Tourists, visitors and families are starting to stream in from all over, and soon the beaches, and in fact everywhere else, will be packed with people.
So no more of the solitary shows at the beaches, until the holidays are over.
This picture below is how we like it.
The sea has a hidden pulling power to draw people to it.
I remember the days during the 70s and the 80s so well, as every December, we would have a 4 week shut down in the construction industry. We would load the car, and with our 3 kids on the back seat, we would travel from the city of Johannesburg to the coastal City of Durban. About +570 kilometers and depending on where we booked for our holiday stay, down on the south coast, the total trip would take us about 6 to 7 hours.
Gradually things got more expensive and the cars on the roads started to increase. Not only that, as the government started to erect Toll Gates, to such an extent that it has nowadays become a very expensive journey. And yet, people don't mind as the numbers of visitors to the coast every December has increased to numbers in the millions.
Cape Town is of course very much further to reach, as from Johannesburg by car it is about 1200 kilometers. But yes, even here, millions are streaming in every year.
So, for the next holiday period, this soul on the chair below will have about 200 visitors laying around him and sun tanning.
The sea fishermen will turn into an army soon.
But only a few kilometers up the road, things have already started to increase.
This is what we are used to during the off seasons.
But travel a few kilometers up to the boardwalk, you will see how things are gradually starting to become crowded.
I can tell you that during the peak times like Christmas day, Boxing day and New Year's day, these places will teem with millions of people. Then, if you want to come here, you must be prepared to walk a few miles, as there will be no parking places anywhere closer to the beaches.
And then after New Year, we will creep out of our shells again.
Things will gradually calm down after the holidays, the schools will open and solitude and peace will reign again.
Everything and everyone will be restored and calmed down again, only until the next long school holiday again :)
Just the way that things are for us that live near the coast.
I cannot blame the people, as we were also once those that rushed to the beaches during the holiday periods, and we shared the excitement at the first view of the sea from the road as we arrived. But to live as we do now, so close to the ocean, it is a totally different lifestyle that one has to get used to, with many changes.
The locals are more relaxed and slow going and one just has to accept that.
Oh yeah, it took us time to get used to it, especially after the rat race in the city, where everyone wants everything yesterday, and down here no one minds if it gets done tomorrow, next week, or next month. Such a big change. So, the message to us was to slow down, tomorrow is another day, and the sun will shine again.
Rather sit in peace and meditation at the ocean, than to scream agitatedly at someone on the phone for making a mistake.
No one is perfect.
I hope that you liked the story and the pictures.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
Thank you kindly for supporting this post.