Destination Of The Month: Transkei On The Fly

When the call came in from a fellow journalist, that his doctor had suggested he not travel due to a recent op, I had about a day to get everything prepared for an adventure to the Transkei Wild Coast.

- Stuart Reichardt

This meant throwing clothes together, charging camera batteries, getting itineraries, making phone calls, and printing maps, as well as organising our long-term Isuzu D-Max double cab and collecting the Invader Quattro off-road caravan – kindly loaned to us by Dan at Invader. There is nothing like a short-notice travel trip to get your engine firing on all cylinders.

With a quick stopover for one night at Steenbokkie Nature Reserve campsite in Beaufort West, we drove straight through the following morning to reach the Morgan Bay campsite at 17:30. This was the starting and meeting point for all the travellers on this particular trip, which was organised as part of a collaboration between Cederberg 4X4 and Caravan & Outdoor Life magazine.

On our arrival in Morgan Bay, we were directed to our camping stand by Coenie, the owner of Cederberg 4X4, and our guide for the trip. It didn’t take us long to set-up camp, settle in around the braai fire, and get to know the other adventurers on the trip (see the photos of all the vehicles and their associated caravans and off-road trailers later in this article).

Morgan Bay campsite is a scenic place with large trees offering good shade and lush, green grass underfoot. It’s set right on the banks of the Inchara River Lagoon, which offers great water sport and fishing opportunities. Campers, withstands along the banks of the lagoon, were fishing from chairs right in front of their tents.