On the way to Mbotyi

On our last morning at Chermorne, our camp at Port St Johns we were woken up, well before dawn with the frantic “KAA, KAA” calls of the Hadedas. Who knows what their mission for the day was, but they were making sure that all were on board. In reply to this there was the far more pleasant to the ear call of the Fish Eagle, backed up by the squawky “wha,wha,wha” of the Gippy geese.  It was misty and  Mt  Thesinger looked eerie in the early morning.

We were off and had said good bye to the couple and their friend from Somerset East who we had met in Dwesa and along the way. They were on their way back home and back to work on Tuesday, well for us the picture was different, as we were heading for Mbotyi further along on the Wild coast. We did not have far to go and we stuck to the R61 as far as Lusikisiki as there were no gravel roads linking Port St Johns and our destination.   Again rolling hills and huts dotted all along them.  We were in Lusikisiki at about mid day and being a Sunday the town was buzzing. There were people and taxis and bakkies everywhere. The shops were busy and people were standing in queues for whatever was available, whether it was live chickens, freshly baked bread or Moneymarket.  Needless to say, all the proper banks were closed. We ventured into the Shoprite and I was pleasantly surprised with the offer and the way the shop looked.  We even found some Brinjals!

From Lusikisiki, which means “the sound that the wind makes in the reeds” we headed off to Mbotyi  on another challenging gravel road. In the Terracan, with slightly deflated tires the road is rough, but we saw a guy doing the trip in a little Sparky light. A hired car, maybe? Along the road you pass hectare upon hectare of tea plantations, rolling hills covered  all the way.  This is the Magwa tea estate, which no longer operates. Until about 2 years ago it was still one of the biggest employers in the area, however the unions moved in and the tea estate came to a grinding halt and it is still halted. It is a rather sad state of affairs, but I suppose all the tea comes from China, is that not what we always heard! We passed the factory buildings on our way to see the Magwa falls and it just looks like everybody just  upped and left and that years and years of work just stopped.

The Magwa falls are one of many waterfalls in the area. They are about 140metres high, but there was not much water in at the time. It is a beautiful sight. We had some self appointed guides, with minimal knowledge of the English language, but none the less keen to guide you to the view points and even keener to try and make you understand who the main players are in the game. We started off with 2 guys and then there were 4 and when we got to the car there were about 10. Tipping proved to be huge challenge. They just about got onto the car and that after we had parted with every single bit of change that we had.

Mbotyi itself is a little community village and the Lodge forms the centre of this. We stayed in the camp site which is managed by the lodge and the community on a 50/50 basis. The lodge itself and particularly Tuffy Kirsten the manager, is very involved with the community and plays a major role in the upliftment of the people. The camp site is a gem. There are only 12 sites and when we were there only 3 of the sites were occupied. We had a private spot with our braai, our tap and our view. Does not take much to make a great camp site and on top of it there were plenty HOT showers. The camp “manager” was a lovely lady with the name, Nomvuneku. She cleaned up and organized wood and was there to see to all our needs and she was so pleasant. We really sensed that people was proud about what they have.

For the 3 days that we were there we walked and walked and walked. The first day we walked along the beach and then back through the village. That must have been 5 km. The next day we walked along the beach again but much further to see a waterfall and to climb up the Sugar loaf Mountain. That return trip must have been at least 9 km and we were “lekker moeg” after that one. On the 3^rd day we left the camp and drove about 38km to a spot where we parked and then walked +-4km to see the waterfall that falls directly into the sea, one of 20 in the world. There was not a lot of water in it, but it is still a magnificent sight to see. The walk is along the true Wild Coast. The waves break onto the rocks all along and it is wild and beautiful. The walk is part of the Amopondo trail, which is part of the whole Wild Coat hiking trail. The walking is easy and you are on the foothills all the way. We did not see another person on the walks on any of the days. This waterfall walk we did in true hiking style, with a flask of tea and P-nut butter sarmies!  One can get so sucked into the country side and the remoteness of it all that city life seems so unreal and irrelevant.

View from Mbotyi Camp site

Magwa Tea plantation

Cows on the beach

Mount Thesinger, Port St. Johns

Magwa Falls "Guides"

Waterfall Bluff

On Wednesday morning we treated ourselves to breakfast at the lodge and then we were off to Port Shepstone on the South coast of KZN via Port Edward and a burger at Bobbies on the Beach.  We had arranged to visit Jacque and her boys who used to live in Cape Town and moved to this area when her husband, Dave died in 2008. He was a great friend of Dick. She lives in a Southport and we booked into a camp site close by and spent an evening with them. Today was a “working day”. That means we have to stock up on supplies and go to shops and have the car washed and go to the bank and so all those things that is so mundane and not of the bush. You have to face taxis and queues and sit and wait for all the mud to be washed from underneath the Terracan, however the wine was finished and that can be a real problem, especially as we are off to the Drakensberg in the morning.