Wild Coast

We had a week of vacation - Spring Break, so to speak. I spent it with my roommate Emily on the Wild Coast. That was something completely different - just the two of us, without a big group like usual.

We played a lot of MauMau, talked a lot, and read a lot. It was really cool, very relaxed, a real vacation feeling.

On Sunday morning, we left early with the BazBus - a small bus for backpacker tourists. It was worth a try, but it wasn't really good. Very cramped, very hot, very delayed. And to get to our hostel in Bulungula, we had to take another shuttle, so we were on the road for a total of 14 hours.

That's why we took it easy on the first day. It was really warm and it was the first time we were without wetsuits and without surfing in the sea. And we got quite sunburned, even though we had sunscreen on. We weren't used to the strong sun from the windy, cool PE. We had the beach all to ourselves, which was really nice.

The special thing about the hostel was that it was very original and strongly adapted to the authentic Xhosa life. That means typical rondavel huts and traditional food, but also pit toilets and so-called rocket showers. There was only hot water if you soaked toilet paper in paraffin and then lit it in a chimney.

The next day we continued to Lubanzi - on foot. Luckily, the luggage was transported to the next hostel, so we didn't have to carry it. The internet advertised this Wild Coast hiking trail, so I expected well-marked paths. Well, no such luck. If there was a path at all, it was a faint trail, hardly recognizable, and there were no signs. But since we knew that the sea always had to be on our right, we found our own way. The path was very strenuous, from the beach we climbed up hills, then down again, up again, then a stretch along the beach, up again, down again, and so on. So we arrived at the amazing Wild Lubanzi Backpackers quite exhausted. But the hike was still beautiful, we could see dolphins and a whale along the way.

The architecture is great, the owners, Aidan and Rahel, have done everything themselves, everything is made of wood and glass and everything is very open. It's not really finished yet, as we discovered the next day. It rained all day and because of the open design, almost everything was wet. Only in the cozy reading corner it was dry, there we equipped ourselves with blankets and hot water bottles and spent the whole day comfortably.

The night before, we participated in a wine tasting on the beautiful terrace, where we could see several whales and many dolphins. We were able to taste six wines and there were four types of chocolate that were specially matched to the wines. The nice thing about this backpackers was also that in the evenings, the owners, staff, and all the guests ate together at a big table. It was very familiar and it was easy to start a conversation. That's how we met a German couple and a South African father who were traveling with their two sons and their girlfriends. We played cards with them and tried our Afrikaans skills a bit :D

The plan was actually to continue hiking the next day - to Coffee Bay, our last stop. But because everything was still very wet from the heavy rain and the grass was slippery (and we were still sore from the first hike :P), we decided against it and took a local taxi instead - which was definitely an experience as well. And the area there is really beautiful, with gentle, green hills and the small, colorful houses of the Xhosa people.

When people go to the Wild Coast, Coffee Bay is usually the destination, the place is very hyped. It was also nice there, there was a beautiful beach and all, but I think it's a bit overrated. But our hostel was very cool, there we met people from different countries and with different backgrounds. On our last day, we joined the Beach Day organized by the hostel - including surf equipment, beach volleyball, and lunch. So I tried surfing again. But it's not really my thing. I'll probably stick to skiing :)

On the last evening, we participated in a village dinner with a local Xhosa family. I never really know what to think of things like that. It can feel a bit like being in a zoo when you get a glimpse into the culture, and you can never really say if it's authentic. But we tried it out. First, we were allowed to ask questions while the women prepared the food. Then they danced for us and we danced with them later. Then there was food. Pap, a kind of maize meal porridge, with vegetables and samp and beans. Actually really delicious and very filling. There was also homemade beer, but it tasted very strange. I only took a sip of it. I still haven't really decided if I like these kinds of things, even though it was really nice. But it was also emphasized how important tourism and such activities are for this very poor region, so I didn't feel guilty about supporting it.

Later in the evening, we sat together with the people we had met. There was drumming, guitar playing, singing. Really cool! A nice end to a great week :)