What can you do with your kids these school holidays? Chasing the Rainbow hit Port Elizabeth’s tourist spots, looking for some super-fun family day outings to get your kids off the couch and outdoors with a smile. Here are our suggestions for family fun during the holidays:
Port Elizabeth’s beachfront is jam-packed full of wonderful activities for the whole family.
We started out at Supertubes on Kings Beach. An hour’s entry pass is a ticket to fast-paced laughter and slippery fun and is an absolute hit with the kids. The 2015 summer season kicked off on 24 September, so it’s the perfect time to take the kids for that first summer slide.
Next, we walked across the parking lot to the Kings Beach Skate Park. Surrounded by shady trees and plenty of comfy places to sit, we enjoyed watching the kids and teens (and some adults too) on skates, boards and bikes do their thing. The park is well designed and beautifully kept and the best thing is it’s absolutely free!
Across the main road is PE’s iconic Bayworld, where we enjoyed watching the seals, penguins, giant turtles and the beautiful aquarium exhibits. The aquarium is quite small, but the quality is wonderful – well-lit and maintained and schools of very healthy looking fish. Then we headed into the museum and had some fun with the dinosaur models, interacted with some snakes, and strolled around the fascinating museum. Bayworld remains a memorable, worthwhile and affordable family attraction.
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If you are looking for a way to celebrate a special occasion with your family, don’t look further than this incredible river trip! The mix of gentle cruising and adrenalin packed sand-boarding in the spectacular estuary will thrill young and old and treat you to an experience that you’ll never forget.
Captain Les was on hand to welcome us with a friendly smile and within no time, we were cruising down Sundays River, towards the dune fields and river mouth. After maneuvering the ferry onto the bank beneath a mountain of yellow sand, Les produced some very nifty sand boards, which fly down the dunes at quite a pace! We all had turns, and the stunning vista from the top of the dune mountain, coupled with the whizz down, made each hike up the steep dunes worthwhile.
The river offered some cool respite from the heat, and we enjoyed swimming while the kids jumped off the top of the ferry into the water. After a gentle cruise back to the jetty, we finished our outing with a perfect picnic under a tree on the river bank.
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Now THIS was an amazing family outing and a big winner for all of us! Home to the longest double zipline in Africa, Adrenalin Addo is nestled in a citrus farm just outside the farming town of Addo. You go down in pairs, and its lovely to share the experience together with your kids. Once hooked up to the zipline and given the all clear, you basically sit back and let go and start zooming through the air with a very loup zipping sound. It’s really fast, and a whole lot of fun – Jeremy Loops pretty much sums up the experience is his song “Trip Fox” which we used as a backtrack for our video: – “Let me just get something down, I’m coming for your frown, I’ve got something to make you feel better”
All of us agreed that we really would like to do it “again and again and again” and left Adrenalin Addo with large smiles and happy hearts.
Next stop, Addo Elephant National Park – SA’s third largest national park and an absolute favourite of ours. When you arrive at Addo Elephant Park, it feels like you have stepped into a parallel universe, far away from city life and deep in the wild. There is something about quietly watching a family of elephants close by that calms the soul, and we love to switch off the engine, and absorb their peaceful grace. Kudu, warthogs, zebra and tortoises are always in abundance, and there are two fantastic picnic & braai sites for day visitors to use.
Those of us who live in the area are really lucky to have Addo Elephant Park on our doorstep. A short drive from home, and you are in the heart of safari Africa – a real treat!
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PE’s Ibhayi Sunshine Saunter is a collection of stunning beaches, restaurants, countryside drives and activities all within 45 minutes of Port Elizabeth’s city centre.
On a lovely sunny Sunday, we chose to explore some dog-friendly outdoor activities – starting with the Sacramento hiking trail, enjoying beautiful Sardinia Bay beach and ending off with lunch at one of the local country restaurants.
The Sacramento trail is about 8km long, starting in Schoenmakerskop and ending at Sardinia Bay. Ideally we would have walked the entire trail, ending off at the beach, but as we drove ourselves, we wanted to avoid the return trek, so walked part way along the trail and headed back to the car, before driving to Sards.
Having worked up an appetite, we headed straight for Gunter’s iconic Wurst Wagen, and enjoyed a Dutch croquette, followed by a sublime “Ital” ice cream cone. Nothing like street food to fill the gap!
On Sards beach, we turned right and walked about a kilometre up the beach towards the point known as “Duck Pond”. It is surrounded by a rock reef and as calm and tranquil as a tropical island beach. The kids snorkelled and fed the fish with barnacles picked off the rocks while we lapped up the sun.
All in all a perfect Sunday family outing!
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