The Wild Wild Coast

The Rough Guide to South Africa rates the Wild Coast as the number 1 thing ‘not to miss’. Located along the coastline of the Eastern Cape, this rugged and lush patch is breathtakingly beautiful and offers so much for both the tourist and the local. So why is the Eastern Cape still the poorest & least managed province? And why is it not being utilized and visited as much as its counterparts? Cape Town’s Table Mountain, the Western Cape’s Garden Route, and Limpopo’s infamous Kruger National Park are all huge tourist destinations and have been since South Africa was unearthed by tourists. 

I reasoned with myself that this was because the Wild Coast is less accessible with not as much variety of accommodation; but as we made our way along this gorgeous coast, I realized that this wasn’t the case at all. The 8 of the country’s 10 provinces that I have travelled have all boasted something unique and equally as magnificent but as soon as we reached the Wild Coast I was staggered with what I saw. Miles and miles of dense & abundant indigenous trees- huge palm banana leaves line one side of the road while on the other side, the sparkling Indian Ocean entices you in.

So of course, I had to figure out the answers to my questions. From talking to a wide demographic (as well as hounding poor Rog with ceaseless questions), I have learned that the Eastern Cape is purposefully being maintained as the ‘poor’ province by the ANC (the governmental party in power) as this is where they are getting a large proportion of their votes. I am disgusted by this but not exactly shocked as it pretty much sums up the government that is running South Africa today. Jacob Zuma and his Congress of morons seem to be doing more wrong than good (but don’t get me started on that as we could be here a while and I’m sure its of little interest).

So while the beautiful Eastern Cape is being retained in such a way to ensure a specific demographical following, it is consequently not bringing in visitors in high numbers as is the case for other parts of South Africa. The EXPEDITION Project aims to emphasize these lesser known areas in at attempt to encourage locals and internationals to explore the richness that the Eastern Cape (as well as the rest of the country) has to offer.

We have only been in the province for the best part of a week but are seeing and doing as much as we can in order to get a tangible feel for the province. We recently stayed at Mbotyi River Lodge, a beautiful place in the heart of the Wild Coast so while we were there, decided to use our Sunday for maximum exploration.

We set off early after breakfast (fruit & yoghurt with a nutty/seedy/granola’ry topping for utmost sustenance); walking shoes at the ready. We had been told that it was a ‘relatively strenuous’ 45 minute walk into the local village where the Mpondo tribe live and we were eager to investigate. The walk started undemandingly enough, with quite steep hills but nothing more than the average African living in a rural community has to endure daily. The encompassing beauty made it a whole lot easier. We passed smiling children playing outside their huts, mothers doing their washing along the river banks and hungover men laughing and chatting.

We could see the glint of the sea in the distance -our compass reassuring us we were heading in the right direction. The plan was to take the winding and steep route through the village to the ocean, and to follow the coastline back to the lodge. We reached what was probably one of the best beaches I’ve ever seen; totally deserted, enclosed by palm trees and precarious looking rocks. We happily strode on for a good half an hour, satisfied we would soon reach the foot path that would lead us over the hill and back to civilization. It soon became quite obvious that this wasn’t going to happen and that we had lead ourselves well and truly off the beaten track and were, well... lost. 

Rog was totally unfazed and was in fact loving it -clambering in and over steep and jagged rocks, basically needing mountain climbing gear for some of the vertical hills we were heaving ourselves up. He assured me that we would find our way and if we just followed the ocean on our right, we’d be back in ‘no time’. Well -we were not back in ‘no time’. We had to maneuver our way over some pretty hair raising terrain and at one point, the only way over to the other side was to wade, stomach deep through freezing water onto slippery uneven rocks. The last exertion included a scramble up the hillside where we finally reached the footpath.

It was quite a challenge to say the least and times I wish we had just turned back, but I enjoyed pushing myself and actually felt quite proud when we finally saw the lodge in the distance. The cows clearly weren’t as proud of us and stood defiantly in our way so we couldn’t pass. Bastards. I certainly wasn’t in the mood to be running away from an angry Bull that was bullying me. 

So with rather tired and shaky legs, we managed to negotiate a deal whereby the Bull would leave us alone if we clambered further up the hill and out of his way. We arrived at the resort’s beach to find a much more cooperative family of cows enjoying their day at the seaside who, although gave us the stink eye, kept themselves to themselves. A team of euphoric looking boys playing a game of footy formed the backdrop. We knocked back litres of water and reflected on what we had just done. Pretty bad ass in my opinion.