For the first time in ages I wake up at a reasonable time – just gone 8 am, and am without my regular companion, the terrible backache. Obviously drinking a lot throughout the day must have done the trick and I am also minus a hangover. How wonderful!
It’s a beautiful day, hot and sunny from the start, and needing to get rid of the cobwebs and have a bit of exercise, we drag Ann out of bed and head out to find a beach. Terry has heard of one where the houses behind the beach are built castles. It’s at Noitzie and we decide to give it a whirl.
Noitzie is accessed behind one of the townships along a wide dirt track. We have to go very slowly so as not to kick up a whole load of dust and eventually we end up in a very different setting – the golf and luxury housing of the private Pezula estate. Although the township we passed through from the main road is a relatively affluent one, the difference between that and Pezula is stark to put it mildly.
Noitzie itself is a nature reserve, and at the car park we read about all the wildlife we could see on land and in the sea here, most of which I desperately hope we don’t see – sharks, jelly fish, snakes – but we end up seeing nothing.
The beach is accessed down a long slope then a very steep, irregular set of steps, but is well worth the walk as it is truly spectacular – a wide sweep of pristine sand with waves breaking all the way out to sea, coming in all directions over sand bars and the like - and it is almost deserted. The castles built behind the beach are indeed bizarre though.
I take the opportunity of rolling my trousers up and going in the sea. Terry finds the sight of me standing in the water holding a handbag very amusing. I find it less amusing as the bloody water is so cold I nearly wet myself with shock when the ankle deep water suddenly hits me with a knee height wave.
There’s a small river which flows down into the sea at Noitzie. I don’t know what it flows through, or what flows into it, but the water is full of amazing colours – golds, blues and purples. It is probably completely full of noxious chemicals or something but it looks beautiful as the sunlight shines on it.
We go to The Heads but it’s so crowded that we can’t park near and we figure the restaurant must be really packed out too so we go back to Ann and Terry’s and have some lunch there instead.
Bev phones. They have been trying to get hold of us but their phone calls haven’t come through even though Mike’s phone has been switched on all morning. The mobile phone lines must be really busy. We arrange to go up to Simola for sundowners with them. They had managed to get to The Heads and had a lovely lunch then visited the waterfront where they assure us Jeannius is still sitting.
After the lovely invigorating walk in the morning, and once again with full stomachs, we all have an afternoon nap. Well, all of us except Terry who doesn’t need one until just before 6 pm, giving him 10 minutes before I wake him up to get ready to go to meet the others at Simola!
We drink wine on their veranda watching the sun go down. The sunset is glorious.
Again, once the sun drops behind the hills, the temperature drops with it and Jutta and I are the first ones to head indoors, Jutta in her familiar place by the fire.
We don’t make it a late night. We’ve got to be at the boat early in the morning to see the refrigeration guy again and Jutta, Jochem and Eline need to make it down to breakfast at least once during their stay!
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