Sfiso and Steff just returned form a South Africa Rainbow Route SAa17. Only by visiting and seeing with their own eyes the beauty of the Wild Coast will one understand why this coastline is such a popular destination. The name “Wild Coast” is so very accurate in many ways, a stretch of 250 km of unspoilt dunes, deep estuaries and rich riparian forests that is part of the Transkei and never really fell under colonial rule. On the other hand the area is known for strong north-easterly winds and counter winds that create enormous waves which are highly dangerous. The rolling grassland and the sharp cliffs, sandy beaches and the forests form this spectacular landscape that takes ones breath away.

After a long drive from the Drakensberg down to the coast during which we leave the Province of KwaZulu Natal and enter Eastern Cape, there is little time to stretch the legs. The following day everyone is keen to walk and never do we need to motivate anyone for that stroll along the coastline, it is just so relaxing and beautiful.
We start walking from the small town of Kei Mouth through forest and cliffs to end along the sandy beach in Morgan’s Bay. On this tour we just left the truck and started our way to the path when a pod of about 50 dolphins passed by and already everyone was taken by this wonderful scene that played out in front of our eyes. A short walk from there and a single big male seal was having a siesta close to shore, showing us one of his flippers and half of his tail, floating with nothing bothering him.

The walk then continues into a thicket full of wild banana trees and other plants that at this time of the year are all starting to flower, all the time having the sound of crashing waves next to us. After a couple hundred meters we pass through some extremely thick bushes and come out to a rocky shoreline where the spray of the waves wants to reach the sky and the coast shows us how “wild” it truly is. The path now is narrow and on both sides flowering succulents are decorating the ground. We take a short break at one of the small rocky beaches and everyone immediately starts looking for shells that lie scattered around the whole area, one client even finding a blow fish in one of the small water pools between the rocks.
Onwards we go, up and down across rocks and along the shore when we see whales in the far distance, one even breeching. What an absolute highlight! Southern Right Whales as well as Humpback Whales migrate into warmer waters during winter for mating and calving. Bryde’s whales can be seen all year around. We couldn’t ID what kind of whales we saw but the sighting itself counted and everyone was really excited for we had already seen so much on this short walk.

The walk ended in Morgan’s Bay where Sfiso was waiting for us with lunch and we enjoyed the view onto the Indian Ocean from the picnic spot. What a lovely way to relax and be physically active at the same time after a long drive the day before!