White Clay is a private lodge with some chalets and a small campsite midway between Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall. The name comes from the fact that the white clay used for “sunblock” and for initiation is found there, amongst other places, I am sure. The whole concern sits on the hill side with the sea about vertically below it on a beautiful bay with waves of about 100 metres long breaking right there all the time. It is a magnificent setting. Both mornings we saw a huge pod of dolphins surfing in the waves.
On our full day there we walked towards Hole in the Wall all along the footpaths that criss cross the hills. All of this is part of the Wild coast hiking trail and lots of people walk along the hills all the time. We walked as far as the waterfall, which is about half way to Hole in the Wall and then back to our spot. It must have been 6 km in total. The walking is easy and it is just that, walking. All along the way there are little beaches all covered in big pebble like stones that are dark grey or black and if there is sand, it is dark brown. I find it really different, however the waves are also something different. They are hundreds of metres long and they just roll onto the beach endlessly.
We rewarded ourselves with lunch at the White Clay restaurant and had the best Hake and Chips that we have ever tasted. A few places in Cape Town can come and take a few lessons. The restaurant is open to the general public and clearly is very popular with the passing trade, especially at lunch time. The campsite is pretty small, I think there are only 6 sites and they are precariously perched on the “hanging slopes” of Clay lodge. We made a few adjustments to our normal camping set up to fit in. (On the attached photo it is the vacant site directly below the reddish coloured chalet and above the site where the guy is walking and the wife is standing at the trailer.)
When we left there we followed the slow route all along the smiley route to Port St Johns. Again up and down, crossing rivers, checking the GPS coordinates and not getting lost this time. At one point we had to turn back as the bridge that had been washed away in 2006, was still washed away. We were stopped by a friendly, well spoken in English, guy who informed us of this and pointed us in the right direction. Another time we stopped to consider our options, road wise and again a young woman came to us and asked where we were going and if she could assist. Well spoken and friendly and she in fact gave us good advice in terms of which road to take.
One thing that was noticeable on this day was the distinct change in vegetation. It was far more foresty, the house/huts were more simplistic and no more corrugated roofs, now all thatching grass. We also noticed far more young men walking along the road and many more children. Clearly the cell phone companies have not infiltrated this part of the country either as we saw very few cell phone users and once we got to little towns or villages we observed some of these cell phone use shops where you pay 90c per minute to use the facility. I suppose this is the modern “pay phone”. No more “tickey box”.
Now we are in Port St Johns, another place that neither of us has ever been to. The camp site is on the banks of the Umzimvubu river, one if the many huge rivers in this part of the world. We must have crossed a dozen or more in the last day or so and all are wide and muddy and magnificent. Yesterday the weather was great and obviously it was washing day all along and when we crossed one of the rivers on the road we were advised to take due to the bridge wash away, where the bridge was also washed away, but the river was passable, there were 2 ladies doing washing. All the bedding was draped over the remaining bits of bridge. What a lovely picture that was and they were so cheerful as well.
Port St Johns is a real African town. We arrived on Friday afternoon and set off to do some replenishment shopping at the local Super Spar. It was a choice between Super Spar, Boxers and U Save, so we chose Spar! It was a bit of a struggle as we are buying small quantities and bulk shopping is clearly the order of the day. The informal market outside the shops offered all of that, but we made do with what was available inside the shop. This Spar does not have a Tops, the booze store, and we had to stop off at one of the many bottle stores in the town to get some wine. All the booze is behind the counter and there is no browsing. When the guy saw me looking at the wine he said that I could go behind the counter to make my selection. Well the choices were Chateau Libertas, 4 Cousins Semi sweet and Tassies. One heck of a choice!!!
When you move out of the shopping area of the town you get into the alternative part, which clearly is where those who got out of the rat race and made a life choice to stay on the fringe have settled. We had breakfast at Jester’s Coffee shop. Great coffee and evidently the place where the local “fringies” go. Heather, the owner, looks like somebody that you will find in a upmarket coffee shop in Cavendish. Thin, well dressed, efficient and professional. Amy, who has been living here for 20 years runs the little shop and says she would not swop this for anything or anywhere. From the guests that arrived while we were there, I am sure there is many a story. Maybe next time!
Tomorrow we are off to our next and last destination on the Wild Coast.
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