature Reserve and Coffee Bay.
We set off from our home in Johannesburg early in the afternoon and headed for Zastron. The plan was to cover some distance on the first day to make the later days more manageable. It turned out to be a wise decision. The road was smooth until we left the N1 highway. The initial few kilometers were fine, but the condition of the tar road deteriorated significantly from there.
Obviously, this negatively affected our travel speed and we eventually only arrived in Zastron at about 20:00 that evening. Our accommodation for the night was Vultures Lodge, and we can sincerely recommend it to others. Upon arrival, we were pleased to find that the heaters and electric blankets in our room were already turned on, which felt like a well-deserved pampering, especially considering what lay ahead on the rest of the trip.
Zastron to Balloch Cottages
We woke up early the next morning and prepared our Toyota Fortuner and Bush Lapa off-road trailer for the day’s drive. Once everything was packed up, I decided to fly the drone for a quick aerial view of Zastron and the surrounding area. The views were truly breathtaking, and it became evident that one could easily spend a whole day exploring this beautiful region.
After refueling, we headed
