There’s a tree I love on the highway between Harrismith and Ladysmith. I have seen it since I was a little girl, travelling home. I lived in Northern Natal for a little while and played sports sometimes in Harrismith. Even after that, we’ve made trips up to Joburg to see family, embark on planes, or visit game reserves.
Every time we come back from the highveld to the lowveld, there’s a spark. I see that big flat mountain in Harrismith and feel a tingle. Then, I see the ‘Racing Car’ mountain, which my children insist on calling ‘Hippo Mountain’, where I look for bald ibises. The little spark of joy grows because I know the descent is coming.
You have to go super slow down Van Reenen’s. Driving at 60km/h feels like trudging through clay after a few hours at 120km/h. The police assure us it’s not meant as a lesson in patience; they want us to arrive alive. Before you get to Smelly-Truck-Brake Pass, though, there’s this beautiful tree. It’s huge compared to everything else in that location, so it stands out. It’s also right next to the road.
Look Closer at the Tree As You Come To This Ancient Place
I have no idea how this tree is still standing. For 30-plus years, I’ve taped it as absolutely ancient. It hasn’t changed. The tree of my childhood memories looks just the same. It’s a gum tree, but let’s skip over the part about it being invasive and water-guzzling. It’s dazzling. It stands straight up, towering above you as you come up the hill. You can see it from quite a long way off, and as you get closer, it touches the sky.
You can’t help but notice the phenomenal composition its stripped bark reveals layer upon layer. It’s like a bored artist has taken their palette and tried to get every colour there is onto one tree trunk – pinks, greens, yellow, blues, greys, oranges, and all the fancy colour names in between that I don’t know. ‘Rainbow’ would not even come close to it.
The ibises, cranes, and ducks get to enjoy it every day. I just catch a glimpse of it when I’m coming home. Is that why it’s so captivating? I hope to ask my grandchildren one day. Will they be coming home to beautiful KZN, too? To me, home is colours on a tree and the promise of the ocean.
“Where did those twenty-something years go in the blink of an eye?”
Heather and Robin Lind.
April 23, 2024
An old friend’s son has just turned 18. He was 11 just last week. A certain Oribi Dad’s big midlife birthday is also fast approaching. I can still remember the moment our eyes met for the first time like it was five minutes ago. Toes in beach sand, but wearing a jersey because it was the middle of July. South Coast living is very kind in that way. You can grab a jacket but still get away with shorts and slops most days of the year.
My 15-year-old self was a little different from now. Bolder, and much cheekier, with a smaller waist and an even narrower worldview. All of the people there teased us about a summer fling that was sure to end once we all got back to school. We didn’t even live in the same town. Twenty-three years later, our fling is a ring, three sweet sons, two dogs, and many memories of other beautiful beaches we’ve explored together. What are the chances?
Also, where did those twenty-something years go in the blink of an eye? We’ve already moved past so much life and so many changes. I still like Turkish Delight, but it sits on the hips a little easier these days. He still likes Greenday and jokes about it near the end of every September. The Lion King still makes both of us gulp back the tears. It’s 30 years old. Thirty! That’s as old as the new South Africa!
What was I doing thirty years ago? Grade 2, I think, with Mrs Bentley, who loved tennis and dyeing her hair strange colours. She was certainly younger then than I am right now. There’s a thought. She loved tennis, as I did, which is probably why I remember her hair and mini skirts. That was what we wore to play tennis then. Little skirts with ball holders clipped on the back of them, so we could serve with only one ball in our hands and not throw it up skew. We must have been so cute! We thought we were the bee’s knees.
In another thirty years, I’m sure I’ll have a more mature perspective on my life right now. What will it look like from over there, to look back in this chaotic and exhausting mother-of-three-little-boys phase? Why did I use to think it was so hard? Who knows?
That’s why we do it as best we can in each moment. Isn’t each of those moments life itself?
“We didn’t take any shells away from our travels in these magical places; that would be against the rules.”
Sunset at the Tip of Borneo. PHOTO BY HEATHER LIND
August 14, 2023
There’s something about shells that has always fascinated me. Since I can remember, I’ve felt a calm descend as I walk slowly through the sand. I glance here and there to find the prettiest, most interesting shells the beach has to offer for the day.
Sometimes, you have to look for a tiny point sticking out among grains of sand before sticking your toe in and flipping it out to reveal what’s underneath. Sometimes, it’s just a piece. Other times, it’s an unexpected masterpiece that you can’t stop looking at in your hand.
Beaches Around the World Have Shells For Us To Find
When we were on the north coast in the school holidays, seeing old dried turtle eggs on the dunes was very exciting. It reminded me about the time we arrived at a beach in Kenya for a few days with family. It was raining. We jumped out of the car after a flight and a taxi ride from Nairobi. People were running to the beach to watch tiny hatchling green turtles emerging.
Only God could have timed that for us.
Those little turtles were awe-inspiring. Working with all their might to get out from their deep nest under the sand and poking out their heads into the rainy afternoon. They were absolutely covered in sand and moving their flippers constantly to try and move forward. Slow, awkward moments made their path a long one. but they kept going until they reached the shoreline. They’re so fast once they’re in the water; unbelievably fast after watching them struggle on the beach!
Another Fantastic Beach – The Tip of the Dog’s Ear in Borneo
Two years before that, we’d spent a month in Malaysia Borneo. My Number One favourite memory was diving in to snorkel in the Coral Triangle, the same area as the world-famous dive site Sipadan. The turquoise sea is stunning when you’re on the little speed boat. But once you dip the mask down into the salty water, it’s indescribable.
