Today officially marks the start of the last month of Spring in South Africa – we are now marching towards our Summer and we all know what that means – hot days, hot nights and weekends that feel like holidays!
It’s party season and if you’re like me, there’ll be no overseas jet-setting – I’m keeping it local and close to home – our exchange rate just ain’t healthy right now and when that junk status comes through, well let’s just leave it at that…
So, in looking for holidays near home, I’ve done a fair amount of traveling up and down the KZN coast and have some great spots to share with you. The first is a beautiful gem in Ramsgate, down the South Coast towards Southbroom, which is one of the best surf spots (apparently – I’m not a surfer).
I was invited to stay at Ocean Gaze in Ramsgate by owner, Clare Gaze and to be totally honest, I was a little sceptical at first – Ramsgate is not my first choice for a weekend away, it’s more a pass through town.
But I can 100% admit that that has changed, all due to the wonderful hospitality from Clare, the absolutely beautiful Ocean Gaze B&B and the proximity to The Waffle House! (More on that later)
Ramsgate is small, but that’s its beauty – it’s one of those quaint South Coast towns, with a beautiful beach and scenic lagoon. It’s where you go for some down time, to escape the city, but not be too far from home.
And home is what it felt like from the minute we arrived.
Everything was pristine and decorated beautifully. No cheesy seaside themed knick-knacks gathering dust, no overdone nautical touches – instead the decoration leans towards local art, fresh strelitzias and shells & seaweed collected from the beach. And the rooms are so comfy – king sized beds, crisp linen, clean spacious bathrooms, a bar fridge and full dstv – oh and free wifi.
But with this view, if you’re online, you’re missing out!
Waking up to see the sea is my favourite view ever – I’m not keen on getting in it, but do love looking at it!
The 2 rooms on the top level share a huge balcony which looks directly at the lagoon and sea and you can spot whales frolicking at backline from there too. We stayed in the largest room, which has a lovely walk in wardrobe with big ball and claw bath and then a separate loo and shower. I also love that they used reclaimed floorboards from the original house to make the headboards and some of the room furniture.
The rooms downstairs share a verandah which leads directly to the pool, which you can see the sea from too – heaven! I’m currently plotting how to hire the whole place out and take a nice long South Coast break…
So onto The Waffle House.
Clare’s mum-in-law, Doreen, was the original owner and this South Coast restaurant has served many a waffle in its 59 years! My husband was very confused as to why I wanted to go there for breakfast, asking why on earth anyone wanted waffles at that time of day, but he changed his tune very quickly. These are no ordinary waffles you see. Imagine every stodgy waffle you’ve ever had smothered in ice cream and syrup and then replace it with a light-as-air, crispy on the outside, but moist and delicious on the inside waffle, that tastes just as good topped with something sweet as it does with a savoury concoction such as bobotie, or chicken a la king, or curry – yep, you name it, you can probably get it on one of their waffles. Just leave room for dessert – those bad boys are insane! We left after having a savoury waffle each and then sharing a sweet one afterwards – and then we rolled back up the hill to our room!
A weekend at Ocean Gaze felt like a week, we returned to the city refreshed and revived – and so ready to go back again soon! Thank you for the wonderful stay Clare!
Ocean Gaze is situated in Tunny Lane in Ramsgate.
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