South African Country Life – September 2019

in the1920sbyJackBarber,a Scottish
internationalfootballerandWorldWarI hero,
andVicKottich,a drugaddictandalleged
Germanspy.Subsequentguestsincluded
policeman-turned-bank-robberAndréStander,
whohidtherewhileontherunin theearly
1980s.Bycomparisonwefeltrathermundane.
Beforedinnerwewanderedupto theschool
to castourvotesin thisyear’sGeneralElection.
It wascheeringto seethatthedemocratic
processextendedto sucha remoteplace.
Ourfinaldayofhikingsawussauntering
alongbeaches– withplentymorecattleto
delayHilldidge– andcrossingoverheadlands
onnarrowgoatpaths.Theweatherwas
gloriousandwestoppedoftento swimandto
watchdolphinsanddivinggannets.“Ina month

orsopeoplewillbeflockingto theseshoresto

catchtheannualSardineRun,”advisedGarth.

A steepclimbtookuspastdenseindigenous

forest,itscanopyanincrediblegreenish-blue

whenseenfromhigh.Bylunchtime,wewere

at theviewpointoverManteku,theendofthe

road.Ona widelagoonandsurroundedby

steep,forestedmountains,thelocationofthis

finalcampis hardto beat.

Andso,onourfinaldayhere,wecelebrate

therivercrossingwithdrinksonthebeach,as

FishEaglescallouta welcome.GreenPigeons

burstfromthetreesandgoatsstandontheirhind

legsto nibbleleavesfromtrees.Aftersettlingin

to ourtents,wehavea swim,andpaddleupriver.

Kingfisherseyeusfromoverhangingbranches

andtheonlysoundsaretheoddsplashofa fish

or a fisherman casting a line.

Hilldidge has wisely booked an additional

day at Manteku, giving us time for more

paddling, walks on the beaches, swimming and

soaking up the splendour. Lunch is with a local

family up on the hill, where we are educated

in some Pondo traditions – the men seated,

in order of age, on chairs along one side of

the rondavel, while women sit on the floor on

the otherside. And we all sample the dreaded

umqombothi (local Xhosa beer). Isobelle

Calitz, who has grown up in Mthatha, delights

in the familiar, frothy liquid, and practising her

rusty isiXhosa.

Throughout the trip we have been impressed

by the effort and attention to detail given by

the Wild Child Africa team, which extends to

ABOVE LEFT: Down the steep, untracked slope we go to Drew’s Camp beach. ABOVE RIGHT: Swimming the Mkweni River was quite an adrenalin rush, even for our guide
Garth who has spent many years holidaying and working on the Wild Coast. BOTTOM LEFT: For much of the last two days we cross coastline with not another human in
sight. BOTTOM RIGHT: Mesmerising scenery on the way to Mbotyi.