Incredible.
Paradise.
Colours as you’ve never seen them and moving things everywhere you look. The mantis shrimps shimmered next to blue spotted rays and parrot fish and thousands of other creatures going about their day.
But seeing the turtles was just magical. Huge green turtles you could ride on if you could catch them – you can’t, they’re too fast! – and munching on sea grass or zipping by in the current. Hawksbill turtles, too if we were lucky, big and small.
Thankfully, the military shells around Sipadan weren’t in action while we were in the area, though we did hear shots and explosions every now and then. Apparently, it was just a normal thing and we were told to ignore the sounds and rather focus on remembering to put on sun-cream.
Don’t Take Shells, Just Memories
We didn’t take any shells away from our travels in these magical places; that would be against the rules. But we did take a big cowrie home from our favourite North Coast beach. It was one that my then-boyfriend snorkelled to find deep in the reef so that he could use it as a ring holder. But that story, involving secret sibling setups and too-long walks that almost ruined the proposal, is for another day. And we still have the shell.
“If you ever go there, be sure to leave time for a long walk.”
Oribi Mom at Mabibi in iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
August 3, 2023
It’s been three years of this COVID stuff, with two sons arriving amid the chaos. With all that’s happened, we’ve also had to postpone a holiday we’d planned for July 2020.
Instead of COVID lasting a few weeks, it was still around the next year, so we didn’t go in 2021 either. Then, Boy Number Three made an entry in 2022. And now, here we are, with a one-year-old, his two brothers, and finally a three-year-old booking we have been able to actually use.
A Special Place for Our Growing Family
The place is a very special one for us as a family. It’s where we met 22 years ago as starry-eyed teenagers. It’s also where he proposed to me six years after that, when I was finally old enough to get married. So when we go, there’s always some history to it.
But it’s truly a gem of a beach destination on the North Coast. It’s the type that is beautiful just the way it is. It doesn’t need amenities to cover up litter or dirty sand or cloudy water. It has pristine soft white dunes, crystal clear water, and kilometres of space with not a soul in sight. Perfect.
Beautiful Beach Hours Above and Under the Water
The snorkellers in our little group saw rays, crayfish, lionfish, and all sorts of other interesting things in the water. The beachgoers admired the performing whales constantly passing by. And I found five turtle nests, marked by the dried eggs fanning out from the exit point on the dune. Super exciting.
In twenty years, not much has changed there except the popping up of a very exclusive lodge right below the campsite. The camp has also erected three little cabins with canvas walls, giving us the option to have our own kitchen and shower. It’s glamping compared to the outright campsites, but just as immersive in nature.
I like the cabins with small children, but we let the bigger boys camp for two nights just to have the memories. The kids also hopped around from campsite to campsite, visiting their cousins and friends who came with us for laughs, toasted marshmallows, and lots of sand castles. They even found some of the endemic bird species in the area, saw giraffes right on the main road, and watched the sunsets over Lake Sibaya. They heard the bushbabies and elusive Green Malkohas too.
Hopefully, they’ll always remember it as the best beach ever. That’s how we think of it. If you ever go there, be sure to leave time for a long walk. You might just find one if the giant cowries my love used to propose to me all those years ago. Best ringholder ever.
“If we had invested in a professional videographer that day, we could have shown our sons what their parents, aunties, uncles and other friends looked like.”
The reward of reaching 15 years with three kids and a full memory bank has been worth it so far.
October 1, 2022
Many of you may already know that it sometimes pays to go through your cupboards and boxes. All three boys are transitioning into the next clothing size and I was taking a hands-free 20 minutes to fold laundry and sort things out.
When the piles of clothing were finally back into the right spaces, my eyes fell on a shoebox right at the back of the shelf. Oh yes, Mom brought that over a few months ago and I haven’t had a chance to look in it yet.
As I opened it up, I realised it was a few things from my childhood room; some wedding invitations, a photograph or two; printer’s tray items. How sweet to remember the little ornaments I spent so much time looking at and playing with as a girl. Too delicate to pass on to rough and tumble toddler boys just yet, though.
Look Closer at the Memories for Treasures
As I scanned the items, I saw an envelope with a single name on it in my handwriting. Who is that? Let’s call him Ben.
I only remembered one person by that name – a boy in my primary school. I didn’t remember ever writing him a letter, so I opened it. Three R100 notes fell on the floor! And as I read the note, it became clear.
“Here’s something to say thank you for taking our wedding video. Hope 2008 is a wonderful year for you!”
Oh, that Ben.
The one who offered to film our wedding almost 15 years ago. The friend who never arrived.
Still Frames in the Mind Are Treasured, Too
That’s right, we don’t have a wedding video to remember our very special union at 21 and 23. Those fresh-faced young people in the photographs are captured in still frames only. Their sincere voices and excited celebrations are a distant memory now.
Wedding guests didn’t have smartphones to capture clips of the day. There wasn’t even WhatsApp.
“Car trouble, sorry,” the message said as we were dressing for our long-awaited big day.
We’d dated for six years and were finally old enough to tie the knot. As we stood overlooking the ocean and said our vows, only the guests and gulls bore witness. We signed papers and we beamed at the prospect of what the future might hold for us.
Guests swam between the ceremony and the reception to stave off the oppressive January heat. Speeches and friends’ songs made everybody cry and laugh. And then, we moved on with our lives.
Maybe We’d Do It Differently But Time Doesn’t Rewind – Enjoy the Moments!
