Big Sur - Highway One

The journey from Pebble Beach to LA is about 320 miles and as we planned to take the slower but scenic route of Highway One we decided to leave early this morning.

Very soon into our journey we started seeing spectacular scenery. The road hugs the cliff edge which is why it is advisable to do the journey southbound as you are then on the right side of the road. Sheer cliffs drop into the waters edge and the ocean is flat and calm so you can see for miles. There are countless lay-by stops to see the scenery and take photos.  Not only was the scenery amazing but so was the wildlife. Rocks were covered in all sorts of seabirds, pelicans, cormorants, gulls and terns and at one of the photo stops I heard sea lions and looked down to see a large rock populated by them. We saw whales playing in the shallow water, dolphins swimming with some surfers and near San Simeon there was a large colony of elephant seals basking in the beach and also playing in the waves breaking on the shore (see the extra photo). They are huge creatures, weighing up to 3 tons and the bulls have a peculiar proboscis. There were redwoods in the forests and lovely hiking trails. This has been the highlight of the trip so far for me!

I have travelled the beautiful coast of Cape Town many times before but it doesn't compare to this - this is bigger, better and far more spectacular and dramatic. The weather changed from fog rolling in over the ocean to sunny skies, but the ocean was always clear and mirror-like so you could look down and see for miles.

There were many RV's, cyclists, motorbikes and the ubitiquous Ford Mustangs on the route. Big Sur is a beautiful area with many nature parks and camp sites and I think a holiday along this route staying at these camp sites around Big Sur and doing some of the many hikes around here would be a wonderful experience. 


This is a view along Big Sur. With the fog it is difficult to photograph just how lovely it was.

After San Simeon it became flatter and less dramatic. It is also very dry as they have been experiencing a drought here for a while now. We passed ranches and fields of fruit and vegetables, and of course the famous orange orchards. As the road move inland there were some less interesting parts of the journey, but then as we neared Los Angeles it was fascinating to see the huge beach houses in Malibu and Ventura. The beaches are long and wide in this section, and there were many people on the beach but not that many in the water - a few surfers but the conditions of the waves seem to change from bay to bay, some areas being far too flat and calm for waves and others having decent wave action for the surfers.


It was a long journey - it took about 8 hours in total, and we were pleased to reach our destination of Santa Monica in LA.