We woke up, had breakfast, and packed up, thinking that it was getting very late. The tide was at it's lowest around 12pm, so we wanted to go and see if there wasn't any way we could cross it. To our dismay, we realized that it wasn't even 8am yet, so we had a long wait ahead of us. There were some people who started crossing the river, so we watched carefully, in the hopes that they knew where the shallow bits were. Still too high. We didn't wait too long, when we saw a man crossing, but higher up the river, and the water came up to his knees. Ghmff!!! We crossed immediately and were soon on our way to Mnyameni.
This stretch of coastline is simply devine. The weather is not what we had hoped for, but there's something about walking in the rain. The first part of our hike today, we had mostly soft sand, which put some strain on the calves, and especially my achillis, which is in a right state. It was fun however, and the dogs didn't seem to mind the rain too much, even though it was coming down a bit harder at times. The ocean was the most amazing shades of blue and was complemented by the grey of the clouds, which made it seem so much more intense.
We hardly saw anyone today, except for the occassional fisherman. It was quite something to have all of this to ourselves. Katryn seemed a bit melancholy, but I figured it was because she missed the clan back home, or maybe due to the sudden exersice. Difficult to say. It was still fairly early when we reached the Mnyameni River, but it was becoming challenging with the rain. The river was low enough in places to get through, and there was a ferry man in case we had troubles. On the other side of the river, on the hill, there was a handful of cottages, owned by families, who have in previous years, aquired a small peace of land from the Chief of the tribe which they have traded in return for money, or cattle, or even alcohol.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding owners of such land, and the means with which they have traded, etc. In my opinion, if you've legally retained the right to own a property, be it by trading something for it, or buying it cash, it's all good. These cottages are nothing fancy, in fact they are not allowed to build lavish beach cottages, not even allowed to build on to the existing building or even in some cases, to fix a leaking roof, thus remaining part of the rural backdrop of the Wild Coast.
We met a lovely family who was down for the holidays, John and Diane and a whole lot of lively boys, not all their own of course. We needed desperately to charge GPS and laptops, but there was only enough electricity derived from Solar panels to charge only a few items. Something is better than nothing, so thanks John, much appreciated.
We came out of the rain, and slept on the porch of one of the cottages. There were many Transkei dogs around, which means you have to be careful, or they will eat everything you have. They are usually underfed, and not well looked after. In the Xhosa tradition, dogs must fend for themselves, and find their own food and shelter. Ticks and fleas are also a problem amongst these animals. This is a very hardned breed of dog.
We met Chocolate, who is the security guard looking after this camp site at night. He is also a local Sangoma, and a very kind man. We offered him a sigarette, and we smoked one in silence mostly, because of our lack of understanding Xhosa and his broken english. It was one of those perfect moments, a moment shared in silence. Mmmm, been a long day, so with weary body, watchfull of prowling dogs, and rain falling softly on a tin roof, I fell asleep...hmmm, it's gonna be a while still before I get used to sleeping on the ground.
This stretch of coastline is simply devine. The weather is not what we had hoped for, but there's something about walking in the rain. The first part of our hike today, we had mostly soft sand, which put some strain on the calves, and especially my achillis, which is in a right state. It was fun however, and the dogs didn't seem to mind the rain too much, even though it was coming down a bit harder at times. The ocean was the most amazing shades of blue and was complemented by the grey of the clouds, which made it seem so much more intense.
We hardly saw anyone today, except for the occassional fisherman. It was quite something to have all of this to ourselves. Katryn seemed a bit melancholy, but I figured it was because she missed the clan back home, or maybe due to the sudden exersice. Difficult to say. It was still fairly early when we reached the Mnyameni River, but it was becoming challenging with the rain. The river was low enough in places to get through, and there was a ferry man in case we had troubles. On the other side of the river, on the hill, there was a handful of cottages, owned by families, who have in previous years, aquired a small peace of land from the Chief of the tribe which they have traded in return for money, or cattle, or even alcohol.
There is a lot of controversy surrounding owners of such land, and the means with which they have traded, etc. In my opinion, if you've legally retained the right to own a property, be it by trading something for it, or buying it cash, it's all good. These cottages are nothing fancy, in fact they are not allowed to build lavish beach cottages, not even allowed to build on to the existing building or even in some cases, to fix a leaking roof, thus remaining part of the rural backdrop of the Wild Coast.
We met a lovely family who was down for the holidays, John and Diane and a whole lot of lively boys, not all their own of course. We needed desperately to charge GPS and laptops, but there was only enough electricity derived from Solar panels to charge only a few items. Something is better than nothing, so thanks John, much appreciated.
We came out of the rain, and slept on the porch of one of the cottages. There were many Transkei dogs around, which means you have to be careful, or they will eat everything you have. They are usually underfed, and not well looked after. In the Xhosa tradition, dogs must fend for themselves, and find their own food and shelter. Ticks and fleas are also a problem amongst these animals. This is a very hardned breed of dog.
We met Chocolate, who is the security guard looking after this camp site at night. He is also a local Sangoma, and a very kind man. We offered him a sigarette, and we smoked one in silence mostly, because of our lack of understanding Xhosa and his broken english. It was one of those perfect moments, a moment shared in silence. Mmmm, been a long day, so with weary body, watchfull of prowling dogs, and rain falling softly on a tin roof, I fell asleep...hmmm, it's gonna be a while still before I get used to sleeping on the ground.