Maybe if we had invested in a professional videographer that day, we could have shown our sons what their parents, aunties, uncles and other friends looked like and how they sounded at the start of something beautiful.
Thankfully, we’ve invested more wisely into marriage. Love takes work, but the reward of reaching 15 years with three kids and a full memory bank has been worth it so far.
And, now we have some cash to go on a well-deserved date night one of these days to celebrate. Happy early anniversary to us.
We are certainly beach people, ever happy with sand between our toes. From Travelinds personal experiences, the following beaches are definitely in our top ten choices from around the world:
10. Blue Lagoon (Bali, Indonesia)
One of the little known Balinese beaches, this secret beach lies over the hill and around the corner from Padang Bai Harbour. Blue Lagoon boasts a fascinating reef just a few steps into the water. Walk to the beach from the harbour by heading up and over the steep hill on the eastern side of Padang Bai Beach Road, then grab a snorkel for a day of underwater relaxation. We even saw eels and turtles in the little reef. Be sure to support the local restaurants (there are two) as these owners keep the beach clean out of their own pockets.
9. Gili Meno (Lombok, Indonesia)
One of our Indonesian favourites, the Gili Meno beach actually runs around the whole island (which is only about 1 x 1.5 kilometres). At almost any point, you can swim out about 10 to 20 metres and hit the reef, so be sure to bring a snorkel and some fins and make the most of it. We swam with turtles, lion fish and schools of fluorescent beauties every single day. Wish we could have stayed longer!
8. Diani Beach (Mombasa, Kenya)
A ten kilometre stretch of fine white sand, gorgeous Diani Beach was definitely our favourite beach in Kenya, with neighbouring Tiwi Beach a close second.
7. Linapacan Islands (Linapacan, Palawan Province, The Philippines)
A whole archipelago of tiny islands somewhere between Coron and Palawan mainland, each island with wondrous beaches and its own reef right off the shore. How could we choose just one beach? Check out some of the names and descriptions from our fantastic four-day island hopping tour on the Brinze Kylene Expedition.
6. Barra Bay (Barra Peninsular, Mozambique)
A Northern beach of Mozambique, there is little about it we did not adore. Warm, flat ocean and stretches of Barra sand with smiling locals and coconuts for sale.
Photo credit: Barra Resorts
5. Anbang Beach (Hoi An, Vietnam)
In Central Vietnam, Anbang is a distinctive beach, which is perfect for lazy swimming days and scrumptious lunches at the local chain of restaurants. We cycled over from Hoi An. Buy drinks from the restaurants and have access to lovely thatched umbrellas or wooden booths, especially helpful to escape the midday heat.
4. White Beach (Moalboal, Cebu, The Philippines)
On the western peninsular of Cebu, parallel to a long, beautiful reef, white beach is another gem in central Philippines. Truly, one of the most superb coral reefs in the Philippines, the Moalboal reef (stretching all the way off White Beach to Panagsama) is well worth taking your own snorkel to to swim out whenever you want.
Malapascua Island
3. Mawun Beach (Lombok, Indonesia)
The long stretch of Mawun white sand that lines a peacock-blue bay, perfect for long morning swims. A fleet of tiny fishing boats floats upon sparkling, clear water sits to one side of the bay. Take a motorbike to get there from Kuta and be sure to take some cash to support the local vendors and family restaurants.
2. Sempang Mengayau – Tip of Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia Borneo)
Soft white sand borders the Sulu Sea of the Sabah Dog’s left ear. A secluded stretch of paradise all to ourselves is only one of the beautiful beaches in this area. It was 7 days of bliss.
1. Mabibi (Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa)
The place where Travelinds began their journey together on the Elephant Coast, part of the rugged Kwazulu-Natal coastline in South Africa. Look out for turtles laying their eggs along the dunes and whales passing by the north coast beaches. Walk for kilometres and breathe in pure African air. The Mabibi campsite is rustic, no electricity (except in the cabins) and hot water for showers in the communal ablution block. Nearby, Lake Sibaya is absolutely breathtaking. This is our number one favourite beach in the world – by far!
The waves pound on the soft shoreline, ten kilometres of turquoise ocean framed by black reef and fine white sand. When the tide is up everybody relaxes, but when the tide goes out, it’s party time! The wide beach opens right up allowing jogging, swimming, camel rides, kite-surfing, snorkelling, reef exploration, long walks and even a tiny microlight that zooms in and out using the beach as a runway – parachutes gently touching down on the sand were also a regular fixture of the low tide buzz that is Diani Beach.
Diani Beach Bound
Ukunda town is only about thirty kilometres south of Mombasa for a comfortable taxi ride (with Ukunda airport being a convenient touchdown point for those heading south to Diani Beach, Tiwi Beach or Wasini and Shimoni Island).
Living it up
The number of resorts and restaurants here were surprising, but it is not difficult to see why this is one of Kenya’s best beach tourism destinations – Diani Beach is absolutely stunning!
Since we were in Kenya having a bunch of ‘first’ experiences, like seeing the magical Masaai Mara and adopting baby elephants, it felt like a good time for our first time at an all-inclusive resort. Luxury living is almost impossible to come by on a perpetual traveller’s budget, but Kenya made it happen!
Having perused a few awesome resorts, we settled on a week at Diani Sea Lodge, about five minutes down the beach from the quirky Forty Thieves restaurant. The hotel is set among beautiful coastal forest, tall coconut palms and lush gardens. Whitewashed textured walls under the shady reach of enormous trees, where exquisite black Colobus monkeys shake their bushy white manes and call to each other like motorbikes starting up (as Daphne Sheldrick describes in An African Love Story).
