April 19, 2025
We’re staying in our first true hotel here in Plettenberg Bay and the boys are thrilled. We have adjoining rooms and theirs has its own TV which is a bedroom feature they’ve never experienced before. When putting the boys to bed last night, Ollie suggested that I leave after just 2 songs— something he never does as he typically wants you to stay as long as possible. He tried to act nonchalant, but it was clear he was up to something. I said, “OK no problem I’ll just grab the clicker and be on my way” and he then confessed his plan to watch TV “in the nighttime” and asked I stay for a few more songs.
After breakfast, we drove 15 minutes to the Harkerville Saturday market. There were art exhibits, food tables, produce, crafts and gifts to scope. There was also a playground that drew the boys in and we started our day here. Ollie has been practicing his grip strength and showed off his new monkey bar skills. While Kyle and Len hung back at the playground, Ollie and I hit the market. During a hide and seek bet back at Jonkmanshof, the boys each earned 60 rand and were eager to spend it. Ollie was set to get a slingshot from the start. He had eyed them previously at a few markets and longed for his own. The slingshot was just slightly over budget so I spotted him the difference. Then it was Len’s turn. He perused for over 20 minutes, returning to the craft and jewelry tents multiple times to pore over the “jewels”. He was eager for a carved zebra or a mini drum but both were beyond his budget. Finally he settled for a slingshot of his own.
Since we had already eaten breakfast we grabbed some snacks for later including a box with 6 different flavors of fudge, an almond croissant, a roasted veg and pesto sandwich and some fresh pressed pomegranate juice.
We also spent a sizable amount of time at the sand art tent. The boys each picked out a scene to decorate and then slowly peeled off the sticker sections one by one to add colored sand. Kyle and I couldn’t remember making sand art beyond the ‘layered sand in a plastic bottle at a fair’ kind. This was a rare art project that kept their attention for longer than 2 minutes.
After returning to the hotel, the boys were eager to jump in the pool. Kyle played with them in the pool while I went on a longer walk to scope the area. Our hotel is near the smaller Central Beach so we wanted to also get a sense for what the longer, Robberg 5 Beach was like before tasking the boys with the long walk there.
I learned we are a ~40 minutes walk from the Robberg 5 beach and while beautiful, not worth dragging the boys all that way. I did see a neat jellyfish on the walk though!
I returned to the hotel to hear the boys playing in the pool. Its a small hotel with seemingly no other children staying here so we are easily the loudest group here. We swam, ate and played for a few hours before heading back to the rooms for a quick homeschool session before dinner.
For dinner we drove up the hill to the nearby Market off Main. It reminded us of the Oranjezicht market in Cape Town but less bustling as many shops were closed, maybe due to the Easter holiday. We had quick dinners from the Asian and Local food stalls while watching a rugby match on a nearby bar’s TV.
There was also a big chess set (deemed the medium chess set by the boys) that caught Ollie’s eye. When asked if he planned to play, he said “nah there are adults playing on it right now”. We looked to see ~12-13 year old kids playing at the board.
When Kyle was putting the boys the bed tonight, Ollie kept at it with the Hamilton questions. He would start each question, “Wait, mama, what about….” even though it was Kyle putting him to bed. Ollie said, “Well I always ask mama my Hamilton questions.” Lucky me. Today, a topic of inquiry was whether the real historical figures looked like the actors from the play— he is leaving no stone unturned.
