A wild drive along the Wild Coast

The drive

We embarked on our marathon drive from Cape Town to Nelspruit along the coast with no set plans or reservations, other than a four-day window to get to Nelspruit. No problem, right? Well, it turned out to be an epic 1,800-mile drive. Wildly passed by speeding cars at least 50 times. Passed another 100 trucks, cars, and vans ourselves. Down here, shoulders turn into lanes and the center line is more of a guideline than a rule. Thousands of South Africans walk up and down the road, casually crossing between cars speeding at 140km/hr and stepping in front of our car to hitch a ride. It's all part of the excitement, eh?

In between the long stretches of driving, some of the country's greatest gems can be found along the Garden Route and Wild Coast. I'm not talking diamonds, but instead beautiful beaches, river mouths, and coastal forests. Based on numerous recommendations, we stopped in Knysna for their fresh, local oysters and seafood along the Garden Route. A must-do! From here, the 5-day rainstorm finally ended as we drove into the night, arriving at Tsitsikamma National Park, the third most visited park in the country. However, we accidently arrived at the wrong side of this 47-km-long coastal sanctuary and back tracked back to the N2 highway. Finally in the right place, we set up our tent and cooked a quick meal while listening to the second match for South Africa—bafana bafana! Despite their attempts to equalize at 0:1, the game turned disastrous when the ref gave the goalie an undeserved red card, and Uruguay capitalized, finishing the game with a 3:0 win.

Our Tsitskikamma campsite below the Indian Ocean night sky

We fell asleep to the crashing waves just a hundred meters from our tent and awoke to expansive views of the turquoise blue Indian Ocean. Camping or lodging at Storms River Mouth is highly recommended! We enjoyed a quiet hike on the Blue Duiker Trail amongst remnant forest giants; the Outeniqua Yellow wood trees where heavily logged starting in the late 1800s, and much of South Africa’s temperate forests have been permanently lost…a familiar story across the globe, whether it’s the old growth of the Pacific Northwest, the native beech forests of New Zealand, or the yellow wood forests of South Africa. Already behind schedule, we joined the main throng of tourists for a quick walk out to the mouth of Storms River. The river’s water, brown from the rich tannins, flowed slowly out of the canyon, clueless of impending clash of ocean waves. We quickly got back on the road for a 9 hour drive to Coffee Bay. Despite a local climber’s recommendation to NOT drive through the Transkei region at night due to poor road conditions and stray animals, we pressed on. The Transkei region was a central relocation area of blacks during Apartheid rule and received very little government services until recent decades. As warned, I swerved around potholes and the “Transkei Big Five” (donkeys, goats, pigs, sheep and cattle) with the mission of safely arriving at our ocean front thatched rondavel by 11:30 pm.

Tsitskikamma coast


Blue Duiker Trail


Bushbucks graze and hyraxs scurry near the rocky shore


Storms River Mouth

Or so we thought. On day 3, another visitor pointed out a flat tire in the morning. We replaced it with the dummy spare tire and briefly blanked out the problem for a few hours to visit a neighboring Xhosa village. Many of the native Xhosa people still live traditional lifestyles: families live in thatched rondavels constructed with mud-dung bricks, teenage boys undergo circumcision ceremonies, and the dowry is paid in cattle. Our tour guide, Cylas, went to college in East London and now organizes visits to his home village. His career goal is to manage a hotel. Nelson Mandela’s homeland is not too far away and even he returned to his home to stay in a circumcision lodge. From here, the local Magic Tyre Repair Shop did their magic in removing the nail and patching the hole. Six hours later, we made it to a backpacker’s lodge in Pietermaritzburg—the home of Alan Paton (author of Cry, the Beloved Country) and the location of Ghandi’s arrival in South Africa where he was thrown off the train for being colored.

Coffee Bay


Arun and a local Xhosa woman


Cylus' little sister


Taking on Bafana Bafana's next generation of football legends.


Inside Cylus' rondavel


The village above the ocean


Cylus stands over a tap for potable water, installed by the government after ongoing issues with cholera


The Sacred Pool, where generations have come to honour their ancestors

The next day, we cruised into Durban’s densely packed Indian district where we walked the markets and sampled some Indian cuisine. We also visited the local mosque, Juma Musjid, the largest mosque in the Southern Hemisphere. A volunteer guide from the Islamic faith center gave the tour, but it was mostly a lesson in Islam. From here, we finished the drive into Nelspruit where we were led to our safari tent tucked between a township and tribal authority nature reserve. Arun drove a few occasions when she could, but it was a bit of a crash course in driving a stick shift. Driving on the left side, the dubious road conditions, and the South African drivers were a bit much. Most importantly, this third leg of the trip ended safely in time for the next World Cup game and visits to Kruger National Park (next post!)

Durban's Indian District

Dr Yusuf Dadoo Street and the minarets of Juma Musjid

Juma Musjid