Mzanzitravel Local Travel Inspiration Issue 11

The weather is mostly pleasant and sunny all-year
round, with rainfall along the coast nonetheless
high. With approximately 1,000mm rain per year,
it can rain at any time, but mostly so in spring and
autumn. Summer temperatures along the coast
average about 28 degrees C – from mid-October
to mid-February. Winter lasts from May to July
and is characterized by good weather, with mild
sunny days and no wind or rain.
The forested areas along the Wild Coast
include exotic prehistoric cycads, sneeze
wood, yellowwood and other indigenous trees,
while most of the region is covered with dense
vegetation. Bird life flourishes here, and a great
treat is spotting the fish eagles gliding down from
their clifftop perches to the rivers below.
The Wild Coast is one of the most unspoiled
regions of the country, although miners and
developers have in recent years constantly tried
to change that. So far, thankfully they have mostly
been unsuccessful.
Perhaps the coastal region’s relative remoteness
has helped with that. To get to the Wild Coast
seaside from the N2 highway that runs inland
from East London through Mthatha to KwaZulu-
Natal, often requires travelling down some very
poor dirt roads. But that only adds to the charm.
Some parts are completely inaccessible by motor
vehicle, except with 4WD ones if and where
permitted, otherwise on foot, horseback or by
mountain bike, with the odd landing strip for light
aircraft found here and there.
Follow the N2 out of East London and turn off
to the R349 to Morgans Bay and Kei Mouth.
There are excellent hotels and other forms of
accommodation in both villages, places where
time has stood still. At Kei Mouth the only way
across the river to the rest of the Wild Coast is
by an old-worldly pontoon. This trip across the
river several times a day is quite an experience.
Cars are pulled up and secured, tourists mingle
with villagers carrying bags from shopping trips,
bicycles, animals and everything else are brought
on board, and off you go across the wide river
mouth.
By pontoon across the
river
On the other side a gravel road cuts through the
Kei Mouth State Reserve and then doubles back
down to the coast and a sprinkling of seaside
hotels, such as the well-known Trennery’s and
Seagull’s, favourite holiday destinations for
many generations of families. Both are secluded,
hidden by forest-covered dunes. Challenging little
tracks – quite muddy when it rains – also crisscross
the hills. If you want to take a shortcut and
get lost, friendly villagers along the way will gladly
direct you to your destination.
The hotels here have bars, restaurants, pools,
lawns in beautiful gardens, tennis courts,
stunning sea views, and are very secure with
great hospitality. You can go on river or lagoon
cruises, hike along the beach or one of the many
trails, join Trevor’s Trails for a very educational
and beautiful hike, visit villages, watch a real
sangoma casting bones, go fishing or surfing, or
just soak up the sun and listen to the millions of
birds.
Within the Kei Mouth State Reserve is the Gxara
River mouth, the place where a huge human
tragedy originated in April 1856. A young girl,
Nongqawuse, said she had met the spirits of
three ancestors and, according to what they
had told her, prophesied that the English settlers
would be driven into the sea if the Xhosa people
destroyed all their cattle and crops. The people
obeyed, leading to the great famine of 1856-57
that killed around 80,000 people and destroyed
more than 300,000 herd of cattle.
Fortunately, since then the cattle herds, like the
people, have recovered, and today a unique sight
along the Wild Coast is finding groups of Nguni
cattle with their red, white and black speckled
hides lazing on the beaches, in the shallow
seawater and at river mouths.
While venturing along the beach from Kei Mouth
to Trennery’s, we came across another unique
Wild Coast scene. Sitting on the rocks were a
group of mostly elderly Xhosa men from a nearby
village, dressed impeccably in suits and worker’s
overalls, and drinking beer in the morning sun.
A short distance away four small boys were
struggling to push a wheelbarrow through the
soft sand, fully loaded with crates of more beer
for the men. And yet another short distance away
the village women were hard at work collecting
mounds of shells from which they would make
lime. In some places it certainly still seems to be
a man’s world!