Hello all! I just got back from a lovely 5 day excursion along the Wild Coast. I spent the 5 days hiking with a Peace Corps buddy (Anne)and her friends from home who came to visit.
I took a bus from Pretoria to Umthatha (might be Mathatha on a map. Located in the Eastern Cape.). I ended up having to go alone on this 14 hour bus ride; Anne’s friends baggage got lost when their plane was delayed due to the volcanic ash. So the bus ride was pretty terrible, but after a few tylenol PM’s, i just crashed. I spent the day alone in Umthatha, as Anne wouldnt be coming until the next morning. Umthatha is near Nelson Mandela’s boyhood home, so I spent some time at the Nelson Mandela museum. I also bought a lot of fashion magazines. It was a generally uneventful evening, and the next morning I met up with my friends and our guide (Albert) in Umthatha, before heading to Port St. John’s.
If you look at a map, Port St. John’s is right on the coast. Its very tiny, and is a touristy type town. We did not spend much time there, but went to Albert’s village for lunch instead. We started the hike about about 1PM, and only hiked for about 3 hours. We walked along the beach, and Anne and I even jumped in for a bit. It was my first time swimming in the Indian Ocean, despite all the other times that I have seen it.
We spent five days (3 full days and 2 short ones) hiking the 61 kilometers from Port St. John’s to Coffee Bay. It was beautiful; mountains and oceans! We hiked from village to village, spending each night with a different Xhosa family. People were very friendly and welcoming, and the mama’s at each house were all so wonderful! (And great cooks!) The weather was overcast the first day, and unfortunately it rained the second day. Because the hike involved a lot of ups and downs over the mountains, the rain made us all slip a lot. Luckily The rest of the trip was sunny and hot (we missed the clouds a bit).
We had to cross quite a few rivers which involved hiring private fishermen’s boats to carry across the water. At one there was no boat, so we had to carry our bags on our heads and move quickly, because the tide was coming in!
It was a great trip, and we all learned a lot about Xhosa culture. In general, I was really sad to leave the ocean and the warm Zhosa people behind. Luckily, Anne and I are thinking about going back for New Years Eve.
Holly Said:
on 20/05/2010 at 13:08
Hey Sharon,
Sounds like you had a great time! You should post some pictures of your trip. I would love to see them.