Hi friends! Soooo, it’s been a minute. Truth be told, I didn’t blog for two reasons while we were in South Africa. First, our between poor signal strength and load shedding, access to WiFi and the internet was iffy at best. Second, I decided after struggling to make time to post my last blog at the beginning of December to, instead, just enjoy our time together as a family in South Africa and blog the whole holiday after the fact. So, as of Friday, we’re back in the country, and I’m excited to start sharing more of our trip; starting with our visit to the Margate tidal pools in KwaZulu-Natal.
If you remember from when I last posted from Shelly Beach, the first ten days of our holiday were rainy; so rainy, in fact, that Ryan joked we brought a rain spirit with us from the PNW. While our South African family insisted they needed the rain (and they did), we did our best to weather it – pun intended – and make the best of it. It was a bit of a bummer to spend rainy days on the beach consistently, so you can imagine how happy we were when the sun came out for our final day in Natal!
We decided to visit the Margate tidal pools in KwaZulu-Natal – just 20 minutes from where we were staying on Shelly Beach. For those unfamiliar with tidal pools, or oceanside pools, these man-made beauties offer the best of both world. You get the saltwater beauty of the ocean merged with a contained pool, complete with a variety of sea life. Best of all, there are many of them around the world, from Portugal to France, Greece, and of course, South Africa, which has several.
The Margate tidal pool is actually split into two sections – a shallow kiddie pool, and a deeper pool for better swimmers, which varied in about three to four feet in depth. Like the ocean itself, the water was chilly, though not unbearable when the sun came out. And, let’s be honest, I love cold ocean water, so having the chance to fully submerge in the Indian Ocean was dreamy, and I love that our kids were able to dip in yet another ocean! We brought our nephew, Connor, with us, and as a swimmer, you’d better believe he was in heaven with all that water, too.
The sun didn’t last too long. After about two hours, we’d soaked up a good bit of the warmth though, and we’d had the opportunity to watch as the tide rolled in, filling the pools to their brim. It was heaven, and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to visit the Margate tidal pool in KwaZulu-Natal. Trust me; if you’re ever in the region, you need to go!