Our days were spent on the beach, by the pool, reading books from the library, playing volleyball, darts and coconut shotput; and having an altogether relaxing holiday.
Curious Wildlife
One of the delightful things around Diani Sea Lodge are the birds and animals that call it home. Colobus, Sykes and Vervet monkeys roam the trees and gardens around, while camels and dogs enjoy their long walks along the beach. Hedgehogs and Bush Babies rule the night and you wake to the sound of twittering birds greeting the punctual equatorial sunrise.
The locals told us that the KiSwahili word for hedgehog is ‘Kidongo Maria’ because, like Mary the Mother of Jesus, they are thought to be humble and gentle.
Cultural Colour
Diani Beach is also home to amazingly diverse and talented people; musicians, artists, beach boys, shop keepers, sports enthusiasts and many others, too. The bargaining platform with persistent sellers seems wide open to interpretation and the banter is all part of the greater struggle against poverty. Tuk-tuks and bora-boras (motorbikes) crowd the market places in hopes of a good day.
Shawls and sarongs line the bamboo shelves and budding artists create against a backdrop of rhythmic dance and the lifesong of Kenya’s musical people.
One such character was Mr. Christopher Odinga, a local artist and sculptor who makes his living through sand sculptures, tourist-commissioned artworks and if he is lucky, the occasional job sculpting concrete animals for new buildings.
We arrived at Ukunda Airport (Diani) having been warned of blistering heat and humidity; and told to definitely wear shorts and leave the jackets at home. As soon as we landed, however, it started raining and stayed wonderfully cool for the whole two weeks we were in Diani. Daily rain showers kept things fresh, settling the dusty surrounds and covering the landscape in a lather of clouds against the harsh equatorial sun.
The taxi driver kindly took us shopping (at the supermarket) so that we could fill up our grocery bags and then we headed over to Sand Island Cottages on Tiwi Beach.
Surprise! Turtles!
Arriving on the first day at Sand Island in the pouring rain, we were excitedly told that green turtles were hatching, so naturally we ignored the torrential downpour, left our groceries in the taxi, and ran to watch the stragglers, as they tenaciously found their way to the blue ocean in front of our cottages. Drenched and happy, it’s something I will never forget – what a special thing to witness this brave fight to survive against all odds. And it happened twice during our stay!
The cute little creatures had to fight against sand, grass, dogs, birds, a hungry octopus, hunting fish and all sorts of other obstacles to freedom; just so that they could reach the big wide ocean beyond the reef and face the real dangers of life underwater. The survivors of this family will then head straight back to Tiwi Beach in a few years time to carry on the generations of green turtles and the cycle of life.
Nelly the Elephant (Twitter: @Nelly_Says) celebrated as the last baby turtle finally reached the ocean!
Saidi is the turtle conservationist for Tiwi Beach and kept us well-informed about the turtle protection efforts here. Smiling and friendly, he carries a great respect for the turtles and strives to educate everyone he meets about their qualities and needs. The training he received has given him the skills and conservation knowledge he needs to save Tiwi’s population of turtles. He relocates the nests to safer distances from the sea (or from people) and monitors the progress of the nests that are labelled and recorded by Watamu Turtles.
Sand Island Cottages
These quaint beach cottages are a great choice for a quiet getaway and a couple of days (or weeks) of rest. North of Diani, it’s about a fifteen minute drive from Diani Beach and well away from the hustle and bustle of the town itself.
Named for the sand island that appears during low tide, Sand Island Cottages are the perfect location to see the coastline open up as thousands of birds descend of Sand Island to pick up the crabs and sea titbits left exposed by the receding waters. Watch out for the abundance of spiky sea urchins when you walk across the bay!
The self-catering cottages were comfortable, airy and clean, with views of the beach and shady verandahs with soft cushions to nuzzle into a gripping book from their library (all proceeds from the small book rental “fee” go towards providing books for the local schools in the area – initiative I thought was fantastic!) Our friends and family stayed in Simu, Pono and Tewa.
Tiwi beach was clean and pretty much private to those staying at the handful of resorts along the shore – no beach boys or tour operators in sight. The beautiful Kenyan lady at the resort, with her colourful outfits and a smiling baby strapped to her back, kept us in abundant supply of samoosas and ‘mandazi’ when we needed it; and there were people to buy fish or kikois from if we needed.
Mandazi is something like the South African ‘vetkoek’ (fat cake, in English) and is a mouthful of deep fried, doughy deliciousness somewhere in between a donut and a bread roll.
The staff and management were professional, attentive, kind and friendly – it felt like we were part of the family and being looked after with great care. Arty and Cheryl provide excellent service and information about the area, being happily available whenever needed and concerned with bettering both the environment and the community around them.
One initiative we like is the Book Hire system at Sand Island Cottages. There is a library of books available for rent by guests, with a small fee paid and a deposit that you get back when you return the book. The small amount kept by Sand Island goes towards providing books and materials for the local schools in Ukunda that need it the most. So get reading!
Kenyan Hospitality
Running through the local communities along the beach road under the watchful eye of some ancient Baobabs, it was easy to see why the Kenyan people are known for their smiles and friendly greetings. Those commuting to work on their bicycles gave a friendly wave and a happy “Jambo, jambo!”; and there was always singing somewhere on the wind.
