Wild Coast Recce: day 3
November, 2012 | No Comments
We headed out from Mdumbi Backpackers after breakfast, once again timing our departure to coincide with a low tide crossing of the biggest river of the day, the Mthata; a deep water swim of about 50m. There is a ferryman at the crossing which gave us the opportunity to shed gear and swim unencumbered, a real treat. I went first leading Victors horse Reign, as Victor was kindly filming our crossing from the ferryman’s boat. It went well until Reign decided to turn back pulling the lead reign out of my hand. I turned Tara to fetch him but seeing Joe and Nicky half way across and going strong with their horses he decided to follow alone. I gave Tara a short rest in waist deep water before following; she pulled hard, eager to get to her friends, puffing and snorting till her hooves hit the far bank, a great swim despite the slight hiccup at the start.
Next was a short ride along high ground with great views, before dropping down to the small tourist hamlet of Coffee Bay. Normally we would spend the night here giving the horses a rest day and guests the chance to enjoy some time on the beach but we are doing this reconnaissance ride in six days so pushed on without pause.
The day was a tough 42km in all, across steep country and we pushed on to our half way point at the geological marvel Hole in the Wall where we planned to stop for lunch. It was a hot day so when we spotted a Spaza shop, a converted shopping container, we stopped to buy a drink. Drinks are always super cold around here as shopkeepers use gas powered chest freezers, the problem being drinks rather too cold! While we were getting this super cool energy giving sweet stuff down our throats a donkey train hauling sacks of maize meal came past. It was an incredible sight, twenty odd donkeys with a bag of maize meal strung on each side, not led nor connected to each other, walking up the road to their destination, their driver wandering along behind doing nothing much more than simply following along. They must have done this run a hundred times and knew the drill taking their bags of this staple foodstuff to their customers in the Transkei hills.
Hole in the Wall appears quite suddenly as you emerge from the coastal milk wood forest; a hunk of grass topped rock stuck in the middle of yet another idyllic bay. It didn’t reveal its surprise immediately, but as we tracked down the stony beach the hole in its centre opened up to us, the waves theatrically washing through the 20m wide gap.
We waded the Mpako River and flopped on the grass under a milk wood tree to have out lunch, staring out into the bay at the amazing scene made all the more surreal when a Red Bull stunt plane roared over the hills and treated us to an aerial display centred around this chunk rock that was also the centre of our lunch time attention. Great, but slightly surreal, entertainment in this remote spot!
We waded the Mpako River and flopped on the grass under a milk wood tree to have out lunch, staring out into the bay at the amazing scene made all the more surreal when a Red Bull stunt plane roared over the hills and treated us to an aerial display centred around this chunk rock that was also the centre of our lunch time attention. Great, but slightly surreal, entertainment in this remote spot!The afternoon took us over yet more steep green hills of stupefying beauty, with long views of the rugged coast to the southwest offered to us at every crest, before plunging into gullies to cross small streams choked with bush. Then it was a blast down the beach to finish the day, pulling the horses up for a wade across the river in front of the lawn of Bulungula Backpackers. It had been a long day in the saddle and the hills had taken it out of both the horses and us. We were tired but all felt a real sense of achievement in having crossed some very rugged country.
Bulungula is a special place, an earthy yet stylish backpackers run by the local community that is immediately welcoming, exuding warmth and a confidence born of success.
Bulungula is a special place, an earthy yet stylish backpackers run by the local community that is immediately welcoming, exuding warmth and a confidence born of success.Read the next installment here
For more information on The Ride’s Wild Coast Adventure Trail go to: http://www.barryarmitage.com/expeditions/wild-coast-adventure-trail
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