A Gravel Road from Rooi Els to Pringle Bay (2021-06-20)

I was, as always, looking for a quiet, easy, scenic walk to add to my ever expanding list of local expeditions when I spied the innocuous looking Porter Drive running out of Rooi-Els whilst browsing Google Maps. As it turns out, Porter Drive is a relatively unused, gravel road that acts as a backup alternate route to Pringle Bay, stretching just over 4km if you measure from the edge of the village to the main R44 road. This dirt/gravel road lies along a thin ribbon of green, pretty much undeveloped land (except for a sprinkling of isolated homes here and there), sandwiched between the cool waters of the Atlantic and the granite boulder littered foothills of the Kogelberg.

With none of my ladies keen to stretch their legs on this particular day, I hopped into the car and drove along the achingly beautiful Clarence Drive to Rooi-Els, where I parked and got walking. Fynbos, mountain and sea views aside, for birdwatchers this particular strip is also of somewhat importance – it is one of the natural habitats of the Cape Rockjumper, aka South Africa’s Bird of the Year 2021.

With almost no traffic, both human and car, what followed was a tranquil walk along a crunchy underfoot road, the perfect spot for a bit of life contemplation.