YELLOW SANDS ON THE KWELERA
Yellow Sands Caravan Park near East London is where we spent February, March, and April of our 2023 tour and this is the blog post about the three months at Yellow Sands.
Although Yellow Sands has been a caravan park for many years – we met campers who have been camping here for more than 20 years – the facilities are completely up-to-standard.
Facilities at Yellow Sands
Yellow Sands Caravan Park is located on the mouth of the Kwelera River a stone’s throw from Gonubi near east London.
Facilities are basic in the sense that there is a very basic tuck shop, ablutions, and a swimming pool, but no shop where you can buy basics such as bread and milk.
There are washing machines and tumble driers. When we arrived, only one washing machine and one tumble drier were in working order and we were told they were reported the previous December.
It seemed not to have made a huge difference to most campers as many long-term campers do their washing by hand or with washing machines that travel with them.
Yellow Sands have 250 campsites spread out quite nicely along the coast and bordering the Kwelera River.
There are stands facing the sea for those campers that prefer a sea view regardless of the wind, and then there are are sites higher up the dune with some semi-exposed to the wind and others well isolated.
We braved the wind on a beachfront site to test the Maxcons tent and tent pegs we use, but when we return in August we want to to try the more protected sites. These are also nearer to the main ablutions. The portable ablutions on the beach front is nice but they don’t have showers and only have a toilet with a basin in each cubicle.
Wi-Fi
There is Wi-fi at the Yellow Sands office but we used a Vodacom router and UPS power which worked well.
Our MTN connection gave some trouble in that calls did not ring either on our or the other side but I later learned that it as an MTN problem that occurred nation-wide. Signal strength also depends on where you camp.
Still well within our 500 GB limit.
Read about our wi-fi here
UPS for the wifi
We are in our second month at Yellow Sands and we are working and accessing the Internet without difficulty thanks to Vodacom.
Load shedding and Eskom infrastructure failure do give us problems.
Earlier this week a Takealot parcel arrived courtesy of our son. It contained a UPS which provides power to keep our Wi-fi going during load shedding.
We are quite happy with it as it keeps the Wi-fi going for longer than load shedding lasts.
At Yellow Sands one often sees pigeons, doves, and other birds sunbathing in the heat of the day.
There is a reason and you can read it here (opens in a new screen)
18 March 2023 at Yellow Sands
This week was demanding.
We had to deal with maintenance on our house after a severe storm flooded a gutter en the water damaged a ceiling. Read more about it below.
Then I had a tooth failure and am now waiting for Wednesday so I can have a new crown … and the dentist a new car. I had one visit to the dentist in Gonubie so far and was quite happy with the service. If you camp in the area and need a dentist, try Dr. Marx or Dr. Roos in Gonubie, although many campers also go to Intercare, Gonubie.
Life is a steep learning curve for the ignorant. And it becomes a bit more complicated when you are not a technical genius!
But, we learn something from every experience and every setback.
Last night we had the strongest wind gusts since we arrived.
We have realized that you must think widely when you change anything that is standard on your caravan.
We had the bigger tent made. The standard 2,7m became a 3m tent.
The Cape winds taught us that we did not consider everything. At Mossel Bay, we had to add support poles on the sides because the wind bent the frame pole. That happens because two 3m poles need support which 2,7m poles don’t.
At Yellow Sands, we learned that you must know all your accessories well. We nearly had a collapsed tent because I did not tighten the pole adjuster clamps.
The poles moved inside each other which is a bad idea in the storms of the Eastern Cape.
Another thing one must keep in mind is that your camping setup is just as strong as the weakest point. The Maxcons system held up during all the storms so far, but apart from the pole problem we had, the tent suffers a lot of abuse by the wind. We are dealing with ripstop canvas, not a brick wall like at home.
So, this morning we decided to add a storm strap to the tent to support the 3m tent in the middle.
Now we wait for Nature to teach us more. But, so far it is still fun!
At home: The water problem and the agent
A note about the maintenance problem we had at our house.
As I mentioned in the first blog post about our 2023 tour, we rented out our house for a year and employed reputable estate agents to handle matters for us.
When we had the roof leak this week, the agent did what they were supposed to do, and got a quote for the repairs.
I know owners are owners, agents are agents and contractors are contractors, which made me a bit more vigilant than I am supposed to be. So, when the agent sent us the quote for repairs from the contractor I had difficulty understanding why they wanted to seal the roof ridging when the leak was near the bottom of a roof valley.
We sent our own contractor who removed leaves from the valley and declared the problem fixed.
I told the agent what happened was exactly what we were warned about which is that agents and contractors are bigger buddies than agents and owners.
The agent wasn’t happy with me and told me they work according to the book because they do not have the technical experience to question contractors.
I don’t blame the agents, because they do what they must do. What long-term campers must keep in mind when they rent out their homes, is that agents work by the book, so owners must not read the book and rather depend on their experience and logic. I suppose it’s buyer beware!
Nevertheless, I am still happy with the service of the agents.
What is Yellow Sands like?
Yellow Sands lies at the mouth of the Kwelera River in a secluded corner with a small bay.
The resort has 250 campsites of which about 80% are available for pensioners with 20% available to all campers but at a rate higher than the pensioners rate.
Clean, well-maintained ablution blocks are located at three locations in the park.
Although the campground has been an established campsite for many years, even older facilities are well-maintained and kept clean.
Although Yellow Sands Resort does not have backup power, the ablution facilities have backup lighting and hot water from diesel heaters.
