Road Trip Day 1 - the Wild Coast
I like to keep things reasonably ecologically friendly but, after much discussion and soul searching, I decided that a 'road trip' was necessary given my remaining time left in South Africa. Initially I was going to work my way along the 'Garden Route' ending up at Cape Town however looking at the changing weather patterns as we are now in the autumn season I decided to head west instead, my destination Durban. At least then I would be able to dip my toe in the Indian Ocean! During a last supper with friends in Port Alfred I was given a small guide book to look at. Flicking through the pages gave me the gem of an idea and we will see if I can reach this ultimate destination.
Tony kindly leant me his buggy or buckie, not shure which, I've been calling it a truck up til now so bags packed 09:30 hours I departed Port Alfred along the N2 highway in the direction of East London and beyond. Passing Lala Lapa then Fish River I was now in unknown territory. 144 Km later I hit East London, the first thing you notice are the container vessels and tankers moored in the dock seemingly just to the right of the road as you cross the bridge. East London itself is a huge metropolis of commerce and industry, I had intended to stop there but kept going through the major roadworks and diversions until I emerged on the other side leaving the R76 for the N2 highway. I also noticed that I was leaving the 'Sunshine Coast' and entering the 'Wild Coast' along this route. The road itself consists, in the main, of three lanes winding up and down the mountains. Two lanes have priority in one direction for a time then it swaps to the oncoming traffic thus giving opportunities to overtake slow moving vehicles. On average the speed limit is 120km so it is somewhat disconcerting to find the odd cow crossing the highway as you thunder along. I learned to keep a close eye on the verges ahead.
The mountains all seem to have plateau tops with abundant unfenced plains of grass. The settlements have lost the European look and blend in with the surroundings as there are no streets and, seemingly, no roads. Here the indigenous population walk everywhere covering vast distances to work and obtain supplies which they still carry on their heads. I have seen many women carrying a sack of flour or some such on their head with a baby in their arm and items in the other hand too.
I spotted a rusty iron bridge from the highway so turned off for a closer look to see if this was the now disused railway line which had been snaking along below me. It turned out that the railway line from East London to Durban was still functioning and ran across another iron bridge beyond this one. Talking to the local police Warrant Officer the bridge I was standing on was the old road bridge. As you can see from the photograph this was quite long to span the valley and was a single carriageway. When in use there were traffic lights at each end. I spotted several similar disused bridges along the route so the journey times must have been quite horrendous with these frequent bottlenecks. Now they appear to be used solely as foot bridges.
The nature of the houses changes too. Although built from brick many are round in construction resembling the ancient tribal wood huts. Many are painted in bright colours, pink, green and blue. Some stand alone, others in small groups within the compound where I suspect that sons have built as the land is subdivided. Many have plots of maize growing alongside as a cash crop or to supplement their diet. I also noticed that the animal stock now consisted of cattle, sheep and goats. I even saw a 'cowboy' on horseback herding cattle across the plain.
Some 400 Km from my start I turned off the N2 heading for 'Coffeebay' and my overnight stay at the Ocean View Hotel. Unfortuately my gamble about the weather hadn't paid off as it rained for most of the journey, combined with roadworks on much of the last 45Km to Coffeebay meant that it was dusk when I arrived. I hope that I will be able to explore in the morning. All was not lost as the beef was cooked to perfection, there was a cheeseboard and I can see the sea despite my room not having a sea view.
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