For our first trip with Wagtail we decided to meet my brother and his wife in Port Alfred. It’s halfway between Port Elizabeth and East London, just an hour & a half journey for each of us. Kowie, as it’s fondly know to the locals, holds many great memories for our family.
We spent many happy holidays as kids here, as well as at Kasouga with my mom’s family and at Kleinemonde with my dad’s family. Both my mom and dad are descended from 1820 stock and my mom’s ancestors, Stephen & Edward Dell, farmed in the area. (Read More) We actually had supper with descendants of theirs, my cousin John Dell & his wife Marion, on our first evening in Kowie.
Port Alfred is a beautiful little town straddling the banks of the Kowie river. It is a haven for retired folk and a centre for the farming community. It has a colourful history going all the way back to the 1800’s, when the 1820 settlers came to the area. According to Eric Turpin in his book Basket Work Harbour, it consisted of just a handful of cottages with stone walls and thatched roofs in 1826. Catherine Pigot, daughter of George Pigot, leader of an 1820 group that settled near Blaauwkrantz, had this to say about it; “Port Frances (as it was then known), I must own, is the loneliest, barrenest village imaginable….” Not a great description! She could never have known what a beautiful town it would develop into.
Around 1836/38 William Cock established the Kowie Harbour Improvement Company. Because the coast line was dangerous (at least 50 ships have been wrecked in the area over the last two centuries), Port Alfred was seen as the ideal port for shipping agricultural produce from the surrounding area to Port Elizabeth, cutting days off the time it took to get there by ox wagon. The river flow was diverted to form a new channel along the West Bank and the building of the breakwaters, that still exist today, was commenced.
The harbour was opened in 1863 and thrived for the next 20 years, seeing around 100 ships enter the harbour annually. During this period, a town grew around the harbour and it was renamed Port Alfred in honour of England’s Prince Alfred, who was visiting the country at the time.
We booked into Medolino Caravan Park – an exquisite little caravan park in town. Situated in a lush, green little valley it is in walking distance from the beaches, but quiet and peaceful. Medolino was started in the 60’s and eventually was acquired by Derek and Anita in 1999. They really built it into the success it is today and will be fondly remembered by scores of happy campers from all over the world. Anita recently sold it and we hope the new owners will continue the tradition of friendly, excellent service that campers have come to expect at Medolino.
Wagtail and her sister van, the Blonde Hedgehog We set up on two adjacent sites and looked forward to a quiet rest. The camp sites are beautifully maintained, all are grassed, all have power points and most are separated by well clipped hedges of bougainvillea and other shrubs. The ablutions are clean, spacious, well maintained and there are several, so you never have to walk far to get to one. There’s a beautiful lake on the property with lots of bird life – in fact the whole park is full of birds.
Port Alfred has something for everyone, whether you’re young or not so young. It’s in the middle of the Sunshine coast, so there’s a lot to see and do in the surrounding area but let’s start in the town. There’s the river, so boating, fishing and canoeing are obvious choices. If you’re into the outdoors and sports there are operators offering river and sea cruises, horse rides on the beach and surrounding countryside, surfing, kite boarding and more. There’s golf, bowls, biking, diving, and hiking. For the not so active, there are lots of places of interest in the town and the surrounding district.
We decided to start at the Port Alfred museum near the old station. Unfortunately it was closed so we took a stroll though the town and ended up at The Courtyard, a quirky maze of shops and eateries in Van der Riet street. There are antiques and collectables, a bakery, a delicatessen, a florist, home décor and the Rise Café. We had a great time browsing the shops. The decor shop has beautiful woollen rugs woven by local women at very reasonable prices. We followed up with a lovely lunch in the sun. Carol & I shared a Pesto Board (olive tapenade, sundried tomato pesto, cream cheese, Salsa Verde, sautéed artichokes, smashed avo, garlic flat bread and chips or salad R100,00). My brother and his wife had an Olive & Artichoke Pizza (Napoli base, olives and artichokes, mozzarella, parmesan, salt flakes and olive oil, finished with Balsamic reduction R110,00) which they thoroughly enjoyed. All in all, I can say that it was a delightful meal.
The next day we took a gentle drive up to Bathurst, only 20km from Port Alfred. It has become a haven for artists, potters and other creative folk. We browsed the art galleries, a classic car museum, arts, crafts and curio shops. The art galleries have some beautiful original art and Richard Pullen’s pottery studio is amazing. I especially enjoyed wandering through Relix & Thingz across the road from the Pig. It’s a labyrinth of collectables, old books, vinyl records, junk and other fascinating stuff. I could have spent hours there. I also enjoyed the classic car museum. Not a lot of cars but one did catch my eye – a 60’s VW Kombi camper in pristine condition. It brought back so many memories of our own kombis.
After a morning of browsing we were ready for lunch at the Pig & Whistle, a landmark that’s been around since 1832. Their bobotie was the best I’ve ever tasted.
Then it was back to Port Alfred for a relaxing afternoon before packing up the next day to return home. Wagtail behaved perfectly, it was a joy to tow (I hardly knew it was behind us) and we were comfortable and warm. Now we’re looking forward to our next trip – Stay tuned.
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