The location of Yellow Sands means that it is within easy reach of most of the Free State, and most campers in the resort seems to come from the province.
Yellow Sands has a different booking system from other resorts. You cannot book a specific campsite but bookings are limited to the number of campsites.
Once you arrive, you can use one of Yellow Sands’ golf carts to search for a camping site. Campsites have been numbered on the resort map, but these numbers are rarely used and staff also do not use numbers to identify sites.
Security at Yellow Sands
Yellow Sands do not have a problem with crime at the resort, but there is an automatic electric gate and the owners also own a security company who provides security and security cameras at the resort.
The resort is isolated from the city and not near any towns that pose a security risk.
Shopping at Yellow Sands
Although the resort has a tuck shop, it mainly stocks water and wood, and most campers buy their bread, milk and groceries from the Spar at Crossways, 7km from Yellow Sands.
We were happy with the Crossways Spar and after trying grocery shop in nearby Gonubie and East London, we realised that the Crossways Centre offered most of what we needed at the same prices we paid in the surrounding towns.
If you like Fish and Chips like I do, try the little Café at the fuel station at Crossways. And there is a butcher about 500 meters down the road from the fuel station which has good meat and excellent dry wors.
The Spar provides gas but we bought our gas at Kexin Gas Geysers, 10 km from Yellow Sands (about 3km past Crossways Centre) on the way to Gonubie. Kexins have a building material, general dealer shop with a large angling section.
General
Yellow Sands apparently have a once-a-month hot-dog day for the long-term campers, but that was only held one month during our three month stay.
One of the owners circulated among the campers, and often drove through the campgrounds and one could report anything at the office whenever necessary, so there is opportunity for interaction with management.
I asked for a discussion with management to gain information for a blog post I am working on for this website. The managers were in a meeting and the office staff asked where I camped and promised a visit from a manager, which never happened.
That is not a negative observation as it was not related to our camping experience at Yellow Sands, and cannot be used to evaluate management accessibility.
Due to its location, most Yellow Sands campers are from the Eastern Cape and the Free State, which makes it a different experience from KZN and Southern Cape caravan resorts.
The best I ever had.
Travelling through Transkei
Our stay at Yellow Sands ended at the end of April 2023 when we left for Rocky Bay, but we plan on returning in August 2023.
Our next stop was Rocky Bay and we travelled on the N2 through Transkei.
Despite all the gloom and doom we heard of (we even had three other caravans travelling with us) the trip was uneventful.
Ignore the stories you hear and keep your eyes open, not only for the goats and cattle but the pigs next to the road.
The main frustration is the speed bumps one encounters from time-to-time. Although they frustrate the drivers, most were at places where there are schools or people crossing, so it should not be something to wish away.
Personally, I feel that speed restrictions in most areas are ridiculous, as most of them seem to be based on 1960’s technology, whereas modern cars and drivers are quite capable of driving safely at higher speeds, even in urban areas.
Do not look out for speed bump warnings but rather for pedestrian crossing warning signs because that is where the speed bumps occur. In some town areas you may encounter speed bumps just before and after traffic lights.
We left Yellow Sands just after 05:00 on a Sunday morning. Google maps indicated a 581km trip to Rocky Bay that would take about 8 hours driving at an average speed of 72km/h. It worked out very near to that.
Mthatha wasn’t too difficult to get through but Mount Frere was a nightmare, even on a Sunday morning. Be patient here.
I think it is good advice to rather travel on Sundays.
Yellow Sands – Quick facts
Safety: Safe. Automatic access gate. Isolated from other towns and has only one access road.
Security company owned by the Yellow Sands owners look after security in the resort.
Wi-Fi: Yes at the office.
Private ablutions: No
Standard of ablutions: Old buildings but clean and well-maintained. Cleaned often during the day but mops available for mopping up water after showering. Large shower heads, and curtains but no problem with water spillage (depending on how aggressively you shower!). Adequate toilet paper was provided.
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Plugs in bathrooms: Hair dryer plugs for women.
Laundry: Yes. Pay-and-wash washing machines.
Condition of access roads: Potholes on the tar roads after the turn-off from the N2 as well as the provincial road from Gonubie.
Nr of stands: 250
Paved stands: No.
Unpaved stands: Yes.
Shade: Yes, most stands. Trees.
Shop on-site: Cash tuckshop (wood, water and charcoal but no milk or bread).
Nearest town: Gonubie. Crossways Shopping Centre 7km from Yellow Sands on Shaffli Road with excellent and affordable Spar and a variety of shops.
Pet Friendly: Yes out of season. No leash is required although there is a page with rules on the website and dog owners were asked to keep their dogs fenced-in after other campers complained while we were there.
Load shedding: Yes and unreliable Eskom infrastructure may cause longer periods of no electricity.
Hot and cold swimming pools: Cold.
Pensioners rates: Yes
Long-term camping rates: Yes.
Location:
Farm 724,
East Coast Resorts Road,
Kwelera,
East London,
Eastern Cape,
South Africa,
5259.
Contact
Tel: 043 734 3043
WhatsApp: 061 514 6046
General: info@yellows.co.za
Bookings: bookings@yellows.co.za
Facebook: facebook.com/yellowsands
Things to know
- Booking a specific site is not possible. Bookings are for access to manage the number of visitors. Campsites are chosen on a first come first serve basis. Make sure you read the details here.
- Dogs are allowed out of season. The rules are on their website but were mostly not enforced while we were camping.
- Brackish water. You will have to buy water if you can’t cope with the brackish water of the East Coast.
Click here if you want to see a gallery of images of Yellow Sands