The week that was....
* The drama continues
* Trips & Tours
* Wild Coast - the final leg
* Pass of the week
Overview
I can't think of any two years in my lifetime more dramatic than the last two.
Droughts, Day Zero Water, graft & corruption, a failing economy, Covid, Ukraine, rocketing fuel prices and now Stage 6 load shedding. One needs broad shoulders to deal with all this stuff. Our backup generator decided to fail right as Stage 6 started last week leaving us literally and figuratively in the dark. You can't find the little burglar alarm and gate batteries anywhere as the public begin to realise how vulnerable their systems are. At least they're not rushing about to buy bakkie loads of toilet paper! The name of the game is remain positive and put some of that energy out there - even if its not in the form of electricity.
MPSA is hugely dependent on having fast internet 24 hours a day, so we will have to invest in an upgraded inverter system to keep the lights on when Eskom cannot.
Time for a quick commercial
Trips & Tours are selling extremely well.
SWARTBERG CLASSIC (July) - Fully booked and as you read this newsletter we will be enjoying our final day of the tour. Expect an action packed report.
GARDEN ROUTE CLASSIC (Sep) - Two spots available.Come and enjoy this inaugural tour and lets make some history.
SEVEN SISTERS TOUR (Oct) - Fully booked.
WILD COAST TOUR (May 2023) - Fully booked
Wild Coast Tour V5 - A new group
Once our new group of guests arrived in Coffee Bay, it was back to basics; fitting radios and running through the driver's briefing details. The weather remained miraculously fine, but the big rain forecast that had been threatening for a week was creeping onto the forecast map.
On day one, we took our group to Mapuzi Caves - the first time we have ever gone to this remote and difficult to reach spot. We parked our vehicles on a grassy ridge and negotiated a "fee" for parking there with the landowner across the road - all of this done via our local guide Mzo, acting as interpreter. Not many locals can speak English, so it's a sound idea to use a local guide to ensure there are no misunderstandings (especially when it comes to money). This fellow started his negotiations off at R100 per vehicle to park for an hour, immediately putting Sandton City to shame. We ended up at R10 per vehicle which seems to be about the average price most people are happy with.
The more agile guests followed Mzo down to the caves via a footpath that is perilously close to vertical. The only way to ensure you won't fall, is to go down on your backside. One guest turned around when the gradient became too much, but the rest of the guests all made it down to the rocky beach where the caves are located. The caves are huge and according to the locals, this is where the ANC stored arms and ammunition during the armed struggle. They rigged a gantry with a pulley system to lower their cargo down the mountainside. The arms stash was never discovered by the South African government at the time.
(Read more...)
Once we had everyone back up at the vehicles (some of them sweating and panting heavily) they all agreed that the excursion was amazing and very much worth the physical effort. The rest of the day was spent enjoyng the charms of Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall, as a softener for what was coming the next day.
The weather remained good but the run of amazing weather was due to come to an end. The forecast indicated two days of heavy rain on the way. We bade farewell to Coffee Bay and took the Wild Coast back roads with our destination being The Haven.
The mountain passes come thick and fast as we made good time to The Haven with no recoveries or punctures. The hotel was opened in 1922 which makes it 100 years old. The food is legendary and on this visit everything was up to par as usual. Most of the accommodation is in thatched rondavels (still the original ones) but they have been modernised over time, adding en-suite bathrooms, electricity and other modern features, but remain quite basic. The experience of staying there is a little different to modern hotels and should be approached with that in mind.
Unspoilt Cwebe Nature Reserve / Photo: Hannes Steyn
The hotel is located with the Cwebe Nature Reserve and has an interesting history not least of which is that this was the location the survivors of the Oceanos were airlifted to.
The Cwebe (2140 ha) and Dwesa (3900 ha) reserves are on the north-eastern and south-western sides of the Bashee River, respectively. Dwesa (named after the locally common Idwesa tree) stretches from the Bashee River, in the north, to the Nqabara River, in the south. Cwebe stretches north from the Bashee River to Nthlonyana.
The Haven was founded in 1922 by Edward Reid, a former seaman, hence the hotel’s name. It was unusual, being a private hotel in the Cwebe Protected Forest. It was established to provide white Transkeian residents – traders, civil servants, etc – the opportunity for seaside holidays. To ensure its viability, it was opened to the public and thus provided the first tourist facility at Cwebe.
Until the early 1970’s,the situation was fairly tranquil. The Forestry Department lived in harmony with the surrounding residents who could move freely through the protected area to access seafoods, which they were free to harvest. The local community also accepted the successive owners of The Haven – Edward Reid, Gordon Hill and Matthew Dold Mitchell – as the hotel offered job opportunities.
With independence, in 1976, the Transkei Development Corporation (TDC) took over eleven coastal hotels, including The Haven, and invested heavily in upgrading them. However, the hotels didn’t thrive, with occupancy rates dropping below 50%. A reason may have been the central booking office in Umtata, which gave a standard reply, “fully booked” to any enquiry.
The Republic of Transkei planned to make the combined Cwebe/Dwesa reserve into a showcase wildlife reserve, to underscore its newfound nationhood. The reserve was fenced, numerous game animals were introduced and local residents were excluded. Because of its greater wilderness character, Dwesa was chosen as the major site for the introduction of animals. The usual mix of animals was introduced, including blesbok, kudu, blue wildebeest, impala, reedbuck, eland, red hartebeest, warthog and white rhinos. Vietnamese hunters have recently, and controversially, been given permits by Eastern Cape Nature Conservation to shoot some of the rhinos. They justified the issuing of permits by arguing that rhinos are not indigenous to the area.
Our contact at Cwebe Nature Reserve is Lennox Xoilile / Photo: MPSA
At one time, the eland and wildebeest used to cross the Bashee River and could be seen at Cwebe. The wildebeest, especially, became accustomed to humans and could often be seen grazing on the airfield/golf course in front of The Haven hotel. The locals bitterly resented being excluded from the reserve, to which they had previously had free access, and this had major ramifications. Their exclusion was extended to the sea, in 1991, by the establishment of a marine reserve, in which no collection of marine organisms was permitted.
Cwebe/Dwesa, local residents appealed to the conservation authority, traditional authorities and the ANC, to be allowed to use the Cwebe reserve for emergency grazing.
As far as The Haven hotel itself concerned, things are looking up. In 2005, Grant and Nicola Millar acquired the lease and are energetically revitalizing The Haven. Occupancy rates are up and the hotel was full over recent seasons. Mitchell’s field has also come into its own, making The Haven popular with the helicopter, autogyro and microlight fraternities.
The rain arrived in tandem with our group at The Haven. It rained hard all night and well into the next day. That forced us to move our spare rest days around a bit, so we after breakfast we got the group into the lounge where we ran an impromptu 2 hour general knowledge quiz - won by Rouvierre Humphries with some fierce competition from other guests (and much laughter.)
Next week - a muddy hike to Mbashe Light and a visit to Banyana Falls deep in the forests.
PODCAST:
PASS OF THE WEEK
Our featured pass this week is the Mnenu River Pass. This pass is for the more experienced off-road driver. It is a wonderful shortcut along the main Wild Coast route, cutting out a long section of fairly boring villages and it will save you about an hour on your ETA. The deep valley carved out by the Mnenu River stretches far inland, where the main road loops around to avoid the deep valley. The pass has wonderful scenery but mostly it's obscured by dense bush and lantana which grows about 4m high.
* * M N E N U R I V E R P A S S * *
Trygve Roberts
Editor
"Each day comes bearing its gifts. Untie the ribbon" ~ Ann Ruth Shabacker
