BIG FISH CARAVAN AND CAMPING JEFFREYS BAY

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Big Fish Caravan and Camping Jeffreys Bay

Big Fish Caravan and Camping campsite near Jeffreys Bay on the banks of the Gamtoos River was our October 2023 stop.

Big Fish is a real farm camping ground, and a clear favourite with caravan campers and anglers. Big Fish is a dairy farm with a few hundred cows milked every day and the milk being fetched by milk tankers from First Choice.

When you arrive at the entrance, you notice two gates but no security fence.

That was obviously the first question I asked manager Deon, who assured me that they have never had any incidents and that the area is a crime-free area.

During our month stay, we never had any reason to doubt his assurances.

Big Fish Caravan and Camping is a popular anglers’ destination where boat anglers launch their boats and fisherman fish up and down the river. The river has salt water which apparently stretches as far as 8km inland from the sea.

One regular told us that one of his angling friends caught two 22kg Cods from the river bank below his campsite.

Our stay was largely uneventful although it rained most of the time.

Our saving grace was that we were well-prepared and that our campsite was grassy, which ensured that we had little difficulty with mud except when we had to cross the road to the ablutions.

In the second week Deon, the always helpful manager at Big Fish was at his wits end with the mud and campers complaining about the muddy access road.

It seems the campsite plays second fiddle to the farm when the going gets tough such as when we were there.

I was a bit concerned about getting out on the wet pothole road with the Scout, but Deon arranged with one of the regular campers to fill the biggest water-filled pothole with rocks, so we got through without damage to the car or the caravan.

Big Fish has 10 bathrooms in two ablution blocks. Each bathroom has a shower, basin and toilet as well as a scullery next toe each ablution block and are quite modern and well-serviced.

Big Fish Caravan Park scullery — *Big Fish scullery*

Big Fish Caravan Park ablutions — *Big Fish bathroom with toilet, basin and shower*

Big Fish photo gallery

The campground offers a popular children’s playground as well as a swimming pool and TV room with Wi-fi.

The office at Big Fish has wood and ice, but for everything else one has to travel to Jeffreys Bay, about 20km away or for the bare basic to the Strandblommetjie Kafee about 3km away at Gamtoos Mouth.

The beach at Gamtoos Mouth was a dream for us who like to walk long distances on the beaches where we camp.

A walk to the Mosselkoppe (Mussel Heads) is a 3km walk and the Gamtoos Mouth is a 1,5km walk. But it takes you long because there are so many nice shells that the Wifey want to collect.

This was one of the nice beaches we walked and it is a pity we had so much rain and things to do. We could eventually only walk only about 7 days of the month.

Strandblommetjie Kafee at Gamtoos Mouth

There is a small shop at Gamtoos River Mouth called Strandblommetjie Kafee which has basic items and a friendly owner, Lizelle.

Strandblommetjie Café at Gamtoos River Mouth.

Strandblommetjie Kafee is one of those coastal small businesses we encountered everywhere. They serve the local community during the quiet times and need to make their profit during holidays, although they are often blamed for their high prices.

We enjoyed meeting Lizelle of Strandblommetjie.

But if it were not for these small business owners, the local community would not have a bread and milk supplier on their doorstep.

We bought fruit cake at Strandblommetjie more than once. It was good quality and tasty.

Just outside Jeffreys Bay, make a turn at Wild Fig Farm Restaurant. We enjoyed their food and service and will go again when we are in the area.

When you drive from Big Fish to Jeffreys Bay over the old bridge on the R101, you pass Suikerbossie Farmstall which is a good place to enjoy a cinnamon and lemon pancake. We never passed here without there being people visiting.

Delicious fruit cake from Strandblommetjie Kafee

Wild Fig Farm Restaurant outside Jeffreys Bay

Milk cows at BIG FISH CARAVAN AND CAMPING JEFFREYS BAY — *Milk cows graze behind our campsite*

Daytrip to St Francis and Oyster Bay

We took a daytrip to St Francis and Oyster Bay which was interesting, although the road between St Francis and Oyster Bay was a corrugated road without equal.

We were told it was because of the rains as well as the local farmers who do not want to have the road tarred because it would increase their risk of stock theft. Whether that is correct, we would not know.

On the road between St Francis and Oyster Bay, the signature wind turbines of the area.

We visited Oyster Bay Resort which seemed like a good place to camp with nice sites and clean ablutions and bought beverages from the friendly girl in the town shop.

The rocky bays, beach and Chokka (squid) boats are a signature memory I will have of our short visit to Oyster Bay.

Daytrip to Hankey and Patensie

On our day trip to Patensie, we passed through Hankey.

Hankey screams poverty, and has little more to show than a dilapidated and vandalized memorial to Sarah Baartman. Maybe we missed something.

The Sarah Baartman Memorial in Hankey was inaccessible and seems to be completely vandalized.

The Sarah Baartman Memorial in Hankey.
If a politician calls anyone out for racism because of criticism against the government, ask them about the pride illustrated here.

Patensie was an uplifting experience.

We stopped at Tolbos Bistro, Deli and Info Centre which was a great experience with friendly staff.

We could not drive back to Big Fish via Baviaanskloof as the road was closed due to the incessant rains during the month.

Humansdorp

We visited Humansdorp looking for an inside fan for the Suzuki where the most-helpful people of Eastern Cape Auto Spares did not have the spare, but quickly did emergency repairs on the fan. It still holds.

We had the most delightful lunch at Le Chameleon Restaurant in Humansdorp.

This restaurant is worth a visit, if only because it is an unexpected surprise in a small town. The food was extraordinary, the decor unexpected and the service excellent.