There are locals around to lend your support to: like turtle-volunteer Saidi who also has a small wooden boat in which he takes guests to see Starfish Bay. We hired the congenial Ali for the week and he cooked superbly for us, providing freshly baked bread rolls, scrumptious curries and Kenyan-Western fusion dishes. The favourite of the week was difficult to choose, but it was either the hand-pressed coconut milk fish curry with chipatis or the delicious American-style pancakes he whipped out; or was it the daily supply of hot, home-baked bread rolls?
Travelinds has experienced a range of different beach trips and the following are items that we really cannot go without aside from swimsuits and suncream (*cue drum roll…*):
1. Sarong
It’s versatile, light-weight and easy to pack into a small space. Sarongs are good as a towel, a sun cover, a beach blanket, clothing and a cover against mosquitoes in the evenings.
2 Hat
Hats are an obvious item, but also one that saves a face from a world of pain and long-term sun damage. Hats can generally be easily replaced if forgotten or lost, except on isolated tropical islands like we visited in the Philippines. Hats protect your face against the sun and rain (and cover a bad hair day, too!).
3. Sunglasses
Light-coloured eyes will thank you for some extra protection from the harsh glare of the sun. They are also quite stylish, if you’re into that sort of thing, and, without sunglasses, you wouldn’t be able to take an amazing sunset photo like this one in Gili Air…
4. Rash vest
This is one of the best investments we’ve made for any water activities – good sun protection, as well as an extra guard against stinging water creatures and plants.
5. Hammock
You can sit down, lie down, swing, sleep, read and daydream. It keeps your feet clean, your books out of the sand and a breeze through your hair. You can string it up in the shade, anywhere, anytime. Also, your swimsuit can dry on both sides. What’s not to love?
6. Snorkel and Mask
Having our own snorkel and mask with us has been a great idea. It allows a lot more freedom to explore the underwater surroundings at each beach without having to rent it (or miss out completely). It is also helpful to have some goggles (like the kind you’d use in a pool) as a backup for long swims.
7. Dry Bag
Whether for a boat tour, a water transfer, a ski trip or a dive, the dry bag is usually a good idea to avoid general spray and the odd freak wave soak. Cameras, cellphones, wallets and books will thank you later.
8. Refill water
The amount of plastic in our precious oceans is shocking and disgusting, and we can make a difference every single day. Take your muggy along rather than buying plastic bottles along the way. Being environmentally responsible tourists is a daily choice and one of these decisions is to use water refill stations (or decant from large recyclable refills for the duration of your trip) rather than buying more plastic waste. Incidentally, it will also save you money. For example, on Gili Meno (Indonesia), the price of a 1.5-litre plastic water bottle was 5,000 IRP and the price of a 19-litre (5 gallon) refill water tank was 22,000 IRP (excluding a deposit). That’s a 65% saving on the price per litre if you ditch the 1.5-litre bottles and choose the 19-litre refill instead (about 4 days worth for the two of us).
9. E-reader
This little device has truly changed the way that I read both at home and abroad. Travelling with it is easy and this means I read more wherever I am, at any time of the day or night. Books are still amazing, but an e-reader allows me to carry around my whole library, use it at night in places without electricity and read more than one book at a time without taking up more precious space in my small backpack. The world needs to read more – do your part!
10. Camera
Obviously, a camera is an essential item to capture the beauty of all your travel destinations, like this sunset at the Tip of Borneo. You can share it with others, and refresh your memories as the years go by. Together with a dry bag or sand-friendly cover, keep some extra batteries and a universal adapter so you can recharge it easily.
Armed with Travelinds Top 10: Beach Travel Items you are ready for any beach in the world – and there are some breathtaking beaches out there, no matter where on God’s beautiful green earth you go! Check you on the flip side.
What are you favourite beach travel items? Travelinds would love if you left us a comment below!
If you liked this post, check out Travelinds’ post
Linapacan is the small archipelego between Coron Busuanga and Palawan mainland. Coron Busuanga, Culion Island, Linapacan and Iloc Island are part of the Palawan province of the Philippines; and it is a truly stunning area.
Off the main drag, Linapacan is not a common tourist destination, especially for those with limited time to explore the more inaccessible parts of the 54 islands in its domain.
Getting to Linapacan
After much research and deliberation on our journey, we decided to try and take a cargo boat from Coron to Linapacan, and if we couldn’t find one at the harbour (because there aren’t always delivery boats every day), we would take the ferry the next day (buying the 800 peso ticket from the pier in the morning). Luckily for us, a friendly trike driver helped us locate a boat picking up goods. The cargo boat eventually left at noon (giving us a solid three hours to get to know fellow passengers as we all waited) and arrived at the island around 5pm. They charged us 500 pesos each. It was worth it not only for the little bit of money saved (no time saved) but also for the contacts we had made on the boat during the journey.
We hopped on to this cargo boat to get to Linapacan.
On the boat to Linapacan there were six passengers and four crew. One passenger turned out to be quite fluent in English and held the prestigious position of Barangay Counsellor (a local government official of San Miguel, Linapacan), which elevated his status greatly in the eyes of the Filipinos here. His name is Monmon (said “Mawn Moon”) and he convinced us to come to his island instead of going to San Miguel (the main city on Linapacan). He said that his friend “had a cottage” where we could stay (price unknown), that there was good snorkelling on their reef and that he would feed us.
