Today’s tidbit: “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” ― Mary Anne Radmacher 

Continuing on from last weeks Swaziland post, we reached our Coffee Bay destination, where we stayed for 2 nights. By the time we got to Ocean View Hotel the sun was going down so we couldn’t see much until the following morning. Once we arrived, we checked into our rooms where we were greeted by some of the owners dogs along with rescue dogs on the property. Starting to have some Sammy withdrawal, I was so happy to find some canine friends! Following dinner and drinks the first night, we enjoyed a night walk along the beach. This is where my mom and I first saw a full moon rise, which was spectacular.

Sneak peek image: On the porch out front our room. I bonded the most with this little girl, Sophie.

Be sure to click below to read more and check out more pictures. Enjoy!

Once checked in, my mom was getting organized while I was on the porch with Sophie. I came in to unpack and get ready for dinner, only to find she followed me into our room and was making friends with my mom too. I learned from the owner that she is one of the rescue dogs that has made Ocean View Hotel her home.

{Night 1: dinner + sunset + drinks} Part of the delicious dinner that night.

After dinner our group that we became close with (my mom and I along with 3 Aussies) headed to a picnic table outside, close by the water to watch the last of the gorgeous sunset. The evening was complete with some cheese (which we brought from dinner), wine and hours of conversation.

{Night 1: Miko + walk on the beach + moon rising} After that, 2 of the Aussies from our group left. My mom and I went back to the room for a minute, where Sophie was waiting on our front porch. After giving her some lovin’ we continued on to meet the other guy in our group and go explore the beach, which was a 5 minute walk from where we had been sitting on the picnic table. I only had my small camera, not my DSLR, on the beach so I couldn’t capture the moon well but it was absolutely amazing.

As the 3 of us continued to walk, my mom and I noticed this huge white glowing thing along the ocean. Having no idea what it was, and thinking maybe we drank a little too much, the Aussie with us laughed saying it was the moon. We didn’t believe him but as we continued to walk up and down the beach we noticed it rising. It was incredible. Obviously we see the sun rise and set, which I love to watch and capture, but never the moon. We decided it must be a Southern Hemisphere thing because as my mom and I stood there admiring the bright full moon, the guy we were with said in Australia it happens every day also and couldn’t believe we never saw that. Live and learn. The more I see though, the more I believe there really is nothing that compares to natural beauty.

{End of night 1} After that amazing walk on the beach, the guy from our group left while my mom and I hung out by the pool for a bit. You could hear many of the germans in our tour group laughing and carrying on, who were at the bar close by. As I sat on the ledge of the pool Sophie came and joined, although she wasn’t too keen on the water. It was a great way to end a long road trip day!

{The following morning} Now we were able to explore the property, since we couldn’t see much when we arrived. Check out the Ocean View hotel. I will get to the beach pictures in my next post.

This guy reminded me of my moms dog, Cody.

As I’ve mentioned, throughout the tour we stayed in many types of accommodations and were often in a new place every night. In Coffee Bay, however, we stayed for 2 nights and it was the first day we had nothing planned. Later this week I will show the adventures of that day, exploring the beach and town, which ended up being one of my favorite days out of the whole tour!