The main towns on the Wild Coast are all along the N2
highway and therefore have thriving economies based around
transport. There are abundant petrol stations, basic
supermarkets and road-houses with varying degrees of
service. The N2 is a busy road that links Durban
and East London, so the cargo and commuter traffic is
heavy. Every town has one or two small hotels, but these
are almost exclusively for commercial clientele, so there
are very few frills. There is also a brisk day-time trade
from tourists, who often stock up on petrol, food and
essentials before leaving the main road (in many cases,
this is mandatory). Therefore the towns are ulitarian and
scruffy and always thronged with traffic and pedestrians.
Signposting in the major towns is fairly good, but off the
beaten track it can be non-existent. | |
Many roads lead from the N2 to the coastal resorts,
often by way of ramshackle villages that are little more
than trading posts and administrative centres. The resorts
themselves are usually self-contained and will supply
everything you need within tourist season. Once in the
resort you will only leave to return home, so all
excursions are catered for and there is usually full
board. However, check the facilities when you book as
there is always a chance that the place you are destined
for is self-catering and the nearest shop will be 100 kms
away (and closed after 4.30pm!). It is also a good idea,
when you make your booking, to check on the latest state
of the road. The region is prone to seasonal flooding
which can make some smaller roads impassable. | |
With regard to bookings:There are some travelers who prefer to take to the road and
risk pot luck. This is not always advisable on the Wild
Coast. Because the resorts are often at the end of long and
difficult roads, there would be nothing worse than arriving
at a resort, finding it is full, and then having to face a
long journey back in the dark and the prospect of a last-
resort hotel in the middle of a busy town. Most resorts are
fully booked during the holiday season. All towns along the
N2 will have public telephones, so even with a last-minute
decision it will be possible to book ahead (and to check
on the condition of the road). | |
UmtataUntil recently Umtata was the capital of the independent
homeland of the Transkei (which was established in 1971
and de-proclaimed in 1994), and it shows. Many
government-style buildings were built thirty years ago
which have now fallen into a certain amount of disrepair.
Founded in 1871, it also houses a City Hall, built in 1908
with a beautiful garden, the Bunga (Parliament) dating
from 1929 and a fine Anglican cathedral. | |
Most people visit Umtata, however, to see the Nelson
Mandela Museum. This is housed in the imposing Bunga.
The museum is divided into three sections – the central
section traces the great man’s life by means of
photographs, write-ups and displays. The other two rooms
display the extraordinary gifts given to Mandela during
his life, from all over the world. There is an open-air
swimming pool and some interesting craft projects, such as
Izandla pottery, Ilinge Craft and the Ezibileni Industrial
Centre. | |
The town is situated on the Mthatha river, which was
traditionally the boundary between the Mtembu and the
Pondo tribes. There were many skirmishes between these
two tribes until the respective chiefs decided to grant
farms along the Mthatha River to European settlers in
order to establish a buffer zone. One of these settlers
was the Bishop H Callaway, who built a sizeable settlement
on his farm which laid the foundations for the modern town. | |
Port St. JohnsPort St Johns
used to be the only coastal harbour for the
Wild Coast and has now become a haven for backpackers,
artists and informal travelers, drawn by its bohemian
atmosphere and almost-tropical climate. The town has the
best selection of accommodation and restaurants on the
Wild Coast. There are three areas, known as First Beach,
Second Beach and Third Beach. These are several
kilometres apart and each has its own local flavour. | |
Hole-in-the-WallThis tiny resort has sprung into being to serve the
visitors who come to see the geographical phenomenon of
the Hole in
the Wall – where the sea has pounded a large
tunnel through a free-standing cliff. It was named in
1823 by Captain Vidal of the Barracouta – one of the ships
in an expedition sent out by the British Admiralty to
survey the coast. There are two accommodation
establishments here and a small shop. Beachcombers have a
very good chance of finding traces of the numerous
shipwrecks
that have happened here. Beads and coins and
fragments of pottery are often found in rock pools. Many
of the local people of this part of the coast tell stories
of their ancestors of European and Asian descent who came
from ships that ran aground here. There is even a small
tribe called the abeLungu (European people) who claim that
they are descended from these shipwreck survivors. | |
Coffee BayOne of the most beautiful spots at the Wild Coast is the
small community of Coffee Bay. There is not much more here
than some huts, a trading store, a plain camping site and
an old hotel, but the coast is stunning and the beach
singularly untouched from beyond time itself, lying between
the green rolling hills and the sea. The bay got its name
in 1893 when a ship full of coffee beans ran aground here.
Some of the beans took root and grew into little coffee
shrubs, but the soil was too salty for the plants to
thrive, and today you can look in vain for the coffee trees
of Coffee Bay. | |
ButterworthButterworth is the oldest town in the Transkei, built
quite near to the place where the great chief Hintsa had
his palace. It was founded by Methodist missionaries in
1827. The Xhosa name is Gcuwa after the river running
through it, but the English name is from the then-
treasurer of the Wesleyan Mission Society, Reverend
Butterworth. At the end of the Frontier Wars – during
which the town had been burnt down three times - traders
began to settle here. During the days of 'independence'
it was earmarked as a site for industrial development but
most of these ambitious projects have now been abandoned. | |
KentaniKnown sometimes as Centane, this tiny centre only has a
population of a few hundred people, but a huge history.
