Eastern Cape: Press
It's the holy grail of travel: a perfect beach that hasn't been spolit by hordes of tourists. But does it exist? Of course, says Jeremy Lazell
In 1782, a few shipwrecked Englishwomen fell for the Transkei’s Wild Coast (and its men) so badly, they refused to follow rescuers back to Cape Town. It’s little wonder. Where South Africa can sometimes feel packaged and tame, the 60-odd miles between Morgan’s Bay and Port St Johns — a series of hidden coves backed by dense forest, rocky cliffs and waterfalls pouring off the escarpment — is thrillingly wild and abandoned.
During apartheid the area was deemed too unruly to develop, so today only a dozen or so intimate lodges can be found, including Morgan Bay Hotel, with rooms just a splash from the waves, and Ocean View in Coffee Bay, where you can abseil off nearby cliffs, and go fishing, snorkelling or diving.
There is a magnificent hiking trail all along the Wild Coast, with trail huts between Coffee Bay and Port St Johns — although it’s typical of the place that when wading across rivers, trekkers must pick a point upstream so as to avoid sharks.
9 — puts the Africa into South Africa.
Rainbow Tours (020 7226 1004, www.rainbowtours.co.uk) has 10 days on the Wild Coast for £1,445, including three nights, half-board, at Morgan Bay Hotel, three nights, half-board, at Coffee Bay, and a four-day guided trek. The price includes car hire throughout and flights with South African Airways to East London, via Johannesburg.
SKIP TO TOP