Day Three at Hole in the Wall was sunny… and WINDY!! Ross,
Mike, Kelly and Brent decided to walk to Coffee Bay (Mel had been a bit sick
over the past few days, so thought it would be better to rest). The locals said
that it would take us about 2 hours to get to Coffee Bay. Now, either they know
some sneaky shortcuts or, they walk VERY fast! In the end we made it there,
sun-kissed, wind-swept and sore legged.
We had a super evening braai as the wind swept in an
electrical storm and the sheet lightning filled the darkening sky. What a way
to end off our time in the Wild Coast.
On Thursday morning, we packed the car and said our goodbyes
to head to Hogsback. Then we noticed that the back right tyre was flat. (This
after Mike and Ross had taken turns to pump it up using a bicycle pump just two
days earlier!) Out came the tyre weld, and off we limped. It was back into the
lions’ pit of maniac drivers we call the Transkei.
The trip was surprisingly quiet, with only 7 or 8 near-death
experiences. We even drove past Nelson Mandela’s former house. We tried to stop
and take a photo – we even made it into the gate. But then a very serious
policeman asked us what we wanted and chased us away before we could take our
prized photo.
We carried on happily, putting our trust in the GPS once
again. Ross had looked at the road atlas the night before and had an idea of
where we needed to go. But the GPS had other ideas. Somehow, to our anguish, it
found another dirt road. We were not impressed – especially Ross – who had
plotted the (correct) route the night before.
We drove along yet another of the Eastern Cape’s
disastrously maintained dirt roads, taking it easy because of our already
fragile back tyre. We came across a quaint little church and decided to take
some photos. (To have a break from the bumps!) Then it was back down the road,
scraping and rattling as our poor little Bantam soldiered on. As we bounced along, we were blessed with a
rare sighting, with Mel spotting about 12 crowned cranes.
A little way on we came to a stream and couldn’t resist a quick
swim. So in we jumped and cooled off as the refreshing water washed over us. We
were only about 20km out of Hogsback, so the rest of the drive didn’t take too
long. We had a lovely lunch and scanned a tourist brochure for a place to stay.
Once we checked in, we drove to the start of a trail to a waterfall called
Madonna and Child.
On our way back to our little cottage, it came to our attention
that we had another flat tyre. This time on the other side! It was just a small
hole, and Ross was sure that tyre weld would once again save the day. The only
problem was, we had used our only can that morning. Fortunately there’s a
hardware store in the bustling street of Hogsback, where we found some, and we
were yet again on our merry way!
These two little birdies have flown into some strong winds,
but are loving every second of the adventure! Next stop – Grahamstown.
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