There's a puffed up, chatty chicken sitting next to me, pruning herself before she sleeps perched atop of the chair. There's a big black soppy dog pawing at my back to get my attention, and there's me temporarily distracted by whales breaching in the distant sea (sigh!) enjoying every moment of South Africa. I'm in a guest house on a hill overlooking the sea relaxing and recovering from a four day horse safari with Ambadiba Adventures... and it certainly was an adventure. Travelling for me is about meeting the locals, enjoying new cultural experiences, stumbling across spectacular scenery and dealing with the unexpected along the way - all of which were catered for on our Wild Coast trip in the Transkei.
Our safari started with the kind of hanging around I am used to – the promised ten minute wait for our horses stretched to two hours but it didn't worry me as Africa time is much like Sri Lanka time, i.e. never on time!, and who cares when hanging around on a beach in the sun? The first real surprise of the adventure came from the initial sighting of the somewhat mangy mutts that were to be our transport for the next four days. A slightly unfair description of horses perhaps? Maybe, but I am used to riding gorgeous well kept Irish horses which was not the case with the Pondo Ponies - so small and scrawny that I felt my legs would touch the ground half the time! But it was all part of the experience, and they certainly weren't petted bored stable ponies. They were local horses that hadn't been ridden for some time and weren't really up for a few days of beautiful coast - they just wanted to be home, running around in the wild rather than entertaining foreigners.
So the reluctant horses with their slightly disappointed riders headed off, though the riders at least got over the mismatch as we travelled through the distraction of incredible scenery. Afterall, the whole idea of the safari was to see the Wild Coast of South Africa and to meet the local community which is what we got and something we will never forget. The riding itself was fairly uneventful except when my horse nearly broke her leg by getting stuck in the rocks and being particularly stupid about placing her feet, even with me on foot guiding the way, and when Rob's horse threw him off every time we waded waist deep through a river! We had three nights and four days riding along beaches, over sand dunes, up and down hills, through rivers, and learning a little about the people along the way.
The local community in this part of the Wild Coast are Pondo, indigenous to the area we travelled through. They live in the classic African round huts which have peaked thatch roofs shaped like asian hats, with outer walls painted white, pale blue, or turquoise. You see small clusters of them dotted across the green folding hills, often accompanied by squares of tree enclosures sheltering vegetable gardens and livestock - the ubiquitous goats, cows, chickens and dogs. Inside, the huts are slightly dark and damp with a musty smell of animal manure as the walls and floors are made of mud, straw and dung. Strangely cosy and comforting once you get used to it.
The Pondos live in one of the most beautiful places I have ever encountered (as most of you know I have travelled somewhat extensively so that's quite a statement coming from me). It's a place that around every corner, over every hill, and beyond every bay the view literally takes your breath away. A cliché but there's no other way to describe the beauty of this place. Frothy blue surf meets dark black rock bordering pale white sand. A sight of endless unspoilt, untouched beach with miles of spectacular scenery spreading inland - sand dunes of pale white and deep orange with green hills folding into the distance patched and parted by rivers, gorges, and swimming holes. On top of that you have the place to yourself - even on a public holiday there was no one in sight. It's a wonderful feeling to stand on the beach listening to the sea with the wind and sun on your face knowing that you've stumbled upon somewhere so special - though for how much longer it will exist this way no-one is sure.
Pondering the Pondo Problem
Sadly, like many really special places in the world this one also has a problem hanging over it – TITANIUM. Those stupendously beautiful sand dunes are tragically also full of titanium and there's an Australian mining company just itching to get their hands on it.
The Pondo community is incredibly welcoming, lives to it's traditional ways and means, is safe, friendly and unique BUT is small so it is hard for them to get their voice heard. They are trying to revamp community based tourism that started a few years ago, and a large majority of them hope that tourism can beat mining. If they get the right marketing and the right people helping them they may just manage it – the place is eco-tourism's dream and would tick many boxes for South Africa: saving one of the most beautiful remote spots in the world; supporting a small and possibly dying out community and offering tourists something really unique.
Sadly I reckon the mining boys and the dollar will win out, but the locals we met were not interested in money they just wanted to keep their land, their traditions and their language. So the power of money and natural beauty in the world battle it out again... This issue dominated the trip and all the Pondo people we met so I had to share it with you (I didn't meet any of the pro-mining locals).
