Cape Town to Transkei Dec 07 Jan 08 – A Stam

The genesis of this trip began 5 years ago on an 8 day hike between Port Edward and Port St John’s. At each nights stop I would wearily lay my pack down, take off my boots, open my can of tuna and dream about driving to all these amazing places, in the air-conditioned comfort of a SFA Hilux, with friends, braai-meat, beers, surfboards and everything else required for comfort and safety in tow. What follows is my account of the realisation of those dreams.

We made no camping/accommodation bookings for this trip, had no fixed dates and did little planning beyond where we should try and be for Christmas and New years. Budget went mainly to purchase of recovery gear (just in case) and fuel.

Stage 1 – Cape Town to Coffee Bay via Kenton-on-Sea and East London.

We completed this first stage of the trip in about 10 hours and stuck on the N2 until just after PE where we joined the R72 coastal road to Port Alfred. The R72 is very scenic and makes a nice alternative to the N2, avoiding the traffic that develops around Peddie and King Williamstown.

As we only needed to be in East London the following afternoon (to collect participant no 4 from the airport) we decided to stop in the picturesque town of Kenton-on-Sea. A typical, E Cape coastal town, Kenton proved to be a comfortable stop over. As the town does not have a dedicated camping ground, the local primary school fills this role during the festive season, with clean facilities, power sockets and braai barrels at each camp site.

Due to an airline delay in EL the following day, we were not able to travel as far as planned and landed up camping in the town of Chintsa (east) some 50kms North out of EL. Camping at the Arendsnes was very full, with families kitted out for the duration of their summer vacation. However, despite the busy time
of year, the owners were able to accommodate our small hiking tents and the close proximity to other campers allowed us to chat and get advice for the remainder of our trip.

Leaving Chintsa early the next day we headed to Kei River Mouth.

Here we had planned to cross the river by pontoon and to follow dirt tracks up to Coffee Bay, but after speaking to some locals about road and tide conditions (and our lack of another vehicle in case of recovery!), we opted to head back to the N2 and approach Coffee Bay the ‘easy way’.

The ‘easy way’ refers to the 85kms of tarmac leading from the N2 (about 20kms before Mthatha) to Coffee Bay. This road looks like it has been the victim of a sustained bombing campaign and for most of the 85kms there is more pothole than tarmac. Add to this; steep gradients, sharp bends, E Cape taxi drivers, goats, cows, pigs, horses, dogs, donkeys and pedestrians -all at the same time, in the rain- and you will begin to have an idea of the driving conditions. However the destination makes up for the journey and Coffee Bay did not disappoint us, despite rainy weather for the duration of our 3 days there.

Coffee Bay offers a range of accommodation from camping to comfortable hotels, but we opted for the best view and pitched camp in the garden of Coffee Shack Backpackers. The Coffee Shack has changed steadily over the past 5 years, but has lost none of it’s charm and appeal. If anything, the facilities are cleaner, the
showers hotter and the staff friendlier than ever. Meals from their tiny kitchen remain superbly delicious and the best value-for-money anywhere in the E Cape.

Well fed, we spent Christmas day exploring some of the dirt roads around Coffee Bay and made an obligatory stop at Hole-in-the-Wall.

This geological wonder is well worth a visit at low tide which allows one to cross the river mouth and venture up into the hole.

Although somewhat precarious, this is also possible in the rain!

Hole-in-the-Wall

Stage 3 – Coffee Bay to Mkhambathi/Luphatana

via Mpande and Port St Johns

With no signs of the weather improving we opted to head off to Mpande, some 40km before Port St John’s (PSJ) off the R61.

The rainy weather and 20km dirt track into Mpande prompted me to lock hubs and engage 4H, a truly momentous occasion on our otherwise tame trip thus far. A few bumps, puddles and kidney-belt jokes later we arrived at Mpande beach feeling very satisfied at our superior choice of vehicle in such tough conditions. And we were able to park comfortably once the driver of the rental VW Chico found his keys to move his car!

Mpande is an unspoilt gem. The combination of the beach, scenery, hiking and horse riding make it easy to forget the relative close proximity of ‘civilisation’ in Port St Johns. After 3 nights camping at ‘The Kraal’ (an eco-friendly place, totally self sufficient and off the power/water grid) we headed for Mkhambathi Nature Reserve via a fuel and lunch stop in PSJ.

Mpande Beach and The Kraal

At least you can fit more in a Hilux

Back on the R61 and across the mighty Mzimvubu river, this is an especially scenic 40km to Lusikisiki, enhanced by the good tar road (I could glance out the window, instead of dodging potholes).

From Lusikisiki the road turns to gravel and worsens progressively with the 40km approach to Mkhambathi, although it’s nothing a rental car could not handle. Mkhambathi is a peaceful nature reserve that offers nice shaded camp-sites in 2 Milkwood forests, close to a beautiful beach and bay, but offers little or nothing in
the way of facilities. Part of the appeal of this place is the sense of remoteness but be warned that over Dec/Jan this is a popular destination. The whine of quad and enduro bikes competes with the distant hum of multiple generators that somewhat detracts from pretending to be in the middle of nowhere.

