Gap Year Experiences

Living wildly on the Wild Coast

Sunday 2 August 2009

The journey to Coffee Bay was a slightly bumpy one through the most rural parts of the country we have seen so far. The hillsides were dotted with traditional round mud huts and there were more cows and goats on the road than there were cars. But once we arrived at the Coffee Shack we immediately felt welcomed by the enthusiastic staff and chilled atmosphere. We could see straight away that we were in for a good time and were excited to experience the legendary Babalaz bar.

It was great how easy it was to meet fellow travellers as we all ate dinner together outside the bar and played a few drining games. It was a fantastic night and there were a fair few hangovers the following day.

According to Pippa the best cure for a hangover is a three hour long walk. I'm not sure all of us agreed when we set off but the spectacular coastline made it all worthwhile and we enjoyed the banter with the other walkers from the lodge.

That evening we were invited into the huts of the local people by the chief of the village where we were entertained with traditional singing and dancing. The elders tried their hardest to get us all up on our feet and joinig in with the celebrations. After the dancing we tried local cuisine that was cooked by the women of the village. Their diet consists mainly of maize and pap which we ate with a gravy sauce and washed down with some local home-brewed beer.

After eating we had an opportunity to exchange knowledge about the extremes in our different ways of life. For example, how the Xhosa men have to exchange ten cows in order to marry their new wife. It was a culture shock to say the least, we were eating in a candle lit mud hut as they have no electricity but we learnt alot and it was a very valuable experience.

After that it was back to the Coffee Shack bar for some more attemps at playing pool and just having a generally good time. The last day in Coffee Bay was slightly miserable but we needed a day to pull ourselves towards ourselves again and were taken up the hill to watch the South African rugby team dominate New Zealand at a local restaurant.

Till next time,
Love Fiona, Vicki, Victoria and Danielle

We have now just arrived at The Secret Spot on the North Coast of Durban and by Fiona's comment, "Can we please stay here for the rest of the trip?" I'm guessing they have already gotten over leaving their new friends Coffee Bay behind and are prepared for the next adventure.

Apologise for the lack of pictures for now, photo's from the last few days will be up shortly.

Cheers for now,
Pip and Doug