Inapupuan Island
Why not? So, of course we agreed and we got off the boat with him at the tiny Inapupuan Island (15 minutes north of Linapacan by fishing boat). The low expectations of our detour served us well and made it more exciting to discover a whole village that was excited to have tourists in their midst. The ‘cottage’ was actually an open bamboo hut on the beach, with a only a roof, a table and a bench. There was also an outdoor ‘bathroom’ where we could wash (in buckets) and use the long-drop under the stars (with some draughty bamboo walls for privacy). The owner of the hut (a 19-year old smiling girl) cooked a huge portion of fish and rice for us and carefully watched us eat every last drop by solar lamp.
CULTURE TIP: It seems that in this part of the Philippines it was expected that we as guests eat first, while everyone watches us and prompts us to eat as much as we possibly can in one sitting. The elders then ate what we left, and then the others tucked in. It was quite something to get used to people literally staring at every mouthful we took and not being willing to let us eat an appropriate-sized portion but insisting on piling up our plates at every meal; sometimes filling our plates for us despite our pleas that we were full to the brim. [Thank goodness we swam for a few hours each day to keep those calories from sewing our clothes smaller during the night!]
This was our ‘cottage’ on Inapupuan island.
We slept on the table in our trusty duvet cover, fighting off only a few mosquitoes, but enjoying the breeze and the bright stars above. Like the birds, we woke up in true island style to the call of the confused roosters (sometimes all night), the dogs and villagers waking up with the sunrise; and the fishing boats returning from their morning expeditions. This area is known for its squid-fishing industry, which are collected between 5pm and 5am every night on boats with about eight lights shining on the water to attract the luminous-spotted ink-makers large and small.
Dried Squid
Inapupuan is apparently famous for dried mini squid (about a hand’s length) and we saw them laying out the squid at sunrise to dry for two days. After this, it is sold to traders in San Miguel (like BRC hotel), who send it on to the Manila markets about twice a week. A kilogram of mini dried squid sells at about 120 pesos, and the large dried squid at about 300 pesos per kilogram (much more than the measly 37 pesos per kilogram they get for the cashew nuts that come in from a few of the islands).
Inapupuan’s main source of income is from the dried squid that they ship to Manila once a week.
The next morning we jumped in for a snorkel (the reef is only 30 metres offshore) and unfortunately met with an array of sparkling jellyfish, which quickly redirected us back to our beach hut nursing a few little stings (nothing major). A great pity indeed as the reef looked amazing through the clear blue water off the boats. Inapupuan, we will have to come and see your reef again!
Patoyo Island
Patoyo Liao Beach
Monmon’s brother kindly ferried us to the next island on his (tiny) fishing boat, as we had read about staying on Patoyo Island (right opposite San Miguel – about 10 minutes on a boat). He dropped us on the beach with our bags and waved goodbye as he took Monmon back to his job across the bay in San Miguel. We followed our noses to a village (called Osun), asked a couple of people where we could stay and secured a spare bed at what we like to call, The Eagle Inn, with Berta and Lito.
Berta and Lito
The bamboo frame is in their front room and was available for 200 pesos per person per night and we gave them what we thought was fair for the generous meals they provided (fish, squid, rice, water and coffee). Two nights later we moved across to new friends on the neighbouring beach.
HIGHLIGHT: Lito has an eagle (that he seems to have rescued from a fishing net) perched on his tree, which eats two fish a day and takes a bath in the ocean every week. An amazing sight to see Lito (a small Filipino fisherman in baggy basketball shorts) lift the huge bird by its body, well away from its sharp hooked beak, dunk it and splash it a couple of times in the ocean, smooth down its feathers and then carry it back to its perch next to the pigs, chickens, cats and dogs.
Lito’s Eagle on Patoyo Island in the village of Osoon
Days on Patoyo were spent lazing on the beach, snorkelling in the awesome reef just off the shore, observing the local fisherman, sleeping in our hammocks and generally loving life in paradise.
The Gonzales and Castolo Families
The next two nights we spent with the Castolo family. Pastor Gonzales met us on the beach, introduced himself and then asked us to come and stay with his employers (he is the caretaker of the Castolo beach). This was another lovely introduction to the true Filipino hospitality and character. There was an abundance of food, laughter, company and an easy air of peace between friends. Since they were all Christians and Catholics, it was an added bonus to be in the company of brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pastor Gonzales shimmied up the coconut palm to bring us a drink.
Mrs Gonzales was particularly wonderful, the definition of ‘being clothed in strength and dignity’. Her five children reflect her noble work ethic and her boundless energy to serve put us to shame over and over again. We were so blessed to have met both the Gonzales and the Castolos on Patoyo Island.
Jayar and Mialyn’s Wedding
Jayar and Mialyn’s Wedding
The last day on Patoyo we met another family from San Miguel who were frantically making wedding preparations on the Liao beach (Note: You need to pay the caretaker 100 pesos per person to use this beach). Building, scraping, cutting, cleaning, burning, dusting and a whole lot more transformed this already beautiful beach into an exquisite wedding venue in preparation for the weekend. The bride and groom (and most of their family members, separately) invited us to attend their wedding on Saturday and also gave us lunches and a free ride over to San Miguel when we left Patoyo.
DID YOU KNOW? At a local island wedding in this area of the Philippines, the word gets out fairly quickly about the big celebration. The family expects (and complains about) all the uninvited guests whom they know will just sneak in (after dark) and therefore provides a mountain of food to ensure these strangers are also fed. Our wedding hosts slaughtered six pigs and sure enough after the sun had set and the reception party was under way, the boats started rolling in one by one; bringing crowds of strangers who also wanted some share the delicious food and dance!
