Igoda beach near East London

Tony, the boys and I took a drive out to Igoda beach yesterday afternoon, just for fun. It was quite late in the afternoon already and we could not stay long, but we took our cameras, romped around on the sand dunes a bit, tried out a homemade sandboard that didn't work, and generally just had a "winter outing to the beach." I haven't been to Igoda in years, but used to go to Igoda with my parents often when I was a kid. My parents used to like fishing there, and I would run around on the sand dunes, or try catch a few fish in the rock pools - further along the beach, as the first bit of beach is just beautiful sand and ocean. My mother used to put red ribbons in my hair in case I wandered off a little too far, she would be able to spot me easily (and reel me back in) :)

The route seems to have changed somewhat, from what I remember. Obviously it's still leave East London and travel past the East London airport, but now it's straight down into Winterstrand, then turn right at the bottom, drive along the coast through the little Winterstrand residential village, then as you start to head away from the ocean again, turn left onto a little dirt road, that ends in a small parking area at Igoda beach.

Basti's Igoda story and photos

Zooty's Igoda story and photos

Igoda beach, near East London, and not far from Winterstrand

As you walk down onto the sand at Igoda beach,

this little village and lagoon is off to the right, a bit magical, like Brigadoon.

Zooty (11) and Basti (12) stand on rocks at Igoda Beach.  The beach itself is long and beautiful,

without any  rocks unless you walk pretty far along the beach, but these rocks (and ideal fishing area)

are immediately off to the left as one walks down from the little Igoda beach parking area.

Powerful ocean near Nahoon Reef in East London

 

The first and last photos of these 6 photos above had us flying backwards to avoid being splashed.  These photos were taken today (Friday 23 April) down on the beach near Footprints Cafe in Nahoon.  We were there to meet a client, and had some time to kill before she arrived.  The ocean was rough and beautifully alive and we couldn't resist strolling down to the water's edge for a few photos of the waves spashing over the rocks.  This was in the morning and the tide was high.  Later in the day we were in the Kwelera area of the East Coast Resorts area, when it was low tide, and the sea still looked just as rough, with huge and powerful swells approaching Yellowsands and Kwelera River mouth.  The sea is terribly powerful, and although it's exciting to watch the ocean and the waves when it's rough like this, it's a little scary too.

Mermaid's Pool, Nahoon, East London sepia photograph

Here, Tony celebrates his daughter's visit to East London, down at Mermaid's Pool, Nahoon - or is he showing how big the tidal wave is that's approaching Nahoon beach?  Father was happy to show his daughter the ocean as she had not seen the ocean or touched the ocean or even gotten her feet wet in the ocean in about 7 years.
(post by Terry)

Seaweed marine life near Gonubie

Green and purple seaweed form part of the marine life amongst various other forms of marine life and examples in and around a small rockpool on the coast near Gonubie, East London. A trip to the beach is always a great opportunity for taking photos. When visiting the ocean, photographers should not forget to take close up, or macro photographs too, of various forms of marine life, rockpools, seaweed and shells, instead of only concentrating on sunsets over the ocean, sandy beaches, or oceanscape photos.

Kids floating in the ocean

The boys enjoying a trip to the beach, and floating in the ocean near Gonubie, during the East London summer school holidays. We had our dog Gilly the jack russell with us, so we stayed away from the main Gonubie beach, but the boys still had fun at this rocky beach.