Do Go Chasing Waterfalls

Exploring The Far Reaches Of The Wild Coast

- Micky Baker

For most South Africans, the Wild Coast is simply too far away and too arduous to access to make it a worthwhile destination. An absolute travesty, if you ask me. After spending just over a week combing the beaches, bluffs, waterfalls and river mouths of the wildest Eastern Cape, I’ve been converted. This is paradise, my friends. But hurry – it may not be this way forever.

The long haul

It’s a long drive from Cape Town to the north coast of the Eastern Cape. It’s more than 1 000km of Garden Route meandering that quickly deteriorates into pothole-ridden, fatigue-inducing trundling, and that’s exactly why it should never be done in one go, no matter which direction you’re coming from.

Our first Eastern Cape stopover was to be at Rooihoek campsite in the heart of the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve, the province’s southernmost protected area. Ardent overlanders are well aware of the rewards that come from crashing through the ‘Kloof’s twisting, shale-laden mountain passes. A quick lunch stop at the BaviJAANS Padstal gave me the opportunity to see the preferred local means of transport first-hand, when a proud old gentleman pitched up in his Ferrari-red tractor.

We entered the UNESCO World Heritage Site just south of Willowmore, before passing through the ethereal village of Studtis, and then the reserve gate. Having been on the road all day, we were chasing the fading sunlight and the Isuzu’s 3-litre powerplant was putting in an almighty shift to get us to Rooihoek.