The groom’s aunty, Maileen – of The Brinze Kylene boat – helped us find a place to stay in San Miguel (at the BRC hotel), offered us food and gave us boatloads of information about island hopping tours and getting to El Nido from here. Wow, we remember now why we just love the Philippines!
San Miguel
This sleepy little island town is the municipal capital of Linapacan and considered a bustling metropolis by the islanders of its ten barangays. We spent time here before our island hopping trip with the Escultors and used it as a base from which to do some island hopping (close to San Miguel) in small fishing boats. San Miguel contains an elementary school, a high school, two small bakeries, a handful of stores, a municipal office (where Monmon works), a basketball court, a few piers, lots of fishing boats, a big catholic church and bamboo, tin and brick houses. There were a couple of motorbikes, push carts and bicycles, but no larger vehicles that we could see.
A typical day in sleepy San MiguelThe Cabiguens own the BRC hotel and store
Island hopping
You can do an island hopping tour, for example, for 2 nights 3 days of camping (they set up, cook and clean up) with snorkelling for about 6000 pesos (total for the boat and experience for two people, or more). Travelinds did an absolutely fantastic 3 night 4 day island hopping tour with Maileen and Benji on the Brinze Kylene. Check out the details in our Brinze Kylene Expedition post.
GO LOCAL: To hire a fisherman and his little boat from San Miguel for one day costs between 1000 – 1500 pesos excluding lunch (no shade, slow and sometimes rickety) – and what an adventure it is! The cash goes to the fisherman, and by extension his family and community, so it is definitely a good cause and directly supports the local economy.
Robin and his dad took us out for a day to see the islands
There were two island hopping tours that we took from San Miguel – one for the day (with a local fisherman above) to some of the smaller islands in the area, and one with the Brinze Kylene for three nights. The Brinze Kylene dropped us off in Sibaltan for our final week on the Palawan mainland.
Arrival in Coron Busuanga, Palawan awakened a ripple of excitement through the eighty or so passengers on the small twin-propellor plane, as we shuddered over aquamarine bays with beach-lined islands towards the only flat land on Coron Busuanga; the airstrip that opens a gateway to the Caliamanes islands.
Upon arrival the smiling young airhostess kindly requested that we walk around the plane’s wings, collect our baggage and enjoy our stay in Coron. She looked quite relieved to have finished her duties because we had left an hour late due to delays from the Manila air traffic control tower and she had done a lucky draw of some CebGo souvenirs to keep the mood light and the passengers entertained.
What to expect
The first impression of Coron Busuanga was of a desert island; brown, bare mountains all around with dusty roads and a couple of herds of livestock scattered around the shade of the few unburnt trees (even a few Brahmans, Dad!). Where are the islands and the lush green coastal vegetation? Well, it turns out that we picked the hottest time of the year to visit this tropical paradise. Everything is brown, there is enough breeze to keep you from keeling over, but an airconditioned room is a precious commodity and a highly appreciated respite from sweaty streets.
That’s one of the Travelinds pair in the bay below Kayangan Lake viewpoint!
It’s also the most beautiful time of the year for sea conditions (snorkelling in the calm blue ocean!) although in some areas we met with some scary and abundant jellyfish (but were able to swim around the few big box jellyfish easily). As far as island hopping goes, the weather is absolutely perfect under a shaded boat – the breeze keeps you cool along with frequent swims and snorkelling throughout the day. Like a technicolour kaleidoscope that draws the eyes from one amazing sight to the next, the sunlight filters down through the pristine waters and illuminates the beautiful reefs and all therein.
Highlights of Coron Busuanga (the town)
Favourite taxi driver: Erwin was phenomenal. We called him all the time, he found us accommodation on the last night, a boat, contacts and cellphone assistance. Call him on
Favourite snacks: Julie’s bakeshop (around the corner from Xpeditions office) serves fresh bread of all varieties daily. It is possible to buy whole bags of deliciousness for under 100 pesos.
The Coron Public Market where we bought most of our fresh produce.
Xpeditions in Coron
Having done some research online and looking at flyers in town, we decided to go on a tour with Caliamanes Expeditions Ecotours. It seemed like an organised, eco-friendly company that was as careful to preserve the environment as to show off Coron’s best assets. We did Tour E and Tour B and were very happy with both of these tours – despite the slightly commercial nature of the tours (where you quite a few other tourist boats and most do the same routes from day to day).
Xpedition Tour B group for Coron Island
Tuktuk Adventures
Erwin and Ricardo were two extremely helpful tuk-tuk operators during our time here but represented the two extremes of Coron’s (and Philippines) service levels. Erwin picked us up and tried to charge us more than double the amount that our hotel mentioned, then dropped us at a ‘delicious local food’ restaurant (after our request for cheap local food), which had prices three times the amount of the real local hangouts. Needless to say, we ditched him the next day.
Ricardo, on the other hand, was a polite, soft-spoken driver who gave us free commentary, great advice, honest information, and standard prices. He showed us real local restaurants, helped us sort out our Globe/Smart SIM card problems, found us another place to stay when we needed to rebook and also came early in the morning to help us look for a cargo boat to Linapacan.
Coron to El Nido
After four days in Coron, we decided to head towards a new (unplanned) destination on our way to El Nido. Having read up about Linapacan (with its 54 islands), we tried for two days to find out how to get there and what to expect. Tao travel agency in Coron (near the bus terminal) was helpful and found out about the shuttle boats (for mostly tourists) for us at 900 pesos per person, leaving at 7.30am on Wednesday. This was for only one company though, which had limited day schedules (but we didn’t know this until later).