Home stay
Having spent two weeks in small tents in Tanzania, and having experienced the toilets on Kilimanjaro we were quite used to roughing it so fortunately had learnt to take things as they come. We stayed in a local hut on the first and third nights of the safari with a family that had never entertained foreigners or tourists before. The hut belonged to a man who had two wives, and we stayed within the cluster of huts overseen by his first wife. He had about fifteen children of all ages who were either intrigued by us and stared (the younger ones), or shyly interested and cautious (the kids in their teens). The family looked after us very well and cleared one of the huts for us to stay in with two mattresses on the floor and plenty of big cosy, colourful fleece blankets to keep us warm. They were pleased that we wanted to eat the local food and we had delicious rice and chicken for dinner, though the breakfast was less desirable - a form of semolina type porridge which stuck to the bowl even when turned upside down!
Toilet humour
As with many of these places there was a toilet issue - in that there wasn't one! No drop hole, no secret tree to hide behind, no out-building. To go to the toilet I was told the best place was in a big open field in front of the huts, next to the pig coral, overlooking a wonderful view of fields and hills stretching out to the ocean. Sound idyllic? Possibly not?! It certainly caused a panicky dilemma in me - how could I, the only white lady around, drop my knickers and pee in the middle of a field without creating local giggles and intrigue? In my mind I was imagining all the kids and locals watching how this blonde chick would pee. What made it worse (sorry boys, but ladies you will empathise) is that I had my period. This added the extra dimension of having to fumble around with toilet paper, tampons and plastic rubbish bags as well as trying to fight through layers of clothing to pee as quickly as possible. My only solution was to cross my legs and go after dark, and in the morning set my alarm to just before daylight so I could pee before any of the family awoke. Aside from these slight complications it really was a spectacular view shared with the horses, pigs, goats and dogs but as far as I was aware none of the people!!
The second night of the trip was spent in a fairly well established camp which had beds in permanent green canvas tents raised on wooden decking. The camp site was situated on a cliff top with a wiggly path down to the river mouth and sea – very beautiful. We were well catered for by local ladies who even boiled up water over a huge log fire for us to have a bag shower overlooking the river.
Looking back on the whole trip both East Africa and South Africa provided us with the most amazing spots of beauty for going to the toilet or having a shower - not something either of us had thought of before we set off and another happy surprise!
Local gathering
Along the way, as we tried our hardest to get Sally-4-left-feet and Spot-the-sure-footed-horse to actually move more than snail pace, we were invited into a cluster of huts where the family were having a small celebration. In the Pondo community when they celebrate they invite everyone in the local area to join them so we felt quite privileged to be included. The party was going on in one of their larger huts. The women sat on the ground on one side with their backs leaning against the circular walls, legs stretched in front of them and either food or babies in their laps. The men sat on the other side on low down stools and benches smoking and drinking. They giggled at Rob and I initially grabbing floor space next to each other, before we realised Rob should be sitting up with the men.
The story of the separation of men and women was not so much a religious or cultural gender division, like in the Muslim or rural gatherings I was used to in Sri Lanka, the reason was different. Traditionally the women sit in view of the open doorway so any enemy approaching will only see the women therefore assuming it easy to attack with the men away; the men sit hidden behind the door opening so they have the element of surprise and can attack when anyone enters. I thought this slightly flawed seeing as it's a tradition that everyone (including the enemy) would know about!
Anyway, Rob sat up with the group of 'protective' men to sample the home brew and I sat chatting to the women who were drinking the traditional coffee – which consists of a mix of hot milk and water poured out of a big old metal kettle into a mug of coffee powder and a LARGE amount of sugar, accompanied by the ubiquitous cake. The men were drinking their home made concoction (vaguely described as beer) and a cherished bottle of Smirnoff vodka. The celebration was due to the father giving land away to his daughter who was soon to be married. It was a fun, giggly and close insight into how this gentle and friendly community live.
Flying surprise
Our second invitation of local hospitality was of a very different nature and totally unexpected. On our last day as we were riding along the beach a microlite appeared out of the sky, followed us along the beach for a bit (by this time we had actually got the nags to canter which was an achievement!) then landed ahead of us. The 2 guys flying it waited for us to catch up with them and, after laughing at our horses(!), offered to give each of us a flight. The microlite was owned by Dan who had built it himself and was quite an expert / champ / internationally renowned microlite star – so I felt safe enough to jump at the chance. I'd never been on one before and aside from the noise it was absolutely awesome. Looking at the land we had been riding across from the air felt very special and I enjoyed the bumps and being pulled around by the thermals. Most of all I loved being high in the sky looking down over the endless wild coast beaches and the Indian Ocean with its patchy blues lining the white sand.
As we landed back on the beach I felt quite privileged and thought it an appropriate way to end an eventful and memorable few days and thought that perhaps next time the Wild Coast by air, or by foot might be a better option than four days of reluctant Pondo ponies!
Click here to check out the photos.
Africa: the Wild Coast Safari
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