Far Flung Coasts

After a long day of driving, we left tiny Swaziland, making our way to Kosi Bay- a small, sleepy village on the coast of South Africa bordering Mozambique, where we spent the next two nights. We were hoping for a full day of relaxation at a remote beach, and that's just what we found. We spent our time walking along a vast, deserted beach, swimming, reading, and snorkeling in tidal lakes. The tidal lakes were fascinating! Although only about 8 feet deep at high tide, the inlets were filled with lionfish, pufferfish, colorful triggerfish, and many other kinds of Indian Ocean species. Since we were in protected coves, it was very easy to snorkel, making sure to avoid collisions with the stinging lionfish. We really needed that day of relaxation, as the next day was to be one of our longest drives.

The following morning we woke up around 3:30 a.m. in order to pack and be on the road early- we had over 900 kilometers to drive to our destination for the next 4 nights: Bulungula Lodge on the scenic Wild Coast. Before the sun rose, we had a couple hours of careful driving through the wetlands, which were shrouded in early morning mist. Dodging meandering cows and goats in the road was an added obstacle … Our long drive took us through towns and cities that we'd been advised by many South Africans and fellow travelers to skip, as they were mostly just developed suburbia. 10 hours into our drive, getting closer to the wild coast, we were surrounded by sweeping vistas, threatening rain clouds, pothole-ridden roads, and the occasional rainbow: it was lovely! Taking the last hour of our drive on poorly graded dirt roads was an adventure; we passed colorful Xhosa villages nestled in golden hills, pastel-painted rondavel huts and cows dotted the landscape. We were following an interesting map given to us by the lodge, with directions like "make a right after the twisted tree to get to Lulama's store. Ask any local where Lulama's is to make sure you're going the correct way…" Somehow we made it to Lulama's "store" a half an hour early for our land-rover pick up coming from Bulungula Lodge- the rest of the road they said would only accessible by 4x4 vehicles. To kill time, we entered the store and were greeted with about 50 Xhosa people waiting to buy food and looking at us intently, probably wondering what the heck we were doing in their remote village. None of them spoke English, and they kept giggling at us, so we began to leave when Lulama came out and told us we were in the right place for the pick-up, our car would be safe, and to just wait outside. Later we found out everyone had just received their pension checks (it was the 15th of the month), thus the crowded store. The land-rover arrived at 5:00 exactly to take us the remaining hour to the lodge- they weren't kidding when they said only 4x4's could make it: this road had to be the worst road I'd ever seen in my life!

After a 15-hour travel day, we made it to Bulungula Lodge: a beautiful, community-run, eco-friendly lodge for backpackers, situated on land with a stunning view of the coastline. We were given a tour of the facilities, which included rocket showers (paraffin heated and pressured, which made a rocket sound when the pipe was ignited- ingenious!); the solar-panel powered community building, decorated with driftwood and shell mobiles and brightly painted walls; the compost toilets; a small windmill to create power on rainy days; rain water cisterns; and our private rondavel hut situated on a small bluff on the Xhosa River, close to the ocean. What a fantastic place!! Each night we had nutritious, delicious Xhosa meals prepared by the local women, after which we would chat in the comfortable community room with locals and fellow world travelers. One couple of travelers were inspiring- a young Swedish couple that had been traveling in Africa for over a year- they'd started in Morocco, had made their way down through west Africa, bought bicycles in Cape Town, and were now bicycling up to Ethiopia for the next year. Amazing people! We spent the next few days on the wild coast canoeing on rivers, hanging out with locals in the village drinking homemade beer brews from paint cans, getting up early every morning to catch the sunrise over the ocean, collecting beautiful shells on the beach, and taking long hikes along the beach and cliffs. The wild coast reminded us of the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo county coasts in California, with sweeping golden hills dotted with oak trees, beautiful pristine beaches, and a coastline relatively uninhabited.

Our four days at the remote Bulungula Lodge were great, but we only had 10 days left in South Africa, so we continued on our way with another long day. This time we only had about 6 hours to drive, but with unforeseen car troubles again, we had a much longer day. We were headed for the surfer's paradise of Jeffrey's Bay, when we were stopped at a police checkpoint. No big deal, they just checked our drivers' licenses and asked to see in the boot (trunk) of our car. Unfortunately, the boot of our rental car only opens with the keys, so we had to turn it off to go show the policemen: thus, our mistake. As had happened a week before with our last rental car, the car wouldn't start. Great. We were in the middle of nowhere. The policemen helped us push the car out of the road, and instead of trying to help us further, they just wanted to see what U.S. dollars looked like, so we passed one around. While they examined our currency, we called the rental car company, and they sent a tow truck with a car, which was supposed to arrive in 1-2 hours. We specifically asked for a different type of car- no more Nissan Tiida's for us! Four hours later, long after dark when the police roadblock had been dismantled and everyone left hours before, our new car finally arrived and we were ready to hit the waves at Jeffrey's Bay…