At last, the promised (and penultimate) update of Phase 2.

While at Maclear we learned that the Venters could no longer join us for the Wild Coast leg of the expedition.  Port St Johns had been at the back of our minds and we changed course in that direction.  The trip from Maclear via Ugie and Mtatha is on a good tar road and is not very "expedition-like".  The scenery remained idyllic. We had been told by the locals that driving the Lilangeni pass is like a "journey on top of a forest". It was very scenic but the fact that the road is tarred spoiled the magic.

I did not know what to expect of the Transkei coast. I had actually assumed that the passes aspect of the journey would be over once we moved towards the coast.  The truth is that the coastal roads form a network of mountain routes. It felt like one very long mountain pass. Whether that is technically correct is open for debate. I must still make up my mind about the definition of a mountain pass.

The Transkei Wild Coast is a mountainous piece of earth. Unlike the West Coast where the land flattens out into wide coastal plains, the mountains of the Wild Coast meet the sea head on, in a more dramatic way than at the Cape south coast. Transkei and Lesotho must be the two most uneven countries in the world - from a dumpy level perspective. Port St Johns is situated at the Umzimvubu River mouth (above). The town itself is dirty and unattractive but the environment is stunning. The main tourist activity is angling. One gets the impression that the Wild Coast attracts its share of weirdos from the white population. Middle aged men with grey pony tails and heavily tanned women with dirty feet doing yoga at sunset while facing the sea from a hill.

We stayed one night at the Cremorne Resort a few kilometers from Port St Johns. It is a lovely resort that is well maintained. The restaurant serves a mean Dorado at a reasonable price.

The direct route from Port St Johns is not a 4x4 route but it is rough. Sedan cars do not belong here. The most popular vehicle of the locals is the Toyota Hilux pickup from the 80's.
The population density is high and the picture above gives a good idea of what the whole area looks like. A passionate photographer would take a long time to travel down the coast. The 108 kilometers from Port St Johns to Coffee Bay took us just under four hours.

The top of the rondawel huts look a bit weird. The thatch reed is "locked" at the top by an old tyre that is placed over it. The tyre is filled with clay (as a sealant) with slivers of stone, glass, sea shells, etc stuck into the clay. Apparently these objects serve three purposes: decoration, reinforcing the clay and keeping owls off the roof. A hooting owl on the roof is a bad omen.

We all fall together.

A Transkei road block. The cattle are very reluctant to give way to vehicles. Often the Hiluxes would weave through the cattle at high speed, missing the animals by inches. We came across a donkey foal with its hind leg broken and almost severed at the hoof, lying at the edge of the road. It was probably struck by a passing vehicle. The hanging ears and the general appearance of the foal indicated a dying animal. I took a photograph but did not want to publish it here. The next day the foal was gone. Hopefully it had died or had been killed by its owners.

Coffee Bay is close to the famous Hole in the Wall. The little black spot in the wave right in the middle of the Hole is the head of a local youngster. He swam out, allowed himself to be sucked out by the current and then body surfed back on the next big wave. He clearly knew what he was doing.  We took the pink option of staying in a chalet at White Clay just outside Coffee Bay. To be recommended, especially as we bought crayfish at R20 a piece.

The last camp of Phase 2 at Morgan Bay at the Transkei border close to Kei Mouth. Very good camp site with reasonable rates. We arrived via the N2 from Coffee Bay and again had to face the suicidal South African drivers. The Transkei variety is particularly reckless.

 The ferry at Kei Mouth is one of three of its kind in South Africa. The other two are at the Breede River and Sendelings Drift (Orange River).

The next day we drove to Storms River Mouth and on Friday we arrived home. Safe and sound.

In the last post of this phase (later this week) I will summarise the trip and give our impressions. The next phase involves the passes of Lesotho and Natal.