It was the site of the final battle of the Frontier Wars
between Xhosa and settler in 1878. The battle itself was
as tragic as any in South Africa’s many wars. 5 000 Xhosa
warriors had been told by their witchdoctor Xito that he
had made them impervious to bullets. Therefore they
stormed a fort manned by less than a thousand colonial
troops and were mown down by heavy fire. Three hundred
warriors died, with a loss of only two of the English
forces. The Xhosa strength was spent, the chiefs
surrendered and the area became the nucleus of the present
Transkei. | |
WillowvaleThe town also has a population that numbers only in the
few hundreds, but also played a rather pivotal role in
Transkei’s history. It was in this area that the local
Xhosa split into two factions in 1950. The senior section
remained in the Willowvale area while the split-off group
moved to the south, beyond the Kei River. The British
invaded the land of the Gcaleka in 1837 and settled 40 000 Mfengu
tribesmen in the area. Immediately trouble broke out
between the residents and the new settlers, which led
to the Ninth and final Frontier War in 1977. The Xhosa
were defeated at the Battle of Kentani and the bulk of the
Gcaleka people were driven north. This, combined with the
decimation of the Xhosa people after the prophecy of
Nongqawuse, led to the area becoming almost
completely de-populated. The little mission station that
had been built at Willowvale and named after the row of
willow trees behind the mission, was abandoned. | |
IdutywaIdutywa was established as a military fort in 1858. Its
name, which means 'place of disorder' is particularly apt
as it was first settled after a dispute between local
people and a raiding party from KwaZulu-Natal. It is
nowadays only notable as a top-up spot for travellers on
their way to the resorts at Qora Mouth.
Viedgesville (Jojweni) is another of those tiny villages
that is noteworthy only as a turn-off point for the
coastal resorts. | |
QunuThirty kilometres north of Umtata is the scattered little
town of Qunu, which has the unequalled claim to fame of
being the birthplace of Nelson Mandela. His 'palace' can
clearly be seen from the N2, and he has had a tunnel built
under the road so that school-children could cross the
road in safety. The neighbouring hamlet of Mveso is where
he spent the first two years of his life. The Mandela
Museum runs free tours on the area. If you book in
advance, a Xhosa dinner will be cooked for you. | |
MazeppaThe bay is named after a ship that used to land goods
here in the 1930's. A little island connected to the
mainland by a suspension bridge provides a good vantage
point for fishermen. Of interest are numerous middens
left behind by the prehistoric beachcombers (strandlopers)
that used to frequent the area. | |
LusikisikiThis little village is very close to the seat of the
Paramount Chief of East Pondoland. The name comes from
the sound that the reeds make when they rustle in the
nearby river. The most obvious activity in this little
town surrounds the labour recruiting offices for the
Johannesburg Gold Mines. In his book, 'Discovering
Southern Africa', TV Bulpin records a delightful picture
of life in Lusikisiki: 'A long central street provides an
animated spectacle of tribespeople in their national
costume doing their shopping or gossiping in the shade of
the store's verandahs. The men (often riding into town on
horseback) attend to their business at the offices of the
government.' Sadly, this was written in the 1970's and
the picturesque scenes that Bulpin describes are no longer
there. People no longer wear their national costumes and
their preferred mode of transport is now a bashed-up motor
vehicle. | |
FlagstaffThis little trading town has a colourful history. In
1875 two traders obtained a concession from the chief to
open a trading store on this spot. The store was
instantly successful – so much so that the two traders
found it difficult to keep people away when they closed on
Sundays or holidays. So they erected an extremely tall
flagstaff right next to their store and flew a white flag
on the days when the store was closed. This served the
dual purpose of warning their customers that they were
closed and gave the town its English name. The Xhosa name
is Siphageni. | |
GonubieThis little town, which has become an extended suburb of
East London, got its name from the wild bramble berries
that grow along the Qunube (Gonubie) River. The huge
beach is the base for a vast number of water-sports and a
launch site for scuba diving. The local municipality has
built a large tidal pool for swimming. | |
Haga HagaThe town is reached from East London on a road that
travels through fields of pineapples and thickets of
euphorbia. The town’s interesting name is said to come
from the ceaseless murmur of the ocean on the shore. | |
Morgan’s BayMorgan's Bay is a little village dominated by a lighthouse
sweeping the night to warn the ships which always seem to
have had a fatal attraction for the Wild Coast. This bay is
regarded as one of the most beautiful in the country.
Called Double Mouth, it consists of a lagoon formed by two
small rivers backed by a line of sandstone cliffs. The wide
white sands are littered with shells and corals, among
which are often found fragments of china and beads washed
up from the many shipwrecks on this shore. | |
Kei MouthThis ramshackle little village consists of a few stores,
a post office, cottages and holiday homes on the slopes of
seaside hills. From Kei Mouth there is a petrol-driven
pont, or car ferry, across the river. | |
CintsaThis village is divided in half by a river. Even though
they are in hailing distance from each other, they must
each be reached as a turn-off from the N2 highway from
East London. Cintsa East is the more upmarket suburb,
with many accommodation establishments and restaurants.
There is a funicular up to the town’s most fancy
restaurant, set on top of a high dune, or stroll along the
boardwalk from the car park. Either way, all the
establishments at Cintsa East have fabulous views. Cintsa
West has built its popularity around the Buccaneers
backpacker lodge, which is also the home of the Wild Coast
Adventure Company. | |
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