Other blogs had mentioned finding a cargo boat (doing deliveries) to catch a lift for a much cheaper fare (anything from 300 pesos up). We tried to find one on the one day, couldn’t and went to speak to the main pier personnel for more information. They informed us that there were boats most days to El Nido (different tour companies) for 800 pesos (purchase the ticket at the terminal at 7 am on the day).
These trips are not guaranteed, as the weather and other factors can cause delays or even cancellations. As always, one needs a flexible schedule and a positive attitude about setbacks when travelling in the Philippines.
All in all, we managed to catch a boat, explore the islands, meet fabulous islanders, attend a local wedding, snorkel on deserted coral reefs and make a lifetime’s worth of cherished memories. Check out the details in Exploring the Islands of Linapacan.
Palawan Mainland
From Linapacan, we took an island-hopping tour boat to Sibaltan to spend our last five days exploring Palawan island. Arriving on the mainland after four days on an island-hopping boat was like travelling to a different planet.
Sibaltan
At Sibaltan there were buildings, shops, basketball courts, hotels and lots of smiling locals. Since we only had five days left in the Philippines, we made our way from here to El Nido and then to Sabang before catching a flight home from Puerto Princesa.
Spending only one night in Sibaltan, we stayed at the new Bayog Beach Campsite in a tent. The museum also had a cheap room open and there were two other lodges along the palm-lined beach, too. Bayog’s friendly owners organised a van for us to El Nido for early the following morning.
On a bamboo platform, the tent had a comfortable double mattress, a place for luggage, a bug sheet, and good ventilation. We looked right out on to the beach a few steps away. The bathroom (shared) was clean and well maintained. The staff was friendly, polite and professional. The tents are placed for privacy from others and a view – with two hammocks, a table, and chairs.
El Nido
El Nido was a totally different place from any we had visited before. It has the beauty of the islands, with the tourism of Boracay and the rugged landscape of Borneo – and a touch of fairyland. An interesting place to keep you occupied, or rested, depending on you. The limestone islands made us think of Krabi, but, it has far more beautiful water colours on the dazzling bays.
We arrived, found a hotel (Tres Verde), explored the town, met a flamboyant Italian with a zest for life called Fabio, joined up with Fabio for a tour (with a local fisherman that we found on Corong-Corong beach), bought corn from a corn guy, bought pork from a pork barbecue on the side of the road (just pieces of pork), walked the town ragged looking for an ATM (and didn’t find ANY WORKING ones), marvelled at the sunsets and then unfortunately, had to leave to see Sabang on the way to catch our plane home!
Sabang
The last stop on the impromptu itinerary was Sabang – most famous for its location alongside the Palawan Underground River – a subterranean river featured on the New Seven Wonders of Nature list. We had already seen Halong Bay (Vietnam), Jeju Island (South Korea) and Table Mountain (South Africa); so it was high up on our list of must-sees while in Palawan.
Sabang is a tiny village whose economy basically revolves around the tourists going in and out of the underground river each day. There is one fancy hotel, a couple of lodges and a few backpackers, small stores, one or two restaurants and a long, sandy beach lined with palm trees and hammocks. As a destination, we would have stayed here even without the subterranean attractions.
Manila Airport
As an aside, this is the first time we’d used Manila airport (April 2016) in eighteen months and we were nervous about our short changeover time between Terminal 3 and 4. Previously it took us a good two hours as we had to exit Terminal 3, catch a taxi (or wait for the 20 pesos unairconditioned shuttle van to fill up) across Manila’s rightly infamous traffic and then rush in to Terminal 4 to do the next three security checks (and that was only if we had our boarding passes already printed). This time was a completely different experience.
We walked through immigration in about three minutes, found the signs (still inside the terminal) for the inter-terminal transfer, picked up a free Globe sim card and drew money at one of the handful of ATMs on the way, signed up at the desk (where she also printed our boarding pass), went through one security gate and waited about fifteen minutes for the shuttle bus. The shuttle bus then took us over the runways to Terminal 4 in about ten minutes and we simply walked in to the domestic terminal. What a breeze!
PHOTO BY PIXABAY
Heather and Robin Lind.
Sunset at the Tip of Borneo. PHOTO BY HEATHER LIND
Oribi Mom at Mabibi in iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
The reward of reaching 15 years with three kids and a full memory bank has been worth it so far.
Since we were in Kenya having a bunch of ‘first’ experiences, like seeing the magical 
Whitewashed textured walls under the shady reach of enormous trees, where exquisite black Colobus monkeys shake their bushy white manes and call to each other like motorbikes starting up (as Daphne Sheldrick describes in 
Tuk-tuks and bora-boras (motorbikes) crowd the market places in hopes of a good day.
Upon arrival the smiling young airhostess kindly requested that we walk around the plane’s wings, collect our baggage and enjoy our stay in Coron. She looked quite relieved to have finished her duties because we had left an hour late due to delays from the Manila air traffic control tower and she had done a lucky draw of some CebGo souvenirs to keep the mood light and the passengers entertained.
Erwin picked us up and tried to charge us more than double the amount that our hotel mentioned, then dropped us at a ‘delicious local food’ restaurant (after our request for cheap local food), which had prices three times the amount of the real local hangouts. Needless to say, we ditched him the next day.
From Linapacan, we took an island-hopping tour boat to Sibaltan to spend our last five days exploring Palawan island. Arriving on the mainland after four days on an island-hopping boat was like travelling to a different planet.