From Mkhambathi (where all permits for the following nights were hastily arranged) we headed back on the gravel to Luphatana via a detour to Port Grosvenor. Although the name ‘Port Grosvenor ‘conjures images of an old colonial town and harbour, there is very little port to speak of, and nothing more than a grass landing strip and scattering of (soon to be illegal?) holiday cottages at the end of the track. The drive however is highly enjoyable with some optional challenging sections nearer the coast.

The road leading to Port Grosvenor

Transkei Road Signs – en route to Luphatana

From Port Grosvenor we headed back to the Lusikisiki-Mkhambathi road and travelled a further 12km (towards Lusikisiki) before heading off to Luphatana. Here even the GPS was lost, and our trusty atlas showed no sign of the road we were on. Oh joy! Some 18km later, and the necessary use of 4L twice(!) we reached our penultimate destination, Luphatana. This little bay, with no more than 3 or 4 holiday cottages, would be quite unremarkable were it not for the stretch of sandstone rock that rises out of the sea and forms a spectacular shelf for 100s of meters along the coast. The resulting spray from the waves crashing just below the top of the shelf provides an exciting way to get wet, and the fishing opportunities are not bad either. Much to our delight, the camp-site in the nearby dune forest was totally deserted (unheard of on Dec 29th!) and proved a great counter to the drone of two-stroke the day before.

Luphatana

Milkwood Campsite at sunrise

As the area surrounding Luphatana formed part of a military zone in the old Transkei Homeland, there are almost no villages or people around and the vast landscape is truly breathtaking. After taking our fill of real quiet and stargazing for 2 nights, we packed our bags with the bare essentials and headed for our final destination, Waterfall Bluff. Reluctantly leaving the Lux at a nearby cottage, this was to be the hiking section of our trip. After much preparation of backpacks, water bottles etc our hike turned out to be a 1 hr walk to the awe inspiring Waterfall Bluff, where the waterfall tumbles from the cliffs into the roaring ocean .With the waves crashing at your feet, this is not a run-of-the-mill shower!

The cave which runs behind the falls was as deserted as our camp-site the previous nights and all 4 of us were in our sleeping bags and vas aan die slaap by 10pm. My kind of New Years Eve!!!

After a leisurely morning we headed upstream for some swimming in the river, before heading back to our shaded forest camp (and of course my bakkie!!!) in Luphatana.

Stage 4 – Luphatana to Cape Town via Addo and Storms River

With the chaos of New years safely behind us we reluctantly packed up and headed for PSJ and East London. After dropping our Jozi participant at the airport we hit the R72 coastal road again en route to PE and Cape Town. Some 30min out of EL our navigator had the inspired idea of breaking our journey by taking a detour to Addo Elephant National Park. With the GPS safely on its way back to Jozi (with my mate) we had only the analogue atlas to guide us, but we coped admirably. From the R72 we took the R345 to Peddie and back on the N2 until the R342 to Patterson (20 km gravel) and a further 25km to Addo.

Having never been to Addo, we were all ridiculously excited to be in the ‘game reserve’ when we should have been heading home, and the three or so hours spent driving through the park was a treat despite the limited game viewing. Our overnight stop was the Tube and Axe in Storms River Village, 5km off the N2. The Tube and Axe provided the perfect setting at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains to ease us back into the reality of heading home the following day and I plan to go back there out of season for some more adventure R&R.

All in approx distance and fuel cost: 3000km at roughly R1 per km (ouch!)

Incidents and Accidents: None bar 1 x sharp metal object in the R rear tyre. Kindly removed by Speedy EL. No puncture, no cost, even after closing hours.

Most important lesson learned: “The GPS is only useful for telling you where you are, but not for telling you where to go or how to get there.” Thanks Oom Fuller O.

Most useful piece of kit other than the Lux (of the roughly R2500 spent on new equipment): ‘Lasher Tools’ Machete, R59 from PnP

Thanks to my 3 travel buddies for helping me live in dreamland.

Could not have paid for the petrol without you guys!!!

We stayed at:

Arendsnes: 0437385064 http://www.arendsnes-chintsa.co.za

Coffee Shack: 047 575 2048 http://www.coffeeshack.co.za

The Kraal: 082 871 4964 http://www.thekraalbackpackers.co.za

E. Cape Nature (Mkhambathi/Luphatana/Waterfall Bluff) : 043 742 4450 http://www.ecparks.co.za/

Tube and Axe: 042 281 1757 http://www.tubenaxe.co.za/

A Stam

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Script and photographs are the original work of A Stam and may not be copied or reproduced without his written consent. You can get his contact details here

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